Interviewproject kicks off with emotional stories

Mid-April Sander Jongsma, Margriet Dekkers and Jan Braakman started the interview project for the Information Center Canadian Cemetery.

Rita Charlebois-Fraser, the 92-year-old sister of Alcide Charlebois, ( buried in Holten), related that her brother just walked away from home when he was 19 years old. Father Charlebois suspected that his son intended to join the army and tried to prevent him from enlisting. For the father had bought a farm for Alcides to ensure his son’s future. But the course of events was different.

Rita was located by Margriet Dekkers, who currently works for Twente University. Margriet lived and worked in Canada for a while. She traced relatives of Alcide Charlebois through her connections in Quebec. She inspired the research commission to see if there are more candidates for interviews.

One of the other interviewed persons is Wolf Solkin from Montreal, a veteran of the Algonquin Regiment, whose friend Bill O’Donnell is buried in Holten. Wolf told interviewer Jan Braakman a moving story about his friendship with Bill, and about the tragic circumstances of his death. It took him decades to keep this promise to his friend.

The complete stories of Rita Charlebois and Wolf Solkin are part of an elaborate documentary by Sander Jongsma of RTV Oost. Jongsma and Braakman are going to interview eight more persons this week in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario.

The interview project still produces new suggestions for interview candidates., also from Canada. Dozens of names were suggested via websites, email and personal contacts in Canada. Initially, the selection was restricted to people who themselves knew the boys that are buried in Holten. Also, for example for logistic reasons, our interviewers had to be highly selective.

The documentary is scheduled to be broadcast later this year, and will also be shown in the renovated Information Center Canadian Cemetery Holten. The project is partly subsidized by the municipality of Rijssen-Holten.