My maternal grandparents were Jacob Driedger and Anna Dyck; my paternal grandparents were Peter Rahn and Anna Tjahrt. I was born in Goldau, West Prussia to Emma and Johannes Rahn. My siblings are Werner, who died in 1993, Ingrid, and Manfred.
My first memory is of riding a horse down the gravel road when I was five years of age. When the horse swerved to avoid a puddle, he threw me off into the puddle. Then he waited for me to remount. We lived on a farm where my parents had pigs, cows and horses. We grew oats, barley, wheat and rye, mostly for feed and flour. The West Prussian climate is similar to that of Winnipeg, Manitoba; too cold to grow peaches and apricots, but suitable for beautiful flower and vegetable gardens.
World War II was already raging when I started school; all male teachers had been drafted and young substitutes had taken their place. I took four years of basic schooling, then four months in the Internat, the Adolf Hitler school. In January of 1945, when the Russians came into our area, our family left Goldau, except for my older brother Werner who was already drafted.
We trekked westward across Germany in two wagons; one for my family and one for our hired man and his family. My father covered our wagon with a tarpaulin from a binder, making a Conestoga style wagon. We brought with us lard, salami, Schinkenfleisch (ham), woolen coats, felt boots and a Peltzdecke (fur blanket). The temperature was -30 C and we slept mostly in barns.
After 14 weeks, we arrived in Hoope, Niedersachsen. Here we were in the West Zone where the British Army met us. Six months after our arrival, school started. I was 15, and as there were no opportunities for higher learning or work, I simply repeated the eighth grade. Dad worked on a farm. The dialect spoken outside of school was difficult for us to understand, but the people were more than willing to help.
Wie mann in den Wald ruft, so schalt es wieder raus.
As one calls into the woods, so it echoes back;
For example, kindness will reward kindness.
We lived in Hoope for three years with the Grünhagen family, with whom we communicate to this day. In the meantime, our aunt in Kiel, who acted as contact person for our family, directed Werner to us in Hoope.
The German government put out a program to alleviate the pressure of the many refugees living in the eastern part of West Germany. As a result, our family went to Neuwied, to the French Zone of Germany. The population there consisted of about 10% refugees.
After three years of apprenticeship, I received my Gesellenbrief (journeyman papers) in painting and decorating. Father worked for Rechlaternen making street lights and Werner worked in a steel plant.
I stayed in Neuwied until my emigration to Canada in July of 1953. (My younger brother still lives in our parents’ home). US Pax Boys had started the settlement in 1950. With the help of C. F. Klassen and MCC we were able to secure a down payment of 2,000 DM to purchase a small new house built of cellacrete blocks with a tiled roof. To supplement the meager income and to pay back MCC and other loans, Mom sold bread out of the home and Dad raised pigs, chickens, and sheep. The loans were paid back within 10 years.
Various travelling ministers served in Neuwied and C. F. Klassen came every 14 days. Earlier there had been only a handful of people, but soon many young people attended the church and their number grew to about 300. I served as youth leader there. Our pastor was Ältester (Bishop) Otto Wiebe, born July 3, 1895 in Stadtfelde/Heubuden Gemeinde (Church). I keep in contact with about 50 people and have attended some reunions.
I was baptized in 1947, at 13 years of age by Ältester (Bishop) Heinrich Wieler in Kiel. Here we met for worship at my aunt’s house; bus fare for the pastors was collected weekly.
I decided to come to Canada. I planned to find work in my profession, save my money and then return to Germany. Because my oldest brother had suffered from ruberculosis earlier, he was denied entry to Canada and my parents refused to leave without him. My sister had come to Canada in 1951 and I arrived in 1953. My first job in Canada was picking tomatoes for Jake Riediger in Leamington. Then I got a job at Diana Sweets Restaurant on Talbot West, owned by Alex Konduras, where I worked as a cook and soda jerk for two years. At first I lived with the Siemens family on Jones Street (Dr. Abram David Froese’s relative); when my sister and her husband built a house on Churchill Street, I moved there.
In 1954, at 21 years of age, I purchased my own car, a 1948 Dodge, and got a job in Windsor at Mr. Huebert’s Painting and Decorating business. Then I was offered work at National Painting and Decorating in Windsor where I worked three years. I spent one year in St. Catharines working as a painter, then moved back to Leamington.
I met my future wife, Jutta Froese at the Francis Gregory farm on Concession 8 in Blytheswood. Jutta also comes from Prussia; she was born in Elbing. We were married in 1958 in the Leamington United Mennonite Church by Rev. N.N. Driedger. Today we have three children and four grandchildren.
The best years of my life are the present time!
AK 2008
