Mr. Nicholson’s Defining Moments Gr. 10 Canadian History

Beginnings  Born Sept 6, 1964  Toronto, ON, Canada  Parents Murray (27) & Sieglinde (28)  First born child with one sister 17 months younger  Parents married April  Met at McLaren Advertising 1961

Roots  Father born in Port Elgin, ON  ancestors came from England mid 1800s for farm land  Mother born in East Prussia, Germany (now Poland)  Came to Canada 1959  Bad memories of WW 2  Father killed in war  Lost farm in East Prussia

Mother’s Immigrant Experience  Mother found Canada too cold in March  Ugly power / telephone lines  Bad bread  Buses / Trains not on time  Exploited working as maid  Language barrier

Mother’s Immigrant Experience  Mother & Brother immigrated as well  Good German friends  Plenty of jobs  Houses / Land cheap  Peace i.e., no war  Freedom from German cultural expectations  Fell in love with Murray

Great Depression & WW 2  Both parents born during the Depression  Mother’s family lived under Hitler tyranny  Invading Russians brutal  East Prussia  Poland  Germany split in two  Communist East shut off from Democratic West

Life Comparisons Parents  Grew up on farms  few material possessions as children  Culture  Teen years clean cut 1950s with no divorce, drugs, sex  Finished high school  lots of career opportunities  Housing cheap  Married with children in their 20s Mr. Nicholson  Grew up in city  Travelled to Disney World Florida as child  Culture  Teen years wild 70s/80s with drugs, sex, rock music  Finished university  good career as teacher  Housing expensive  Married with children in my 30s

World Events  1969 Man on the moon 1969 Man on the moon  1972 Summit Series  1976 Montreal Olympics  1981 A.I.D.S.  1989 Fall of communism  1990 – 91 Gulf War  1992 – 93 Blue Jays World Series winners  2001  9/11 terrorism

Influences on my Life  Bicultural family –German / Canadian  Multicultural society – starting in high school  Travel – cottage, Florida, Europe  Christ – Trent U  Thailand –  met wife

Thailand Experience  Church Youth Worker  Language study  Culture shock (rice for breakfast?)  No snow bonus  CMIS – teaching again  Living the simple life – bicycling & no TV  Its all about relationships

Conclusion  Taught at Markville since Feb  Live in the community  3 children  Love to travel with family / friends  Future – live simple life  Thailand, Florida, cottage, relationships