by Helen Hall
Kitchener Citizen​
   You could say that Budds department store was one of the original high tech companies in downtown Kitchener.
   Anyone who grew up shopping at the 85 year old store can’t forget the pneumatic tube system that delivered money between its office and customers.
   While the store moved to a computerized cash system years ago, it kept the pneumatic tubes because they are a rich part of the store’s, and Kitchener’s, history.
   “Rarely a day goes by that someone doesn’t drop in the store and reminisce about coming in as a child and seeing the tubes used,” said Howie Budd, who owns the store with his brother Stan. Howie’s son Jeff also works at the store and is part of the next generation to carry on the Budd name. They also own stores in Simcoe and Guelph.
   The tubes no longer deliver change to customers, but they are turned on to deliver candy to shoppers, young and old, who ask to see them in operation.
   To help share the history of the store and Kitchener’s downtown, Budds started a website last summer called Budds Downtown Storyhouse. Still in its early stages, it was developed by Stan’s son Nathan, who is an engineering student at Ryerson University in Toronto.
   Nathan spent the summer researching the history of Kitchener and posted several blogs on the website. One is about the history of Kitchener’s city halls and another is about the history of transportation downtown.
   The website address is www.buddsstoryhouse.com.
   Nathan said he spent a lot of time at the Kitchener Public Library’s Grace Schmidt Room, and reviewing the City of Kitchener’s and City of Waterloo’s archives.
   “They had some great pictures,” Nathan said. Many of which he has on display on the website.
   Next summer, Nathan hopes to add some history of the Budds store to the website. And while he doesn’t have much time to work on it during the school year, he hopes that others with an interest in downtown Kitchener will send him their historic photos and stories.
   The timing of the introduction of the Budds Downtown Storyhouse website is good, considering that this year the City of Kitchener is celebratiing the 100th annniversary of when the Town of Berlin was elevated to cityhood. The city is hosting a celebration in downtown Kitchener on June 10 and inviting residents to celebrate Kitchener’s past and look to its future.
   Being in downtown Kitchener for 85 of those 100 years, the Budd family has seen many changes in the neighbourhood.
   After some lean years in the core, Howie said he gives credit to city council for its work redeveloping downtown in the last 10 years.
   “Mayor Carl Zehr and his council ten years ago had the foresight to develop a plan for downtown Kitchener,” he said. “They took their time and made very few mistakes.”
   “I’ve seen a steady increase in traffic flow on the street and in our store,” he said.
   This means that Budds is seeing younger people shopping in its store and it has been changing its merchandise to reflect the buying habits of its customers.
   And Howie has found a way to make a connection between the young people who come to the store and its historic past.
   Each year, engineering students from the University of Waterloo come to rent tuxedos for graduation.
“   I always offer a free tuxedo to whoever can explain to me how our pneumatic system works,” Howie said. So far, no one has come up with the right explanation.
Howie said the students are so smart, they don’t look for the simple answer - it’s just a vacuum tube.
   Howie said Budds has a “special relationship” with their customers and many people come by because they feel comfortable with the staff who have worked there for so many years. One employee recently retired after 52 years of service.
   Recently, a woman from New Zealand came into the store to chat with the staff. She told Howie that she had grown up shopping at Budds and wanted to come back see to if it was still here. And, of course, she wanted to see the pneumatic tubes in action.
   Howie is looking forward to continued growth in downtown Kitchener, including the development of the City Centre Condominiums across from the store.
   “The puzzle is all falling into place,” he said. “Private industry is taking over from what the city started and it (the city) will profit from increased taxation.”
   “The benefits are all around us today,” Howie said. “Kitchener is used as a model for other cities who want to redevelop their downtown.”