-
A collection of individual quotes are provided here to highlight some of the experiences of immigrants from the Netherlands. Deciding to Leave - Saying Goodbye Travelling Arrival in Canada All Aboard - On The Train Life in Canada … Quotes - …
-
Deciding to Leave – Saying Goodbye “On May 1, 1948 my wife and I and our 11- mouth old daughter arrived in Quebec City, Canada. We decided to leave our homeland of the Netherlands for a better life in Canada. Work was hard to fine at that time but we managed to save money to pay for the trip. …
-
Single Men and Women December 9, 1955 – Ryndam Born Melchior Franciscus van der Laan, the youngest of five children. The oldest being my brother Han, 17 years my senior, three sisters, Adre, Mien and Gre, then yours truly, fondly known as Mels. Although very young at the time, I still can see the …
-
Single Men and Women June 6, 1952 – Waterman I well remember the day that I disembarked from the MS Waterman in Halifax NS on June 6, 1952 and passed through the now famous Pier 21 shed. The Customs and Immigration officials processed the 900 Dutch arrivals smoothly, after which we proceeded to the …
-
Single Men and Women April 21, 1957 – Ryndam Arrived in Halifax on April 21, 1957, with the SS Ryndam, HAL. During the trip we had one day, rough stormy weather in the North Atlantic and the dining room did not get the patrons it deserved. The services, entertainment, and personnel were sublime. We …
-
Single Men and Women Veendam On May 23rd 1930, I was born in a small village in the northern part of The Netherlands. At the time of my birth I had 3 siblings. A brother and 2 sisters. At later dates 2 more brothers were born. When 6 years old, I went to elementary school and in 1942 went to high …
-
Single Men and Women February 26, 1950 – Beaverbrae I have been asked numerous times why I left home and came to Canada. When I was 9 years old the war started in the low lands (Holland) on May 10, 1940. At about 4:30 a.m. there was a lot of banging, airplanes flying in all directions. An hour …
-
Families 1953 – Groote Beer When my parents decided to come to Canada in 1953, I was faced with a huge dilemma. I had become a career soldier in the Dutch Air force the year before and signed on for a minimum 5 years. Pappa told me that I was to come to Canada with them, otherwise he would not …
-
Families April 9, 1954 – Groote Beer I was educated in The Netherlands (University Utrecht BSc 1951, geology and geophysics). There was no particular reason for me to leave the Netherlands. I had a good position at the National Research institute, was (am) married with one small daughter. However, …
-
Families February 22, 1951 – Volendam Immigration is not something you get just up and do, you talk about it, think about it and talk about it again, you go to all kinds of bureaus for information. When it gets to be pretty serious you start praying a lot about it. The time comes that you only pray …