Eileen Way

In 1947 I felt that there was not much future for me in Ireland as the economy was very depressed. I decided to immigrate to Canada. My mother decided to accompany me to Vancouver as she had a sister living there.

After two medical tests I was told we had to wait for permission to travel. A year and a half later permission was granted and we started our journey in the fall of 1949. I was twenty-two years of age.

We left Ireland and headed for Southhampton, in England, stopping in London for a couple of days; arriving at the port we had to go through Canadian Customs and Immigration, this was completed before we left England. We boarded the R.M.S. Aquitania in fear and trepidation and sailed directly to Halifax. Everything went very smoothly, but I do not remember many details, but what I do remember was the food. I had never seen so much food so nicely prepared and presented in all my life. We danced every night and I met many other young people headed for a new life in Canada.

Arriving in Halifax at Pier 21 on October 10, 1949, we had to search for our bags among many hundreds on the pier. Having found our luggage we went directly to our train for Vancouver. What I remember about the train trip was that it took as long to cross Canada as it did to cross the Atlantic.

I do remember passing through Quebec and seeing rivers full of logs waiting to go to the mills, and when the train stopped, at a small town, to do a little shopping and having to speak French. I knew a little from my school days! My next vivid memory was getting off the train in Jasper and experiencing the coldest weather I had ever been in. I quickly got back on the train. We wormed our way through the beautiful Rockies, leaving the mountains we passed through Chilliwack; little did I know that this was the place I would make my home. A week after leaving Halifax we arrived in Vancouver expecting to be met. We could not find our relatives amongst the crowd and we had to take a cab to our final destination.

For the next couple of years I worked in Vancouver. My mother decided Canada was not for her and returned to Ireland. In 1951 I met my future husband; he had immigrated in 1946, and was endeavouring to clear and develop a dairy farm in the Chilliwack River Valley. For the next fifty years we continued to successfully develop and operate Auchenway Farm, building an award winning purebred Ayrshire herd in the process. One of my duties on the farm was to show our cattle and compete with other breeders at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. We remain on the farm, enjoying our retirement and travelling.

We raised a son and three daughters on the farm and now also enjoy our ten grandchildren.

I had always been curious about the history of the Chilliwack River Valley, as it had not been settled until over 100 years later than the settlements in the Fraser Valley. So I formed a small committee to research and write a book on its history. Seven years later we completed a comprehensive history of the Chilliwack River Valley titled "In the Arms of the Mountains". Our committee was recognized with a Heritage Award by the Chilliwack Museum.

I am proud to be a Canadian and to have contributed to my country.

Eileen Way