Opa - History
Dad was born in Essen - Borbeck, Germany on July 18th, 1928.
He had a great childhood in Germany. But then when he was twelve years old the second world war began, and he was right in the middle of it. His older brother, Karl did have to go to war. He was sent to go with the troups who were on their way to Russia during the last part of the war. Fortunately for his brother he became injured and was in a hospital in Italy and never made it to Russia. Pretty well all of his friends were killed in the battles in Russia.
Opa was lucky that the war ended when it did. He was still too young to serve, but one more year and he would have been enlisted to fight as well. But the war ended when he had just turned seventeen. During the last year of the war there was heavy bombing in and around Essen and that part of Germany. There were air raid sirens going off each day. Dad had to be careful and often ran in to a bomb shelter. There was a small bomb shelter in between the house where he lived and the house next door. One day when Dad was downtown working there was a bomb threat approaching. He hid in a bomb shelter downtowon. His father (Johann) and neighbours hid in the shelter by the house. Unfortunately a bomb landed right on that shelter and killed his Father and the neighbours. Opa had to come home to help uncouver the bodies and bury his own Father.
Dad's brother Onkle Kalle was still in Italy so Dad had to take care of hsi sister Christel and his Mother. He would bring back what food he couldl. Sometimes stealing boxes of food from the traiins in the train yard near by. Several times he remembers being shot at as he snuck in to steal food. One time for his sister's birthday he snuck in to steal flour and sugar so that they could have a cake for her birthday.
After the war life was difficult for many years. They still did not have much to eat and often made potato pancakes, potato soup, potato everything, but managed to pull through. It was a prosperous time in the early fifties and the economy turned around and there was lots of work. Dad began working in a plant that made steel pipes. The company asked if he would like to go to Canada to help build a plant there that would make steel pipes. It was in a part of Canada known as British Columbia. Dad said yes, and went off to Canada.
At the time Dad was just married and had a son (me, Jurgen). I was about six months old. When Dad went to Canada he liked it very much and had Mom and I come to Canada about a year later. Dad was living in a rooming house sharing a room with someone else who worked at the plant when he first came from Germany. When Mom and I came to Port Moody Dad rented an apartment on St. John's Street in Port Moody. We lived there for about six months and then rented a duplex on Seaview Street just up the hill from Port Moody. My earlisest memories are from living at that duplex.
In 1959 Dad bought his first house at 1646 Prairie Road in Port Coquitlam. This was where I had my chiildhood, the best childhood a boy could ever want.
In 1965 Dad bought his second house up on the hill in Coquitlam at 1205 Rhodena Avenue.
Then in 1973 he bought his third home on 124th avenue in Maple Ridge. This is the home where I live today with Nataliya and her daughter Oksana. Dad now lives in a very nice condo at the Legion Towers with Evelyn.