• Bill and Jo Hawkins
    … worldly goods. My Mother produced an ancient trunk from somewhere and we acquired a smaller suitcase for me to be able to carry with me on my … real butter. I remember the weather was just about as bad as it could be, the ship pitched and rolled and the rains came down. Very few … Bill and Jo Hawkins …
  • 1968: Pier 21 and the Prague Spring Refugees
    … by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated August 21, 2020) Introduction: The Prague Spring and the Soviet-led Invasion of Czechoslovakia In 1968, liberal elements within the … 1968: Pier 21 and the Prague Spring Refugees …
  • Sietske Flietstra Bellsmith
    … Children I was only seven when my brothers, sisters and I were told we were moving to a place called Canada and would live on a … took its place! Strangers walked into our house taking our furniture away with them. Suitcases and trunks mysteriously showed up everywhere. … way what these bags were really for, as the floating city got under way. How could our stomachs possibly take this for nine whole days? My …
  • Pietro Di Ioia
    … Told by his daughter: Maria Teresa Di Ioia PART ONE Reasons for immigrating to Canada: To look for work in order to support his large family and to … Di Ioia, had gone to the US several times and for several years between 1895 and 1906. He worked both for the railway company, in the …
  • Ferrara Family
    … touring and researching my arrival to Canada on the ship - Vulcania. We docked in Halifax on an overcast day on December 29, 1952. This account is the story of Peppino, a nine-year-old boy emigrating to Canada from the town of Agnone, in the Molise region … Anniballe to Naples where they would begin their journey to Canada. Well wishes, farewells and tears were exchanged with close family …
  • Joan Farrell Wilson
    … parents Gerald and Joan Wilson A telegraph Joan sent to Gerald Joan in uniform Joan in uniform Joan in uniform Joan at the War Bride's Club Joan with her husband and …
  • Private Carl Wallace Graham
    … War Medal 39-45 Born: September 8, 1925 Died: August 6, 2008 Enrolled in the army March 15, 1944 in Kingston, Ont., was a member of the Stormont, Dundas Glengary …
  • Historical Thinking (1) : Practicing History in the Museum
    … by Steven Schwinghamer, Historian (Updated January 28, 2022) In summer 2012, we offered an “historian’s tour” of our temporary exhibition, Shaping … Historical Thinking (1) : Practicing History in the Museum …
  • Historical Thinking (3) : Primary Source Evidence
    … a project, historians use primary and secondary sources. In this post, we are going to discuss the second concept presented in the Historical … source evidence . [1] What is a Primary Source A historian has to be well-versed in the available primary and secondary sources in their … is a simple chart to help you decipher what the differences are between primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are documents or …
  • Immigrant Voices: Diverse Reactions to the Transatlantic Voyage from Europe to Canada’s Shores
    … by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated November 5, 2020) Introduction From 1928 to 1971, Pier 21 was an active Canadian ocean … her, the transatlantic journey was a matter of necessity or “something we had to do.” [1] As a Latvian refugee, Ernests Kraulis notes that the … witnessed a decrease in the amount of newcomers arriving in Canada by way of ship. English immigrant Peter Matthews came to Canada on the …