While living in the city of Delft, in the south of Holland, Han's family had been evicted by the Germans during the war. They moved around a lot, and approximately 1942-1943, they immigrated south to where there was more food available, and the parents worked for a farmer for some time.
In April 1953, the van Burg family left Rotterdam, and on the Maasdam, travelled to Canada for seven days in good weather. They came to improve their quality of life. The Dutch Government subsidized the cost of the trip. The family, that included Suzanna, the mother, and Bastiaan the step father, and Hans Berger and Mary and Ann, two step sisters, all landed in Halifax, and took trains to Toronto and finally to Collingwood…show more content… Bastiaan Van Burg was a market gardener by trade in Holland and was well experienced in growing all kinds of vegetables. He was very proud and happy to have his own garden in Canada, and this was his first love. They sold their produce in stores in Meaford, Mount Forest, Bondie's in Owen Sound, and ironically , Smart's Canneries in Collingwood.
Insert image ( formal picture family of 5 ) here.. Back row Mary and Ann , Bastiaan Van Burg, Hans and , Suzanna. Courtesy Hans Berger.
Bastiaan was, however, exploited by the seller, Mel Johnson, who had sold the garden for too much money and lied about the annual income the land produced. They temporarily moved away from the property until Johnson made an amendment to the price and the mortgage he held , so the couple were able to manage the costs. Even so, the cost of the land required Bastiaan to work for Stanley Knights and Suzanna to work at Globe…show more content… After the family came to Meaford, Hans did not want to go back to school because he had been teased for his lack of speaking English, but his mother insisted that he go. Hans was in grade eight, and his teacher Mary Doherty was very helpful by being a very understanding and patient teacher. Wally Jarvis was a good friend who stood up for him and would not allow anyone to tease him, and things were a lot easier after that. Wally helped him to socialize and introduced him to other teenagers and to the Canadian sports of baseball and hockey. They became life- long friends, and Wally accompanied Hans and his mother , when they travelled to the Netherlands in
