My family heritage has shaped who I am in both my work ethic, and my personality. Both sides of my family has shown me the importance of hard work.
Fun fact #1: My last name, De Brouwer, is dutch for the brew master; this mean the beer maker. There is still a dutch beer company today, in Lieshout, manufacturing this beer.
On my father’s side of my family we are dutch, and German. My great-grandfather (my grandfather’s father) died in first world war. I am German from my great-grandmother (my grandmother’s mother) who moved to Tilburg, Netherlands. My Grandfather on my dad’s side came over to Canada, in 1950 from Rotterdam, Holland; after the second world war. During the process of immigrating, he was writing his good friend, my Grandmother; and was telling her how good life in Canada was; then she came over, and they got married. They came over for the opportunities, and work. They settled in Lucan, Ontario, which had a growing Dutch community; they worked hard farming, and raising a family. When my dad was growing up, a tradition they had was a family member from Holland would spend a couple of months with them in Canada twice a year; Canada was like a second home to them. Although we do not have many transitions linked to my Dutch heritage, it has been passed on to me how to be a hard worker, and to value family. Both my grandparents, and parents are very hard workers; because of this I am too.
Fun fact #2: my Nana’s uncle was killed by a bull.
On my mother’s side of the family we are very Canadian, going back till 1857; that makes me 6th generation Canadian. My Nana’s dad has a connection to Germany: his last name was Schroeder; her mother spoke french, but has no definitive connection to France. My Poppi on the other hand is from Newfoundland; his family can be traced back there until the 1800s; but Newfoundland was not part of confederation until 1949. When interviewing my Poppi, he gave me many interesting stories, but some of them are a little embellished. For example he told me he left Newfoundland because they push the old people on the ice for the polar bears to eat; or that he had a blind horse that they put in the mines; he had one leg; three wheels, and they called him Wheely. To clarify in Newfoundland they used horses in the mines, and they became blind; the rest is questionable. From these types of stories I have gained a bit of his sense of humour, and learned some true facts about my heritage.
From both sides of my family I have very hard working people to aspire to be like: all of my grandparents had to work very hard to provide for their families, and give them opportunities they could not have. My parents are doing that for me; I hope to do that for my kids.
Works Cited
Butler, Barbara. E-mail interview. 14 Nov. 2017.
Butler, Richard. Telephone interview. 13 Nov. 2017.
De Brouwer, Cindy. Interview. 4 Dec. 2017.
De Brouwer, Richard. Interview. 4 Dec. 2017.
I'm surprised you know your ancestry so well. It took hours to find out the smallest bit. I find it hilarious that your family owns a brewing company, but awesome that your last name means "brew master". I'll have to ask my father if he has ever heard of your family company before. My brother makes up tall tales when he doesn't know facts and, much like your grandfather, never backed down from his stories.
ReplyDeleteYour ancestry is so cool, you have lots of connections to lots of places! I love that your Poppi told you questionable stories, it makes listening to stories about the past very interesting! I do agree that you inherited traits to be a hard worker as all the years I have known you its proven to be true! I know you didn't take on any Dutch traditions, but what are some of the traditions that your Dutch ancestors used to do? Just curious! overall I find your ancestry fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI love your grandfather’s fun facts and questionable history scattered throughout your blog post. I, too, had difficulty keeping my grandparents on track while I questioned them about our ancestors. I bet your grandfather’s recollections of his past must be very interesting to listen do. Do you get to hear a lot of his stories outside of doing this blog?
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome that your family owns a beer company. I am glad that I am not the only one whose distant family is in the beverage business. Though I will admit that the De Brouwer’s Brews is a lot cooler than Allen’s Apple Juice. Has anyone in your family ever visited the beer company in Lieshout, or do you hope to someday get the chance to?
Also, I love that your grandparents have passed down their work ethic. I hope that I, too, can be that great of a role model for my own kids and teach them the importance of hard work and dedication.
P.S. I bet your grandfather’s stories about polar bears eating the elders must have been unBEARable ;)