John Straub: Finding a New Life in Canada

• John Straub is a lively fellow whose hard life didn’t affect his spirits in the least. 

• John was born in Romania; in the same village his parents had been born.  

• He lived through WWII, and in the 1940s many people in Romania were brought to Germany to help the country grow. There wasn’t room for all these people, however, and food was scarce. 

• While John’s father was fighting on the Russian front, John and his mother and siblings fled where they were living and made their way closer to the German border, closer to the American, British and French armies.  

• His father was hit with a grenade while fighting, and several ribs were shattered beyond repair. He was operated on, and then he headed home to where he thought his family would be. 

• John’s mother wrote letters to inform her husband of where they had gone, and the family was reunited.  

• In 1955, John immigrated to Canada, to the city of Calgary. He was only eighteen years old, and alone. His family wasn’t allowed to come until the following year. 

• John worked hard in manual labour to save up money to bring his parents over and then build them a house. He worked with concrete and sidewalks from 5 am to 6 pm every day, walking to work from the Forrest Lawn area to the present airport in the rain, snow and blistering sun, extending the airplane runway's need for more runway space to accommodate the large planes. 

• John saved his money, and in 1958, he and his father bought land for a house. In 1959, they moved in. In the day they worked at their job and in the evening, they worked on building their own house. John had a suite in the basement that he would live in until he built his own house two doors down. 

• John met his wife Erna at the church choir practice while he was living in Calgary, and when he told her he wanted to farm, she replied, “Wherever you go, I’ll go with you.” 

• In 1970, John decided to purchase land near Tilley to start a farm. The family of six moved into a little house with drafty windows and no running water, but this did not discourage him. They built their own house in the yard. 

• John was a welder, having taken four years of school to be a machinist in Germany and then four years of apprenticeship in Calgary to get his Canadian papers. He helped other farmers by working as a welder and fixing machinery.  

• John worked hard to help his family. Many people now work only for themselves, but John realized how important his family was, and their life in Canada was a good one.  Apart from work, John is accomplished at playing accordion and harmonica by ear. 

Bibliography 

Straub, John. “Interview.” Conducted by Kathy Ramer and Kaetrianne Ramer,  

February 16, 2024.