#4 Achtergrond van Leopold van Mourik

Leo heeft me gevraagd om de achtergond die hij heeft geschreven  als een "post" te laten zien. Hier komt zijn ineressant verhaal:

Neil Heesteman was kind enough to initiate a blog, where people of Dutch origin can write about their country of origin, and how they came about coming to Canada.

While speaking with other people of Dutch origin, I have discovered that some of us have followed similar paths. Our arrivals here were for perhaps the same or different reasons. I am also proud to say that the people of Dutch origin were very successful in their new country Canada. There was a sense that Dutch people were honest and hard working. Dutch people too were very giving. Many came from times when some endured hunger and having to do without. Many remember famine and flooding.

My name is Leopold van Mourik. I was born in Rotterdam Holland, brought into the world by a midwife on Goudseryweg, We lived in what was referred to as the old centre part of Rotterdam, on the South side of the Maas River. My early memories of Holland are very vague, and I only attended part of grade one, I started all over again in Canada, this time completely in English. Now why did we come here? We had relatives already living in Canada, and as the story goes, the streets in Canada were paved with gold. Both my parents were looking for an opportunity to better themselves.

Our journey started on the ship Waterman, from the Holland American Line. This was all a great adventure for a young child as myself. The journey took ten days, and our crossing was very rough. My sisters and mother were mostly below deck all that time, in bed from sea sickness. I on the other hand roamed around the ship, and was treated kindly by the crew. They pretty well allowed me to go wherever, from the kitchen to the laundry room. The sailing was not smooth and the seas were rough most of the time, with the ship listing from side to side. At the occasional meal sitting, things were so rough that dishes on the table were falling and crashing all over the place.

Upon our arrival in Montreal we went through customs, with each having an individual suitcase, and our total worth of goods at the time that we brought in was $500.  Sadly though we had to leave our little pet in Holland, and that in it self was crushingly sad for all of us.

Our life in Canada was very difficult however, especially so for our parents. We soon learned the truth that it was not true that the streets were paved in gold. The small amount of money that my parents brought in, did not last very long, my father was forced to take on any and all odd jobs.  My mother eventually joined him in the work force.

Our dad was already 44 years of age, which in itself made it so difficult to start all over again. Through hard work however, my parents were eventually able to buy their first home, and our parents lived there till the end of their lives. Once however they were both gone, I moved again, this time to Vancouver, and that is where I am today.

I have been back to Holland several times, and in my heart I am still very traditionally Dutch, but also now a proud Canadian.