Louis Frederick Dietrich (September 13, 1868 – June 11, 1947) was an automobile dealer and politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He served as mayor of

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

from 1929 to 1930.

Life and career

Dietrich was born to German-Canadian parents Gregor Dietrich (1842—1906) and Emelia Doll (1843—1913) in St. Agatha. Around 1888, he apprenticed as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

and set up shop in his hometown in 1892. In 1893, he became a dealer for

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

farm implements. In 1909, he moved to Waterloo and, two years later, he became a dealer for

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

. In 1915, he became a dealer for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

. The following year, Dietrich became a

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

franchisee. He served on Waterloo council from 1922 to 1928. During his term as mayor, the Kitchener-Waterloo Municipal Airport was opened. He died in 1947 in Kitchener, in Waterloo Region.

References

1868 births Mayors of Waterloo, Ontario Canadian Roman Catholics 1947 deaths People from Wilmot, Ontario {{Ontario-mayor-stub