From Germany to Canada
Hans Scheib was born in 1941 in Winterbach, Saarland, and later apprenticed as a bricklayer there. In 1960, his life changed: Hans was drafted and required to serve in the military. He decided to leave Germany, aiming for Canada. Numerous stories about the ‘endless prairies of Canada’ and the ‘Rockies, forests, and Niagara Falls’ had been told by baker Luis to the village youth in Winterbach, igniting Hans Scheib’s sense of adventure. The young man traveled to Quebec City via Paris on the former troopship ‘Arkadia.’ Upon his arrival on August 22, 1960, he had only $35 left. An official at the Canadian consulate in Cologne had recommended that Hans go to London, Ontario. Once there, he found his money depleted, and the young man urgently sought work. He secured a laborer position starting at 85 cents an hour. As he did not speak the language, he enrolled in evening classes—studying English with other immigrants from Germany. With improved language skills, his job situation enhanced; Hans found work as a foreman at Esam Construction and began building high-rises. His private life also changed significantly through language classes: he met and fell in love with Heidi Mergenthaler from the Palatinate. The couple married on September 23, 1963, and two sons were born. Professionally, he continued to advance: Hans stayed in construction but took on supervisory roles. ‘An ascent like in an emigration storybook,’ says the now 74-year-old with a smile. A faithful companion during this rise is represented by this trowel. When Hans Scheib set off for Canada in 1960, he packed the trowel shown below in the luggage of the young bricklayer. With it, he hoped to earn a lot of money in his new home—only to be laughed at at first. It took several years of hard work to achieve the hoped-for stability and professional advancements in the construction industry, but Hans held onto his dream. He has preserved the trowel to this day as a symbol of his hopes that he ultimately turned into reality.
Trowel, 1950s
