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Catharina (Treen) van Twuyver was born and grew up on the family farm in Colleston. She worked for several neighbours helping with cleaning and cooking, particularly at harvest time when thrashing crews were working at the farms. She used to love to go to the country dances, usually held in the school house, and it was there that she met her future husband Norman Brown. Apparently he was a good dancer and managed to put in the highest bid for the boxed lunch that she made. They used to auction off lunches during the breaks at the dances.
Norman Brown was born in Chamberlain, SK and spent his early childhood on the family farm. He was taken out of school to help his father run the farm and quickly learned the meaning of a hard day's work. During the Depression the Browns suffered misfortune when most of the top soil at the farm in Chamberlain was blown away by the hot prairie winds. Norman’s father moved the family north to a farm east of Prince Albert where the water was good and the forest green. The farm consisted of flats along the North Saskatchewan river and higher land that yielded great crops of wheat. During the war Norman joined the army and was sent to a training camp south of Saskatoon. He was seriously injured when a horse fell on him, resulting in his discharge for medical reasons. For years after that he suffered from lower back pain.
Treen and Norman were married in 1941 and moved into a small cabin on River Road east of Prince Albert. Dennis and Melvin were born before the family moved into a home on a quarter section of land that Norman’s father owned. They spent several years there before moving into Prince Albert where Norman went to work for the Dominion Tar and Chemical Company. Linda was born shortly after the family settled in the city. Treen’s parents lived one street away, visited often and told some stories of their time in Holland. Dennis, Melvin and Linda were all educated at schools in Prince Albert and spent their summers visiting relatives on farms east of the city.
Dennis joined the RCMP and, after training in Regina, was stationed at locations in southern Alberta, Headquarters Ottawa, northern Alberta and Vancouver Island. He then retired from the Force while stationed in Vancouver. Melvin started work in mining at Thompson, Manitoba and spent many years there before moving to BC to work for various mining companies. He currently resides in Campbell River, BC and is still mining for gold and other precious metals. Linda worked as a nurses assistant before moving to Alberta to take up a job with a telephone company. She eventually moved back to Saskatoon and worked for financial companies. She is currently living in Crofton, BC on Vancouver Island.
Treen past away in 2002 at Lac La Biche, Alberta and Norman died in 2004. Treen knew a few Dutch words but seldom used them except when her parents were around. She was always proud of her Dutch heritage and perhaps some of it has rubbed off on her children. In the spring of 2006 Dennis accompanied cousin Dave on a fact finding trip to Holland to trace the van Twuyver family history. It was certainly a very interesting voyage of discovery.
Dennis Brown, 2006 |
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