Clinton News-Record, 1985-5-8, Page 52I7uge 26
Dutch find new beginnings here...
I ruoi paw' 24
ficers did the required medical examina-
tions.
Also the word went out through ex-
isting emigration societies and by adver-
tising. Meetings were held where
speakers, who had been to Canada, could
answer questions.
Ship sets sail
On June 17, 1947, the first ship bound
for Canada with 1,100 immigrants on
board left the harbor of Rotterdam - all
aboard leaving the familiar behind and
facing a new, unknown future. The
American -built "Waterman," just back
from the Dutch East Indies with a cargo
of troops, was ill equipped for its
passengers.
The large hold was divided in half •
men and older boys went in one part,
women and ehildren in the other
Bunkbeds stood four feet high. Sanitary
conditions were crude and when the
ship's sewerage became plugged, the
washing hall turned into something like a
covered swimming pool. Seasickness
took its toll and waste and vomit ended
up on decks and in the halls. The stench
from open barrels set out for the seasick
passengers to vomit in was unbearable.
There was enough food, but milk for
the babies and children was hard to get.
On June 26, the ship docked at Mon-
treal. The voyage was over.
First immigrants
Cornelis Buruma, of Goderich
Township, had been a member of the
Christian Immigration Society in 1945,
and was eager to immigrate. On
September 8, 1947, Mr. and Mrs Buruma
and their five children boarded the se-
cond ship to leave Holland, the •'Tabin-
ta" - another troop ship with inadequate
facilities and the same difficulties.
The trip finally ended in Montreal on
September 18. From there the Buruinas
travelled to Kitchener by train. They
were rnet by a Mennonite couple, their
sponsors, from Baden. Upon arrival in
Baden they found they would be living in
the same house as their sponsors.
That winter the farm was sold to a
younger couple and Mr. Bururna was left
unemployed. With the help of the Dutch
embassy and a fieldman from Chatham,
the Buruma family moved to an old
house, previously used as a storage
place, on Bell's Fruit Farm, Concession
4, Goderich Township.
Seasonal work on a rasberry farm was
found for Mr. Bururna, but soon he was
Congratulations
to Clinton
on your
FIFTH "KLOMPEN
FEEST"
r..
r�
*Specializes in the
preparation of forage
mixtures,
*Cereal Grains •Also Custom Cleaning
Loadesboro
Seed Plant Jell
Robert Shaddick 523 4399
looking for work again. Times werE
tough, jobs were scarce.
Mr. Bururna remembers working at
Kalbfleisch's sawmill for 45 cents an
hour and later, working at the piano fac-
tory in Clinton.
His ambition was to buy a farm. There
were many farms for sale in Goderich
Township after the war. Many young.-
men
oung'merr didn't come home from overseas
and their parents, left alone on the farm,
lost interest and could no longer manage.
The farms were not expensive and the
land was good. Mr. Buruma remembers
an 80 acre farm with a, good house and
barn mold be bought during the post-war
years for $1,600. But a Dutch immigrant
had no cash and in those days no one
would lend an immigrant money. By 1950
the Burumas had bought a farm in
Hullett Township. They lived there for 10
years.
During the early 1950s empoloyment
rose with the building of the Air Force
Base near Clinton. Many people found
work there and many Dutch immigrants
worked there and then moved on. Mr.
Buruma seemed to have a "nose" for fin-
ding jobs and farms for the immigrants.
In 1958 he applied for his real estate
oinn h„paw. 21-
RELAX
and
ENJOY
yourselves at
CLINTON'S
4th Annual
KLOMPENFEEST
• General Repairs
• Towing
DUNLOP
and
~ROAD KING
TIRES
Sales and Service
Wanted:
SUNOC TRUCKS FOR
WRECKING
CARS and
CLERE-VU
AUTO WRECKERS
Hwy. 8, three miles West
of Clinton
482-3211