Derk and Dina Jebbink

On March 1, 1952 a young engineer and his wife, a nurse, disembarked from "The Ryndam" to enter Pier 21 in Halifax. Derk and Dina Jebbink nee Bleijenberg, had left the Netherlands and were about to start their lives in a new country called Canada.

After going through Immigration and obtaining a "landed immigrant card" they boarded the train leaving for Vancouver. It was a seven day journey at that time.

Upon arrival in Vancouver they were met at the station by people who assisted immigrants and with their assistance found a small apartment in the West End. They stayed until they obtained a small house with very little furniture.

Of course, the most pressing task was finding a job. Derk was an electrical engineer and went to many of the local businesses until he found a short term job in the BC Interior. It was only for 4 weeks but it gave them much needed money and some experience with how things were done in Canada. While Derk was in the interior, Dina worked for another Dutch couple who had started their own business upon their arrival in Canada. She had come to know them through the immigration assistance group.

Upon return to Vancouver, Derk was hired by BC Sugar to assist in electrifying a sugar mill in the Dominican Republic. They returned to Canada after 3 years when the mill was taken over by the local government. Their son, Peter was born in Dominican Republic.

Derk then found a job with a consulting engineering company and worked for a year before going into the pulp and paper industry. They went to Port Alice for about 5 years where Lydia and Jo-Anne were born. Then it was on to Port Alberni, where the twins Richard and Carolyne were born. In subsequent years they moved to Vancouver, Kitimat, Vancouver again and finally New Brunswick. After all that moving they retired in Kelowna BC.

In closing, Ine and I would like to say that Canada has been good to us and it is an excellent country to reside in. We have 5 children and 10 grandchildren, who all are doing well. We are proud to be part of a Canada that we helped build over the past 55 years.

Kelowna, BC January 2006