Ralph Russo was born July 7, 1917 in Newcastle, Pennsylvania. He grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression, when times were tough. Ralph’s father was able to hold on to his job during that time, and Ralph picked up work at a local foundry. When 1941 and the attack on Pearl Harbour
Ed Stafford was born in Toronto on January 31, 1921. He grew up in the city’s west end, during the Great Depression. Ed attended school until Grade 10, when he decided to apprentice as a tool and die maker at GE. When the war came along, one of Ed’s friends joined the Governor General’s Horse
John O’Henly was born March 15, 1923, and he grew up in the east end of Toronto. He attended RH MacGregor Public School, and after one year at East York, he opted to go to Danforth Tech, as he was interested in their art course. He spent much of his spare time with his friends
Bill Morgan was born April 23, 1925 in Consett, England, a small city on the east coast, not too far from Newcastle. Bill’s mother passed away when he was just five, and at that time he moved in with his grandparents and aunts, and his father’s role in his life diminished. Bill grew up an
Meet the Teacher: Alix Doherty Subject: French Grades: 7 & 12 Mme. Doherty grew up in France. Her husband is Irish and they have 2 sons. Her older son, Cillian, is a kindergarten teacher and an album cover designer. Her younger son, Cathal, is doing his masters in biology and his research is in the
This Thursday (March 5th) in the traditions of old, the Crestwood students will be taking part of their day to celebrate the Carnaval de Crestwood which is a nod to the traditions of the Carnaval de Quebec (and French Canadian culture). The Québec Winter Carnival is the oldest of the winter festivals that are held each
Robert Otterman was born January 24, 1925, outside Fisherville, Ontario, where he grew up on the family farm. When the war came, Robert recalls that he did not want to be a soldier; his village was largely German-Canadian, and while the locals disliked what Hitler and Nazism represented, they did not want to fight their
Norman Cash was born January 1, 1920 in Russia, in the city of Odessa. When he was one year old his family made the decision to emigrate as the anti-Semitic violence associated with the pogroms was intensifying in the wake of the Great War, where Norm’s father had been a veteran. The family settled in
Alyre Gallant was born December 23, 1923, in Piusville, Prince Edward Island. He grew up during the time of the Depression, and when his father died when he was quite young, Alyre left school and began working on the family farm. And that was the theme for the rest of the decade and into the
Walter Swirski was born in Poland on May 7, 1922. His family lived in a small village, where they were prosperous farmers; Walter’s father owned a share in a flour mill, and had been an officer in the Soviet-Polish war. Walter had one brother and was going to school when the Second World War broke
Don White was born in Oshawa, Ontario on August 9, 1924. He grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression, attending school in Oshawa and then enlisting after Grade 12. He had joined the militia at the age of 16, and at 18 he joined the regular forces, and was quickly sent out to
George Olley was born May 10, 1925 in London, Ontario. George’s parents divorced when he and his sister were quite young, and for a time George and Rose lived with their father, but work and family proved a difficult combination, and George ended up in an orphanage from age 9-14. He went to school during
September is upon us and, once again, the summer has flown by! What an amazing year the students will have learning new concepts, making new friends and enjoying all the wonderful activities Crestwood has to offer. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Kyra Gurney and I am the new Primary French teacher.
Jim Parks was born September 22, 1924, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up there during the hard days of the Great Depression, making money anywhere he could, selling magazines and blocks of ice. When the war came along, Jim was in high school, and he remembers learning about the war in history class. He joined
Madge Trull was born July 22, 1922. Madge is a Londoner, though she was born in Chile; her father was involved in the import-export trade. He brought his young family back to England as his children were growing up, as he wanted them to be raised and educated in the proper English tradition. Madge attended
Jim Summersides was born in Welland, Ontario, and grew up with his mother, father and siblings. When the war broke out, Jim decided to join his classmates and enlist in the infantry. He became a part of the Canadian 48th Highlanders and was then shipped overseas to England. Having arrived in England, he was then
Stuart Crawford was born on March 2, 1922, in Kingston, Ontario. He had three brothers, and the boys all grew up playing sports and musical instruments, and they shared the same Kingston Whig Standard paper route, passed from one brother to the next. Stuart’s family was very close, and with his parents’ sacrifices they made
Al Bacon was born Dec 27, 1919 in Toronto. He grew up in the city’s east end, attending Danforth Tech before the Great Depression forced him to quit school and go to work. Al found a job at the Simpson’s Department Store, where he was an elevator operator. When the war came, he and a
Jean-Gabriel Castel is a man who has lived an exciting and varied life, filled with unique stories and experiences. Born in Nice, France in 1928, he spent part of his youth in the French Resistance in World War 2, challenging Germany’s wartime occupation of his homeland. He and his family survived all the difficult experiences
Born in Saskatchewan on August 2, 1919, Helen Louise Kerr was a former nurse who served in WWII. She is currently 99, and lives in Toronto. As a child, she lived on a farm with her family members, including six siblings, four of whom would serve in the war. Her mother was a teacher and
John Stohn originally came from the U.S., but he moved to Canada at a young age, when his father’s work led the family to Granby, Quebec. The family did well there, and they were largely insulated from the devastating impacts of the Great Depression. John remembers his youth with some fondness, and that it prepared
Bill Peon served in the Canadian army during the Second World War. He was born in Toronto, where he grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression. With the coming of the war, he enlisted, and with basic training he was assigned to the Service Corps, designated as a truck driver. He spent additional
Robert “Bud” Jones was born in the St-Henri District of Montreal, and educated in the school districts of St. Henri, Montreal and Verdun , Quebec. Bud Jones is a decorated career soldier of 30 yrs, and a veteran of WWII who also served in Korea. He grew up in Depression-era Montreal, where Bud remembers his
Henri Levenheck was born in Strasbourg, France. When the war came, he was still a boy, ready for all that his teenage years might bring him. But the summer of 1940 saw those dreams taken away, replaced by the terrible new reality of Nazi occupation. henri and his family were forcibly evacuated from Strasbourg and
Frida Levenheck is a Holocaust survivor from France. Born in the Alsace region, Frida was a child when the war began, and her survival can be attributed to her parents – and to luck and circumstance. The family lived in the Strasbourg region, right across the Rhine River from Germany, and they were forcibly evacuated
Andrew Tylman was born in November 1933, and he grew up in the town of Sochaczew, Poland. His early life took place in a largely Jewish milieu,and the family was prosperous, vacationing in Glowno and prominent in the community. The onset of the war changed the situation dramatically; as violence in his small town began
Norman Baker was born September 1, 1916 in the west end of Toronto, where he attended Runnymede Collegiate. Norm’s parents hailed from Riegate, England and had emigrated to Canada before the Great War, and Norm and his two brothers were raised in the British tradition. And they were fortunate not to be impacted by the
Jim Warford was in the Canadian army during World War Two. Born in England in 1922, Jim grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, attending school and very active in sports. Jim and a friend joined the militia before the war, knowing that war was on the way. When his
Norm Gogo grew up in Toronto and Michigan, as the family moved when his father was transferred and began work in the Motor City. But the good economic times did not last, and as the Depression worsened the family returned to Canada along Hwy. 5. Back in Toronto Norm went to school in the city’s
Bob Chartre grew up in prewar Quebec, one son in a very large family. He remembers well the difficulties of the Great Depression, and even recalls that his father was happy when he and two of his brothers were called up for the war as that meant fewer mouths to feed! When Bob went into
