It is Amsterdam, October of 1891 and Karel Boissevain, the son of a successful ship-owner, and is persuaded by his doctor to leave the Netherlands for the fresh air of Canada (he suffers from severe asthma) in order to recover his health. One of his sisters, Heleen, accompanies him on the journey. Not only does Karel leave behind almost his entirely family, but he must also leave behind his finance, Wil de Vos. It's a devastating decision, especially for Karel and Wil, which creates an intensely emotional period, full of uncertainty for all of them, that is expressed with great feeling and honesty in their letters.
Due to family connections, the greater Boissevain family was already well-known in the financial circles of Canada, and help came to Karel and Heleen in the form of William Cornelius Van Horne, then President of the CPR, who suggested that Karel (himself a former navy officer) could do with course of northwest air. So, having a boarded a luxury steam liner to Montreal, from there, Karel and Helena took the train to Alberta, where Karel was to work, as he had never before, with a CPR survey crew during a cold winter in Crowsnest Pass.
Heleen has her own stories to tell, writing about her stays in Calgary, Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, peppered with stories of the (now) well-known pioneers and settlers of the area. She also serves as a go-between for the family and does her best to keep everyone, especially Wil, apprised of the adventures and disappointments, and especially her concern for her brother. Heleen's letters are also unique in that they show many of the women of this era, often wives of the pioneers and settlers we know so well.
Ultimately, the letters not only showcase this period of Canadian history, but are also a deeply moving love story.
It is Amsterdam, October of 1891 and Karel Boissevain, the son of a successful ship-owner, and is persuaded by his doctor to leave the Netherlands for the fresh air of Canada (he suffers from severe asthma) in order to recover his health. One of his sisters, Heleen, accompanies him on the journey. Not only does Karel leave behind almost his entirely family, but he must also leave behind his finance, Wil de Vos. It's a devastating decision, especially for Karel and Wil, which creates an intensely emotional period, full of uncertainty for all of them, that is expressed with great feeling and honesty in their letters.
Due to family connections, the greater Boissevain family was already well-known in the financial circles of Canada, and help came to Karel and Heleen in the form of William Cornelius Van Horne, then President of the CPR, who suggested that Karel (himself a former navy officer) could do with course of northwest air. So, having a boarded a luxury steam liner to Montreal, from there, Karel and Helena took the train to Alberta, where Karel was to work, as he had never before, with a CPR survey crew during a cold winter in Crowsnest Pass.
Heleen has her own stories to tell, writing about her stays in Calgary, Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, peppered with stories of the (now) well-known pioneers and settlers of the area. She also serves as a go-between for the family and does her best to keep everyone, especially Wil, apprised of the adventures and disappointments, and especially her concern for her brother. Heleen's letters are also unique in that they show many of the women of this era, often wives of the pioneers and settlers we know so well.
Ultimately, the letters not only showcase this period of Canadian history, but are also a deeply moving love story.
Preface; Introduction; All the Way to Canada!; Our Land of Promise; To the Far North-West on Velvet Couches; Last Town on the Rail Line; How Heleen Meets the Doctor in Pincher Creek; Stake-Marker in the Crowsnest; Forty Miles through the Snow; Our Plan in Disarray!; To a Convent and Dancing in Edmonton; The Benevolence of Bigwigs; Reference to Volume 2; Images List; Archive Inventory List; Bibliography; Index.
Jan Krijff was born in the Netherlands and emigrated to Canada in 1968. He has a BA in Economics from the University of Calgary, and a masters degree in history, from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Jan has previously published100 Years Ago: Dutch Immigration to Manitoba in 1893;Een Aangename Vriendschap(An Amicable Friendship);Dutch Gentlemen Adventurers in Canada(with Herman Ganzevoort),andGreetings from Canada: Postcards from Dutch Immigrants to the Netherlands 18841915. The latter received an honourable mention for history in the Indie Fab awards.
"Until We Meet Again is a treasure chest with many hidden jewels awaiting the patient reader: the story of a long-distance romance in the age of postage stamps and letters, of a cooperative sibling partnership beyond the outer edge of Canadian settlement, and of the detailed survey work required in the construction of the CPRs subsidiary, the Columbia and Kootenay Railway. What makes this story particularly intriguing for me is that one of my heroes exerts his powerful influence on Karels advancement: William Cornelius Van Horne, who became General Manager and later, President of the CPR as it was being pushed westward towards the Rockies." -- Review from The British Columbia Review by Walter Volovsek, Castlegar historian, author of A Railway from Nowhere to Nowhere (2002)
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
