95 years ago...a test of courage

I never knew my grandfather, Paul Gerk.  This amazing man escaped from Russia at the age of 19.  Thrown in prison by the Communists at the age of 18, Paul left Russia with his oldest brother Michael in 1921. Traveling to Minsk, Michael will die of typhus.  Paul will join other Volga Germans escaping the communist government.  On December 9, 1922, Paul will arrive with a group of over 900 refugees, in Frankfurt/Oder in Germany.

He will be housed in a refugee camp for almost 2 years until arrangements can be made to leave Germany. Originally trying to travel to an uncle in Argentina, or family friends in Iowa, Paul will eventually be sponsored by a farm family in Holdfast, Saskatchewan, Canada.

He will arrive in Saint John's, New Brunswick on April 5, 1924.

95 years ago.

I have often thought about what Grandpa was thinking as he sought freedom in the West.  What it might have been like to live through the Communist Revolution, the Civil War and then the Red Terror.

My Dad always said his father was a quiet man.  I assume the pain of what he lived through, as well as leaving your entire family, never to hear from them again, weighed heavy on him.  A man of deep faith, Grandpa Gerk died at the age of 52 on June 3, 1954.

95 years ago this month, this courageous man arrived in Canada.  Everything our family has today, we owe it to the courage of this young man...and the kindness and generosity of so many people who helped him on his way.

May our family never forget him.

Baptism/Birth record for "Pavel Gerk", born 14 Jan 1902 (OS) Parents: Georgii Gerk & Margareta Rohwein. Godparents: Pavel Schaab & Elisabetha Domme

Passport for Paul Gerk, 1924

Refugee list, December 1924 listing Paul Gerk. Hopefully seeking aid from family friends in Fort Dodge, Iowa

Passenger list for Paul Gerk

Paul Gerk, 1946

A little girl's story....

She was born on October 14, 1912. The second youngest of nine children.

Ludvina Dieser was born to Johannes Dieser and Marie Eva Heit in the little German-Russian town of Josefstal, near the Volga River. (She is 3 years old in this photo from 1915)

My grandmother called her sister by her nickname, Lilly. Lilly was 13 years old when my grandmother left Russia forever in 1925.

In a story that Granny Gerk told me, she remembered Lilly sitting in the corner in their family home, during the Volga famine of 1921-22, and just chewing on her nails...there was so little food.

Lilly will survive that famine.

It was not until 1984, when we established contact again with our family in the USSR, that we would discover Lilly's fate.

Another famine would rage in Russia. 1933 was the last time we would hear from family.  Lilly will survive that dreadful year.  Her mother, my great-grandmother, will die from starvation in August of 1933. But in November of 1934, Lilly will die from complications from her weak condition at the age of 22.

Family members tell us that Lilly asked to be buried in the wedding dress she was saving for when she wed...because she was going home "to be with Jesus".

They will bury her in the same grave that they buried her Mother.

Another sad tale....but as I promised my grandmother, Lilly is not forgotten!

Did someone say Camels?

Volga German farmer using Camels

A fascinating part of the history of our Volga-German family was the use of Camels on the farm.

My grandmother mentioned it to me a few times...her family did not have them but the Gerk family did.

I don't know how many other families in their little village of Josefstal might have had them, but our family certainly did.

Confirmation came when this document about our family was discovered in the former Soviet archives in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad)

It lists, among other things, the amount of land our family farmed...and also a list of farm animals owned.

It states:

…two wood houses, eight horses, from 8 to 10 bulls, 4 camels, 8 to 10 chickens, small livestock from 77 to 94, personal land of 45 hectares, rented land of 85 hectares. (Source: GAVO Fond 2659 Op. 2 14 L40)

So, there you have it. Our family had 4 camels. Fascinating to use camels on the farm...but common in Russia.

A sad family story: Peter & Ana Dieser

Peter Dieser was born in 1910, in the Volga German village of Josefstal.  His wife, Ana Benz, was also born around that time.

They married around 1930. Exact dates are unknown.

Peter was a younger brother to my grandmother, Elisabeth (Dieser) Gerk, born in 1902.

The last time my grandmother heard from her family, was in 1933, during the Soviet famine.

Peter and Ana would survive the famine, and then be deported to Siberia in September of 1941.

Having no children, Peter will survive labour camps and die in August of 1948.

My cousin, Alexander-Josef Dreser, once told me that Peter's death was pretty normal. He said that many of the people who might have survived labour camps were in such a weakened condition after their release, that they did not long survive after their release.

It's a sad story.  My grandmother had no idea until 1984 what happened to this younger brother. She would many times lament how she missed her siblings and her parents.

This post remembers Peter.

I promised my grandmother I would not forget them.

Mom & Dad's 25th Anniversary

 We were able to honour our parents in 1978 with a small party for their 25th Wedding Anniversary.

It's cool to come across the original invitation, and the "news" article after the event.

In those days, local newspapers would print such small stories of "local" events.

I'll post later a copy of the original wedding announcement, as well as some pictures.

For now this, as always, brings up good memories.

The Happy Prince

It's back...online. My favorite little movie that I would bring home for the kids....the days of 16mm!

Secrets from archives...

 I love history.  When I was 18, I set out to record the history of our family, as well as the history of the village they lived in.

That culminated in two separate books.

One of the privileges I have had, is to work in former Soviet Archives.

The other is to work with incredible people who have had ties to our family or village.

One of the amazing discoveries was from a lady named Barbara (Wagner) Schaab. Born in 1914 in the Volga German village of Josefstal, she would write me long letters in old German...giving me her recollections of life in her village.

One of the amazing things she sent me was a photograph, taken about 1928, by the side of the Church in Josefstal.  This Church was were my grandparents, Paul & Elisabeth (Dieser) Gerk were married in 1920.

My cousin, Alex Dreser, was able to compile a list of who was in the photograph.  My grandmother's brother is in the photo.  The priest in the front row, Father Johannes Falkenstein, was sent to Siberia.

Actually, every single person in this photograph was deported to Siberia.

And the fate of this Church?  The Church in which my grandparents were married in?  Here is a document I discovered while researching our village history.  Dated June 25, 1937, it orders the destruction of the Church in Josefstal...its lumber to be used to build a theatre in the nearby village of Oberdorf.

To be fair, the Church was not used any longer for religious purposes.  Most of the Volga German priests had been arrested...most of them were shot later in 1937...Soviet propaganda warned about the dangers of religious faith.....

Memories from days gone by....

 Sunday was always big family dinner time. On a regular basis, Mom and Dad would have Granny Gerk and Papa over for dinner as well.

Dinner was normally roast with mashed potatoes and gravy.

These pictures, were probably taken in July1974.

I was 14 years old.

This was taken at Mom and Dad's house at 2375 Rhondda Road. Dad is at the back...next to him is Granny Gerk...Mom can be seen just behind me...and Papa was talking at the time and can be seen pointing his finger.

I still remember almost every inch of this house....the furniture...and the meal times.


As always, good memories of people I loved very very much.

Raising kids in the 1980's

We were newly married.  Then we had kids two years into our marriage.

As with any parent, we were fearful of our own inadequacies.  Would we get this right?  How could we even think that we were capable of parenting these amazing beings?

At the same time, media reports were full of fear.  Fear of the unknown.  As parents, like so many others, we listened to some of that fear....mostly with good intentions.  We wanted to protect our kids from evil.  What parent doesn't?

It was interesting to come across this article.  I have not read ANY analysis of parenting in the 1980's...what it was like.

Many of the things we were fearful back then seem silly....but, as I said, we were all operating out of fear and that fear was fueled largely by the culture around us.

Fascinating that it was not just Church culture latching on to the fear....that was a small part of it...but major media as well....which we couldn't help but hear.

I tremble when I think of what is available today in the area of news and information.  We had no internet back then....just TV, radio and newspapers.

Fake News has always been a problem....for every generation I guess.

I take some small comfort in seeing that we were not the only ones....and that we were truly responding to what was being told to the culture at the time.

That's why, kids, we didn't like the SMURFS at the time...LOL.

See: "The Devil Made Them Do It: 8 Examples of Satanic Panic in the '80s"

Books from days gone by....

When I discovered Scholastic Books...I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world.  Imagine, inexpensive books delivered to me at school!

I loved it so much I took over the admin of it for the summer I was in Grade 7 and when I was in Grade 8...as none of the teachers were interested.

I got a lot of books over the years, but I did manage to save some of my favourites.  These books I read over and over again...I got these when I was in Grade 7....I was about 13.

89th Annual Turkey Dinner

Well, we did it.

It took 89 years...LOL, but we finally attended the "Turkey Dinner" at Corpus Christi Parish (formerly Saint Theresa's Parish).

The sign had met us every day.  So there was lost of time to process, plan...and go!

My grandparents used to participate in this dinner...hence the photograph here from about 1949....in which my grandmother, Elisabeth Gerk, is 5th from the right.

After all these years, it was kinda cool to attend this event...one which my grandparents were very involved in...eating in the same basement they worked in so many years ago!

 

Favourite Comic Books....

Growing up, one of my favourite comic books was Treasure Chest.

This Catholic oriented comic book was offered for sale in Catholic schools throughout North America.

One of my oldest brothers must have subscribed, because I remember it being brought home, at least for a year or two.

As the third youngest, I had to be content with waiting my turn to read it.

I remember my favourite being the Chuck White character.

The whole series dealing with buried treasure caught my attention as a nine-year old...and I remember it well.

All editions have been scanned, but I have a few original issues in my collection.

Rockets and more rockets....

When I was around 13 years of age, I discovered ROCKETS!  I built a number of models, usually semi-trucks....but then someone showed me a model rocket catalog...and I was hooked!

The actual purchase and building of a model rocket was not difficult in Canada.

Oh....but the flying of those same rockets....at the time they were strictly regulated...so in Canada...you had to get a special permit which included providing a map of the area where the rocket was going to be launched, etc.

Basically, it made it impossible.  But, thankfully, by the time I had kids, you were allowed to purchase the engines in Canada and, hopefully, use common sense and fly away!

One of the most enjoyable activities I did with my kids was building and flying a rocket in the field near our home!

Most model rockets were made by Estes...a company out of Colorado.  I would order their catalog...and dream......

Yes, I even became of member of the Estes Aerospace Club.

It's pretty cool that they have scanned  most of their catalogs going back decades.

The ones I remember start from about 1973 to 1977...when I had my strongest interest in building models.

I would literally pour over these catalogs for hours....

My Dad's radio

My Mom and Dad would often spend their summer evenings outside on the patio.  Dad had this Viking Multiband radio in which he would listen to the Police Band....listening for what was happening in our city....he even had a printout of police codes so he could figure out what was being referred to!

Wow, the things you can find for sale on the internet!

Singing Songs

When our kids were infants, we would often have to rock them to sleep at night.

By night, I'm talking about the middle of the night.

I think Marina and I often felt we would never sleep again!

But we did.  There is something special about rocking a infant to sleep, or to calm them down, when the house is quiet and everyone else is sleeping.

My kids don't have memories of those moments. I wouldn't imagine they would...they were all under 2 when such nights came...

Two songs come to mind that we sang.  Gospel singer Keith Green was big in our day....so we would sing a few of his songs....I remember singing and humming these two songs to our kids....

Christmas gifts long ago....

Mr brother Tom and I often would get duplicate Christmas gifts because we were close in age and had many of the same interests.

I remember in the 1960's getting these.  It took awhile for my Dad to set them up for us, because they had to be wired in the basement, but he did. They worked great for a time until the furnace came on...and then at least mine would not work.

Found photos of these...pretty cool...

My great-grandfather: A Photograph, of a photograph, of a photograph

The only surviving photograph of one of my great-grandfathers, Johannes Dieser, taken while he was in the army during World War 1, around 1914. He was my Granny Gerk's Dad..dying in 1933. My great-grandmother starved to death also in that year.

 Family members in Russia would painstakingly change the photograph, taking out any Tsarist symbols from his uniform. To have a photograph of a loved one with ANY former Russian regime insignia in the USSR, could get your entire family immediately sent to Siberia, or worse, shot, for being an Enemy of the People! The photograph, of a photograph, of a photograph…was all designed to protect the owner.

But heck, they shipped the family off to Siberia anyways!

Camera Memories continued...

I may have bought this NEVER BEEN USED Hawkeye Camera kit!!  Wow.

Cameras

Growing up, as in any family, in the 60's and 70's, my parents took pictures.

Often there was not enough money to get those pictures developed. I remember taking a drawer full of rolls of film to get developed for my parents.

Anyways, this was the camera of choice for my parents.  I remember it well. A Brownie Hawkeye camera.

I saw one in an antique store recently, which kind of jogged my memory.  I didn't even know the name, but there it was.  A quick search and it seems there are lots of them for sale online..with some folks even still insisting it is their camera of choice for snapping photos!

Alas, our camera disappeared through the years. But it's another one of those memories of my family growing up.

Next up....Looking for another Georg Gerk

All of our family that remained in the USSR ended up in labour camps.  As the years have gone by, we've been able to account for almost everyone.  We have even been able to discover the death dates and places of two of my grandfather's brothers...who perished in the GULAG.

One of the sons of those Uncles, Georg Gerk, was also missing.  Family tell me that they do not know what happened to him.

This database put out by the Russian group Memorial, is the first step to finding out what happened to him.

It confirms some aspects of where he was, obviously with his father in a city called Kirovabad (now called Ganja) in Azerbaijan.

After that he was sent to the Ulyanovsk area....where he was until at least 1943.

After that...silence....no one knows what happened.

The hunt for him goes on....

I'll keep you posted. 

My prayer for 2018

Sweetheart

When my Dad was recovering from cancer surgery, and I looked at him lying there...I told him I loved him.  He responded by saying "I love you too, sweetheart".

For those of you born in another age, probably recent, you might have never heard this type of exchange.

In fact, I remember calling one of my kids "sweetheart", and they really took offense.

I guess it's been used in a derogatory way too many times, to mean what it actually does. I tried to explain...but I'm not sure it went very far.

It's not just a romantic, or sarcastic term.  It actually does also say it can be "...used as a term of endearment or affectionate form of address."

I bring it up because Marina and I were at a restaurant recently where a big burly Dad called his son "sweetheart".

It just reminded me of my Dad.

Christmases gone by....

Not that anyone is interested, but for my own sake I thought I'd put here some of the amazing gifts I received from my parents over the years.

My Dad worked very hard to provide for his family.  Working long hours in a thankless job in the fruit industry.

But us five kids really never did without.  My parents were of that generation who were very poor growing up, so they wanted to give things to their kids that they never had.

Something both my wife and I also tried to do with our kids. We love our kids and just wanted them to know we thought they were special.

I never realized the sacrifice my Mom & Dad must have made to ensure that we kids had a great Christmas...until I had my own kids.

I've racked my brain trying to remember at least some of the amazing gifts I got...just another good memory...making me even more thankful that I had the parents I did.

There were two sources that a kid could go to in choosing what they wanted for Christmas.  Both Simpson Sears (Later just Sears) and Eaton's.  Both companies published their long anticipated Christmas catalogues in the fall.

These two catalogues were the source of many battles...as oldest siblings got first dibs on them...

My first camera, given to me at Christmas 1968/69 when I was 9 years old...this Big Swinger Polaroid instant camera just shot in Black and White...and knowing my parents, was probably purchased from the Simpson Sears catalogue....it used small flashbulbs....

It started me on my love of photography.

A great TV Show...and then the Toy came out...battery powered...my brother Tom and I had one each...

 

Major Matt Mason!  At the height of the Moon Landings, came this great toy!  I loved this!

 

Saw this at an antique store recently. Almost...almost bought one.  I remember my parents buying me this, then I charged everyone a dime for my first slide "show".

 

Every kid should get one of these at least once in their life.  It really did keep us busy, and you can still buy these today.

A Christmas Must-Watch List

Growing up, before we had cable TV, we had 2 channels.  CBC and CTV.  Not much there....and even when we did finally have Cable TV, there were just a few extra channels.

Which naturally meant you were a slave to whatever was on TV.

That was not necessarily a bad thing.  We can have 150+ channels, and still there is nothing worth watching!

At any rate, the following list of TV Shows are on my Christmas Must-Watch list.  Not that I get around to each of them....but I do try.  The kids are tired of many of them.  But I like tradition...and I certainly like the memories of my childhood....so I do watch most of them....even if I watch alone..

Charlie Brown Christmas came out the year I was in Grade 3.  I quickly organized a Christmas play for our class, being the "Manager".  I mean, what kid actually does something like that?  It convinces me to this day that I am ultimately strange.

Yes, the abominable snowman scared the daylights out of me....but I've come to love Bumbles.

My Dad's favourite Christmas movie.

No Christmas is complete without watching this.

Even a Grinch can have his heart changed.

Amazing story of what your life is worth.

I was 17 when this was first on TV.  I love the story and what Christmas can do to a soul...if you let it.

More Good Memories

 Going through old files. The first batch is a collection of "Best Wishes" from a Soviet German newspaper, called Neues Leben. I used that publication (early 1980's) to help me track down our missing family in the USSR, finding them in 1984. The next batch are the collection of notes I wrote whenever Granny Gerk would reminisce about Russia...I had to write quickly on whatever paper I could find. Good memories.

Coming after Sir John A. MacDonald

I originally wrote the following piece two years ago.

Given the events in the US, statues being torn down in a mob-like frenzy....it only was a matter of time before the mob came after one of the Father's of Confederation. (Not to worry...they will come after others soon)

Sir John A. MacDonald is once again in the news, as the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario demands that any school with his name, needs a formal name change, since Canada's first Prime Minister was a "...architect of genocide against Indigenous Peoples".

It's only a matter of time, you realize, until they go after his statues as well.

But why end there?  As we seek to right the wrongs of the past, let's take it all a step further.  Hence, my call for a Cadaver Synod.

Here you go:

Interesting times we live in.

As hysterical and historical retro-activists seek to correct the wrongs of the past, it's just getting silly.

Now, I fully understand the disdain in which the Confederate flag is viewed.  I can almost understand Corporations like Amazon banning availability of the Confederate flag, while at the same time allowing Nazi and Communist memorabilia to be sold unabated....because, after all...the scourge of bigotry and slavery in American History was so much worse that the scourge of bigotry and slavery in Nazi Germany and the former USSR.  Heck....many of my family members were sent to the Gulag...but I also acknowledge that at this time in history, victims of communism are not popular....nor even seriously viewed as victims....perhaps in a 100 years?

No matter.

The next step in retro-justice is coming.

Last week the Mayor of Memphis, Tennesee, A.C. Wharton, stated it was time that the remains of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife dug up from a City Park and moved to another location.

Digging up bodies of people we don't like? Ooooo. 

We could advocate for retro-trials.  After all, there is historical precedence... the Cadaver Synod (Synodus Horrenda) of 897, where the body of Pope Formosus was dug up and put on trial.

And found guilty.

His punishment? His body was interred in a grave for foreigners....then eventually dug up and thrown into the Tiber River.

Take that you evil Pope.

In the enlightenment we as a society now seem to possess, why not correct all the historical wrongs just like we did in the past? Why not dig up everyone in the past we have a problem with...put them on trial (Reality TV at its best) and judge them accordingly?

Even my own nation of Canada is struggling to find a way of dealing with the well-known drunkard and genocidal land-thief known as Sir John A. MacDonald...who also happened to be Canada's first Prime Minister.  

Why not just dig him up and put him on trial?

Britain passed judgement on Oliver Cromwell....and three years after his death Charles II ordered Cromwell's body to be dug up, hanged, drawn and quartered.  Cromwell's head was then removed from his body and placed on a spike at Westminister.  As a warning to all.

John Wycliffe was burned as a heretic 45 years after his death.

Vlad the Impaler (you know him as Dracula) was beheaded after his assassination.

Famous Russian mystic Rasputin was dug up by a mob and burned with gasoline.

Gebhard von Blücher was dug up by Soviet troops and his skull taken and used as a football.

There is no shortage of names, no shortage of those attempting to correct the crimes of the past.

Because as an amateur historian, I just think it's so cool that we insist on repeating history.

We've come so far in our enlightenment....so pass me a shovel and let the healing begin.

But first, I have a bone to pick, literally, with Josef Stalin.

Remembering a Victim of Communism

I never knew my great-grandmother.

She was born October 26, 1873 in the Volga German village of Semenovka.

She will go to work for the Dieser family, in the village of Josefstal, as a maid, and then marry one of their sons, Johannes Dieser, on Novermber 8, 1894.

They will have 9 children.  One of these children, Elisabeth, born August 19, 1902, will marry Paul Gerk on September 15, 1920.

My grandparents, Paul and Elisabeth, will live through the Russian Revolution and subsequent civil war.

They will experience life under a Communist goverment.  Because of the Red Terror and the first famine along the Volga, Paul will escape Russia and flee to Canada as a refugee.  Paul will bring my grandmother out to Canada in 1925.

The plan was always to get the rest of the family out as well.

But the Iron Curtain will slam shut.

There will be letters.

The families will try desperately to keep in touch.

 Then, in 1933, a letter will arrive, written by my great-grandmother.  It will say in part:

Dear children, conditions are difficult here with respect to food. Times are tough dear children. Yes dear children we are having a hard time getting food.  Some people have had money sent to them. For one coin (taler) one pound of flour can be bought in Kamyshin.  If you could come to my aid could you send me 5 (taler) which would give us five pounds of flour.  Perhaps then I wouldn't starve to death, dear children.  Again I ask if you can help me so that I don't have to starve.  Now I will close this letter and greet you again and ask you to write quickly.

The letter was dated January 5, 1933.

My grandparents sent as much money as they could afford.  It would never arrive.  It would be stolen by Soviet postal officials.

On August 2, 1933, my great-grandmother, Marie Eva Dieser, will die from starvation.

A victim of the forced famine along the Volga and in the Ukraine.

There will be no acknowledgment of her death. My family will not discover her death until 1984...51 years after the fact.

When I traveled to Russia and spoke with archival officials, trying to track down her death record, I was told that even if I found it, it would probably only state that she died from "stomach disease". In the 1930's...as famine raged along the Volga....telling the truth...even on documentation of a death...would get you shot.

Such was life under Communism.

And so our family remembers our great-grandmother.  A kind and loving Mother and Grandmother.  We never got to know her....we knew only of the kindness and gentleness of her daughter, our grandmother.