Paul Fairbrook was born into a Jewish family on August 21, 1923 in Berlin, Germany. His first ten years were spent in that country, but his father saw the writing on the wall and made arrangements for his young family to get out in 1932. First they made their way to France, and then to
Frank Haley was born January 25, 1925 in Cheadle, Alberta. He grew up in that small rural community, going to a one room school and having fun however and whenever he and his friends could. As Cheadle was a farming community, the impacts of the Depression were severe; the price of wheat crashed, and dust
Jack Colhoun was born in Philadelphia on February 9, 1945, but moved to upstate New York when he was quite young, growing up mainly in the small town of Sacket’s Harbor and experiencing 1950s small town America. He saw the beginning of the tumultuous changes of the 60s, events which would challenge America – and
Marc Spiridigliozzi was born May 11, 1948 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a large family, in a largely rural area, and he remembers well the idyllic days of his boyhood, which he experienced against the backdrop of the 1950s-60s postwar boom. His father was a member of the WW2 US Army National Guard;
Rob Purvis was born May 16, 1947 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up in a working class neighbourhood, against the backdrop of Canada’s postwar boom and the emerging Cold War. He and 3 of his friends, the sons of World War Two veterans, made the decision to head south to join the American army –
Morris Adams was born July 22, 1926 in Toronto, Ontario. He grew up in downtown Toronto, in the Spadina and Dundas neighbourhood that was home to many new immigrants, including Morris’ parents. His father was a barber and his mother worked in a garment factory, and the family was able to make it through the
Tommy Clack was born March 9, 1947, and was raised in Decatur, Georgia. His parents were members of the “Greatest Generation”, and both served their country in World War Two. Tommy was a 1965 Honor Graduate and Most Outstanding in Track and Field, from Decatur High School. He attended the University of Houston on a
Rick Weber was born July 8, 1946, and he grew up in 1950s Pittsburgh, the son of a WW2 veteran. His childhood was typical of the time, enjoying the abundance of the “Fabulous 50s”. He played football in high school, where he injured himself, something he aggravated in university. He consequently failed the army medical
Ann Kelsey was born June 20, 1946 in Indiana, though she grew up in southern California. Her father was a World War Two navy veteran, who continued to work with the navy as a civilian contractor in the postwar period. Because of that Ann grew up in Riverside, California, not too far from Branch AFB,
“Papa” Jake Larsen was born December 20, 1922 in Hope, Minnesota. He joined the National Guard when he was 15; times were tough, and he needed the money. By the time Jake graduated high school, the war was underway in Europe and Asia, and the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour brought the United
George Slook was born August 14, 1946, and he grew up in Darby, Pennsylvania. From a military family, George attended college and consequently had several draft deferments, but the army caught up with him after he graduated in 1968, and he was inducted. He went to Fort Bragg and Fort Benning and soon after was
Jim Roberts grew up an air force brat in the 1950s and 60s, when his father was a Master Sergeant in the USAF. The family was always on the move, as Jim’s father served on many bases in the U.S., and was stationed in Panama as well. Jim grew up in the Cold War era,
Joseph Peterburs was born November, 25, 1924 in St. Paul, Minnesota, though he grew up mainly in Wisconsin, against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He comes from a family with a military tradition; his father emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1906, and joined the army that same year, completing overseas service
Harry Eisenhauer was born on July 9, 1920, at Lower La Have, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, one of the nine children of John and Lillian Eisenhauer. His family ties to Lunenburg County go back to 1753, when the German immigrants to Halifax in 1751 were moved to the site of Lunenburg to establish a new
Roly Harper was born in Toronto on October 16, 1924. He was the youngest of three children, born to parents who had emigrated from Ireland. Roly grew up in the city’s east end, in the Danforth and Donlands neighbourhood, and he graduated Riverdale Collegiate in January 1941. Roly grew up against the backdrop of the
George Markow was born April 14, 1921 in Russia, just outside the city of Leningrad. He was born just four years after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and George remembers the impacts it had on his family and early life. Food especially was in short supply during those years, and the Party’s reach was growing.
Leslie Vertes was born February 18, 1924 in the village of Ajak (Hungary). His father was a shoemaker who worked alongside his wife. Leslie was 14 years old when the family moved to Budapest, where he was unable to finish the last year of high school and go to university due to the prevailing anti-Jewish
Harry Stewart was born July 4, 1924 in Newport News, Virginia. When he was 2 years old his parents relocated to Queens, N.Y.C., not too far from North Beach airport. Harry grew up in that neighborhood, attending school and having a good time, all against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Harry understood that the
Narce Caliva was born on September 7, 1929 in Salinas, California. His father originally came from the Philippines and had emigrated to California via Hawaii. In California he met his soon-to-be wife, daughter in a family who had come to the United States from Yugoslavia. Narce grew up in California against the backdrop of World
Allen Morgan was born May 10, 1927, and he grew up on a farm near Hudson, New Hampshire. Allen remembers working hard on that farm, all of it against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He had a good childhood though, attending school and playing baseball and hockey and occasionally catching a movie. The war
Andy Negra was born May 28, 1924. He grew up in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as the family dealt with the realities of the Great Depression. They ended up in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, where Andy’s father was a coal miner. Andy graduated from high school there, the first in his family to do so. As he
Ted Bolgar was born September 12, 1924 in Sarospatak, a small town in Hungary. The Germans occupied Hungary in March 1944, and in April, the Jews of Sarospatak were forced into the ghetto of a nearby town. When the ghetto was liquidated in June, all the inhabitants were deported to Auschwitz. Upon arrival, Ted and
Elie Dawang was born to Lithuanian-Jewish parents, Faiwish and Shaina, in 1934 in Paris. Elie was six years old when the Germans occupied France in 1940. The Dawangs fled to a small village near the Spanish border but returned to Paris in 1941 to liquidate the family business. The family had false papers but the
Hilbert Margol was born February 22, 1924, just ten minutes before his twin brother Howard, in Jacksonville, Florida. Their father had immigrated from Lithuania not too long before, as had their mother. The boys grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression, learning about the war that seemed to be happening a world away.
Nursing Week is the annual celebration of this critical profession. It is held every May to coincide with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. This year more than ever we have to be aware of the critical role these health care providers play in Canadian society, as has been true through
Ryerson Picot was born June 27, 1925 in Terra Cotta, Ontario. He grew up in northern Ontario against the backdrop of the Great Depression, and the family followed the father as he moved from job-to-job on the Canadian National Railroad. Ryerson longed to join the army when the war came along, and he managed to
Raymond Goulet was born January 14, 1923 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His parents were French-Canadian, so Ray and his brothers grew up speaking French and English, and attending Catholic schools, all against the backdrop of the Great Depression. When the war came, Ray chose to volunteer, while his two brothers were drafted. He went through basic
Avraham Peter grew up in the city of Lodz, Poland, where he was born August 12, 1926. His parents had their own factory/business and the family was living a good, observant life, and the young Abe attended a Jewish school, and was raised in part by his grandparents. Anti-Semitism was a reality in 1930s Lodz
Harry Miller was born July 2, 1928 in Columbus, Ohio. He would serve in the American Army in the Second World War, when he was not yet 18 years old. Harry’s mother died when he was only 3, so it would be his father and sister who guided the family through the difficult days of
Albert Card was born March 12, 1924 in Hastings, England. He grew up there in a big family, and Bert remembers they did well even during the Depression, because of his father’s food allotment. Life in Hastings was good: Bert grew up on the beach, going to school, playing sports – all the normal things.
