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The deVries and Tolkamp FamiliesAuke and Sietske deVries immigrated from Rinsumageest, Friesland in July 1948 with their 6 children: Ruth (18), Arnold and John(17) Allen (15), Jane (11) and Sid (9 months). Ruth's fiancé Henry Hoekstra accompanied them. Auke had been interested in immigrating to Canada as a young man, but his wife was unwilling to accompany him at that time. Auke worked as a farm labourer. With diminished economic prospects after the war Sietske reluctantly agreed to immigrate. Auke's parents lived next door and "Fought him tooth and nail" resisting their departure. They died in 1963 & 1966 without seeing the family again.
Ruth Westerhoff (deVries) with picures of her family at the time they immigrated.
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Picking tomatoesAugust, 1949
Cressy, Ontario
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August Kaiser operated a mixed farm in Cressy the southeast point of Prince Edward County. He was the sponsor for the deVries family. Auke and Henry worked as farm labourers for August Kaiser and Ruth helped with housekeeping and the children in the Kaiser's home. Arnold and Allen found work with neighbouring farmers.Joe Elsbury, Henry Hoekstra and Auke deVries picking tomatoes on the Kaiser farm.
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Arnold deVriesSeptember, 2006
Fish Lake, Prince Edward County, Ontario
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After two years Arnold went out west and worked in the oil fields. Ruth and Henry Hoekstra were married and established their own home. Allen replaced Henry as the second farm hand at the Kaiser's. Sylvia had also found work as a housekeeper and later worked at the Bata shoe factory in Picton. In 1952 Auke deVries realized his dream of purchasing his own farm. It was located at Xerxesville. Allen worked on the farm until 1956, when he married Johanna Tolkamp.19
Morganwood1950
Aalten, The Netherlands
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Johanna had immigrated with her family in 1953. She had a brother and two sisters. Although her parents owned their own farm near Aalten, her father wanted to immigrate.Morganwood, the Tolkamp farmhouse in Aalten, the Netherlands.
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Tolkamp family at ChurchJune, 1955
Bloomfield, Ontario
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Her parents ended up on the Fox farm near Bloomfield. The children were older and found jobs off the farm. Johanna was 22 when she arrived and first worked as a housekeeper for Gordon Campbell in Picton and later for Mrs. McCoy in Belleville. After Johanna and Allen were married they rented a farm near Melville for two years. To supplement their income Allen had a route picking up milk from all the surrounding farms for delivery to the cheese factory at Mountainview. The farm was too small to earn a living for a growing family. They moved to Picton for a year and then settled in Hillier. Allen joined his brother in the construction industry. He remembers his first pay cheque was $38 a week.The Tolkamp family in 1955.
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Ruth and Frank Westerhoff2005
Hillier, Ontario
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After Henry Hoekstra died of a heart attack, Ruth married Frank Westerhoff. During the summer of 2005 Frank cycled across Canada to raise funds to support the work of the Christian Reformed Church.25
John and Bertha Timmerman1948
The Netherlands
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Jake & Johanna deVriesJake & Johanna deVries came to Canada in May of 1948 with Johanna's parents, Mr. & Mrs Timmerman. Three of her sisters had married Canadian soldiers and two were already in Canada. Johanna had studied English in high school for four years, so she did not encounter the language problems that faced most of the Dutch immigrants.
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Jake and Johanna deVries1949
Wellington, Prince Edward County,Ontario
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