Dutch and German Immigrants The Prins Family - Pier 21

seven at night; one day off in the month and that only between themilkings. It was a primitive set-up with an old barn, no manure gutters,hauling out the manure with the wheelbarrow, etc.. Two months wasenough for me and I felt for Edmonton to stay a few days with the Kalffamily. I then took the train to Vancouver where I landed a job on adairy farm near Cloverdale, close to White Rock and just a few milesnorth from the US border.This job was a lot better. Bill Hartman was a decent guy to work for, thefarm a bit more modern, and the hours of work a little more humane.Bill Hartman had a nice way of getting things across to you by saying "Itell you a story" and then it came. I stayed there till the New Year,opened a bank account and bought my first vehicle, a 1952 Chevroletpick-up. I left the farm when Dave, Bills son-in-law, came to work on thefarm.The purchase of the truck cost me most of my money. They wereadvertising for jobs in Kitimat to work in the newly started aluminiumsmelter; they were opening up new lines and needed personnel. I appliedand had my medical in New Westminster; but now I needed money to getthere. I gug peat for two weeks to earn money to buy a plane ticket to flyto Terrace, the closest airport to Kitimat. It was my first plane flight ever!I worked there for the aluminium company, Alcan, and stayed there forover ten years.While digging peat I lived in New Westminster with the Berquist family.This was only for two weeks, but we stayed in contact for many yearsafter and visited with them a number of times. I left my truck with themand had it shipped to Kitimat later in the year.Bachelor Life in KitimatAfter I arrived in Terrace, I took the train to Kitimat as this was the onlyland connection between the two towns. My arrival in Kitimat was anevent I will never forget. Coming from a green world (Vancouver) andstepping into a town in the middle of nowhere with snow banks five to sixfeet high (it was early February). I saw a line-up of men 'snaking' aroundthe hotel adjacent to the railway station trying to get into the beerparlour. Primarily a population of single men, living in bunkhouses, withthe beer parlour as the only entertainment, although there also was arestaurant and coffee bar close by and the waitresses there were verypopular. The next day we went to the smelter to join the workforce; busservice to and from the camp to the smelter site was free.My lodging was in Riverside camp; each bunkhouse provided shelter foreight men. There were eight beds and eight chairs and an oil-heater; talk