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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHarry ClassCity of Kitchener Corporate Archives Harry Class fonds, 1935-1999. Prepared by: Anne Quirk September 2001 Updated by: Hilda Sturm August 2011 HARRY CLASS fonds.- 1935-1999. - 9cm of textual records, 3cm of photographs, 16 artificats. Harry Class is a Kitchener native who has won numerous swimming championships. He was born in Kitchener and attended Homewood Public School. As a child he began taking swimming lessons at the YMCA on Queen St and he participated in various swimming and diving activities at Woodside Pool. He won numerous championships in his early days of swimming including a bronze medal at the British Empire Games in 1934. He also took national honours in 1935, 1936, 1938 and 1940. In 1943 Mr. Class joined the armed forces and upon his return to Canada he began working in the food industry. During his employment career he was the president of Mrs. Smith's Pie Company. He resumed competitive swimming in 1989. In 1991 he travelled to England for the Masters Challenge and won 2 gold medals. His records include 7 Ontario short course metre records, 8 Ontario long course metre records, 6 Canadian short course metre records and 5 Canadian long course metre records. Mr. Class has been inducted into the Ontario Swimming Hall of Fame, Toronto Granite Club, Hamilton Aquatic Club and Doon Pioneer Village Hall of Fame as well as the KW Civitan Club Parade of History. He was inducted into the Swim Ontario Hall of Fame (the predecessor to the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame) in 1991 as a Builder and then in 1995 as a Pioneer Diver. Mr. Class was on the Canadian Aquatic Sports Association Executive for ten years. Of these he served four years as Chairman of Diving for Canada. He was also on the Canadian National Exhibition Sports Committee for 25 years and was the liaison between CASA and the CNE for swimming and diving for about ten years. In 1958 and 1959 Mr. Class was the publisher and editor of the Canadian Aquatic News an official CASA magazine. He was the first person to ever receive the Friend of Swimming Award from Swim Ontario in 1990. He has made a significant contribution to swimming in Kitchener, Ontario and Canada. In 1992 the City of Kitchener renamed Woodside Pool to Harry Class Pool in recognition of Mr. Class' illustrious swimming career. Harry Class passed away at the age of 95 on June 11, 2011 in Kitchener Ontario. The fonds consists of photographs, medals, trophies and textual documents documenting the swimming career of Harry Class. The records are arranged into 4 series and the documents are arranged in chronological order within each series. Title based on the contents of the fonds. Records donated to the Corporate Archives by Mr. Harry Class. 1: Awards/Recognition. - 1935-1999. - 3 cm, 12 items. This series documents the numerous awards and letters of recognition that Mr. Class has received. It contains correspondence, brochures, photos, swimming pass, competition entry card. The files are arranged in chronological order. An index is available in Appendix A. 2: Harry Class/Woodside Pool. - 1992. - 1 cm. This series documents the renaming of Woodside Pool to Harry Class Pool and the LACAC designation of Harry Class Pool as a heritage building. It consists of an invitation to the dedication ceremony, newspaper articles, an invitation to the LACAC designation ceremony and photographs. This series also consists of city photographs of the Harry Class pool An index is available in Appendix B. 3: Biographical Information. - 1932-2001. - 2 cm. This series documents biographical information including swimming accomplishments, photographs, samples of Canadian Aquatics News (edited by Mr. Class) and newspaper articles. An index is available in Appendix C. 4: Class Trainer. - 1992. - 1 cm, 1 item. This series contains information pertaining to Mr. Class' invention "Class Trainer." The series consists primarily of newspaper articles but also contains a sample of the "Class Trainer" and accompanying promotional material. An index is available in Appendix D. APPENDIX A Series 1: Awards/Recognition Title Date Volume/Item Box Correspondence 1935-1989 1-1 10845 Programs 1993-2000 1-2 10845 Brochures/Certificates 1991 1-3 10845 Memorabilia 1992 1-4 10845 Memorabilia (Trophies) 1939-1994 2-1 10848 Memorabilia (Awards/Pins/Coins 1992-1993 2-3 10848 Memorabilia (Pen Set) 1991 2-4 10848 Photographs (Medals) 1932-1995 2-5 10848 Photographs 1932-1995 2-6 10848 Memorabilia (Medals) 1989-1997 2-7 10848 Memorabilia (Cuff Links) 1935 2-8 10848 APPENDIX B Series 2: Harry Class/Woodside Pool Title Date Volume/Item Box Photographs 1992 1-5 10845 Invitations 1992-1994 1-6 10845 Newspaper Articles 1992 1-7 10845 Memorabilia (Framed Certificate) 1992 3-1 10843 Photographs 1969-1972 2-9 10827 Photograph 1980's 2-10 11147 Photographs 1969-2003 2-11 12119 Photographs 1995-2004 2-12 13592 APPENDIX C Series 3: Biographical Information Title Date Volume/Item Box Newspaper/Magazine Articles 1938-1992 1-8 10845 Photographs 1933-2001 1-9 10845 Swimming Accomplishments 1932-1995 1-10 10845 Photographs (Mounted) 1932-1933 1-12 10845 K-W YMCA Aquatics Club 1990's 1-13 10845 Harry Class Obituary 2011 3-2 10843 APPENDIX D Series 4: Class Trainer Title Date Volume/Item Box Newspaper 1990 1-11 10845 Articles Memorabilia 1990 2-2 10848 (Class Trainer)