Bernardus T.J. Arts

Bernardus (Ben) Theodorus Josephus Arts was born on March 3rd, 1931 in Lithoyen, Netherlands. Ben was 9 years old when World War II broke out and was 14 when it finished. He remembered the day the Germans invaded Holland, the buzz of VI and VII bombs and the explosions in the fields around his house. Throughout the war, soldiers from around the world came through his town and stayed at his family's farm, but he had the fondest memories of the Canadian, American and Polish soldiers. Ben had a lot of fun with the soldiers who used to play soccer with him and his brother and they even dressed him up in a uniform and let him fire a rifle and anti-aircraft gun. He got to ride in the tanks and used to follow them on his bike and collect the spent shells to trade in town. Even though the war was dangerous and frightening at times he said that he never again had so much fun playing.

After the war, opportunities were limited in Holland and after attending a meeting held at the town's church, Ben decided Canada was the place for adventure. He was only allowed to take $30 with him to Canada because he was traveling on a Canadian Government Subsidy; however, some friends joined Ben on the trip to Rotterdam to see him off and one of them loaned him another $50. Knowing he wasn't allowed to take any extra money, Ben hid the cash in his hanky. Unfortunately, the extra cash was discovered by a customs agent and Ben returned the money to his friend. He set sail for Halifax just after his 22nd birthday on March 22nd, 1953 aboard the Groote Beer (Big Bear). He had with him his $30 and a trunk of his possessions to start a new life.

On the trip over there were approximately 700 people on the ship. Ben shared a room with 8 men and they all slept in bunk beds. On the fourth day out they hit a big storm and for 2 days only 200 people came to eat. Fortunately for him, Ben never got seasick. They finally arrived in Halifax one day late due to the rough seas but soon encountered more problems. One of the tug boat cables snapped as they were approaching the dock and got tangled in the Groote Beer's propeller. The ship was pulled out into the harbour again and it took another day to get the propeller clear before they finally could step on Canadian soil.

When the passengers finally got on shore they were 2 days late but a train awaited the new arrivals to take them west. Ben was traveling to Ottawa which would take 2 days by train. They had a bit of time before boarding to go and get some food as there was none available on the train. When Ben arrived in Ottawa there was no one to pick him up as he was 2 days late. Ben needed to call his brother to pick him up but he didn't speak a word of English nor did he know how to use a telephone; back in Holland there was only 1 phone in his whole town. After a while, a gentleman came to his aid and Ben expressed his problem through hand signals. The phone call was eventually made and Ben's brother John quickly came and picked him up and took him to a boarding house. Ben worked on a farm and later a tire shop in Ottawa before he headed west with his brother who had taken a transfer with Sherritt Gordon to Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Ben got a job at Sherritt, 5 days after his arrival in Edmonton and worked there for the next 34 years.

In 1958, Ben married Astrid Rozeboom and adopted 2 daughters Mary & Ingrid. Astrid later gave birth to 3 more daughters Michele, Dorothy and Astrid. Ben and Astrid divorced in 1974 and Ben married Louise Calkins in 1991. Ben and Louise lived in Edmonton until his passing on September 18th, 2007.

Ben was an avid "collector" of antiques and many other things but he took special pride in his collection of trench art. His most prized possessions included a cannon shell that was carved for him by two Polish soldiers named Joseph and Adam. They asked him whose name he wanted carved into the shell and Ben said he didn't care so they carved the name of a unknown girl "Jean". Ben always regretted not asking to have his own name carved into the shell. Ben also had a set of cannon shells that he had collected from the battlefield himself and had carved into a matching set of vases by an artist in his town.