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Author’s Preface
Sorge Family Tree
Nobody could tell stories like my Mom, Maria Grapentin Roller. In 1970, only a short time before her
What a rich family heritage we enjoy! Life with such a wealth of experiences should never be lost to
Irma Sorge
My Grandparents
My mother, Maria Grapentin, was born of German parents in a German settlement in Bobrick, Poland, bu
Opa Grapentin (Opa is German for Grandpa) was known to be a very unbending disciplinarian, ruling th
Oma, being absolutely heartbroken over her little boy’s fate, made a vow before God that if He would
My Mother said that whenever she and her sisters were old enough to take an interest in guys, Opa wo
Opa considered Maria to be his “prize” daughter and nobody seemed good enough to marry her, especial
Let me say a bit more about Ephraim’s parents. Opa Roller spent 50 years of his life in blindness, a
My Parents Start Their Lives Together
Wishing to escape military service, Ephraim decided to emigrate to Canada where his sister Lena had
Finally the long awaited time came, and Maria gathered her few earthly possessions for the trip to C
The huge ship blew its last farewell whistle and the band on deck played farewell music as the ship
After nine days of sailing the rough Atlantic, having suffered terrible seasickness, the first glimp
Docking in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the next part of the journey was taken by train across the endless
Looking out the window, Maria’s heart was going through waves of uneasiness and disappointment becau
Finally, the train jerked to a halt in a place called Shaunavon. Although she spoke no English, she
Unnamed
Model T Ford
Standing in a daze, not knowing what to do, Ephraim looked up to see this Model T roaring down the h
Getting her first glimpse of Ephraim after two years was not all that exciting for Maria either. Due
A few days later, on April 17, 1926, Maria put on her wedding gown and veil which she had brought fr
There was no honeymoon or “getaway,” of course, for this young couple. So all the area farmers pitch
And so life began, with Ephraim working from morning till night in the fields and Maria trying to co
Here Come the Kids
Their first baby, little Emma, was born on March 11, 1927, attended by a midwife. Both mother and ba
But things were looking up and before long the little family moved to Golden Prairie, Saskatchewan,
Mother and Dad were Baptists, so they became very much involved in the little German Baptist church
About a year later Daddy had saved up enough to make a down payment on a farm in Success, from which
I remember vividly the Model T car Daddy bought. It had celluloid windows that opened and closed wit
On one occasion, when Daddy was driving at what seemed to this 2-year-old to be an incredible speed,
I remember seeing a hand-wound gramophone player at our neighbor’s house that so intrigued me, as I
The Move to the Province of Alberta
But life was hard for our parents and their relatives as the great depression hit us with a fury. Af
Uncle Julius had a younger 17-year-old brother who, along with my Daddy, led the way with two horse-
We could not afford train tickets, so ingenuity had to kick in. Uncle Julius rounded up what livesto
Given the uncomfortable quarters, plus all the children who were hard to keep happy for the long dur
I do not remember exactly how long it took to get to Ellscott, Alberta, but it seemed to take foreve
As each family got settled on their own parcel of land allotted to them by the government of Alberta
On the day our little brother Egan was born, a skunk sprayed our dog in the du-gout cellar beneath o
Poverty was the order of the day, only increasing as time went on. Emma was able to attend the littl
There was no church in the area, but the Plymouth Brethren conducted services in the schoolhouse, so
Divine Provision of Shoes
On Sunday mornings, Miss Hutton would teach Sunday school in the little cabin. This was the big high
One day I asked Daddy if he could possibly buy me a pair of shoes. With an aching heart, he told me
All of a sudden, as I kicked up the dirt, there it was: a big silver coin! No words could ever descr
When we walked into the store, the clerk asked me what I came for, and I told him I wanted to buy sh
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