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… known as Jan Willem. I vividly recall boarding the S.S. Waterman. I can still see my mother standing between many people as I was thinking … we landed in Halifax and took the train to Toronto. It was not easy to find work due to the language barrier, nor was it easy to find … York Road with a Dutch family. Our fortunes changed approximately one year after our arrival. Response to an ad in a Toronto newspaper …
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… In 1953, when you came to Canada, you had to have the following: 1. - Passport 2. - German I.D. … and our passports had to be sent ahead to the ship. We were questioned by the Russian police as to where we were headed. We answered that … we were going to the Carnival in West Germany, in hopes this would suffice. Each of us only had $5.00, which was about all we had to our name, …
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… if just happened yesterday. Adapt to a new environment has never been easy, especially for adults. You feel like you suddenly fell on the … in a beautiful small city. It reminded me of my childhood; simple, easy and happy. I feel lucky that I can be here, even though sometimes … you are part of this society, and you also can make this country become better. Return to Charlottetown …
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… look for a job. This place was very busy place. Getting a job was not easy. But one has to have money to survive in this place. I got some … in B.E.D. After, Exam, I got hired in a school. The teaching was not easy as I thought. There was so much discrimination that I was forced to leave my job. After, few months another Board, hired me as a community relation officer. In this position I had great satisfaction …
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… 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 … in Canada. Work was hard to fine at that time but we managed to save money to pay for the trip. Immigrating was said to be a ‘live burial’ … friend decided to go as well; meanwhile in 1952 I had gotten to know Anny Rensen, who was fifteen at the time; I was eighteen then. After …
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… in time as memories of so long ago flood the present. "Life on board one of the biggest liners to ever sail the seas, was frightening, yet … like that. What was life like on board the Queen Mary? Did you make any friends? She replies, "Not really. The Queen Mary was decked out …
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… His career took him to Ontario, hauling gold ore; Manitoba, hauling ice for Artic Ice; hauling coal in Winnipeg, and to Norquay, Sask. in 1940; hauling … to Norquay, Sask. While in Norquay, Mom and Dad stayed in a boarding house with Mr. & Mrs. Tom Tweed (They talked about how horrible the …
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… Welcomed and Welcoming As I awoke in my upper bunk I immediately noticed … they know something we didn't? In the customs hall we discovered that one of the suitcases was missing. Father and the baggage master went on …
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… stopped during the night and she had to leave To buy us sandwiches at one of the railroad stations. First taste of Canadian bread and peanut … people of Canada That did not take our things, even when they had the chance? And so, at that C.N.R. station, we all started to grow the … so I wouldn’t forget. Old Mrs. Hassan called me, the child stranger, “Honey.” I asked Dad what that meant, and he told me, “Honig.” Another …
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… My parents, Fokke (Frank) and Homiena van der Veen, arrived in Canada on October 23, 1953 on the Groote Beer at Pier 21 from The … 12, nearly 13, Jan 11, nearly 12, Hans 7 and the twins Arnold and Ina nearly 2 years of age. Unlike many immigrants my parents decide to come to Canada not from economic need, but because my father wanted to …