4 - A Legal Immigrant.. A new country

When we drove out of Elliot Lake, I had this empty feeling, that I was leaving a very special part of my life behind. The beauty of that part of Canada has stayed with me through-out my entire life and I have never stopped missing it. Anyway, we drove off in our 1960 VW bug with me in the back seat and crossed the border at Sault Ste Marie.

We headed south for our first destination, Huntsville, Alabama, home of Redstone Arsenal. My father had a senior master sergeant uncle stationed there and we were going to visit with them.
On the way we stopped at virtually every tourist trap along the way. We recorded it all with pictures and postcards in several photo albums that I still look at today. I remember stopping in a driveway facing Fort Knox our nations Gold Depository and setting off an alarm of some kind and an army jeep full of soldiers told us we couldn't stop there. I still have the picture. Cave City was another stop where I recall being fascinated by the huge caves. After a several day stay with our cousins in Huntsville we headed west across the southern route going through state after state and we were fascinated by the differences in terrain and kinds of people. This was our first experience in the south and the poverty was amazing to behold. It was both sad and scary at the same time. The countless motels we stated at and the many swimming pools I got to swim in really made my summer.

In time we reached what a tourist might call the old west. Deserts, cactus and ghost towns and a smattering of long horn cattle. Wow! We stopped at Old Tuscon and Dodge City and several other western towns. Right here and there I fell in love with the old west. My heroes at the time were Roy Rodgers, Range Rider, Lash Larue, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger. Nobody like them today. Kinda sad that my kids didn't have that. They had "The Power Rangers" PUKE!

I'm not sure of the date but we final reached California. Palm trees and sunshine all of the time. We drove up Highway 101 to Santa Maria, California. My uncle Martin Berkovitz was a Major in the US Airforce stationed at Vandenberg. We stayed at his house for close to a month. He had this huge house with a pink grapefruit tree, a tangelo, a lime tree and several apple trees in the yard as well as a large grape arbor. This was indeed the garden of eden we had found.
One morning my father called me in and asked how I'd like to stay in California for good. I of course agreed that of course. And we stayed. I started 3 months worth of Junior High the following monday. Then summer vacation. But that's the next blog posting.

Labor Day Family Getogether 2008

These are three of my favorite people. My bro in Law "Kent", my darling bride "Katy" and her uncle and my most excellent friend and Warlord, "Dan". We had a most wonderful time over Labor Day getting the whole family together at our new place. Now it seems more like home, because we have begun building family memories there. It felt odd to me leaving our old house where we raised our children and have so many good memories. Even though we were so ready for this new place, the problems we faced buying the new house and also selling the old one, left me with one crappy taste in my mouth. So these pleasant thoughts and memories really helped me get moving down the right road.

It occurrs to me as I'm typing this that this is the 1st time that Dan and his wife Jeanne live close enough to us where we can get together without much of a drive. They live in Cathlamet just a half hour to forty five minutes away. It turned out that we have also become very close to Jeanne and plan to share many pleasant times with them. They too are just completing their new house overlooking the Columbia River and are addinh a Shop and landscaping over the next couple of weeks.
Katy and I are heading over for a visit tomorrow to check out their new shop and garage. Just in time for the nasty weather. Man do I love this family. Thank You Lord for always being there for us.

3 - A Legal Immigrant-A new Frontier

After leaving Toronto our family moved to Elliot Lake, Ontario. The Uranium Mining Capitol of the World. My father got a job at that time at a Mine called Lake Nordic, later known as Laknor. This small town of Elliot Lake quickly grew to a population of 22,500, all in a period of 5 years and as the Uranium Stockpile grew the town shrank almost as quickly as mine started to close and people started to move away. The kids I hung around with and me of course knew very little about all of that.

My friends and I had the greatest time exploring the lakes and forests that surrounded the town. This is where I learned to hunt, trap and fish. We build endless rafts and forts in the forests and provided an excellent meal for the local mosquitoes. Our parents also enjoyed this adventure as they developed quite a circle of friends that would party virtually every weekend. We lived at 22 Valley Crescent for most of those 5 years. My friends at the time or at least all that I can remember were Pete Herrmann, Henry and Jack Rogall, Robert and Donna Hogg, Nancy and Penny, Jordy and Grady Markland and the little gal with those cute freckles who taught my how to whistle louder than anyone else, Bonnie Martin. We were quite a crew. I still keep in contact with Henry and Jack Rogall and Pete Herrmann. The rest I'm afraid are lost to history. Oh wait I remembered several more. Francine and Louise Joyal who's father was a doctor also lived down the street.

I have a lot of pictures and great memories from those 5 short years that always get rehashed when-ever some of us get together. Those memories are probably what after all of these years brought me to the Pacific NW. So much like Ontario, Canada. That town was very much like the old frontier towns of the past with its boardwalks and false store fronts. The old downtown didn't last long when the new shopping center was built. I only have a couple of pictures of it the day we arrived. Today, Elliot Lake, judging from it's website is largely a tourist skying destination and from all accounts doing real well. Anyway once the mines started to close we were to head back to Toronto, where Dad had a job waiting. But first we were going to take a little trip across the USA visiting various relatives. We sold our house back to Rio Tinto Mining, said out good-byes and took off . That was early 1961.

next, across the USA in your VW? Hey, what happened to the Chevrolet?

2 - A Legal Immigrant- Our Arrival and First Home

When my mother and I arrived in Quebec City, my father was waiting for us at dockside to take us to Toronto where he had rented a flat on Crawford St. We rented the entire second floor from a Ukrainian Family who were also immigrants to Canada. They had 2 children. Johnny and Olga. They also had several cousins who lived just down the street. I remember thinking how odd it was that I couldn't understand a word they said. It didn't take long before I was conversing quite well in Ukrainian. My parents would have preferred that I learned English at the time but there were mostly other foreigners living in that part of town. It was at that time in my life that a saw my first tricycle. It was a large one that a 5 or 6 year old could ride. Unfortunately, I was already 8 at the time and instantly realised that it had passed me by. My next great discovery was a Black and White Television in a store window just down the street. Wow! The kids would watch that as often as we could. TV went off the air at 6:00pm in those days except on the weekends when it was on a little longer in the evening.

By the time the summer was over and school started I spoke English as well as a mish-mash of other languages. School didn't seem to be a problem as most foreigner, including myself took great pride in learning the language and assimilating into Canadian Society.

After a year we moved to a regular daylight basement appartment in a real fancy part of Toronto. There was good access to street cars and we a a huge public park across the street from us. I recall that my parents entertained a lot in those days so there were always other German couples around who also had young children. My grandparents on Dad's side stayed with us for a time and I remember that my Oma would make me fried potatoes and eggs after school. Oh, such culinary bliss! In time my Oma and Opa would move on to Australia to join several of my uncles and aunts where they had immigrated to. We also chose to move at that time.

next post.. into the frontier

1 - A Legal Immigrant- The Trip

This is the TSS Neptunia, circa May 1955. My mother and I travelled across the north Atlantic from Bremerhaven, Germany to join my father in Toronto, Canada. We were some of the many immigrants who migrated to North America after the War from Europe. I recall a storm at sea a few days out where my mother and myself were the only passengers in the dining room for meals for several days so we were invited to come eat with the crew. I can still recall the sea air and the feeling of the ship rolling beneath my feet. The cabin we stayed in was basically a box below the water line that contained a couple of dressers and four bunk beds. We shared the room with another lady and her son.

I don't recall the trip up the St Lawrence Seaway but do recall docking and seeing my father dockside waiting for us. I really had no concept that I was in a foreign country when we arrived. My father had arrived the year before and prepared the way for us.

next post... our new home

What's Scary About Obama.

Even though I as an independent will be voting for Mr Obama, I fear the people who will really be running the Government. The likes of Harry Reed, Nancy Pelosy(sp?) and Barney Frank, the chairman of the ways and means committee. These are all the same good ole, same o same o partisan hacks that haven't yet taken responsibility for the mess with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If Obama wants to be an agent of change, he can't do it with those three. They are absolute liars. I distinctly remember a televised hearing on regulatory oversight of those two mortgage giants where Chairman, Barney Franks blasted the regulators and their concerns regarding the poor quality loans that they were filling their respective portfolios with and how much problems they expected down the road. Congress Woman Maxine somebody or other lead the charge stating what a wonderful job that the banks and Freddie and Fannie were doing and accused the regulator of trying to cause a problem where there wasn't any. Barney Frank then continued on with the accusations and flat stated that there were no issues to be resolved and basically dismissed the regulator.

The main reason I remember this was that I recall thinking if someone talked to my face like that. I would be standing on their chest. Now this had to be in 2006 as I was still working in the lending area of one the large banks that are now being bailed out at our expense.

The campaign ads that I have seen from both parties for months now make me nothing but angry with their lies and deletions and distortions. But what really depresses me is that so many Americans just suck up all of this crap and nod yup yup and go back to watching their TV as if everything that they just heard is the truth.

We as an electorate have to stop fighting them damned democrats or those damned republicans and recognise who exactly is "the enemy". We need to be educated in the facts and when a candidate gets elected we need to hold them responsible to do as they said that they were going to do.

We have got to stop being smugly satisfied that our candidate won and then think everything is OK now. It is not. Those 35,000 lobbyists are out there already planning their strategies no matter who win the congress and the presidency. You can bet your booties that none of those wonderful influence peddlers do not have yours and my best interest in mind.

It would be great if we had a viable Independent Party, that could swing the power base in Washington when necessary.

Power to the People!