A Fall Visit to Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, page 3
Continuation of an article from
CTGA of Toronto Newsletter:
From the restaurant we made straight for Woodside,
the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King, at the corner of Wellington
St. and Spring Valley Rd. in Kitchener.
Our guides Kathleen and George gave us a hearty welcome and briefed us on
the building. After this introduction we were free to walk from room to room
as the two of them provided additional commentary and answered our
questions.
The King family made Woodside their home from 1886 to 1893. Though their
stay was not long, it was one that was memorable to the family members.
Young Mackenzie King actually left Kitchener (then known as Berlin) in 1851
to attend the University of Toronto. The rest of the family moved to Toronto
in 1893 when the senior Mr. King accepted a part-time position as a lecturer
at Osgoode Hall.
Woodside had been a rented home and it eventually was allowed to slip into
disrepair. The North Waterloo Liberal Association acquired the home in 1943
and the Woodside Trust was set up to manage it and take care of renovations.
Mackenzie King and his sister Jennie donated many items to Woodside which
had been used by the family when they lived there. The house itself was
deemed beyond restoration. It was demolished in 1949-50 and rebuilt from
scratch using original materials where possible.
Exploring the rooms of Woodside was a great deal of fun for all whether it
was the bedrooms with their intriguingly high beds or the beautiful dining
room with its china and glassware.
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