Chestermere is becoming more and more diverse. As a result, the Chestermere Inclusion Committee decided it would be a great idea to showcase our diversity by interviewing local residents who reflect some of the multiculturalism we see in the community.
Our first interviewee is Mr. Joe Nagy whose family migrated to Canada from Hungary in 1928 in order to provide a better life for their family after the war. It was a pleasure to interview Joe as he shared his memories of his parents and his upbringing. Joe smiles and said “my parents always worked hard, if my dad wasn’t out working on the farm then he always wore a suit and tie”.
I listened eagerly as Joe reminisced and I was fascinated at the difference to the life we live today. Joe Nagy’s parents called Lajos (also known as Louie) and Marika were both born in Hungary. Louie and Marika gave birth to 3 children in Hungary; Janos (known as John), Margit (known as Margaret) and Lajos junior (also known as Louie junior). When the Nagy family immigrated to Canada in 1928 they first lived in Halifax but then moved to New Brunswick. The 1930’s were a very tough time and Louie would jump rail box cars and travel to find work in order to put food on the table for his family. It was also difficult as Louie could only speak very limited English. Louie’s first real job was on a coal mine and he decided with Marika to open a bed and breakfast. The building was 3 storeys and they provided room, board and food for all the fellow coal miners in the area. The guests were very pleased with Marika’s Hungarian cooking and Hungarian baking. Marika would grow poppy flowers by the main road of their farm and police on one occasion enquired what the poppy flowers were used for but Marika explained it was used for poppy seeds in her baking. The police understood and let the baking continue. Louie and Marika had 2 more children in New Brunswick, Joseph (also known as Joe) and Frank.
The family then moved to Chatham, Southern Ontario where Louie rented a cucumber field. The children all chipped in and helped where ever they could from the time they could walk. Sugar beets were also planted and harvested. During the 1940’s families did not own refrigerators so the Nagy family kept their meat in a well for cooling. Lockers in town could be rented as “big ice boxes”. The Nagy family butchered hogs and pigs each year and prepared their own sausage. On one occasion a cow was also butchered. Marika and Louie in this same year had one more baby, adding a 6th child to their family. Joe explains that his mother gave birth and was out working in the fields the very next day.
Louie later worked for another Hungarian farmer and grew tobacco and grains. Shortly after, Louie started looking around to buy his own place in Rodney Ontario and 50 acres of farm land was bought. Tobacco farming was seasonal work so during the winter months Louie worked on railroads. During the spring, Louie was able to purchase horses and equipment for his land. Joe remembers building tobacco barns with his older brothers. Joe states “My dad was quite the farmer and then bought an additional 50 acres of land, 50 were used for tobacco farming and the other 50 for grains”. They had quotas to meet and employed additional farmers at harvest time. 2 workers came from Carolina and were ex Marine men and even Prisoners of War (POW) were employed to help. The POW men were dressed in jackets with red patches from Russia. Due to his land size, Louie was approached by local hunters to hunt peasants on his land. Joe recalls that the farmers would return with boxes of clothing for the children as a sign of their gratitude and everyone was delighted.
The Nagy family brought traditions of preparing homemade red/white wine and moonshine from Hungary. On their orchards they grew, apple, plums and pears. They had a secret signal to neighbours and friends that when their flag was raised in front of their farm, it was time to squeeze the grapes. The alcohol was used for their private consumption.
In 1957 Joe moved to Calgary and started his apprenticeship in Auto Body. A year later, Joe met his wife Devonna at a friend’s house which was followed by a hockey game. Joe and Devonna married in that same year and are happily married since. In 1976 Joe opened his own Body Shop on 9th Ave and 15th Street SW and had 7 employees, Devonna was the book keeper. Joe also took welding lesson and learnt how to bend and shrink metal. With 45 years of auto body experience under his belt, the Apprentice board contacted Joe and urged him to complete his apprenticeship exam. Joe smiles and recalls “I was quickly told to leave SAIT as I was over qualified compared to all the other very young students. I took the exam and passed with all my field experience”.
Joe and Devonna moved to Chestermere in 1976 and built their house on an acreage. They planted all their trees and built underground sprinklers and heated flooring within the home. They also moved their body shop business to Chestermere. Today they are both retired but through their childhood experiences working on a farm are now able to give back to the community on a regular basis. Each season they share their expertise on gardening with local residents and have shared their land for the use of the community garden. Joe and Devonna have countless volunteer hours through the Chestermere Everyday angels program.
They recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary and are proud to announce that they have 2 children, Joe Junior and Mary-Lynn and also 2 grandkids names Krista and Curtis.
When my interview came to a close I was delighted in the fact that I had heard about the old way of life. There is something that draws one to listen to country life and tales from history when we were not so reliant on computers.
Joe shared with me that he his family never visited Hungary since their migration to Canada. They kept their Hungarian heritage through befriending other Europeans and through their love for Hungarian food and music. His parents loved the diversity in Ontario and were proud to call Canada home.
Footnote: Chestermere Inclusion Committee (members include: Town of Chestermere, Chestermere Public Library, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, Prairie Waters Elementary School, Rocky View Community Learning Centre, Bow Valley College, Lake Ridge Community Church and community members)
