The Immigration Museum at Pier 21 had been on my bucket list since we began planning our trip. When I was 3 years old my father, mother my baby sister and I passed through the Port of Halifax when we came from Denmark. Even though I knew about it I wanted to see if there was anything there that would be evidence that we had come.
Since we were carless we took an Uber to the museum. I am so glad we went! We began with a tour which explained a lot about the procedure of the day. After being processed and found to be healthy and legal the newcomers went immediately to the train which was right by the pier. There was a train car like the one we would have used on our trip across Canada. It cost $7.00 per family to make that trip and each family had to provide their own bedding and food. We had a long trip from Halifax to Edmonton, Alberta and then on to Camrose, and then to Kelsey, Alberta where we were met by Errol and Edith Fox who owned the farm where my father was to work. It probably took several days which would have been hard on basic seats with small children.
I was again amazed at the courage of my parents who were so young - my father, 28, and my mother only 23. I was 3 years old, my sister only 6 months old. The trip on the ocean liner was hard on them as they suffered from sea sickness, barely able to care for my sister. I ran all over the ship and played with other children. I am very grateful to them for their sacrifices.
My mother was always so organized and I am sure she was even back then. I remember her telling me that when they packed they took one blanket for each person, one fork, one knife, one spoon, etc. My father, who was very handy, had built a box for my sister which held her and, I presume, her supplies. He had also built boxes for our belongings which of course went with the luggage. And there were some brown suitcases. Although my mother had a good understanding of English since she had been studious in school, my father did not know more that the basics. I actually remember sitting around the dinner table in Denmark trying to learn new English words. The word that sticks in my mind was ‘fork’ and it sounded like such a strange word to use instead of ‘gaffel’.
There is a family search centre right in the museum. We waited our turn and in a matter of minutes we had a copy of the manifest from Plymouth, England from April 1951 showing our family. My name and my father’s name were misspelled but it is us. We also received some information about the ship Europa on which we sailed.
We spoke a long time with a very helpful young man from the Canada Archives who was trying to find out the name of the program which allowed our family to come. My father had to commit to work for a year on a farm to be allowed to live in Canada and eventually apply for citizenship. Sadly, he was unable to find out the name of the program which seems strange to me. Maybe someday I will learn more about it. But suffice it to say there was a program and we did come and my father did work on a farm in Kelsey, Alberta for the required time.
It was Gunnar not Gurnar and Lizzi not Lizze.
No specific memories of the train ride although my parents told me that I was able to recognize and name the various crops we passed on our way - like wheat, oats, etc
I cannot even imagine how hard this trip was for so many.
I debated including this photo since I look so strange. But here I am in front of the train car exhibit.
It was my birthday and I was glad to be there on that day. I was given a gold sticker at the museum which was reserved for Alumni visiting the museum.
So, this is what 75 looks like. I don’t even know what that means but I have been very blessed in my life. My sister says I do not look 75 but that I move like I am 75. Not sure how to respond to that.
Because my leg/heel was so painful and I felt exhausted, I was ready to Uber back to the motel. But my sister was so disappointed that I decided to try to walk a little further. I am glad that I did because as we moved along the boardwalk at a slow pace my leg began to loosen up and we were able to enjoy the breeze off the harbor and sit from time to time in the benches along the way. It was very pleasant to sit and listen to the sounds, feel the sun and the breeze and just enjoy life.
Sue took me for a Lobster dinner for my birthday. I had never had a lobster dinner so that was fun.
No she did not eat it that way!
Just fun!!
I took a photo of these hostas because we saw so many. They must grow well in the climate here. There were also many with purple blossoms.
There is a Public Garden a few hilly blocks from our hotel and we decided to check it out figuring that if it go to be too much for me to walk that we could get an Uber. But I made it and we spent several hours in the park enjoying the trees, bushes and flowers. It is a Victorian park. We loved it and took a lot of photos of course. Then we stopped at a restaurant for some early dinner before walking back to the motel which was mostly downhill and doable.
Waiting for our early dinner and yes, I was tired!
Friday was our final day in Halifax for sight seeing. We had decided to take a tour with the Harbour Hopper, an amphibious vehicle. It was a little pricey but allowed us to see things we would not have seen if I had been trying to walk.
On our tour we saw a street that appeared to be lined with shops. We walked uphill for several blocks and when we finally got there, there were hardly any shops at all. We walked on to the Art Gallery where we saw the works of Maude Lewis. Her story is incredible as she painted with severe rheumatoid arthritis but managed to earn a living with her art.
The Harbour Hopper was great! We got to ride around town and see lots of sights and then we drove down a ramp and the vehicle became a boat which took us around the harbor
We wanted to visit this shop but they would not let more people in because they had reached their Covid limit. Not wanting to wait in line in the heat we moved on.
The Citadel was high up on a hill for defense purposes. The top was grassy and before it became a national historic site, the grass in front of a trench was not mowed so it looked like a continuous grassy hill.
At the Citadel.
Red Sky at night promising good weather for our flight back to Toronto
And then it was over. We shuttled to the airport to catch our WestJet flight to Toronto. Somehow the passenger count was off and while the crew tried to figure it out the ground crew loading our luggage moved to help someone else. It was the ONLY ground crew so by the time our passenger count issue had been resolved there was no crew to load our luggage which delayed us over an hour and then there was another hour delay in getting our luggage from the plane. But we did get all of our luggage including the 2nd suitcase I had to buy for all the stuff I bought. It was a long wait for Sue’s friend who came to pick us up. But we made it! And now it seems like a dream.
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