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Eve Vickar’s idyllic childhood included strolls with her dad in the beautiful parks in Vienna and travelling into the Austrian countryside to visit her grandfather.
But, unbeknownst to Eve, who was 96 when she died on Aug. 25, the rise of fascism nearby was soon to change her childhood.
Eve was nine in 1938, when Austrian Nazis took over the government, followed by German troops crossing the border the next day. She lived under Nazi occupation for 15 months.
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Her father, Arthur Weinberger, was captured during Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, in November 1938 when the Nazi Party carried out a pogrom against Jewish people in Germany and parts of Austria.
Eve later recalled the chandeliers in their condominium being shattered and her father’s “miraculous return home in the morning, having been released by a fellow First World War veteran.”
Somehow, Eve and her parents escaped to England just weeks before the war broke out, and a year later they were in Canada. Her family says Eve “remained eternally grateful to the British for providing safe harbour for the family during their first year as refugees.”
The family lived in Oshawa and that’s where Eve graduated from high school and began working in administration at General Motors.
Somehow, Eve met Harry, a farmer from Melfort, Saskatchewan, in 1950, and three years later they were married.
The couple spent the next two decades in Melfort, and it’s where they raised their two sons.
It’s also where Eve began her advocacy and volunteerism, something she brought to Winnipeg when the family moved here so Harry could join his cousin to own and operate Pembina Dodge Chrysler and Nairn Nissan Place. She spent more than 40 years as a member of the Women’s Committee of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
While Eve never expressed bitterness about how world events changed the course of her life, she did admit at times she still had “a longing for her Austrian roots and seemed to grieve the loss of the further opportunity to have grown up in Vienna amidst the familiar culture of her childhood.”
Eve was predeceased by Harry and survived by several family members.
Read more about Eve.
How They Lived
Mervin Slotta helped travellers have a place to stay.
Mervin, who was 100 when he died on Oct. 19, ran hotels in rural Manitoba and Saskatchewan with his wife before they began operating Kenora’s Northland Hotel from 1963 to 1988.
As the same time, they also owned the Flamingo Motel on Pembina Highway in Winnipeg from 1974 to 1988.
Read more about Mervin.
Margie Fallis’ service to kids began at the Children’s Home in 1966.
Even after Margie, who died on Sept. 4 at 82, was fired in 1973, she said due to her strong personal beliefs, she continued to help children.
She went on to work for Children’s Aid in Portage la Prairie before helping develop the Quest Group Home there where she helped vulnerable children.
Read more about Margie.
When Morris Kaufman came to Winnipeg from Israel at age 12 he had to learn English.
Not only did Morris, who was 84 when he died on Oct. 2, learn English, he went on to become a lawyer, both privately and at Legal Aid Manitoba. He was elected as a city councillor, and was appointed a Court of Queen’s Bench Justice in 1998.
Morris was involved with both the Liberal Party of Manitoba and Canada and served on several boards including Rossbrook House, VIA Rail Canada, and Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.
Read more about Morris.
Ruby Ingram excelled in softball.
Ruby, who died on Oct. 3 at 91, began playing the sport with WECO in the commercial league when she was only 13.
She then joined the Elmwood Pats, being named MVP in her rookie year and winning the award three times in total. She played for the CUAC Blues and helped them become the first Manitoba team to win the Women’s Western Canadian Softball Championship in 1957. She was inducted with the team into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame.
She wrapped up her softball career at 28, with the CPAC Falconettes, once again winning MVP honours in 1962, a year before she married.
In between, Ruby also played basketball with her church league team, when the softball season ended, and won several city championships.
Read more about Ruby.
Jerry Gray was called Frank Lloyd Wrong in architecture school so he switched to business.
Jerry, who died on Oct. 12, went on to get his PhD in management at the University of South Carolina in 1970, and immediately was hired by the University of Manitoba’s then Faculty of Commerce, now known as the I.H. Asper School of Business. He taught business there and later became Dean.
After retiring as Dean Emeritus in 2005, he was chairman of the WRHA and the Friends of Upper Fort Garry, president of the Manitoba Club, and served on corporate boards including Pollard Banknote and Gendis Inc.
Read more about Jerry.
A Life’s Story
Don McLean was a towering presence in both basketball and business.
Don played basketball for 67 years, in both junior and senior men’s leagues in Winnipeg and Calgary. His athleticism culminated with him being inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. He played in five national basketball championships, was named a Senior “A” League all-star four times, won league MVP in 1965, and continued playing into his late 70s.
“He loved the game,” said Robin Fry, who played against Don in the 1960s. “He wasn’t a great runner or a great jumper, but he was a big body and he always encouraged everybody.”
Don McLean was exceptional: he played basketball for 67 years and retired from a long career in business when he was 80. (Supplied)
In business, Don worked for Maple Leaf Foods and rose to become general manager and then CEO of its beef operations for Canada, with 900 employees reporting to him. He later was president and CEO of Tirol, an agricultural organization.
Read more about Don’s life here.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
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