Person Record

Metadata

Name

Krug, Bruce A.

Other Names

Bruce Arthur Krug

Born

April 27, 1919

Birthplace

Chesley, Ontario

Deceased

May 21, 2013

Deceased

Chesley, Ontario

Father

Christian Krug

Mother

Mary Hauser

Relationships

Siblings:
Lilian (Lily) Krug (b. 1896, m. Alfred Siegrist)
Wilfrid Conrad Krug (b. 1897)
Crossley Warren Krug (b. 1899)
Florence Krug (b. 1901, m. Ralph Gibson)
Howard Henry (b. 1904, d. 1997
Russell Krug (b. 1912, d. 1914)

Education

Chesley Public School.
University of Toronto, 1938.
University of Western Ontario, 1939. Graduated 1944.

Occupation

Bruce Arthur Krug was born April 27, 1919 to parents Christian Krug and Mary Hauser. The youngest of seven children, Bruce received his primary and secondary education in Chesley. He started at Chesley High School in 1932, and this this time he joined the Field Naturalists Club. After high school, Bruce attended the University of Toronto for Medicine (Sept 1938) where he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Then in Sept 1939, he registered with the University of Western Ontario in London for Biology, graduating in 1944.

He spent the next three years doing fieldwork in British Columbia for the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission.

The Krug family is well known for the Krug Brothers & Co. Furniture Manufacturers, spearheaded in 1886 by his father Christian, and twin brother Conrad Krug. It was a true family business with their three brothers and their brother-in-law working with them. Over the years many Krug offspring worked at the factory.

When Bruce's father died in 1941, his brother Howard took over the family business. Bruce joined him five years later, at the request of his Uncle William, to continue family leadership of the business. He and Howard operated the business until 1987, Bruce's main responsibility being cost control.

Younger than his brother Howard by 15 years, they were partners throughout life. The brothers camped in all seasons, swam in the local swimming hole, helped on the family dairy farm, and worked summers in the sawmill. They shared similar goals and both became accomplished naturalists. Around 1957, a family cottage in Tobermory was purchased and for many years, Bruce and his brother Howard enjoyed spending time there. The archives of the Peninsula Bruce Trail Club contain records from a September 27, 1964 organizational meeting in Tobermory where Bruce and Howard were founding members of a group to form a "Bruce Trail Club in this area". They paid a total of $4.00 for their memberships. The brothers worked tirelessly for several years, usually in the fall, and completed the Trail just in time for the official opening in 1967 as "Canada's Centennial Trail".

Bruce was proficient in hunting and trapping. He also had a passion for collecting and recording of local and national history, inlcuding photography, books, postcards, stamps, and a huge array of artifacts relating to pioneer life.

Bruce was the first President of the reorganized Bruce County Historical Society in 1957; then in 1990, he was recognized as honorary president, a lifetime tribute.

Bruce died May 21, 2013 in his 95th year at Elgin Abby, in Chesley, and is interred at the Chesley Cemetery. The last surviving member of his family, Bruce made numerous generous bequests to organizations and charities in Chesley and beyond as a lasting tribute to the Krug furniture-making enterprise, demonstrating the support the Krug family showed throughout their lifetime to their community.

Over the years, Bruce and the Krug family contributed both money and artefacts to the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre.

Sources

Sources:

Krug, Howard. "A Century of Excellence: Krug Bros. & Co. Furniture Manufacturers". Ed. Ruth Cathcart. Toronto: Natural Heritage/Natural History Inc., 2001.

Krug Family Fonds, BCM&CC A2014.057:
Krug Bros. Co. Ltd. Series 1
People "K" folder
Krug Family History

Krug, Bruce. Bruce Krug Diaries (Second, Fourth, and 19th), 1938-1957. Krug family fonds, series 3, sub-series 3, file 1 (Accession A2014.003)