Bud Cliff: A Very Public Life

by Stan Nowak
This article was first published in the June 11th, 2004 edition of the Dundas Star News. Reproduced with permission of the author.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who attended the inaugural Annual General Meeting of the Dundas Valley Historical Society last month, at which I was honoured to have been elected the Society's first president. At the end of the evening, a lady named Ruth Cliff offered congratulations, and said her late father-in-law would be very pleased with the creation of this new Society. His name was David Percival Cliff, and he played a major role in establishing the first Dundas Historical Society almost sixty years ago.

At that first meeting, on April 12, 1945, Mr. Cliff recounted the events which had led to the formation of the Historical Society. He told of the preliminary work done and "the assembling of a considerable amount of historical detail." The new Society would replace the joint historical committee established in 1942, of which Mr. Cliff was Chairman, consisting of members of the Library Board and Town Council. The report of the Nominating Committee was presented and Bud Cliff was declared elected as the first President of the Dundas Historical Society.

D. P. Cliff, known as 'Bud', was born September 20, 1902, here in Dundas, the second of four siblings. Soon after his father's death, Bud left school and joined Bertram & Sons, where he was a "shell buster" during World War I. He also worked as a vendor on the CNR railway line between Toronto and Chicago. Eventually, he joined the family firm, the Dominion Lightning Rod Company, founded by his grandfather, George H. Cliff. He became a full-time employee in 1920, but not before losing his right thumb in an industrial accident at the same factory on December 9,1919.

Throughout his life, Bud Cliff was best known for his devotion to public service, first to his church and later to his community. His experience as a warden at St. James' Anglican Church encouraged him to run for local public office in 1937. He served as Town Councillor, Deputy Reeve, and Reeve. He also sat on Wentworth County Council from 1939 - 44, serving as County Warden in 1944. On December 9, 1944, Bud Cliff won the Mayor's Chair by defeating incumbent Robert Hunter by 63 votes. During his time as Mayor from 1945 - 46, the World War II ended in Europe, and Dundas celebrated VE Day with the largest parade in town history. Of course, the Dundas Historical Society came into being during that time as well.

Choosing not to run for re-election, Bud concentrated on serving the public another way. He sat on the Dundas Public Utilities Commission from 1945 - 56, serving as Chairman for four of those years. In the 1948 federal election, Bud ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal against the Tory incumbent, Russell Kelly. His experience with the Dundas PUC led to an appointment to the Board of the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (today's Ontario Hydro) by Premier Leslie Frost in 1956. At the time, the Conservative Premier remarked that Bud's position on the Board was the highest rank he had ever given to a Liberal. From 1965 - 69, he served as first vice-chairman, after which he retired from Ontario Hydro.

Being the consummate public servant, Bud Cliff also volunteered with the Wentworth Children's Aid Society, the Dundas Rotary Club, and the Dundas Recreation Commission. He was Chairman of the Board at Wentworth Lodge, as well as Chairman of the Dundas Arena Finance Committee. He was aptly named Dundas Citizen of the Year in 1960. While doing all of that, he was employed at the Dominion Lightning Rod Company, from where Bud would retire in 1986 as Company President and Chairman of the Board—at age 84, after 66 years of service! For someone who never went beyond Grade 9, Bud Cliff did quite well for himself—and for his community.

[Index of Articles]