10/23/2026
Why, no. No I did not know. Furthermore, I do not believe that students within the Waterloo Region District School Board possess an adequate understanding of our local history (local, provincial nor national), which is truly unfortunate.
Our children deserve a complete education. This requires looking at history from all angles, not just through a single, curated lens. Right now, the historical knowledge being passed down to students in the Waterloo Region District School Board is deeply incomplete. I believe it has been for decades. If we only teach history that serves a specific narrative, we fail our children.
On October 26th, vote for trustees who will restore historical integrity and balanced learning. Let’s restore an honest, robust, and comprehensive understanding of our shared regional, provincial, and national history!
Did you know that a Wilmot Township woman played a major role in midwifery and providing care for those fighting Leprosy? Elsie Cressman, missionary and midwife was born 13 April 1923 in Wilmot Township. She chose nursing as a career and graduated as a registered nurse from St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener. Elsie spent two years at Mennonite Children’s Home in Kansas City, Kansas, caring for the medical needs of 70 children. In 1953 the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities approached Elsie and asked her to establish a leprosarium in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) on the shore of Lake Victoria. Elsie accepted the challenge and was instrumental building huts, medical dispensary, medical wards, and a chapel surrounded by flowers and fruit trees. After 15 years of leprosy work and attending the births of numerous infants, Elsie enrolled at Mothers’ Hospital in London, England, to become a certified midwife. She returned to Africa and managed a medical clinic on Rusinga Island, Kenya, for three years. She supervised the delivery of over 1000 babies there. She also spent several months in Somalia under the Eastern Mennonite Mission Board.
