(below) Former residence of Thomas H. Klumpp’s youngest son, Howard “Boots” Klumpp and his wife Lucy.
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“Howard ‘Boots’ Klumpp joined the firm at this time [circa 1938] and helped with the growing retail lumber and millwork business. Born in 1917, Howard had attended Dashwood Public School until Grade 8 and later received his senior matriculation from Exeter High School. After this he took a correspondence course in electronics while working part time at the planing mill. Howard then became a professional musician playing the saxophone and clarinet in Willis Tipping’s band. He didn’t spend long at the planing mill in 1938-39 before being drafted and joining the air-force as a radar mechanic. He spent six years in the service.”
extracted from “A Look At Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Our First Millennium”, published by Dashwood Industries Limited; 1978
[Ed. note: Canadian composer and arranger Howard Cable provided some insight into Willis Tipping’s band in this comment during an interview:
“I started out writing arrangements for Willis Tipping and his Cascade
Orchestra in Kitchener [Ontario]. His band would go to the dance halls
around Ontario during the early part of the war. Tipping needed an
arranger, so he contacted me. I was nineteen and I got two dollars an
arrangement and a ticket to Kitchener every month. I’d go to Kitchener
and rehearse the band. It was a [Guy] Lombardo-type ‘sweet band’.”
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(left) Howard “Boots” Klumpp.
“The cottage industry along the Bluewater Highway and Lake Huron flourished during the war [World War II] and Dashwood had the closest mill and retail lumber business, situated as it was only a few short miles from Grand Bend. The wealthy were investing their money in lakefront property during the war. It was a good investment at the time. Businessmen at Grand Bend urged Dashwood Planing Mill to relocate there,
especially after the fire of ’39. The Klumpp mill stayed in Dashwood, however, but started a branch of its lumber yard at Grand Bend later, to service the region better and to keep competitors out of the area. Howard Klumpp manned the Grand Bend branch, which was open for about three years.”
extracted from “A Look At Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Our First Millennium”, published by Dashwood Industries Limited; 1978
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[Ed. note: Thomas H. Klumpp passed away in early 1964 and later that year, Dashwood Planing Mill moved its production facilities from the Village of Dashwood to a location near Centralia Ontario, in order to obtain enough real estate to physically expand the plant. The company name was changed to Dashwood Industries Limited in 1966.]
“In 1968 the Centralia plant began a major expansion program to keep pace with Dashwood Industries Limited’s impressive sales growth. At this point in time the Klumpp brothers chose to sell their remaining one-quarter interest in the company to Allpak, giving them one hundred percent ownership. Allpak wanted to keep the Klumpp family involved so Maurice was made Chairman of the Board and asked to stay with the company until retirement. Howard Klumpp retired in 1973, but Maurice remains with the company today [1978] as Honorary Chairman of the Board.”
extracted from “A Look At Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Our First Millennium”, published by Dashwood Industries Limited; 1978