Gustav and Agata Kleinas

This brick is in memory of my parents, Gustav and Agata Kleinas, with gratitude for the sacrifice they made to bring their family to this wonderful country of CANADA for a better life.

THIS IS MY STORY:

I was born in 1941 in Lithuania. When I was just 2 weeks old my parents had to flee to Germany because of the Russian invasion. We lived in Germany for six years, moving from place to place because of the war and bombs dropping from the skies. In 1947 we immigrated to Belgium where we stayed for nine years. In Belgium I finished grade 8 and at the age of 14 started working in the coal mines. There were no jobs for foreigners other than the coal mines. The years I spent in Belgium were peaceful and I made a lot of friends.

My father had applied to immigrate to the United States but the quota was full so acting on the advice of a friend, he applied to Canada. On April 28, 1956, my parents, my two brothers, Sigi and Walter, and my sister Irene and I left Belgium for Canada. We sailed on the Groote Beer for nine days. On May 7, 1956 we landed in Quebec City. We had a few hours to shop before we boarded the train to Toronto and were happy to see French signs, but when we went inside the stores, no one understood us because Belgian French is different from the Canadian French. We were very disappointed, to say the least. It took two days for the train to arrive in Toronto. In Toronto there was no one to meet us. We had an address from a family we knew in Belgium but we did not know how to get there. With suitcases in hand, we started to walk and after a while we asked a passerby if he knew where Dovercourt Road was and he said it was not too far. We walked from Union Station to Dovercourt Road and Bloor Street, which is about 6 kilometres; it took us about an hour and a half. We settled in on Dovercourt Road and lived there for one year until my father bought our first house.

My first job in Canada was at a restaurant as a dishwasher. After a few months I went to work for an auto body repair shop as an apprentice painter's helper. At this auto body repair shop I was fired because after one year's service I asked for 5 cents raise, from 65 cents to 70 cents an hour. Feeling disappointed, I was wandering the streets looking for work. I found another auto body shop and asked for work and I was hired. They offered me $2.50 an hour and I was thrilled that I was fired from the other place. I also worked for Massey Ferguson painting red combines. In 1963 I went to work for a vending machine repair company, gained experience as a vending machine technician and in 1985 I opened my own business in Sales and Service of vending machines. I am still in business today.

In 1964 I met Elisa, the love of my life, and in 1965 we married. We have two daughters and three grandsons.

I am proud to be Canadian. CANADA has been good to my family and me.

Leo Kleinas