On Friday, August 29th, 2008, my paternal grandfather, Gustav Lutzer, celebrated his 106th birthday. This is his story.
Gustav Lutzer was born in 1902 in the village of Kurgany, right in the heart of the Ukraine. His parents were German by nationality, and had migrated to the Ukraine to take advantage of land offers from the Russian government.
Life was difficult. Children were often sent to work on other farms to make money for the family. Gustav was sent to several different farms starting at the age of seven, and worked long hours in the fields.
In 1915, World War I was in full swing. Gustav’s family was forced to leave their home. As Germans living in the Ukraine, Russian leaders believed they might become spies for Germany.
The German families were given two choices: the extreme cold of Siberia, or the warmer climate of Afghanistan. The Lutzer family chose Afghanistan, and began the arduous journey. Food was scarce on the crowded freight cars carrying the immigrants. Finally the Lutzers reached Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and were taken to refugee camps to live in crowded barracks with other immigrants and prisoners of war.
Illness spread through the camps, fueled by the severe malnutrition and hot weather. Several of my grandfather’s siblings as well as his mother died of typhoid fever and were buried in unmarked graves. Nothing was explained to young Gustav, who was about 14 years old at the time. All he knew was that his mother and siblings were gone. His grief was incalculable.
Death continued to be rampant, and after eight months in the barracks of Kabul the refugees went to Siberia. In spite of the cold, conditions in Siberia were actually better than Afghanistan; there was less sickness and disease.
In late 1918, the Lutzers were able to return to the Ukraine. My grandfather and his brothers had a house to live in and were able to make money gathering firewood and building railroad ties. Still, my grandfather knew that there must be a better place to live. A distant relative had migrated to Canada, and was willing to sponsor Gustav’s journey to Canada.
At the age of 25, Gustav boarded a ship from Liverpool, England, to journey across the ocean to the new world. After docking at Quebec City, Quebec, he took the train all the way to across the Canadian prairies to Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He began working on a farm for a reasonable wage. He worked for several years and saved up his money so he could buy his own farm.
He also attended a local church, and it was there that he spotted Wanda Ludtke, another German immigrant. If Gustav was to buy a farm, he needed a wife to help him run it . He heard that Wanda was a good cook, so he asked if he could walk her home from church. She agreed, and three weeks later they were married!
Here is their wedding picture, taken on their wedding day – July 25th, 1931. (You can click on each picture to enlarge)
Amazingly, Wanda had also been born and raised in the Ukraine, about 300 kilometers from where Gustav had grown up. She was also German by nationality, and had gone to Siberia with her family during the war.
After returning to the Ukraine at the end of the war, her family had saved enough money for all of them to go to the United States. However, by the time enough money was saved, the US had restricted immigration and they were told to go to Canada instead.
After their marriage, the Lutzers worked hard on their farm, persisting in spite of drought and hail that sometimes leveled entire crops. They also had five children. Their youngest child, Erwin, is my father.
Here is the Lutzer family in the mid 1940's; my dad is the little boy on the right with his hand on his father's hand:
When I was growing up, every summer we made the long drive from Chicago to Saskatchewan to see my Lutzer relatives. I have many memories of my grandparents: their thick German accents, their warm hugs, and the distinctive smell of delicious German cooking that always permeated their home.
My grandpa is one of the kindest and gentlest men I know. He never talked to us about his difficult childhood, but according to my dad, he carried no bitterness towards the people or circumstances that caused him so much pain in the early years. Throughout everything he's faced in his life, his faith in God has never wavered.
My grandmother is still alive also (she is 99) and both grandparents live together in a nursing home. My grandfather, while physically still in good health for his age, has forgotten most of the people and events of his later life.
He now speaks almost completely in German, frequently quoting the Bible or singing old hymns. He and my grandmother have separate rooms (he needs quite a bit more care than she does), but they eat their meals together and I’m so glad they can still see each other.
Here they are a few years ago, celebrating grandpa's 100th birthday:
My grandparents will never leave me money or property. They lived very modest lives and had no interest in accumulating earthly wealth. But they are leaving me the best kind of legacy: their unwavering faith in God. In spite of all the trials that he faced, my grandfather always believed that God had a plan for his life and would see him safely through.
My grandparents' faith is best summed up in the words of their favorite hymn, the one they always had us sing after dinner:
Take the name of Jesus with you
Child of sorrow and of woe
It will joy and comfort give you
Take it then where 'ere you go
Precious name, oh how sweet;
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
Precious name, oh how sweet;
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
Every time we visited them, we saw a list they had posted on the wall of all their children, grandchildren, and eventually great-grandchildren. They told us that they prayed for each of us, by name, every day. Throughout my life, knowing my grandparents were praying for me was one of the main things that sustained me during difficult times.
It’s been a few years since I saw them last. I might never see them again until we meet in heaven. Even so, I have their shining example of faith in God – no matter what the circumstance – to inspire me the rest of my life.
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You can find my grandfather on the internet in a few places. First, this article in a local paper about my grandparents celebrating their 76th wedding anniversary last year. Here's a video clip that was aired in Canada last year about their long lives & long marriage. And, you can see the immigration records for both Gustav and Wanda as they entered Canada. They took the same route and the same ship, The Empress of Scotland; she came to Canada a year after he did.
Thanks to my dad and my Aunt Esther for interviewing my grandparents and recording their story for future generations.
