Guenther Ivens

As a young man of 19 years, I left my hometown of Schönkirchen, Germany (near the Baltic port of Kiel) on July 15, 1951, along with my best buddy, Adolf Timm, after finishing our carpentry apprenticeships.

We left Kiel by train to Bremerhaven Camp Lesum before boarding the Anna Salèn enroute to Canada. On July 23, 1951 we left Bremerhaven and ventured on a journey of excitement and exploration after being offered jobs in Ontario. Our ship sailed back through the Kiel Canal and we could not believe our eyes when we saw the Kiel Harbour - was this to be the end of our journey? No, we by-passed Kiel and continued on to Copenhagen, were more passengers boarded ship, then onward past the North of Scotland and after 11 days at sea arrived at Halifax at Pier 21 on Aug 3, 1951.

With our new jobs with the Newaygo Timber Company of Port Arthur, Ontario, and this being only 6 years after the war, we fell in love with CANADA after having our first meal in the bush, at lumber Camp 88 at the Algoma Central Railroad Line in Meade, Ontario.

A journey that I have never regretted to a country I call home - CANADA!