Reginald W. and Dorothy E. Haines

Alumni Type: Immigrant
Country of Origin: England
Ship Name: MV Georgic
Port of Entry: Halifax
Date of Arrival: May 14, 1953
Age on Arrival: 44 and 39

Reginald Wadham Haines. Born February 24th, 1909 in Guisborough,Yorkshire; son of Wadam and Alice (Abern). Dorothy Edith May (Ames). Born December 25th, 1914 in Wareham, Dorset; daughter of Percy Edwin Ames and Edith (Miller).

Reginald and Dorothy Married January 1, 1935.

In the early days of their marriage, Dorothy worked as a nurse's aid, and Reginald worked on the farm. He had taken over the farm at a young age, as his father had passed away. Reginald, his Mother Alice, and his Brother Harold leased Middle Farm, of 110 acres from the village landlord, Mr. Stevens. Reginald had a great talent for mechanics, something he passed down to each of his boys. He also loved motorcycles, which were his mode of transportation, with Dorothy, and later the children in the side car. Dorothy and Reginald were blessed with 6 children, two daughters and four sons.

While living in the farmhouse there was never any electricity. Oil lamps and candles were used for lights, and coal fireplaces for heat. Mondays were washday, Dorothy had to pump water to fill the copper, which had a fire underneath to boil the whites. The darks were hand washed in a tub, then were rinsed and hung on the line to dry. The children helped with the harvest and hay-making time, as well as their regular chores. Chapel service was always attended on Sunday evening, with Reginald at the organ (he always had a love of music). With the hardships there were lots of good times; Sunday afternoon drives in the farm van, where Reginald set up benches for the children to sit on, or long walks in the country side. Life was simple.

Times were difficult during the war years. Reginald was a wartime farmer and also served with the Home Guard, guarding the coastal areas of Britain, and patrolling the village to make sure everything was blacked out. Also, he drove the bus to move troops around. Because of Reginald's Home Guard activities, Dorothy spent many hours at home alone with the six children in black-out conditions. Supplies for the farm, as well as the household were limited, and right up to the time of immigration, goods were rationed. Dorothy made a little food go a long way, and even with soap at a premium, Dorothy still found a way to keep everything sparkling.

Before leaving England in1953, Reginald and Dorothy were living in Winterbourne Zelstone in the county of Dorset. The year was 1952, and Landowner was to sell all his holdings of 650 acres. Due to age and finances, Reginald, his brother Harold, and his Mother, decided to sell up the machinery and livestock and go their separate ways. Reginald and Dorothy decided that Canada would give them more opportunity than staying in England. George Ames (brother of Dorothy) 25 years old and single, decided he would like to immigrate to Canada as well.

When the paperwork, passports, vaccinations, health tests and record of good standing were completed, everyone went to Canada House in London. Passage tickets were purchased for the 3 adults and six children; Edna age 18, Adrian age 16, Marion age 14, Keith age 13, Alywin age 11, and Colin age 8. On May 7th, the Family set sail for Canada from Southampton on the M.V. Georgic of the Cunard Lines. The voyage was very good except for a period when they hit a gale, with a swell of 40 feet. Many people were sick, including some of the family. Edna, Adrian, and George enjoyed good food (fruits, sweets, and chocolate), as these items were still rationed in England, and dancing on the tossing vessel, while the others were green with seasickness!

The ship arrived in Halifax at Pier 21, May 14th, 1953, late afternoon. The family disembarked into a large warehouse to wait for their belongings to be unloaded. At that time Pier 21 was not a welcoming place. There was one high light, couples from the United Church gave out gifts of toiletries. That evening the Family boarded the train for Toronto. Still being day light they were able to see Halifax from the train. This was their new country, very different from England. The train travelled in a westerly direction along the St. Lawrence where large white blocks six feet or more square by three or four feet thick were seen in the forest. Making inquiries from the Conductor, he said it was ice left over from winter and pushed up into the forest by the spring breakup. This is in May, in the south of England the ice on a pond might get to one inch thick and would last four days or so. They could see they had a lot to learn.

In about two hours it was dark, no one had much sleep, sitting up in an old passenger car with no heat or food on the train. Water was supplied from a block of ice put into a container with a tap. It would take ten minutes to get two sips from a paper cup. The next morning the train was in New Brunswick, and everyone was very hungry. There was a stop for coal and water to service the engine. The conductor said the stop would take twenty minutes. George and Adrian ran from the train to a village shop where they purchased a loaf of bread and two packages of Velveeta cheese and a can of Spam. That was breakfast and lunch for nine people. Memory is hazy, but somehow there was one bottle of Coke. Each of them got a sip, which tasted like Heaven. The journey seemed to take forever, and being a steam engine the Family became quite dirty from the sooty smoke.

The train arrived in Union Station in Toronto about 2pm. Reginald had to meet a Mr. Bowles, a Farmer who was to give him a job and lodging. George was also to meet someone for employment. The Family lined up so these Gentlemen could find them. George was found first and taken to a place called Concord, to work in Greenhouses. At that time, it was wondered if they would ever see George again. Mr. Bowles found Reginald, and told them all he could only take five in his car. Arrangements were made for Edna, Marion and Adrian to take a train to Burketon Station. They arrived in Burketon at 5 pm. Mr. Bowles daughter Pat was there to meet them. She took Edna and Marion away in the car, leaving Adrian there in that lonely place with all the luggage. Reginald was to come to pick him up in a jeep. At about 6:30pm Reginald arrived, and when all the belongings were finally packed in, there was only standing room on the back of the jeep for Adrian from the station, all the way to Caesarea, about 12 miles away. Quite a trip for him!

They arrived in Caesarea on Lake Scugog, to a small cabin with room for four. The eight of them made the best of it for one night. The house on the farm was ready the next day. Reginald started work that morning. At noon Mr. Bowles and Reginald moved the luggage and the Family into the house. The packing cases were pried apart to reveal all their belongings from the old country. Everything was in order, but there was so little, no furniture. The wonderful people of Caesarea, the village a few miles down the road, supplied them with furniture and food to start them out. How generous and kind they were. The house was two bedrooms, so they had to make do. The next day, Adrian left to work for another local farmer, about 4 miles away, and three weeks later, Edna left to work as a secretary for a car dealership in Courtice. Marion, Keith, Alywin, and Colin were off to school. It was hard to place the children in school, as there were no grades in England. Placement was done by age. There was a lot of teasing and laughing at the way the children were dressed, the boys especially with their short pants. But they all found a way to work it out, mainly by sticking together.

By the end of 1953, Reginald and Family had left Bowles Farm. He was working at a local garage as a mechanic. The Family moved into old log home in Caesarea. There was a three hole outhouse (toilet) in the back of the house. Reg and Dorothy had to work hard to make the place a home. At this time, a letter arrived from George reassuring the Family, he was doing well. In April, 1954, Reginald was hired by General Motors in Oshawa, where he stayed until he retired. They later bought their own home in Caesarea, and spent their married years there.

In April of 1996 Dorothy passed away. Reginald lived a good long life, which ended May 2007. Reginald was a free spirit who enjoyed adventure. Much credit must be given to Dorothy for the immigration experience, as although she did not experience her Husband's love of adventure, she had the courage to bringing her six children to Canada.

EDNA- September 24, 1955 she married Edward DeJong, and raised a Family of three, Christopher, Glenn and Joanne. Edna, as stated above, started her career off at Nichols Motors. In Ednas words: “In 1994 we were privileged to be able to have a Family gathering, in Caesarea. At that time, our Family of 9, who had immigrated here in 1953, had now grown to a Family of 64, and was, and is still growing."

ADRIAN- May 30, 1959 he married Phyllis Tetlow, and raised a Family of three, Brian, Leanne, and Nancy. Adrian worked in General Motors for over 9 years. After an apprenticeship in tool and dye. He went on to open his own business in 1968, called Haines Machine & Tool Ltd, in Tyrone, Ont. In Adrian words: " I must thank all the Canadians I have worked for in my 57 years in Canada for their help and encouragement. This is the land of opportunity as long as you are honest and work hard".

MARION-May 23, 1959 she married James Dicks and raised a Family of four, Karen, John, James and Paula. Marion joined the Air force in 1957, and then went on to join the Reserves. In Marions words: "The whole Family did well, adjusted and despite bumps along the way, life is good. Canada is our home, and because of this I became a Canadian Citizen in 1960."

KEITH-July 27, 1963 he married Edna Shemilt and raised a Family of two, Jeffrey and Raymond. Keith went into business for himself in heavy equipment called Haines Excavating and Grading. In Keiths words: I wish I still lived in England.

ALYWIN-February 13, 1965 married Brenda Malcolm and raised a Family of two, Annette and Anonthy. Alywin had his own business as a mechanic and Service Station owner in Blackstock Ont. In Brendas words: Give Alywin a rod, a gun and the open road and he was off! The love of wide open spaces.

COLIN-September 30, 1967 married Cheryl Renouf and raised a Family of two, Michael and Melissa. Colin worked as a Foreman for the Township of Scugog until retirement. In Cheryls words: Eventually settling in small town Nova Scotia gave Colin the best of both Canada and England. The wide open spaces and opportunity of Canada and the countryside farmland of southern England. Colin became a Canadian Citizen, like his sister Marion.

GEORGE AMES (Brother to Dorothy) -June 21, 1958 married Helen Reid and raised a Family of two, Stephen and Sherri.

**Just to give you a little insight into the Haines Boys, they were FORD men through and through!