Henry Dueckman born 1922
I was born in Pordenau, Molotschna
Colony of Russia in 1922. My parents were John and Anna Koop Dueckman. Mother
was a twin; her sister Susie married George Reimer of Vineland.
I had three younger brothers, namely Rudy, Helmut and Walter. Helmut and
Rudy have passed on.
My Dueckman family left Russia in
1924. We crossed the Atlantic in a cattle boat. We all had visas to go to
Canada, but the Conservative government of the time wouldn't allow the Mennonite
people to come to Canada. The USA wouldn't accept us either, so we ended up in
El Rosario, Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua. The first two groups of six
families, a total of fifteen, arrived on July 1, 1924. By October, about 200
persons had arrived. We were helped by MCC who provided each family with five
chickens, seed and other essentials. Every family built a shack with whatever
material they could find. Our father had carpentry skills but lumber was
unavailable. Gardens were planted.
When the fruits and vegetables were ready for harvest, our Mexican
neighbours helped themselves. Brother Rudy was born
during our 18 month stay here.
After 1½ years, the new Liberal
government let us come to Manitoba, Canada. We travelled by train to Dominion
City, south of Winnipeg. My grandfater Henry Dueckman lived in Steinbach,
Manitoba. Here we farmed on shares. The 1930s brought hard times and as a
result, our family decided to move to Ontario. We travelled by train to
Leamington, Ontario and then to the David Mathies home at the big Bruner farm on
concession 3, near Colasantis. After a short stay there we moved into the town
of Kingsville. Here father worked for a building contractor.
My school days were spent in
Kingsville and the surrounding area. I remember school principal JackElliot.
In 1942, I was baptized in Lake
Erie. I worked at the Hodge Tobacco factory during the winter months and farmed
in the summer. I built wartime houses in Windsor for Hill, Clark, and Francis. I
also worked with Cornie and Rudy Hamm drywalling homes.
In 1947, Anne Schmidt and I were
married in our Mennonite Brethren church on Elliot Street of Leamington.
Reverend David Derksen needed to attend a conference in Vancouver, so Reverend
Gerhard Epp from St. Catharines officiated. Our wedding reception was held in
the church basement.
In 1950, my brother-in-law John
Schmidt and I started a building business; we worked together for three years. I
was in the building business for a total of 38 years. Even as a child, I had
been interested in constructing things such as wooden toys. During the summer
months, we ran our farms where we started greenhouse tomatoes, cabbage and
potatoes.
Anne and I raised a family of two
boys and two girls. We rented our land to Ken Enns who later bought it in 1990.
We severed the house. In 1994 we
built a house on Shawnee Court in Leamington where we lived for 14 years. In
2008 we bought our home on Pickwick
Drive.
Our best years were spent after our
retirement.
Astrid Koop/2010