Ongoing History Daily: The story of Uncle Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry is rightly considered to be the godfather of rock’n’roll. He was from St. Louise, but he also had a thing for Kitchener, Ontario.

At some point—the details are unclear, although it may have been at a show in Toronto in 1956 or 1957—the married Chuck met Rona Pfeffer, a self-described Chuck Berry groupie, who became his girlfriend, and together they had a son. To make sure they were looked after, Chuck bought a house at 391 Southill Drive.

Over 25 years, he made many visits to Kitchener almost completely under the radar, although his connection was well known to a select few. The locals called him “Uncle Chuck.” Interestingly, Berry’s connection to Kitchener is missing from pretty much every biography on the man.

Rona died in 2005 at the age of 68. Berry died at age 90 in 2017.