In Search of the Past

In Search of the Past

I wrote a book about the story of my family in the course of the last hundred years.
The renowned Hotel Hopfenstock in the former cosmopolitan Karlovy Vary spa in Bohemia was since generations in the possession of our family.
The collapse of the Third Reich in 1945 was followed by the expulsion of the Sudeten Germans from Karlovy Vary, which now again belongs to Czechoslovakia. The Sudeten Germans lost their homes, their possessions and goods.

Our family fled to Austria and later on to Canada.

Did some  Sudeten Germans immigrate to  Canada? 

I googled  for “Sudetendeutsche in Canada”  and  found only one entry, a “Sudetendeutsches Museum” in Toms Lake in BC.

This summer my friend Inge came for a visit. We decided to make a round trip from Kelowna to the North, going to Alberta to celebrate my birthday at my son’s place and pay a visit  to said Museum en route.

I organized the whole trip and made reservations at hotels where pets were welcome, taking my small dog Gypsi with us.

On our first day we stayed in McBride on HW 16. The rain just poured. We went to the reception desk, my Gypsi on her leash. Inge paid the pets accommodation, $10 with tax.  Next door to our motel stayed a couple from England with their motorbike; they were shivering from cold.  

The weather cleared on the next day, but it was still cold, at least it did not rain. We drove to Prince George and on to Dawson Creek.  We encountered many construction sites.  I had planed to visit the Museum in Toms Lake on the same day and had already talked to the curator who had the key. I told her that we might come later. “Okay, no problem”, she said.

Toms Lake is located some kilometers south of Dawson Creek, we could not find it on the GPS, had to ask several people. Finally spotting the tiny sign of the unincorporated settlement, it took us a while to find the home of the Curator, Mrs. Gebhart, who proudly told us, that she was ninety eight years of age.

She said she could not leave her even older husband by himself, so we threw all our bags into the trunk of the car to make room for them. Mrs. Gebhart guided us to the Museum. It was a nice little building, the interior neatly stuffed with memorabilia of all sorts. I was allowed to make as many pictures as I wanted; I also made pictures from the memorial and the cemetery. We had to sign the guest-book; the last entry was from the year 2009. The Gebharts were very nice people, but I did not want to bother them with too many questions. They have a grandson in Kelowna whom I contacted already. He will tell me the story of the Sudetendeutschen as far as he heard about it. I just know that they escaped 1939 Hitler’s grip, immigrating to Northern BC.

Besides some very old people nobody resides in Toms Lake any more. It’s a ghostly, forgotten place.

It was time to look for our accommodation, the Daisy Inn in Dawson Creek. We arrived with our bags and Gypsi on the leash at the hotel desk. As soon as the receptionist spotted Gypsi, she said: “We allow only two dogs on the premises, and they were filled up already.” Inge got really angry and wanted to stay in another hotel. I knew that Dawson Creek was fully booked, but Inge insisted to find something else. We phoned around, there was nothing else. Finally she gave in and we stayed. Besides the Hotel was a Tony Roma's Restaurant.  The main customers were truck drivers and construction workers dining at separate tables.

Inge could not stop lamenting about poor Gypsi who had to  stay in the car.

Coming to our room I emptied my suitcase, went to the car, tucked Gypsi into it and carried her back to our room.

I the morning I carried her out, went for a walk, nobody took notice.

Then it was a must to make some pictures at mile Zero of the ALCAN.

We continued our travels to the tiny community of Brownvale, where I lived for a while about thirty years ago. Nothing looked familiar any more. It was small before, now it was even smaller, but the various crop fields in the Northern Prairies were huge.

In Grimshaw it was another must to make pictures at Mile Zero of the Mackenzie Highway which leads to the North West Territories.

It was time for a picnic, so we stopped for a rest at Queen Elisabeth Park. It’s a beautiful well maintained park with a lake. It was cold and windy; we were one of very few tourists.

Then we stopped overnight in Whitecourt in Alberta., It’s a very quiet city.  It’s amazing how population can change. Former cities dry up like Whitecourt, others boom like Dawson Creek. We did not even ask what we could do with our dog; I had already experienced in tucking her in the suitcase, carrying her into the room for the night and again out in the morning.

I wanted to see Alberta Beach again, a nice little detour on our way to Didsbury. Well, yes, it was still very nice, not so the speeding ticket of 120. – CAD.  

Edmonton seemed to be torn apart by street constructions. 

Finally we arrived in Didsbury at my sons’ place. There we celebrated my seventy second’s birthday with son, daughter, daughter in law and the grandchildren Cassidy and Jorden having a barbecue, wine and cake and we stayed overnight . My birthday present was a KOBO digital reading device, because I converted my book to an e. Book. Now I can read my own book digitally.

Chipsy was reunited with Doberman Jamie, poodle Eddi, the even smaller “Chiuwauwau” puppy Turbo and six cats. They all slept together in the former garage, now transformed into a big dog house. 

On the next day we said Goodbye to our splendid hosts and drove back home.  

We made the round trip from Westbank to Westbank,  ape. 4.000 km  in 5 days, me driving all the way.

Erika Gebhart Kurator

Museum Toms Lake British Columbia

http://members.shaw.ca/emeissl
e.book by Erika Meissl