JULY,2000
HI !
May I introduce myself:
It was close to the end of WWII , early in the morning of Valentine's Day, when I entered the life on this planet crying and breathing the oxygen of this earth for the first time .
My name is Peter Bühler , born and raised in Basel , Switzerland . ( Home of Roger Federer and the Top Secret Drummers ) When I was a young man I dreamed about traveling abroad and living in another country. Because I like to live close to water, it had to be near a lake, or even an ocean. Then in 1970, together with two other Swiss guys we had the opportunity to emigrate to Canada. The question was just, how do we get there, by plane or by boat ? We decided to leave by boat, because our destination was Vancouver BC. Vancouver is a big city by the Pacific Ocean with a huge harbor.The price for a one-way plane ticket at that time was almost the same like the fare we paid for the boat trip. We also had plenty of time to get acquainted with the English language. The whole trip would take us about 26 days. Starting point was Cherbourg in France. The vessels name was " SS. HIMALAYA" and it was operated by the P&O Lines.
Aboard we met people from all over the world, especially some Australians, who were returning to Australia from a visit to Great Britain . They continued with their journey from Vancouver to Hawaii , the Fijis and finally after 21 days they would reach their homeland. For them the voyage took 47 days all together! At first we were afraid to become bored to stay for such a long period of time on board and only see the ocean. But on the contrary we had so much fun. We played some deck games , we had a swimming pool, a library , a disco , a ballroom and a movie theater . Our ship raced with dolphins , there was unforgettable scenery, some breathtaking sunsets and some rough seas.We also had an encounter with flying fish in the Caribbeans. We were over 1500 people all together, almost one third of it was crew . It sounds unbelievable.....And the best of it we had access to all decks and facilities, the only difference were the cabins, but who needs a first class cabin anyway , when you can have one with all the pipes and valves!! : )
I guess, i didn't mention our luggage problem yet! Let's turn back the clock a bit . It was in the evening when we left Basel by train to travel to Cherbourg via Paris. In Paris we were supposed to switch railroad stations for the last stage to Cherbourg. Not being bothered at all with our baggage we let the train personnel handle it.We checked it right thru Cherbourg. According to the schedule, there was hardly any time being wasted while changing stations. Rolf and myself were really concerned about the situation with our luggage,but were silenced by René's remark:" Don't worry everything will just be fine !"
But while switching stations it never left our minds and by knowing the French mentality ( sorry you French people )it surely left us restless and uncomfortable....."Just calm down you guys", René said "let's check the loading area". So we did...there was no sign of our suitcases and bags...René with his optimism said :" It must be on the train already !" Rolf and myself getting more and more impatiently and finally in Cherbourg we found out we were right. The baggage didn't make it ! To make a long story short. The agency told us to board the vessel and if the luggage arrives at the pier, they will send it to us by air-freight. You should have seen the faces of the porters !There were passengers with tons of luggage, and here we are with just a few handbags starting a journey of 26 days. What a sad picture ! It was pathetic! Even a dumb remark later by a German lady passenger :"Oh , that's why you always wear the same clothing !" Didn't bother us at all. Who cares if she`s changing her clothing every hour , or comes for every meal session with a new outfit. In Lisboa our first stop, we had to go shopping to get some more clothing . Finally in Curaçao after one very long week of waiting ,we put luckily our hands on our suitcases and bags again... minus one. One seabag with Rolf's Immigration paper never made it and possibly ended up in the hands of a thief . After many more adventures aboard and on land we finally arrived in Vancouver and this is where my homepage starts. It was very hard and emotional to say goodbye to our Australian friends , we met and spent some time together on the cruise. There was even a band playing... it was pretty sad to say the least. It let us emotionally drained , till we realized , hey a new life has begun , we have to start from scratch.
The pictures of the boat trip are all slides. Please excuse the poor quality. The slides are more than 30 years old and shot with an inexpensive camera. So please enjoy my page anyway and don't hesitate and don't be afraid to give your comments. I won't bite !!! Thank you.
(P.S. Actually my intention was to create a homepage about Vancouver , but as you see it became more or less a personal homepage , a photo album.)
I also have to mention my various trips either to the US, Europe or to Central America. After all my difficulties in my earlier days in Canada ( job ), which was one of the main reasons for me of going back to Switzerland for 13 months working and saving more money and then returning to Canada in 1972. The other reason I don't want to mention here , because it was one very personal reason. My friend René in Vancouver organized a charter flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver and from Basel to Amsterdam was a regular one by Swissair. These one-way tickets were cheaper to buy in Canada , than here in Switzerland. The only problem was I had to stay overnight in Amsterdam because it was an early morning flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver. The charter flight was with Danair. I thought it would be a nonstop flight, but later found out there was a planned stop over in Greenland. The weather was nice and we all experienced a calm pleasant flight.The plane started to descent after a few hours of flying and we could see icebergs floating in the ocean. The landing in Sondre Stromfjord was announced and shortly after the pilot " Chuck Smith " began with the landing procedure. The landing was a really rough one. The plane bounced up and down several times on the runway..women were screaming and we thought the plan will break apart any time., but the pilot handled the situation very well. After we came to a stand still, he excused himself for the rough landing mentioning he was landing with three running engines only. That there was a problem with one of them and he had to shut it off. We were told to leave the aircraft and go and wait at the terminal until further notice. The airport belonged to the US Air Force. We looked out the windows and watched the plane. Some mechanics were trying to fix the engine, but all there was , was black smoke coming out of the engine. After more than 2 hours of waiting we were told that they have to fly in an engine part from London. We had to stay overnight. There was a small hotel at the base and families with children could check in. The rest of us mostly singles were brought to the bunkhouses. There was even a bar. Supper was served also and a rich breakfast in the morning.Next day we all had mixed feelings while boarding the plane. But everything went well and we arrived safe and sound in Vancouver.You only get this kind of excitement when you travel cheap ( charter flight ) ! I already had a bad impression while boarding the plane in Amsterdam. I couldn't believe my eyes what some passenger brought inside the plane. The only thing missing was a hammock spanning across the cabin !;-)
After my 2nd try I finally made it. I worked for seven months in Cassiar BC for the Cassiar Asbestos & Mining Corporation in the maintenance department as an Electrician and was able to buy a car in 1973 a 1968 Cadillac Eldorado with a 472 ci engine , 7.2 l . Wow ! Me and my Swiss buddy Rolf shared the car . In August 1973 we made our first long trip to the US. We travelled East on Canada Highway to the Okanagan ( Kelowna ), to Calgary and to Banff before we crossed the line into Montana ( Yellowstone Nationalpark ), Wyoming , Utah ( Salt Lake City ) , Nevada ( Las Vegas ), Arizona (Grand Canyon & Tombstone), New Mexico ( Santa Fe & Albuquerque,Taos , White Sands & Carlsbad Caverns ), Texas ( El Paso ), where we crossed the boarder to Juarez ( Mexico ). Next stage back to Arizona ( Tucson & Yuma ), California ( San Diego ), where we crossed a second time into Mexico to Tijuana . From San Diego to Los Angeles and on to San Francisco where we spent an entire week, then up the beautiful coast of Oregon , Washington ( Seattle ) and back to Vancouver BC. It took us roughly 6 weeks . Needless to say that we missed the beautiful warm weather.
It was time to find a job again....There was a job opening on Queen Charlottes Island in Tasu BC . This time it was a copper mine , but I was not very keen and happy to go in the bush again. But a job is a job! After a stay of just two months I left this lonely place again. In early 1974 I accepted a job on Vancouver Island in Tahsis BC. This was my first job as an Electrician in a sawmill .After a long journey by ferry to Nanaimo, a busride to Campbell River and then to Gold River boarding a small ship and steaming to Tahsis we finally arrived dead tired at the bunkhouses. At the hiring office in Vancouver I met Mike Von Lokvenz from Czechoslovakia , he was also hired as an Electrician. In Tahsis we shared a room in the bunkhouse. He started to work townsite and myself started at the sawmill. The first morning when we reported to work there was a blackout.The whole town was without electricity. My foreman Dave Johnson told me to go with Joe Spencer and look around. Remembering Joe showing me the sawmill with a flashlight!! Six months later when all the rumors started of going on strike I quit and made another trip to the US in Summer of 1974. This time I used the Greyhound , because I travelled alone and used up a special ticket, which I previously bought in Switzerland $99.- for 21 days. I extended it for a whole month , later for two months. My first stop was San Francisco , then Reno ( Nevada ), Las Vegas , continued to Phoenix ( Arizona ) one of the hottest city in the US , El Paso and Austin , where I stayed a couple of days , San Antonio & Houston ( all in Texas ) to Baton Rouge & New Orleans ( Louisiana ) where I stayed for 3 days and enjoyed Dixieland Jazz music and a boat ride with a Sternwheeler on the Mississippi River. Going back up North passing Little Rock ( Arkansas ), Oklahoma City ( Oklahoma ), Wichita Falls ( Kansas ) , Omaha ( Nebraska ) Des Moines ( Iowa ) where I decided going East to Chicago (Illinois) instead . Spent 4 splendid days in Chicago ( Impressed by Sears Tower with more than 110 floors!!!!!! ). St.Paul / Minneapolis ( Twin Cities ) , Rapid City ( South Dakota ) , Billings ( Montana ) , Butte , Spokane and back to Vancouver BC .
In fall of 1974, I made it back to Tahsis BC . As I recall 1975 was even a better year to travel. Since being laid off in spring from Tahsis, we would have enough time to make a trip to Costa Rica. We ( Juan Parrilla Cuadrado a Spaniard and friend of mine from work at Tahsis Sawmill ) and myself planned to take this trip all the way by bus . We took the Greyhound Bus to San Diego , transfered to a Mexican Bus line with stop overs in Hermosillo , Mazatlan & Mexico City . In Mexico City we hopped on a TICA Bus to Guatemala City ( Guatemala ) San Salvador ( El Salvador ) thru Honduras to Managua ( Nicaragua ) into Costa Rica to San José . It was quite an adventure . Once on the way thru Mexico we got stopped by several plainclothed men with their guns pulled out . Just, after we got almost scared to death , they introduced themselves as the police looking for some wanted criminals from Columbia. What a scare ! I already saw myself of losing everything I had on me (wallet , money , passport, luggage & watch ! ) Another time we had a flat tire but there was no garage in sight to fix it . Finally the driver stopped at a shack in the middle of nowhere and to our surprise , there was a mechanic and repaired the tire. But the icing on the cake was in a Guatemalan City , the bus driver didn't yield to a car coming from the right on a downtown intersection and hit the car. Luckily nobody got hurt , but the police arrested the driver anyway and confiscated the bus. We had to wait for the next one .( ca. half a day ! ) We also usually had to stay over night in each capital of these small countries ! They depended on the income from tourism . Costa Rica is a very nice and peaceful country , it's even called the Switzerland of Central America. After spending about 3 weeks in Costa Rica we went back, but only to Guatemala City . My Spanish friend had to renew his visa for passing thru Mexico. All he had was a one way visa , he tried to get a new visa in Costa Rica before , but the Mexican Consulate refused to give it to him. So he went to the Spanish Consulate to ask for assistance , but they couldn't help him either. Even though he showed and proofed he had enough money and a return Bus ticket to Vancouver. They didn't bother at all !!!The Spanish and the Mexican Government didn't have the hay on the same floor. Dictator Franco was still alive and ruled Spain. We decided to take the plane from Guatemala City to LA instead. From LA to Vancouver we boarded the Greyhound Bus again.
After this trip I needed a change of surrounding , a change of wallpaper. So I booked a flight to Basel and spent about 4 weeks in my native Switzerland. Hardly back in Canada I started another week of vacation in San Francisco . Somehow I was addicted to travelling ! In Fall of 1975 I returned to Tahsis and stayed there on and off till 1978 . Taking some time off, one or two weeks at a time in Vancouver , so I would never get bushed !
My parents travelled for the first time in summer 1977 to Canada . For my dad it was even his "première" , his maiden voyage on a plane. We really enjoyed it and had a good time together. I rented an apartment at the Blue Horizon in Vancouver for them. We did a trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island, where we visited the Butchart Garden . We also drove to the Long Beach in Tofino. Going to Seattle was just another trip. We also flew to San Francisco for a long weekend. Among other things we made an excursion to Napa Valley to explore a Vinery in California and from there we drove to the Muir Woods to see some huge trees ( Red Woods ).
In 1978 my old Caddy just wasn't good enough anymore , after a major engine overhaul and a hole in the transmission housing ( no wonder it couldn't take the beating of driving so many times over a stretch of 40 miles of gravel road anymore). It was time for a change. I bought a brandnew 1978 Thunderbird with a "smaller" engine 400 ci ( 6.6 l ). Soon after that I was quitting Tahsis. This time it was for good. Returned to Vancouver and stayed there. It was extremly hard to find a suitable job there. I worked 4 months for Canadian Car , wiring up control panels for " Chip and saw Machines" . After that I just worked Saturdays in various sawmills in the lower mainland . Eventually I got hired by Canfor ( Huntting & Merrit Shingle Division + Eburne Sawmills ) and worked there as an Electrician till summer of 1987.
In 1979 my parents came over here for a second time. After they got over their jet lag , we left by car and travelled to Kelowna & Vernon BC ( Okanagan Valley ) , Victoria , Nanaimo , Hope & Boston Bar we also took a few trips to Grouse Mountain ( cable car ). In 1980 my sister and my brother in law paid us a visit in Vancouver . They toured the USA and returned to us for one week before they headed back to Switzerland. In 1981 was our turn to head to Europe for 3 weeks. My dad took us along with his car and showed us Switzerland like I had never seen it before. We really enjoyed that trip. You'll find some pictures in my photoalbum . 1982 was the year my parents showed up in Canada for a third time. We made a trip across the line down the coast of Washington on I-5 later on Highway 101 ( what a beautiful scenery ! ) , Oregon to California stayed in San Francisco for a few days before we drove to LA . After seeing Disneyland ,Queen Mary at Long Beach we continued going south to San Diego , San Diego Zoo , Sea world and to the Bilbao park . Then travelled into Arizona heading to the Grand Canyon , Las Vegas and then going north on I-5 to Portland , Seattle and back to Vancouver. It was a fantastic trip . 1985 when my parents visited us for the 4th time , we stayed in BC and took the ferry a few times to Vancouver Island to Nanaimo and to Victoria. In 1986 we had EXPO ( World Exhibition ) in Vancouver . During summer that year we went on a big strike , which lasted more than 4 months. I took the opportunity to buy a season ticket for EXPO. Whenever we felt like we went to EXPO . Other than that it was very depressing and nerving being on strike for such a long time . We had a little shelter just outside the company's gate which was our picket line .The Union Meetings sometimes turned out in loud arguments and shouting and some people got very angry and aggressive . It was a bad scene ! We planned to spend Christmas in Switzerland with my parents . During this stay we decided to try a new start there. The following summer 1987 we left Canada broken hearted and since then we're living here in Switzerland. We had up and downs and sometimes we miss Canada ,our friends in Vancouver , the wide open space, the parks , the wildlife etc..........the OCEAN , the beautiful sunsets , and many more nice things !!!!! Thus far we never made it back to Canada yet , but we went twice to the States . Once to Florida and the 2nd time to California . Hopefully one day , who knows maybe for retirement , we'll make it back there ! Now it seems to me my past is catching up with me. All the bad experience jobwise is coming here to Switzerland right now. I started with CIBA-GEIGY in the electrical department , then from one day to the other we merged with SANDOZ and became NOVARTIS .NOVARTIS SERVICES respective, but then we were told that our services are not core business of NOVARTIS but Pharma is. We got outsourced and sold to Johnson Controls a large American Company in Facility Management, that's where I'm working now. Thanks thru the internet , I found out that many companies I worked for in Canada either closed down , or are completly disappeared . Cassiar became even a ghosttown..Sigh !!!!! Canfor doesn't operate a sawmill in Vancouver anymore, Tahsis closed both sawmills and became a tourist attraction for fishing..............
Let's go back to my first job. After we arrived in Canada we had to report to the Swiss Consulate in Vancouver, because of our military status.
As for landed immigrants we also had to sign in at manpower. There, we were told to come and check at least three times a week for job openings. A few weeks past by with no job in sight, but running short of money . We heard from other immigrants about the excistence of an English class for newcomers and what was more important to us you get even paid for it. No such luck on our side, there wasn't any vacancies. In the meantime I was negotiating for a job in a mine.The hiring office was located in downtown Vancouver. Manpower gave me the address. The hiring office was full of job seekers filling in application forms. The guy behind the desk ask , if there is anyone sent by manpower , so I replied :" yes ,me !" One of these guys said you're lucky you will get a job. He was right I got a job.I was hired as an 2nd class Electrician, because I didn't have any Canadian papers proofing of my trade. I didn't mind at all, it was a beginning at last. The mine's name was Granduc Mines situated in Stewart BC. I think about 80% of the immigrants in the Vancouver area know this place or have worked there. As for my buddy Rolf, he was told to come every other day to inquire about a job opening , because there was a coming and going at the mine site. Sometimes you get lucky and get a job.When you are hired the company pays for your fare, but you got to stay at least 3 months. Now I've got a job but I had to spend my last money for tools and for warm clothing. My way of going to Stewart was taking a plane to Prince Rupert and then get aboard a small boat named "Lumba Lumba" steaming thru the Portland Canal up to Stewart BC.We had dinner at a hotel ( King Edward)and then we were picked up by a company bus and brought up to the camp in the mountains. It was snowing and snowing. They were so busy to remove all the snow and keep this road open. We ( there was 8 more guys ) arrived late that night in the camp. Someone from the office was waiting for our arrival and gave us the names of the bunkhouses and the room numbers. Next morning I reported to the office and was then accompanied to the electrical shoppe. I worked under the supervision of an Australian foreman and teamed up with an electrician from Jamaica. Later they put me on Graveyardshift together with an older fellow nicknamed "Happy "!He was in charge of the electric train running underground for more than 16 kilometers into the mountain. We had to check out the insulators, clean them and use silicon to make them more water resistent. But before we started , we made sure the power is switched off and then we shorted out the overhead powerline to the rail and to the ground. We didn't want to be fried like a KFC chicken ! Happy taught me how to drive the train . To the train was a flatbed railroadcar connected. On top of it was a scaffold were we sat and from where we could easily reach the insulators. We didn't have the right connection between train and car just using a chain. The next days I worked all by myself while Happy took a nap somewhere in the electrical shoppe. I didn't mind to work alone and figured out how much time it would take me to finish the job to the end of the railroad. Xmas came nearer and Happy wanted to take some days off but he was denied. He was in a angry mood that night and was working with me. I was driving while he was sitting on the scaffold. He commanded me to drive and every time the chain straightend out the car jerked . Once he almost fell from the scaffold.
There was no fine tuning and I couldn't avoid the jerking. He swore at me and then he climbed down and said to me that this is the last time he works with me ! I said ok , turned on my helmet light , took my lunch bag and left him alone in the tunnel. My thought was that I am going to talk to the electrical supervisor in the morning. The next morning I went to the office and tried to talk to him. He came and told me to wait outside his office. After a while he opened the door and handed me the pink slip without giving me a chance to explain what happened.. I was still on probation time and not protected by the union. I had a big laugh when I read the reason " not able to do the job " Never ever before in my life I was fired ! This was a first. Later I found out I wasn't the first , but already the third one who got fired because of " Happy " ! I don't know how he got away sleeping on his shift and firing guys....he probably found his match !
to be continued............................................................................................
