Proud of our heritage

Re: Public should have input on Schneider Haus name — March 28

Being involved in tourism for the better part of 25 years, I could not believe that the name Joseph was going to be removed from this historic site. When I saw Schneider Haus in print the first thing I thought of was Oktoberfest.

History is very important and as publisher of Visitor magazine in the early 1990s, I was proud to promote this area to others. I was one of the founding members of the Kitchener-Waterloo Area Visitor and Convention Bureau.

Remember Savage, Kaufman, Arrow, BFG, Uniroyal-Goodrich? All of these names and companies were the backbone of this community. This is history, this is our heritage.

Now it seems everything and everyone is moving far too quickly, forgetting our forefathers — the Martins, Brubachers, Shantzes, Schneiders. Remember their first names, too: Milo, Ralph, J.M., Joseph. Don’t change names or brands without conversing with Joe Public. There are many of us that are proud of the history. The blood, sweat and tears that these Mennonites endured to build Berlin, St. Jacobs, Elmira, and Hawkesville are the ones to remember. Don’t cut someone’s name apart.

I wish some of these decision makers would do some research on the impact before it is a fait accompli. Janne Dean Kitchener