Ingeborg Dietrich Ruohoniemi

Alumni Type: Immigrant
Country of Origin: Germany
Ship Name: Seven Seas
Date of Arrival: March 11, 1957

I was born on the 15 of December 1937 in Schwenningen/Neckar in southern Germany, the third child of four girls. During the spring of 1956 my girl friend made plans to immigrate to Canada. I decided to join her, but I was underage and therefore afraid to tell my Mom. My girl friend and I did all the paperwork required to present to the Canadian Consulate in Karlsruhe. Two weeks before we were to leave for Karlsruhe, my girl friend backed out. I however stuck with the plan. Now I had to tell my Mom. At first she was shocked that I would undertake such a venture, but after a lot of thought she gave her permission and told me, if things don't work out we will get the money somewhere to bring you back home. So with that I went to the Consulate in November 1956 and left from Bremerhafen on the ship- Seven Seas, February 28 1957, age 19 with one suitcase and $50, to arrive in Halifax on March 11th 1957.

I remember that it was a rough crossing and when I fell sea sick for two days, oh that was so terrible, I thought I would die. We finally arrived in Halifax late evening. As we approached the harbor all of us were happy to see the lights of the city. Because of it being so late, it was necessary for us to spend one more night on board. The following morning we were greeted by Immigration officials and finally processed. Since our train to Montreal left at about 6 pm that afternoon, a group of us went to take in some of the sights of Halifax. The following morning after a most uncomfortable train ride, sitting up all night on hard wooden benches, all of us were happy to get to Montreal where we were separated and interviewed individually by Immigration Officers. I never saw my new friends again. I was put up at the Immigration barracks for the night. In the morning, being now by myself, I was put on the train to Winnipeg.

Since I could not speak any English it was very frightening. Especially since at almost every stop some very intoxicated men boarded the train. I was glad however, to have found out that there was a German speaking gentlemen working in the dinning car who was kind enough to help me with my meal selection. I'm sure that everyone could see that I was a new immigrant and I hid the identification tag that I was to wear around my neck for the whole journey. On arrival in Winnipeg I was met by a Mrs. Reid who once more interviewed me and then took me to my new home and place of employment. The adults in the house spoke broken German, but the three children did not, and that could present a problem at times.

In late April I met a very handsome young Air Force Officer Cadet. we fell in love and married that October. Now, the Canadian government paid for my trip from Bremerhafen to Winnipeg a sum of $255. A lot of money back then. My poor husband from his meager wages ended up paying for me. I often think, he bought me from the government! Since then, I have crisscrossed this wonderful country of Canada. I have no regrets having made that decision so long ago.