It never fails to amaze me how people who are born and raised so far apart and then, step by step, they gradually migrate and eventually through fate they meet one another and end up here in Prince George.
Such was the case with Charlie and Delores (Henze) Bircher. Here is their story in a nutshell:
Charlie was born in 1941 in the Alps in Central Switzerland in a town called Adelboden. A friend of the family living in McBride wrote a letter to his parents and told them of all the good land that was available in McBride. They were intrigued and with that his parents decided to immigrate to Canada.
Charlie was seven years old when his family boarded a boat and a week later they arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia; from there they took a train all the way to McBride. They arrived in McBride in March of 1949. The first thing they saw was lots of snow and the temperature was -30. To make matters even worse they did not have proper winter clothing for this type of Canadian spring weather. They quickly found that life in northern B.C. was a tough life compared to what they were used to in Switzerland. Their friends let them stay in one of their cabins where they had a hay mattress to sleep on. In the end, they choose to settle in McBride because the mountains and the scenery was much like their hometown in Switzerland.
It wasn't long and his parents bought a farm and gradually built it into a productive piece of land.
Charlie grew up and was schooled in McBride and then he and his brother went to Vancouver to further their education. Charlie studied mechanics and went on to find work in his profession.
In the meantime, the parents of Delores Henze, who was born in Rockford, Sask., decided to sell the family farm and head to Vancouver in search of work. Her father who was a carpenter left first and found work in the construction industry building houses. He promptly sent for his wife and four children who arrived later by bus.
Delores attended the Vancouver Vocational Institute and graduated in 1961 as a practical nurse.
Time went by and Delores eventually met Charlie through a friend who knew Charlie's brother. The rest is history.
Charlie and Delores were married in 1962 and lived in Vancouver until 1967. Charlie worked as a mechanic and Delores worked in the nursing profession until the children started to arrive.
The couple moved to Cranbrook for two years followed by a move to Fort
St. John to join up with Charlie's brother and his family. They lived there for the next 20 years and during that time Charlie worked toward his pipe fitters ticket while working at the gas plant in Taylor. In 1990 they decided to make a temporary move to Prince George and they have been here ever since.
Charlie worked in construction and as a pipe fitter until he retired in 2007. He continues to work at the pulp mills on a temporary basis during a scheduled mill shut down.
Meanwhile, Delores was a stay-at-home mom and raised their five children. They now have six grandchildren.
When the children went to school she worked at a local butcher shop which was a helpful experience since Charlie was an avid hunter. She had a home-based business and did custom baking orders for people she knew and for a local restaurant.
Together they have always enjoyed a huge garden and country living and as well their farm was the source of all their fire wood.
Delores likes to keep busy and enjoys her crochet and sewing hobbies and regularly volunteers her time at a local senior centre.
The couple recently celebrated 54 years of marriage and said. "We have always enjoyed the fresh clean air of country living and it was a great place to raise our family."
January birthdays that I know about: Bill Bond, Hilda Fichtner, Charlotte Hellyer, Rolland Chartrand, Victoria Gutfriend, Ann Neville, Laura Sandberg, Franca Pascuzzi, Terri Meyer, Joy Wikjord, Jean Bayne, Tom Hynd, James McConaghy, Lyn Thibault, Sharon Vincent, Ken Goss, Wayne Hamlin, Mary Hamlin, Marilyn Hinton, Tanna Dofka, Gail Horvath, Dianne Humphreys, Diane Rose, Keith Young, Richard Winnig, Lois Keim, Gudrun Hamm, Barb Pierce, Robert Weed, Susan Weed, Leona Sawatzky, Kathy Rosenau, Phil Sciara, Deanna Carter, Roy Christensen, Doreen Erickson, Alice Henderson, John Darchuk, Lena Enns, Doreen Hewlett, Edgar Laurin, Joan Pitcher, Bonnie Meikle, Betty Pidhirny, Pearl Hiebert, Ed Ventress, Doris Schock, Mark Miller, Clarence Harmon, Diane Hubbell, Brian Walker, Jolanda VanDyk, Anne Wiebe, Flo Connaghan, Charlie Forden and Bob Klick.
Anniversaries: 65 years for Lindy and Roberta Barnes
