Klaus and Margaret

Tete D Indien - Gaspe

This star filled evening we sat around a roaring fire and our neighbors Klaus and Margaret joined us.  They are in their 60s and from Germany.  Klaus is tall with balding gray hair, a distinctive German accent and a very interesting and intelligent person.  Margaret is slim and petite with a head of white hair and beautiful blue eyes.  She is sweet, very smart, and so soothing when she speaks.

They were so interesting.  They immigrated to Montreal in the late 50s or early 60s.  He was a merchant marine.  After being in Montreal for a couple of years, he read an ad in the paper for diesel mechanics to work at gold mines in northern Quebec providence.  He went to an open forum on the jobs offered , and said he was interested in this diesel mechanic position.  He and Margaret were sent to northern Quebec for a look see and Klaus accepted the job.  He had never worked on diesels in his life.  However, once there, other jobs, using his engineering training, were found for him.

All the homes in this community were brand new for the workers.  Stores, etc were built and opened.  After two years, the mine was depleted and the next mine would be in Africa.  Klaus and Margaret did not want to go there.  Also, the French separatist movement was in full swing, and anyone not speaking French was being treated badly.  They don't speak French so they decided to leave Quebec because of the hostile environment. 

Once the mine was closed and all the families on to other mines or other places, the town with all its houses and stores was bulldozed and the mine owners were required to re-plant the area as they found it.  Interesting!

From there Klaus and Margaret moved near Ottawa, Ontario where Klaus was hired by Nortel, ended up in management and retired 5 or more years ago.  They bought a 60 acre farm when they moved to Ontario and planted many acres of trees and grew vegetables for their own family consumption.  Both worked full time and tended their farm evenings and weekends.  Since retirement, they sold their farm and have RVd all over Canada, Alaska, and all the rest of the U.S. except for about 7 states.