Bert, Johanna Kruithof and Children

My mother, brothers and I immigrated to Canada in 1955, nine months after my father did.

We traveled on the Groote Beer in May 1955. I was eight and my brothers were eleven and thirteen. Our journey onboard was great and we had many adventures. When we got lost, we would head for the kitchens as our cabins were nearby. My chair was not bolted down in the dinning room, so during a storm, it would slide across the room. Also during the storm, my brothers and I would sneak up on deck. We would sit on the deck chairs and ride the waves up and down. When I think about it now, we were lucky we were not thrown overboard, as only ropes kept us in. My mother thought the Dutch money she had was not legal in Canada and spent it on ice cream for us and our friends or she would buy drinks for other mothers traveling alone. My father was not too pleased when he asked where the money was so he could exchange it. We boarded the train and traveled to Toronto where our father had a house waiting for us.

Our family has lived int Toronto and the surrounding area since immigrating. We became Canadian Citizens. My parents joined the Dutch Credit Union for their first mortgage and became active members by joining the Duca Chois and my father becoming Editor of The Duca Post for many years.

This summer (1999) we took our children to Pier 21 to show how it was for my family when we immigrated to Canada and by putting our name on the Sobey Wall of Honour, future family members can learn about their heritage.

By Janna (Kruithof) Lahtinen