A common theme in most of the Waterloo Region’s newspapers was a push for locals to purchase Canadian made goods. Over $618,000,000 was spent importing foreign goods to Canada in 1913. The Hespeler Herald suggested that the town create a “Made-in-Hespeler” motto. There were plenty of industries in the small town, including: R. Forbes Co., which produced knit goods, Hespeler furniture factory; Hall-Zryd Foundry Co., which supplied furnaces; Stamped & Enameled Ware Co., Owen Daveno Co., which manufactured couches; and the local hydro company, the Universal Lighting Rod Co. Not only would locals be supporting the war effort by buying Canadian made goods, Hespeler could also promote its own industrial expansion.
As the war economy gained momentum, there was an evident drive towards keeping production within Waterloo county in order to promote industrial expansion and increased employment opportunities.
(“Buying Canadian” Hespeler Herald, 15 October 1914)
