• Cornelia Maria van Wyk Heystee
    … to Cornelia Maria van Wijk-Goes and Johanes Gerardes van Wijk, and the youngest of seven children. On October 29, 1952 and at age 23 … he was sponsored by a Canadian citizen to work on a farm near Barry's Bay. After he had worked there for about one year and had fulfilled all … Cornelia Maria van Wyk Heystee …
  • What Goes Around, Comes Around
    … Peter Biesheuvel and his son Brian visited the Museum early on a Saturday morning. I told my … and didn’t stop until noon! Of Peter’s many wonderful stories about his early years in Canada, my favourite was this little tale which reinforces the value of doing the right thing. …
  • A Match Made on the North Atlantic
    … was just days old and shared their amazing story with us. They still reside in the United States and are the proud parents of three grown …
  • Back to the Land - Peter Seixas
    … owned by MacMillan Bloedel, or was provincial tree farm licence. So, this was sort of a unique piece of land. The town—and—we—in going there, and doing this, we thought in some ways we were providing—we were not only doing … Photograph of Peter Seixas splitting logs on the farming commune in Powell River, British Colombia, 1970-1973. Credit: Canadian …
  • Luigi Petti e Maria Pia Mastrangelo
    … than southern Italy. The train we boarded was old and the wooden seats offered very little comfort for our long journey from Halifax to … house in the suburbs with two other families. We then we moved to the city to Little Italy. I learned the language, got a job and started to … ran out, it was very cold and hard to sleep or rest on the wooden seats. My fiancée Maria Pia and her father Michele were waiting for me …
  • Pearl Brill Narzemsky
    … when I was reunited with my mother in 1930. We lived on the Lower East Side in New York. Shortly after arriving in New York I married Irving …
  • Mary Didur’s Perogies
    Growing up in 1930s Saskatchewan with Ukrainian parents, Mary Didur started making perogies when she was five or six years old.  She said, “the recipe has gone through so many changes…Each time it has changed hands, it has been improved. My mother probably got her recipe from her mother, in …
  • Gerald, Irene and Doreen
    … She did not get on. I stood hanging out of the door yelling for her to come on till the bus reached the top of the street. I was furious with … Union Terrace Gardens these two Canadian soldiers spotted us and said "come on down". There was a steep bank so we said, 'No you come on up". They did just that. We were both stunned by …
  • Giuseppe, Addolorata DiFalco e figli
    … Addolorata Di Falco and daughters arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax aboard the Saturnia on May 27, 1954. Giuseppe Di Falco arrived at Pier 21 on … decided to emigrate. My husband came to Canada in August 1951 to give his family a better life. My four daughters and I immigrated to Canada … Canada. We boarded a ship called "Saturnia", which docked in several cities such as Genova, Barcellona, and Gibralter, finally arriving in …
  • A mystery, archival film footage, an old suitcase, and a 75th anniversary
    … staff had noticed something strange in the Pier 21 exhibition - a discrepancy in dates. In a display case, amongst a collection of luggage … was an old suitcase with the name Leegwater painted in white. Opposite it, a black and white image of a man holding that very suitcase at … called Canadian Notebook , released in 1952. The film focuses on newcomer families working in four corners of Canada and in four major …