91 Years ago: Paul Gerk to Canada

Paul Gerk circa 1924

91 years ago this month, April 1924, my grandfather, Paul Gerk, left a refugee camp in Frankfurt/Oder Germany and traveled to Canada.

Sponsored by a family in Holdfast, Saskatchewan, Paul was to make his way to the west....in hopes of a new life.

Escaping war and revolution....and not knowing if he would ever see any of his family again....the bravery of this young man was amazing.

22 years old.  The horrible things he had seen and lived through.

I have often wondered what was going through his mind as he made that trek...escaping from Soviet Russia....to the west...not knowing where he would end up....just knowing he had to get away.

A year later, he would sponsor his wife, Elisabeth, and she would make the trek...alone...to her husband in Holdfast.

The two very quiet people would live in Holdfast for 3 or 4 years...then make their way to Rutland, B.C. in 1928-29.

Paul would never hear from the rest of his family again.

91 years.

Our family owes so much to this brave couple.

We live in an amazing country.

There is much to be thankful for here....starting with Paul & Elizabeth.

Arrived aboard the SS Montrose in St. John's, NB on April 5, 1924

SS Montrose