A Parksville woman recently came across a treasure trove of family history and learned about her grandparents’ lives during the Second World War era.
Earlier this year, Dr. Emily Roback was contacted by a woman living on the Mainland, who came into possession of a collection of ‘war bride’ letters originally found decades ago in a Louis Creek, B.C. bunkhouse. The letters were discovered wrapped in a 1943 newspaper by two boys in 1966.
It’s a mystery as to how the letters ended up there, as Roback’s grandparents lived in a log cabin about 45 minutes outside of Rocky Mountain House, Alta. They both passed away more than 20 years ago.
The letters, some of which were never opened, trace the story of how her grandparents met in Europe, while her grandfather served in the Canadian Army.
“They met on a mine field. He was a sniper and rescued her and she brought him home,” said Roback, who added she does not have the details for many of these events that happened more than 75 years ago.
Roback’s grandmother Aleida Bleijs was Dutch. Her grandfather Zolton Sipos was born in Fiľakovo, located in modern-day Slovakia, a place that historically has had a significant ethnic Hungarian population. His first language was Hungarian and he immigrated to Canada when he was young.
They communicated in their second language, which was English.
Roback was struck both by “sappy” nature of the letters (“people don’t write like this anymore,” she said), and the fact that they were penned in cursive, quickly becoming a lost art form in the digital age.
“We don’t know how the letters actually showed up at the bunkhouse,” Roback said. “But it’s just the fact that my grandfather was writing and very, very devoted — in love.”
One excerpt (Roback’s favourite) reads:
I see your face by everything I do.
Another says:
Darling, you must be strong, for know you have so many things to watch for and if you worry too much then you get sick and if you get sick then you can’t come to Canada.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Victoria man surprised to learn he authored 1966 note in Parksville time capsule
The letters discussed plans for the future by Aleida and Zolton, including their intention to build a log home in Rocky Mountain House, where Roback was born.
“The dream came true,” said Roback. “Back in the day everybody was trying to work hard and save money and have a family, have kids, and now it’s just so different.”
She and her parents lived next door to the grandparents until she was 10 years old.
Along with the letters was a certificate issued in 1945 from the Canadian Army, granting Zolton permission to marry Aleida and bring her back to Canada.
They also revealed that one of Roback’s aunts, Barbara, was born in 1945 on a ship transiting from Amsterdam to Toronto. Roback’s father was born in Canada a few years later.
Five letters written by Zolton were mailed to Aleida in Amsterdam and returned to him unopened in Toronto between May 20 and Sept. 13, 1946. Aleida made several trips by ship between Canada and Holland, with the last departure in October 1946, while six months pregnant with her third child. They lived in Toronto for some time before relocating to Whitehorse in the 1950s and eventually Alberta in the early 1970s.
After finding the letters in 1966, the two boys brought the letters to their mother, who thought someone might eventually come back for them, and they ended up in a box untouched for 57 years.
They mentioned that they also found a sabre along with the letters, but sadly when the box was reopened in 2023 and the letters were rediscovered, the sword was gone. The bunkhouse was destroyed by a fire in 2003 and later rebuilt.
The boys’ younger sister Lynn Taylor O’Hara found Roback by searching on Ancestry.com and Facebook. She and Roback were able to meet in Parksville this April when O’Hara travelled to the Island for a wedding, which gave her a chance to deliver the letters in person.
Roback remembers her grandparents’ log house, a strawberry farm and a chicken coop in the back. Her grandma loved her animals, music and wine. Sugar and butter on toast was a treat from her grandmother. By this time they were retired and had lots of time to spend with their grandchildren.
She remembers Zolton loved to read and learn. He also played the violin and repaired boilers as his career after retiring from the army shortly after the war ended. He often wore a green uniform Roback figures was from his military service, though he never spoke about the war and was a quiet man.
“My earliest memory is Oma (Grandma) teaching me to walk,” Roback said. “I remember coming around the kitchen table and seeing my mom.”
Years later as an adult she went back to where her grandparents used to live. The current occupants let her look around a little bit when Roback explained she had once lived there.
The strawberry farm was gone, as was the mobile home, though Roback could still make out the old trailer’s markings in the ground.
The nearby river seemed to have widened over the years, but one thing was the same: the log house was still there and so was a familiar smell from her childhood.
“Over time, the fire burning inside the log home, it gets seeped into the wood and then the smell doesn’t go away,” she said. “It’s like I could still smell them.”
Zolton died in 1995 in Red Deer when he was 73 years old. Aleida died in 1999 at 76 years old from a stroke and a broken heart, Roback said. They were married for 50 years.
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