Editor’s Note: Sorting through family papers, I came across this interview that was done around 1980. Annie was the grandmother of Carol’s husband, Robert Struss[1], and my great-grandmother. I have added photos, footnotes and appendices to this document to further document these early Manitoba families. (NOTE: Clicking on the footnote number will take you to the footnote, and the back button on the browser will return you to the article.) The interview content itself is by Carol Struss and is intact with no changes. – Angela Fiebelkorn, MGS#5795
IMAGE: Robert (Bob) and Carol (Holowinski) Struss, Beausejour, MB.
Robert Struss b. 13 Oct 1940, d. 11 Jul 1995. Carol Struss b. 4 Dec 1946, d. 1 May 1995.
An Interview of Annie (Yakimow) Struss by Carol (Holowinski) Struss
Some of the early families who came to the Brokenhead[2] district were:
- Mr. and Mrs. Frank Mazur (arrived with grandma on boat)
- Alex Klym (arrived on boat with grandma)
- Alex and Mary Tymko[3] (grandma’s eldest step sister)
- Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Oneschuk[4] (second step sister)
- Alex Yakimo[5] (arrived 1 year earlier – grandma’s brother)
- Pearl Yakimo[6] (grandma’s sister)
These families came to this country because land was cheap. Times were so hard in the old country that they came to Canada seeking a better life. Everyone who arrived here stayed, set up homesteads and began their new life with farming.