Arrival in Halifax

After a week at sea, we arrived in Halifax—our landing destination. We were towed into the harbour by a tug and pilot boat, as ships were not allowed to dock under their own steam. It’s a large harbour. Around Halifax, you can see, from the ocean, a lot of homes along the shore. Soon, the first of the locals came to watch. The harbour had a messy appearance—what a difference from Rotterdam. Eventually, it became our turn to step ashore. The luggage came along with us. After the paper inspection, we were allowed to go where we wished but had to be back by 1 pm, at which time the train was set to leave. Mom and I and the youngest two children decided to stay at the station along with the more elderly. The train was already in place. Some had already boarded the train, while others walked the platform. Suddenly, the train started to move and accelerated quickly, which created quite a panic. Some of those on the platform jumped on board, while others jumped from the train onto the platform—a big commotion. The conductors hollered that the train would be back right away, but no one understood.

I almost forgot to say here that we met a woman in Halifax, a certain Kuipers from Onstwedde, who had visited us in Wedderveer shortly before we left. They had taken an earlier ship, but her husband became ill on the boat and was admitted to hospital upon arrival. They were not allowed to travel further until it was assured the had no contagious diseases. Fortunately, he was making a good recovery—but this shows that immigration was not taking any chances.

Three days in the train

In the meantime, the announcement came that the train was to leave shortly, and we all climbed on board. It was a rather rickety old machine, for sure an immigrant train. We were so lucky to be  assigned a second class car with red velvet cushions. Each passenger was assigned two seats, so one could sleep at night when pillows were distributed. The train now started to move along a snaking track, pulled by two locomotives. Soon we were in the thick of a forest, with a house here and there and small roads, but at every house a nice car sat next to a four-sided wood building. We couldn’t figure out the latter.

Further along, we crossed small and larger rivers with very clear water and could clearly see the bottoms, with, here and there, a small waterfall. From time to time we had to stop and wait on a double track, once for over two hours for an oncoming train. Double tracks were not common here, only close to a town or city. There seemed to be no end to the forests, and there was no one who could tell us where we were when we would pass through a small village or town. All we knew was that we had landed in a gigantic country.

We certainly were cozy, being altogether. Especially the children were astounded by all these new experiences. Slowly on we, were back in the populated parts of the world, and at a certain point the train stopped again. We could see different tracks going in different directions as they disconnected the last half of the train from the first half and announced where the first half was going. Some of the passengers had to switch here, and after several hours we were heading towards Toronto. We first came to Montreal, which was a familiar name. The nicest part of Canada we had missed, the St. Lawrence river, but of that we were not aware. But we did have a great view of Montreal and its harbour.

From time to time we would walk the full length of the train, and in that way would meet up with some of the people we had met on board of our ship, some of whom were going to the west. Some would also come by to see us, and told us they had rented a sleeper car. Others just made a real mess by spreading their beds all over the place, dumping their garbage on the floor and just walking through it. In the morning, the staff would sweep up the garbage and dump it in the garbage bins. Mom and Stiny cleaned up after us all the time and put the garbage in bags—the staff thanked us for this and told us about the mess others were making. After a couple of days, the place started to smell.

After Montreal, we headed for Toronto. Often the train had to stop and wait, but after three days we finally arrived in Toronto. Before we even got to Toronto, we could see that we were arriving in a more prosperous part of the country. Especially the Holland Marsh district. Everywhere there were large gardens, with all sorts of different crops, busy with people at work harvesting the crops and loading the trucks that would haul it to the greater Toronto area. What a city! At the station, most people disembarked and were received by family and friends. We had to transfer to a regular train going to London. We met friendly people, whom we could not understand, and only tell them that we were immigrants arriving from Holland.

At a certain moment Rika, 7 years old, had to go to the W.C. (washroom) She left the door ajar but this was pulled shut by another passenger. When she was ready to come out, she discovered that the door was locked and panicked. She hollered ‘murder and fire’ (‘moord en brand’). After a while a gentleman came to us to see us and asked if we were missing one of our children, and if she could be the on the toilet. He said he’d tried to explain how she could unlock the door, but she didn’t understand word of it. So Stiny and Harry went along. He explained how to open the door and they, in Gronings, relayed this to Rika. But Rika was so upset by now that they first had to calm her down and asked her to listen closely. Finally, she managed to unlock the door and get back to freedom. What a joy to be back with Mom and Dad! Finally, after the three long days, we arrived, by afternoon, in London, Ontario, where we were to be picked up.

No welcome reception in London

In Halifax, we had received the address of a farmer near Exeter who would be there to pick us up. But there was no one. Everyone that had disembarked here had been picked up, but not us. A Dutch lady came to us and asked if we were to be picked up and we told her that we were but that no one showed up, and showed her the address. Just wait here and I’ll make a call for you, was her response. So she did, and the farmer told her, “I can’t use anyone for the next two weeks,” and hung up. It was Sunday afternoon. Then she said, “I’ll call Rev. Gritter of the Christian Reformed Church,” but was told that he had to preach in 30 minutes, and it would be impossible for him to come. I said to her, “I’ll call the field man, Mr. Vellinga, in Chatham,” and so I did. He said to just stay at the station, and I’ll pick you up in an hour and a half or so with a big car. So we then went to the restaurant and ordered a meal with potato, peas and meat. The potatoes were watery and glossy—something you would feed to your pigs, was our observation. None of us had an appetite for what was being served so we ate the peas and meat but left the potatoes.

Work on the tobacco farm of Mr. Dreesman

About 4 pm, the field man arrived—a very friendly man. He said, we’ll first drive to Aylmer and if we don’t have any luck there then I’ll take you to Chatham. We took the basic necessities with us in a suitcase and left the rest at the station in London. We drove along highway 3 via St. Thomas to Aylmer and from there to the tobacco farm of a certain Mr. Dreesman. They were somewhat older than us. They gave us a friendly reception and in a short time offered us $125 per month of income. The children also could get a job, which looked very attractive. We were offered a very nice meal and encouraged to look around and later brought us to a house that was empty. He brought us some straw mattresses, on which we could sleep at night. The house was broom clean, and Mom had bedsheets in the suitcases, so that would work. There were plenty of rooms. So first we put Ko and Rika to bed, who were dead tired, and then went for a walk.

There were a few children playing and they spoke Dutch. So we asked are you Hollanders, but they did not respond. But soon their Mom and Dad showed up and, from the house across the road, a group of young people showed up and dragged Stiny, Harry and Henk with them and brought them into their home. The parents came to us and we introduced ourselves to each other. It turned out to be Cor Broer and his wife. They were also from our church and their oldest son had married the daughter of Rev. Gritter. They had brought home a group of young people from church who immediately embraced our children in their circle. Now that was a huge and pleasant surprise—we had friends on our first day.

They asked us over for coffee but we had to decline, as we were very tired plus still had two little ones at home and soon returned to the house. The three other children came home later, all excited. Something like that we had not expected. All of us immigrants, and they too, were happy to meet new faces, and so we laid ourselves down to sleep on those primitive beds. We had a wonderful sleep. It was in the summer, early June, and beautiful weather. In the morning I had to be at work at 8 a.m. planting tobacco. Everything was much different than what we were used to in Holland, but very practical. In the afternoon the farmer came to see us with his live-in helper Bill, who had to teach us and with whom we had to work the farm.

Moving into our 13 Room Castle

The boss told us we could move into a house which was now sitting empty, as the previous family had left, so that we would be closer to our work. His son John, who was on summer vacation, could pick up our mattresses. Now this was a gigantic house that was known as ‘the Castle’ in the neighbourhood. There were 13 rooms over two levels, all of which were quite dirty. Mom and the children right away started a cleaning process. First, the two rooms where we could sleep. We also were given an old table and chairs so that we could sit. Also, some pots and pans so that we could cook on a hotplate—all on the floor of course, which was difficult to work with.

After 5 p.m. we had to quit, since we had to bring in the cows and tie them down in their stalls. Then supper, and after supper milking. Bill operated the milking machines and I had to do the final stripping, to squeeze out the last of the milk from each cow, so that by 7 p.m. we were all done. Then I had to bring back the cows to the field while Bill cleaned out the barn so that by 8 p.m. the work was done and I could go home, wash up and get some clean clothes on. So there was a lot of work to be done for 4 dollars per day. But I had little to complain about since there were a lot of immigrants working for 75 dollars per month.

The rest of the move did not take long and was done after hours in the evening. But Mom and Stiny had their hands full cleaning the house. Tuesday, the farmer came back to the field to see us. The other children had to come to help replant tobacco plants that had died, and this would help to do it in short order. But I said, my children don’t have any work clothing, which is still in our suitcases at the station in London. Well, he said, my son will be in London this afternoon and he can pick up your suitcases, which was an ideal solution. That afternoon our boys in their Sunday best helped in the fields. It was all clean and dry work with no wind, so that worked out well. In the evening we received our suitcases.

The boys work in the Tobacco Fields

Wednesday morning we bravely got to work. We made good headway and by evening had completed the task. At 5 p.m. the boss arrived and said, well you are all done got out his wallet and paid the boys. He said, we are all done here, but maybe you boys can get a job at other farms. So they went off to the neighbouring farm on the right and, yes, they could start the next morning, but just for the replanting. After two and a half days they were finished there as well and Mom and Stiny by now had cleaned the whole house.

So on Saturday and Sunday we could sit in a clean house—though it was not very cozy. Fortunately the weather was beautiful, so we sat outside enjoying the natural world, and in that way minimized our longings for home. In the evening, the oldest children started to plan their next moves. Harry (16 yrs. old) decided not to go after farm work, since they send you home after the job is done, but Stiny and Hank couldn’t decide. What to do next? That evening Cor Broer and his wife came over for a visit, and of course we shared our experiences so far. He said, I could use a couple of helpers in the sugar beet fields, but I have no money and can’t pay you until the fall. It was decided that Stiny (18) and Hank (15) would come to help.

To Church for the first time

Sunday, we went to church in Aylmer for the very first time. Mr. Broer brought us first in his car then went back to pick up his own family. We had brought our own sandwiches, since we would stay over for lunch, while the coffee was supplied by the church. Between services we could meet other immigrants that were in the same boat as we were. That’s where we learned that most were earning 75 dollars per month on dairy farms and had to work even longer hours than we did. They were jealous of us.

At 2 pm, the second service began in English, whereas the morning service had been in Dutch. The most difficult sentences would be translated by the Pastor van der Kieft, so that we could get the gist of the sermon. After the service, the minister would come to the entrance of the church to welcome everyone and meet new immigrants. There was no one that would leave immediately. The pastor promised that he would come to visit us in the coming week, which he also did. It was on a Thursday I believe, and Mom had just gone to bed quite ill. It was critical that a doctor be called to come for a visit.

Mom has a throat infection

The pastor called the doctor and gave him our address. When he came, he diagnosed it as strep throat. We were still sleeping on the floor, but Cor Broer had brought an old iron framed bed that Mom could sleep on. The doctor asked if she had had this previously and we told him, yes three times before. Well he said that, most likely, you have neglected it in the past and now you have a narrowing of your windpipe, hence the difficulty with your breathing. It is not dangerous, but you have to take care and stay in bed for a while. He came back twice, and said on the last visit that Mom could slowly on get out of bed for periods of time. He never sent us a bill, most likely because we lived in such poor circumstances. Because Mom had been sick, we totally forgot to give Pastor van der Kieft our Dutch church membership transfers.

We borrow a car on Sunday

Saturday evening, Harry said I’ll take those papers on my bike to the pastor’s home, and an hour later he arrived back with a car. The son of the pastor, who studied in Grand Rapids, Michigan, came home for the weekend and had given Harry the use of his car for Sunday, so that we could go home for lunch. We were on cloud nine. Who had ever heard of such generosity—with the biggest disappointments, the biggest surprises. Sunday, we rode with the six of us to church and in the afternoon I stayed home with Mom. After church, Harry had to return the car right away since the student had to drive back that afternoon.

THE END