Walter Klapow, one of Wilberforce's leading citizens, was born in Montreal in 1916. During the second world war, from 1942 to 1945, Walter was on Active Service in the Naval Forces of Canada. He was stationed in Nova Scotia as he was fluent in Slavic languages.

After World War II, he worked as a carpenter in Oshawa. As a carpenter, he understood the need for high quality lumber, so he decided to start a sawmill in Highland Grove using an old airplane engine to cut his own material. In 1950, with his growing family, Walter moved his sawmill operation to Wilberforce. In 1968 it officially became 'The Wilberforce Planing Mill'. Walter was involved in supplying hydro companies with solid wood poles and supplied miners with timber for mine head frames during the mining boom in 1954-1955. The demand for these was so great that often times timber delivered to the mines was cut from a live tree that same morning. 

Over the years, the company grew and diversified, employing 6 to 10 workers producing dimensional lumber, pallets, structural components for furniture, and even hockey sticks for local players, which were made from Ash, Ironwood or Elm. In August 1974, disaster struck when the original mill caught on fire and the local firemen were unsuccessful in the efforts to control the blaze. The buildings contents were destroyed but it was rebuilt and operating the following year.

After Walters death, his children continued to operate the business, supplying the local community with solid wood products like trim, flooring and siding. In 1995, Robert Klapow and his wife Hilary rebranded the business to Hilary's Trim and Floor. They operated the business together for over 25 years until they eventually sold to Brad Burnett in 2020.