RURAL DUTCH IMMIGRANTS IN THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY EDITH MARGARET GINN B.A., The Queen's University of Belfast, 1963 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Geography We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA May, 1967 o In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced degree a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o lumbia, I a g r e e t h a t t h e L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s t u d y . I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a t p e r -m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by t h e Head o f my Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s * I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i -c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department o f Geography The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date 14th.. A p r i l , 1967 A B S T R A C T The impact of immigrants on Canadian society and economy has been, and s t i l l i s , a very li v e issue. This study focuses on the post-war Dutch immigrants in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, to examine the impact of a particular cultural group on the l i f e and landscape of a region. The emphasis i s on the agricultural Dutch immigrants because they have made the most noticeable impact in the Valley, through their close association with the dairy industry. The distribution, settlement, social characteristics and occupational selection of the Dutch immigrants were considered, to identify any pattern in the cultural geography of the Valley which has arisen from cultural differences between the Dutch immigrants and the other Valley residents. A f i e l d survey of a sample of Dutch immigrants in the Lower Fraser Valley seemed the most satisfactory method for the investigation of such a topic. Published primary and secondary sources are negligible or of limited value. For example, in the Canadian census the definition of 'Dutch' i s ambiguous, resulting in the inclusion of Germans and Mennonites in the 'Dutch' c l a s s i -fication. The study i s primarily based on data acquired in 1964 through interviews with Dutch immigrants, community leaders, municipal and agricultural officers in the Valley. Telephone directories and church registers were used to select the sample. The interview included personal and social characteristics, emigration and locational motivations, the occupations and the innovations of the Dutch immigrants. The Dutch are a succession group. They acquired farms and residences where they were available. Their impact i s subtle and more d i f f i c u l t to define than that- of a pioneering group. There i s no large compact settle-ment with a distinctive Dutch form, or architecture, to compare with the settlement of Vsome of the i n i t i a l immigrant groups in Canada. The most spectacular impact on settlement has been the creation of Pitt Polder. Through the reclamation of marshland, the Dutch have extended the area of settlement in the Valley. The Dutch account for four per cent of the Valley population, but they form more than ten per cent of the population of those municipalities which include the major dairy regions, such as Pitt Meadows, Kent and Matsqui. The dispersed distribution of the Dutch has not prevented the development of strong social ties among that section of the immigrant group that has established Dutch churches. This suggests that i f there i s a sufficiently strong bond among people, religion in this case, physical proximity i s not an essential prerequisite for the development of a community. The most distinctive social characteristic of the post-war Dutch immigrants is the significance of religion as a variable in their migration, location and rate of integration. The socio-religious divisions of the Netherlands society are apparent among the Dutch immigrants. The Orthodox Calvinists have shown a greater readiness to establish ethnic churches, separate schools and separate trade unions; they have the fewest contacts with Canadians; and have the slowest rate of integration. Their impact on the social geography of the Valley i s the easiest to identify. It i s expected that their social identity w i l l last longer than that of the rest of the Dutch immigrant group. The casual observers' linkage of the rural Dutch immigrants with dairying has been verified. There are over four hundred Dutch dairy farmers forming a f i f t h of the producers in the Valley. In the post-war period dairying was an economically attractive agricultural enterprise, yet only Dutch immigrants have penetrated i t to any extent, suggesting that there i s a cultural preference involved in the Dutch occupational selection of dairying. Through competition and by example the Dutch dairy farmers have encouraged the adoption of intensive land use methods in Valley dairying. This contribution to dairying i s an example of the value of a s k i l l e d immigrant group to the economy of an immigrant country. The rural Dutch immigrants have been distinguished by their association with dairying, hut already there i s an indication that this characteristic w i l l fade. Some second generation Dutch immigrants have selected urban occupations in preference to dairying. The strength of religious ties among the Orthodox Calvinists suggests that this group w i l l maintain their distinctiveness for the longest period as there i s l i t t l e pressure in .Canadian society to relinquish a particular religion, compared with the trend in favour of urban occupations. The Orthodox Calvinists, rather than the dairy farmers, may be the section of the post-war Dutch immigrants to have the most marked impact on the cultural geography of the Lower Fraser Valley in the future. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES i v LIST OF FIGURES v i LIST OF PLATES v i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v i i i INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter II DUTCH IMMIGRANTS TO CANADA 12 Trends in the Dutch Migration to Canada Dutch Immigration before 1945 Dutch Immigration after 1945 Characteristics of the Dutch Immigrants Demographic Characteristics of the Dutch Immigrants Occupational Characteristics of the Dutch Religious Aff i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch Immigrants III DISTRIBUTION OF THE DUTCH IN CANADA 40 The Dutch in Canada The Dutch in British Columbia The Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley-Factors Influencing the Distribution of the Dutch in the Valley IV THE PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGION IN THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE DUTCH IMMIGRANTS 68 Religious A f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch in the Valley Dutch Religious Group Views on Social Institutions The Social Integration of the Dutch Immigrants i i V THE DUTCH AND AGRICULTURE IN THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY 99 Agricultural Enterprises in the Lower Fraser Valley Post-war Changes in Valley Agriculture The Dutch and Poultry Production The Dutch and Market Gardening The Dutch and Bulb and Flower Growing The Dutch and Beef and Hay Production VI THE DUTCH AND DAIRYING . 115 The Nature of the Post-War Dairy Industry in the Valley Dutch Dairy Farms in the Valley The Preference of the Dutch for Dairying The Impact of the Dutch on the Valley Dairy Industry CONCLUSIONS 157 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................. 163 APPENDICES 170 I Outline of Interviews used in the Field Work II The Interviews III Dutch Immigration to Canada, 1901-64 by Ethnic Origin IV Netherlands Immigration to Canada 1946-63 by Different Classifications : V Age and Sex of Immigrants, by Ethnic Origin i n 1957 VI Distribution of the Population in the Netherlands, by Provinces VII Historical Tree of the Reformed Churches in the VIII Netherlands Agriculture in the Lower Fraser Valley LIST OF TABLES Table Page I Netherlands Emigration in Relation to the Total Dutch Population 18 II Dutch Immigrants to Canada 19h6-6ht by Ethnic Origin ... 23 III A Comparison of the Percentage of Agricultural to Total Workers of the Dutch, German, Italian and British Immigrants to Canada, 19^6-61 31 IV Dutch Emigrant Departures 19^8-62, expressed as a percentage, according to Country of Destination and Denomination 36 V Comparison of the Dutch Provincial Destinations (A) with that of the Total Canadian Immigrants (B) 19^6-6l, expressed as a percentage h2 VI Distribution of the Dutch i n British Columbia in 196l, by Ethnic Origin h5 VII Distribution of the I n i t i a l Employment of the Dutch as Farm Labourers in the Valley 5 ^ VIII Migration Aims of the Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley « 5 6 IX Influence of Kinship Ties on the Locational Decision of the Dutch in the Valley 5 8 X Provincial Origin of the Valley Dutch, by Municipalities 60 XI Percentage Emigration to Canada in 1957 via the Migration Bureaus 63 XII Religious A f f i l i a t i o n s of the Netherlands Population in 19^7 72 XIII Membership of the Christian Reformed Churches in the Valley 75 i v Page XIV Dutch Christian Schools in the Valley 84 XV Ethnic Origin of the Marriage Partners of the Dutch Single Male Immigrants 93 XVI Dutch Shippers as a Percentage of the Total Shippers to the Major Dairies . • 126 XVII The Percentage Distribution of the Dutch and the Total F.V.M.P.A. Shippers and Milk Cows in the Valley 127 XVIII Acreage of the Dutch Dairy Farms by Municipalities .. 130 XIX Mobility of Dutch Dairy Farmers 133 XX Ethnic Origin of the Predecessors on the Dutch Dairy Farms .* 135 XXI Netherlands Occupations of the Valley Dutch Dairy Farmers 137 XXII Former Enterprise on the Dutch Dairy Farms in the Valley 139 XXIII Quantity and Quality of the Milk of the Major Breeds in the Valley 142 XXIV Improvements on the Dutch Dairy Farms - New Constructions 148 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Locational Map of the Lower Fraser Valley ............. 6 2. Dutch Immigrants to Canada, 1961-6U, by Ethnic Origin . 13 3. Age - Sex Pyramids of Major Immigrant Groups to Canada in 1957 . • 27 k. Distribution of the Dutch i n the Lower Fraser Valley .. 1+8 5. The Dutch in Relation to the Total Population 50 6. Religious A f f i l i a t i o n s in the Netherlands ............. 62 7. Churches with Dutch Membership, including Ethnic and Roman Catholic Churches 7^ 8. Congregation of Abbotsford Christian Reformed Church in 196U 77 9. Commercial Farms in the Lower Fraser Valley ........... 101 10. The Major Agricultural Districts and Provinces of the Netherlands 10k 11. : Year of Immigration and Acquisition of Present Farm ... 120 12. Distribution of Dutch Dairy Farmers 125 13. Acreage and Milking Herd Size of Dutch Dairy Farms .... 129 Ik. Residential Mobility of the Dutch 13^ vi LIST OF PLATES Plate Page I The Abbotsford Reformed Church of America: Heir to a Pentecostal Church * .. 96 II Haney Christian Reformed Church: Heir to a Sikh Temple ... 96 III New Westminster Christian Reformed Church ........... 97 IV Abbotsford Christian Reformed Church 97 V New Milkhouse on an East Chilliwack Farm * 149 VT New Stanchion Barn beside the Old One on a Mats qui Farm 149 VII New Loafing Barn on a Sumas Farm 150 VIII New Cement Silo, Milkhouse and Loafing Barn on a Kent Farm 150 IX P i t t Polder in 1940 152 X P i t t Polder in 1963 153 v i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the preparation of this study several people were of assistance to me. I am especially grateful to Dr. A. Siemens, my thesis advisor, for his encouragement and guidance at a l l stages of the thesis pre-paration. I wish also to thank Mr. R. Copley of the Department of Geography, Miss J . Ryder, Miss R. Anderson and fellow graduate students for their interest and advice. I am grateful to the University of British Columbia for the research grant which provided the opportunity to spend the summer vacations in the Field. Without the helpful co-operation of the Dutch immigrants and community leaders in the Lower Fraser Valley this study could not have been written. They graciously gave me their time for interviews and provided essential information for the study. E. Margaret Ginn v i i i I N T R O D U C T I 0 N The Dutch are one of the most interesting post-war Canadian immigrant groups, f i r s t l y , because there was only a trickle of Dutch immigrants before 1945, but i n the ' f i f t i e s Dutch migration swelled to a flood; and secondly, unlike most pre-war immigrants, the Dutch have shown a marked preference for agricultural occupations. Both these characteristics are examined in this study, which i s concerned with the impact of the Dutch immigrants on the " l i f e and landscape""*- of a region, the Lower Fraser Valley in British Columbia. The majority of the 18,000 post-war Dutch immigrants to British Columbia have settled i n the Lower Fraser Valley, forming a dis-tinctive cultural group which i s overwhelmingly associated with dairying. This association of a seemingly homogeneous cultural group, the Dutch, with a particular occupation, dairying, provides a point of departure of the examination of the influence of culture on the geography of a region. Immigrant Groups and Human Geography Wagner and Mikesell, who define cultural geography as the "study of contributions made by human groups, by their ideas and behaviour, to the evolution of various geographic landscapes", would exclude immigrant D. W. Meinig, "The Mormon Culture Region: Strategies and Patterns in the Geography of the American West 1847-1964", A.A.A.p., vol. LV (June 1965) p.191 Canada, Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Section 1 2 studies from cultural geography. They contend that the importance of transplanted cultural communities depends upon the maintenance of cultural integrity", so, when an immigrant culture i s modified, i t i s 2 not worthy of consideration. To them a study of such an immigrant group i s of l i t t l e value because i t " w i l l not uncover many important additions to North American culture and w i l l not reveal a great deal about the former culture of the immigrants." . The culture of immigrants does change as Wagner and Mikesell state, but these changes, i.e. the rejections, adaptions and entrench-ments of the old country t r a i t s , can be as interesting as the charact-eristics of the culture i t s e l f . Cultural differences between recent immigrant groups and the resident Canadian population do exist, though they may not be so marked or as clear cut as the differences between groups in primitive societies. The "romantic appeal" of immigrant studies does stimulate interest, but the studies have more to offer k than this role which Wagner and Mikesell assign to them. Cultural differences among the several immigrant groups have contributed to the evolution of the geographical patterns on the North American continent. Not surprisingly immigrant groups have been studied P„ L. Wagner & M. W. Mikesell, Readings In Cultural Geography (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1962) front flap Ibid., p. l6 3 Ibid. Ibid. 3 by social scientists and three schools of thought on the cultural assimilation of immigrants have emerged.^" The 'melting-pot' theory suggests that the "culture of the immigrants and the host society are blended to form a new indigenous American type;" and that of 'Anglo-conformity' involves "the complete renunciation of the immigrants ancestral culture in favour of the behaviour and values of the Anglo-Saxon core group." Both these theories have been discredited. 'Cultural Pluralism'* is now the most generally accepted theory of cultural assimilation. This implies that the groups do maintain a certain identity, though i t might not be very marked. The theory of 3 cultural pluralism has recently been substantiated by Lenski and 4 Herberg who found group differences based on religion among third generation immigrants in America, and by Glazer and Moynihan,"' who documented differences based on ethnic origin. Geographers have also studied immigrant groups either from the view of settlement, or from the impact of the group in a region resulting Assimilation is defined as the "gradual process whereby cultural differences (and rivalries) tend to disappear." J. F. Cuber, Sociology: Synopsis of Principles, (New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 3rd ed. 1955) p.609 M. M. Gordon, Assimilation in American Life (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1964) p.85 G. Lenski, The Religious Factor (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co. Inc., i96T5 W. Herberg, Protestant-Catholic-Jew: An Essay in American Religious Sociology (New York: Soubled'ay & Co. Inc., 1955) "Religion with the third generation has become the differentiating element and the context of self-identification and social locatin" p.35 N. Glazer & D. P. Moynihan, Beyond the Melting Pot (Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press, 1961) k from the particular group characteristics. "The Settlement of New Iceland" by Vanderhill and Christensen is an example of the f i r s t approach.^" The origins of the Icelandic migration, the selection of the settlement site, the establishment of the colony and the development of the settlement, are the substance of the art i c l e . The time factor dominates. Mather and Kaups place a greater emphasis on the settlement 2 form. They consider that form can be used as a cultural index to define a region dominated by a particular culture. The Finnish Sauna was their example, but, as they already knew and defined the regions of greatest Finnish concentration, the index seems to be superfluous. The aim was achieved before the tool of investigation had been determined. The geographers who have emphasised the impact of a group in a region have chosen religious groups as their examples. This choice reflects the d i f f i c u l t y of defining the ideology of an ethnic group for the members seldom have a uniform outlook. Bjorklund selected the Dutch Reformed community of S.W. Michigan to illustrate that ideology "contains the fundamental bases from which decisions are made and dis-. 3 tinctive ways of organizing area are derived." Group attitudes are 1 B. G. Vanderhill & D. E. Christensen, "The Settlement of New Iceland," A.A.A.G., vol.LIII (Sept.1963) 2 C. Mather & M. Kaups, "The Finnish Sauna: A Cultural Index to Settlement," A.A.A.G., vol. LIII (Dec.1963) 3 E. M. Bjorklund, "Ideology and Culture Exemplified in South-western Michigan," A^A^A^G., vol.LIV (June 1964) p.227 5 central i n the study; settlement processes and form are only used as examples of the 'works' of the group. Similarly, Meinig, in defining a Mormon region, relates the impact of the Mormons to their ideology. In the Lower Fraser Valley, Siemens also selected a religious group, the Mennonites, to examine their contribution to the cultural landscape.^" Unlike the groups examined in the studies cited above, this thesis is concerned with a succession group rather than a pioneering group. This affects the choice of c r i t e r i a . For example, place-names and settlement form are not significant as they were established prior to the advent of the Dutch. The Dutch have penetrated the existing settlement in the Lower Fraser Valley, i t is therefore impossible to follow Meinig's approach, for he could define a Mormon 2 region in which the group formed ninety per cent of the population. Sas, in a study of the Dutch in South-west Ontario, provides an example 3 of an approach for a succession group. He considers the settlement process, the Dutch impact in the region and the problems of adjustment. Though considering similar topics, in this study the emphasis is on the distinctive impact of the Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley.(Fig.I) A. H. Siemens, Mennonite Settlement in the Lower Fraser Valley. M.S.Thesis, 1960 U.B.C. Meinig, op.cit., p. 218 A. Sas, "Dutch Migration to and Settlement in Canada since 1945 (special emphasis on S.W.Ontario)" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation Dept. of Geography, Clark Univ., 1957 F I G. I L O C A T I O N A L M A P O F T H E L O W E R F R A S E R V A L L E Y 7 The Approach and Purpose of the Thesis The basic problem of isolating the impact of the Dutch in the Valley w i l l be approached by examining the distribution, settlement, social and economic activities of the Dutch. The following questions are posed. Does the distribution of the Dutch vary from that of the total population, i f so, where, and why there? Is their impact made visible in settlement forms, i f not, why is this the case? Have they shown a particular occupational selection? To what extent is this the result of their cultural baggage or of the economic opportunities available in the Valley? What attitudes set the Dutch apart from the Canadians? This last question really underlies the other three, for the attitudes of the Dutch are the basis for the decisions that lead to variations in their distribution and occupation. At a different scale and as a corollary to the question of the impact of the Dutch immigrant group, there is the problem of whether the Dutch are a homogeneous cultural group, or a series of sub-groups. Do different sub-groups among the Dutch make their own peculiar impact on the cultural geography of the Valley? Previous work by geographers on the Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley has been concerned with specific aspects of the Dutch settlement. Vanderhill examined the factors leading to'.the establishment of the one i n i t i a l Dutch settlement in the Valley, Pitt Polder, but this only involves twelve families.* Gibson compared Anglo-Saxon, Mennonite and Dutch 1 G. Vanderhill, "Pitt Polder: Dutch Enterprise on Canadian S o i l , " Canadian Geographical Journal, LXV (Sept.1962) 8 farmers in three contrasting physical environments in the Valley. He had less than ten Dutch farmers in his sample. His aim was to determine the different roles played by the physical and cultural environments. The economic opportunities available in agriculture when each of the groups entered the Valley, received scant attention. This i s a more detailed study of the Dutch, in so far as a greater variety of questions are asked about the Dutch, and the sample of the Dutch immigrants is ten times larger than both of the above, but this study also concentrates on one section of the Dutch immigrant group, the farmers. There are several reasons behind the decision to focus On the agricultural Dutch. A higher percentage of the Dutch immigrants than of any other immigrant group toICanada, were farmers. Economic historians and sociologists have singled out the agricultural Dutch in their assessment of the contributions of the several post-war 2 immigrants to Canada. Though 64% of the Dutch reside in metropolitan Vancouver, the most noticeable Dutch impact has been in the Valley dairy industry. In the agricultural municipalities the Dutch form from 3 10% to 30% of the population, while in the city they only account for 3% . J. R. Gibson, "A Comparison of Anglo-Saxon, Mennonite and Dutch farms in the Lower Fraser Valley: A Methodological Study in Areal Differentiation and the Relative Influences of the Physical and Cultural Environment." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of Oregon, 1959 Such as W. Peterson and M. Timlin. Canada, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Census of Canada, Population: Ethnic Groups, Bulletin 1.3-2 9 Walhouse concludes that the Dutch have "made no outstanding contribution to the city, nor any particular impact upon the cityscape."* A f i f t h , and possibly overriding reason, is the personal preference of the author for rural topics. Sources and Methods The researcher is faced with the problem of the acquisition of data by which the Dutch can be isolated numerically and areally, and their predispositions identified. Published s t a t i s t i c a l material is both limited in i t s scope and value. The latter is due to the weaknesses in the definition of 'Dutch' in the census. Germans and Mennonites 2 are often included in the Dutch ethnic origin s t a t i s t i c s . Though problematical, the statistics on "ethnic origin" are the only ones available for the administrative divisions of the Valley. Unfortunately the Dutch are included under "Other European" in the classification 'by birthplace', which is one of the more accurate classifications for identifying an immigrant group. The Immigration s t a t i s t i c s , which have a more exact definition of the Dutch, are limited in their coverage and are usually tabulated for Canada or, at the most, by provinces. Personal fieldwork has been the primary source of material. This provided data not otherwise available, and also gave the opportunity of F. Walhouse, "The Influence of Minority Ethnic Groups on the Cultural Geography of Vancouver." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1964, p.211 N. B. Ryder, "The Interpretation of Origin Statiatics," C.J.E.P.S., vol.XXI (1955) p.472 10 observing the immigrant in his environment, of assessing his, predis-positions, economic status and social contacts, subjectively as well as objectively. The f i e l d work was carried out in the summer of 196k and supple-mented i n 1965. The interview sample was selected from telephone directories and from the registers of Dutch churches. A l i s t of those interviewed and the structure of the interview can be found in Appendix I and II. Throughout the aim of the interview was to isolate the cultural characteristics of the Dutch and to assess their impact in the Valley. In Chapter II the trends in the Dutch migration to Canada, the distinctive characteristics of the Dutch immigrants, such as their age, religious a f f i l i a t i o n s and occupations, and the hi s t o r i c a l , social and economic factors which have influenced both of these, w i l l be discussed. The distribution of the Dutch in Canada, in British Columbia and in the Lower Fraser Valley, and the reasons for the evolving pattern of settle-ment, are considered in Chapter III. As religion i s a strong variable among the Dutch immigrants i t has been singled out as the social characteristic of the Valley Dutch to be discussed in detail. Their occupational selection i s the most marked characteristic of the rural Dutch immigrants. Chapter V considers why so few Dutch have entered some Valley agricultural enterprises such as market gardening: the preference for dairying and the particular impact of the Dutch on the dairy industry i s discussed in Chapter VI. Petersen" suggests that the "influence of their background in 11 Holland" and "Canada's need" are the two sides to the channel that has funneled the Dutch immigrants to specific areas and occupations.* To state this in another way, the Dutch impact is due to a combination of their cultural "baggage", their preferences, acquired s k i l l and i n i t i a t i v e , and the economic opportunities and pressures that the Dutch found in the Valley. These dual influences w i l l be kept in mind throughout the thesis in discussing the location, social inte-gration and occupational selection of the Dutch immigrants. W. Petersen, The Politics of Population (New York: Doubleday & Co. Inc., 1965) p.318 C H A P T E R I I DUTCH IMMIGRANTS TO CANADA What is distinctive about the Dutch migration to Canada and the people who have been involved in it? This is the main question which this chapter seeks to answer, to provide the national context for an assessment of the impact of the Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley. The f i r s t step is to distinguish the most important period in the Dutch migration to Canada, and to emphasise the characteristics which contribute to the particular impact of the Dutch. Trends in the Dutch Migration to Canada There are three recognizable periods in the Dutch migration to Canada. They are the periods from 1908 - 1915; 1924 - 1930; and 1945 - 1960. (Fig.2).* The migration in the latter period has been on such a large scale that i t i s scarcely comparable with the earlier periods. In 1952, the peak Dutch immigration year, there were 7,000 more immigrants than in;the entire 1924-30 period. Though numerically small, the pre-1945 migrations are important because the communities established in the early periods have attracted the post-war Dutch immigrants. Dutch Immigration before 1945 In the nineteenth century, the United States, not Canada, was * Source of Figure 2 1901 to 1945 Tuinman, Dominion of Canada, Report of the Department of Mines and Resources for the Fiscal Year ended March 31,1947; and 1946-65 Department of Citizenship and ImmigEation, Statistics Division. 12 F I G. 2 N U M B E R IN 1,0 0 0 " S D U T C H I M M I G R A N T S TO C A N A D A 19 0 1 - 1 9 6 4 BY E T H N I C OR IG IN 21 I8_ 15 12 05 0> 2 Y E A R S 2 o 0> 13 14 the primary destination of the Dutch migrants. This was also the case for other European migrants. The Dutch immigrants to the United States i n the 1850*s. settled in Iowa and Michigan, the areas which were in the vanguard of American settlement at that time. The poor potato harvests of the mid-1840's were the basic reason for this megration, but superimposed on this was a religious problem. A religious group that was facing intolerance, showed the greatest inclination to emigrate. Fif t y per cent of the 'seceders' those Orthodox Calvinists who had broken with the Netherlands Reformed Church in 1834, emigrated.^" The seceders hoped to achieve both religious freedom and better economic conditions in the United States. By the l890's the Dutch had moved 2 westwards with the march "of settlement and reached Washington. The f i r s t reference to a Dutch immigrant in Canada is of a -farmer near Winnipeg, i n 1892, but at the turn of the century Dutch immigration to Canada was s t i l l practically n i l . The number of Dutch immigrants to Canada fluctuated in relation to the major trends in the general Canadian immigration. The increase in Dutch immigration in 1908 i s an integral part of the tremendous increase in the total migration to Canada at that time. Between the frontier was not closed in the United States, the best land had been claimed by 1890, 1 H. S. Lucas, Netherlander in America (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1955) p.472 2 Ibid, p.4l6 3 Ibid, p.46o 15 thus Canada offered an attractive alternative to the settlers. The Prairies were being opened up, the Homestead Act provided for the relatively easy acquisition of land, railway construction offered i n i t i a l employment and the Canadian government encouraged immigration.* The f i r s t period of Dutch immigration resulted from these favourable economic opportunities, but the Dutch s t i l l accounted for only a negligible A% of the total Canadian immigration. The second period of Dutch immigration was from 1924 to 1930. The increase in the number of Dutch immigrants during this period was due to several factors. In 1924 the United States terminated i t s open door policy by imposing a quota system based on the ethnic com-position of the population i n that year. The Dutch were restricted to 3,153 immigrants annually so that Canada became the destination of those thwarted in their goal of immigrating to the United States. The diversion to Canada was enhanced by the Canadian government's encourage-ment of the immigration of agriculturalists, and by the establishment in 1923 of the "Emigratie Centrale Holland". This bureau was established under the auspices of the Holland-America shipping line, Chambers of Commerce, and business interests in the Netherlands, to f a c i l i t a t e 2 emigration to Canada. Nevertheless the number of Dutch immigrants to Canada was s t i l l small, only reaching 2,465 in 1925. The percentage * J. C. Best, "Canadian Immigration Patterns and Policies," Canada, Dept. of Labour, Labour Gazette, vol.L (Sept.1950), p.1513 2 . W. Petersen, Planned Migration; The Social Determinants of the Dutch-Canadian"Movement (Berkley & Los Angeles: Univ. of €alifornia Press, 1955) p.57 16 of Dutch to total immigrants remained negligible though i t had increased slightly to 1.5%. The troughs in Dutch immigration to Canada also correspond to the troughs in the general Canadian immigration. The f i r s t of these is during the F i r s t World War when emigration from Europe was limited. In 1919 there were only fifty-nine Dutch immigrants* (Fig.2) Similarly the decline i n the thirties is neither peculiar to the Dutch nor to Canada. The Great Depression meant that poor economic conditions were widespread, so that immigrant countries were not attractive to aspiring emigrants. Canada imposed restrictive measures to reduce immigration in order to maintain employment for the resident population. The gradual economic recovery in the late thirties encouraged more to emigrate but, before this migration gained momentum, i t was cut short by the onset of the Second World War which again discouraged migration and disrupted transportation. Less than four thousand Dutch immigrated to Canada in the fifteen years from 1931 to 1945. The Dutch increased to 1.8% of the total Canadian immigration in this period, rising to 2.4% , in 1939^ -In comparison to the post-war Dutch immigration to Canada this pre-1945 migration was small, both in absolute and in relative terms. A. S. Tuinman, "The Netherlands-Canadian Migration," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie^ vol.XLVII (August, 1956) p.181 17 Pre-war Distribution of the Dutch Despite the numerically small immigration there were concent-rations of Dutch in Canada by 1945 notably in Alberta. Around 1900 a group of Dutch immigrants settled at Granum and Monarch,* later nuclei of Dutch developed at Edmonton (1910), Neerlandia (1915), and Lacombe (1924). There was a smaller settlement of Dutch in South-west Ontario around Sarnia and Chatham from the 1920*s. This settle-ment can be regarded as an offshoot from Michigan, the largest nucleus of Dutch in North America, In British Columbia a group from Noord-2 Holland settled in the Bulkley Valley in the thirties, and there were sufficient Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley for a Dutch church to be established in Vancouver in 1926, Just south of the Lower Fraser Valley there was a concentration of Dutch at Lynden, Washington. Thus in 1945 there were three modes of Dutch settlement in Canada, Alberta, S.W.Ontario and the Lower Fraser Valley to which the post-war Dutch immigrants might be attracted. Dutch Immigration after 1945 The f i f t i e s stand out as the greatest Dutch migration period. Several measures of migration illustrate this. The highest sustained emigration from the Netherlands, expressed as a ratio to the total Lucas, op.cit., p.461 Lucas, op.cit., p.465 18 population of the Netherlands, was from 1950 to 1956. (TABLE I). Numerically the largest Dutch immigration to Canada was between 1948 TABLE I NETHERLANDS EMIGRATION IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL DUTCH POPULATION Selected Years Number of Emigrants Per 10,000 Inhabitants 1847 5,300 18 1889 9,100 20 1907 4,400 8 1920 6,000 9 1947 6,818 4 1950 21,330 18 1951 37,605 34 1952 48,690 44 1953 38,049 34 1954 34,676 30 1955 29,631 23 1956 31,788 21 1960 24,335 13 1962 11,529 5 Source: B.P. Hofstede, Thwarted Exodus, op.cit., p.5, 13 and 1960. (Fig.2, TABLE II). In this period, the Dutch accounted for a higher percentage of the total Canadian immigration than their previous high of 2.4% in 1939. Indeed in 1952 the Dutch accounted for almost 13% of the Canadian immigration. (TABLE II). Why was there such a phenomenal increase in Dutch migration in the f i f t i e s , when there has been an historic lack of interest in emigration B. P. Hofstede, Thwarted Exodus: Post-war Overseas Migration from the Netherlands (The Hague; Martinus Nijhoff, 1964) p.13 19 in the Netherlands? The main reason for this change lies in the socio-economic conditions in the Netherlands and the Dutch attitude to emigration after 1945, because Canadian Immigration policy had also favoured emigration in the f i r s t twc decades of the twentieth century, as well as since 1945. Though Canadian policy is not the reason for the large post-war immigration from the Netherlands, i t has contributed to the selection of Canada as the chief destination of the Dutch. The Development of an Emigration Climate in the Netherlands after 1945 How did an emigration climate develop in the Netherlands after the war? It has been suggested that population pressure was the main facotr in the development of the emigration climate. Indeed the Netherlands government subsidised emigration for they thought that emigration, combined with industrialisation and land reclamation, would ease the problem of population pressure.*' However, Hofstede considers that the post-war emigration was a unique incident, brought about by a unique constellation of factors. The Great Depression, the War, German Occupation, post-war poverty, contact with al l i e d armies, the loss of Indonesia and a greater awareness of population pressure which was made explicit in an acute housing shortage, combined to stimulate emigration. It was not only the population pressure that encouraged migration, for the Netherlands had had "fifteen years blighted by socio-pathological phenomena" as Hofstede describes the years of the 2 Depression and the War. * Petersen, op.cit., p.60 2 Hofstede, op.cit., p.i96 20 An emigration climate in a country, whether the result of economic or social factors, is often the basis on which the personal decision to emigrate is built. The study of emigrant motivations by Dutch sociologists substantiated the "dethronement of the economic motive as the main explanatory principle" in the post-war Dutch emigration.* They indicated that social and psychological factors combined with the economic motive to lead to the emigration decision. Post-war Relaxations in Canadian Immigration Policy Without a change in the Canadian restrictive immigration policy in force in 1945, Canada would not have been the destination of the majority of the Dutch emigrants. In 1945 there were forces in Canada in favour of relaxing the immigration restrictions. The accelerated rate of industrialisation during the war had created a large demand for labour which attracted the native farm labourers and farmers' sons to the c i t i e s . The shortage of labour on the farm, in logging, construction and mining meant that business leaders, farmers and large agricultural companies formed an interest group in favour of increased migration to 2 Canada. To be successful they had to overcome the traditional opposition A survey by a group of four Dutch sociologists into the motivations and characteristics of Dutch emigrants was carried out in 1955-56 from a statistical..simple of 1,000 units, i.e. migration families. The results are published in the abridged English version:-G. beijer, N. H. Frijda, B. P. Hofstede & R. Wentholt, Characteristics of Overseas Migrants (The Hague: Govt. Printing & Publishing Office, 1961) p.309 The Peebles Report to the Senate recommended that Canada needed 44,000 to work in agriculture, logging, construction and mining. 21 to immigration by two groups in the Canadian population. French Canadians generally oppose immigration because the majority of the immigrants select the English language, thus English speaking Canada gains numerically from immigration. Organised labour also opposes immigration because i t may lead to a pool of cheap labour and thus reduce the bargaining powers of the trade unions. However, in the boom conditions of 1945, both these groups relaxed their opposition to immigration. Through the 1947 Immigration Act, Canada opened i t s doors to increased migration from Europe. There remained a bias towards relatives of Canadian residents, emigrants from Western Europe and the older Commonwealth countries, and a continued emphasis on farmers.* By 1953 active encouragement of European immigrants was firmly established 2 and by 1956 nearly a l l occupational groups were admitted. However, after an economic recession, such as in 1957, the active recruitment of 3 unsponsored workers ceased temporarily. Though active recruitment varies with Canadian economic conditions there has generally been no legislative hindrance to the Dutch migration to Canada since restrictions were l i f t e d in 1947. The Rise and Decline of Dutch Migration to Canada Canada has been the chief destination of the post-war Dutch emigrants. As in the period 1924-30 the low Dutch immigrant quota for * D. C. Corbett, Canada's Immigration Policy (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1957) p.40 2 Tuinman, op.cit., p.182 3 D. C. Corbett, "Canada's Immigration Policy, 1958-1962, "International Journal, XVIII (Spring 1963), p.177 22 the United States meant that few Dutch could migrate to the United States, even though that might be their primary goal. 1 Canada is as close to the Netherlands as the United States, but, more significantly, i t s standard of liv i n g i s closer to the American standard than that of other immigration countries. Thus Canada provided the most satisfactory alternative to the United States. Canada was also the f i r s t country willing to accept Dutch immigrants after the war. Even before the 1947.Act, there was a special Dutch-Canadian Settlement Scheme to 2 f a c i l i t a t e the migration of agricultural labourers. The rate of Dutch immigration to Canada did not accelerate un t i l 1948 (TABLE II and Fig.2). The emigration climate was strong in the Netherlands in 1945, but a time lag occurred in the migration between the end of the war and 1948, because the immigration countries had to decide to accept immigrants, and there was also insufficient trans-portation, due to the loss in shipping sustained during the h o s t i l i t i e s . The immigrants between 1946 and 1950 acted as pace-makers for the rest of the post-war Dutch migration. The i n i t i a l Dutch immigrants included war brides, war volunteers, Jews, farmers and those who were prevented from emigrating by the onset of the war in 1939. These immigrants fanned the emigration climate in the Netherlands through the working of the relations factor, that i s , they wrote to their friends 1 Supra, p. lk 2 This was a flexible agreement by which "Canada agreed to accept progressively larger groups, f i r s t single agricultural workers only, and, after two years of pressure also families and small 'business-men' meaning principally craftsmen." Petersen, Politics of Population, op.cit., p.309 23 and relatives in the Netherlands and encouraged them to emigrate. By 1951 Dutch migration had gained momentum: the relations factor, , building on the emigration climate, combined with the economic attractive-ness of the boom conditions in Canada, to lead to the peak Dutch ' immigration to Canada in 1952. TABLE II DUTCH IMMIGRANTS TO CANADA 1946-64, by Ethnic Origin Year Dutch Immigrants % Dutch to Total Canadian Immigration 1946 2,146 3.0 1947 3yl92 5.0 1948 10,169 8.1 1949 7,782 8.2 1950 7,404 10.0 1951 19,130 9.8 1952 21,213 12.9 1953 20,472 12.1 1954 16,340 10.6 1955 6,929 6.3 1956 .7,956 4.8 1957 12,310 4.4 1958 7,595 6.1 1959 5,354 5.0 1960 5,598 5.4 1961 1.960 2.7 1962 1,982 2.7 1963 2,181 2.3 1964 2,464 2.2 1908-1914 7,486 0.4 1924-1930 14,012 l'5 Source: Canada, Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Section 1946-64 The Netherlands Post and Telegraph Department showed that in 1957 the mail from the immigration countries had increased elevenfold from 1947. Beijer et a l . , op.cit., p.16. The role played by this correspondence can be compared with that of the "American Letter" in the nineteenth century European mass migration to the United States. 2k Fluctuations in the Dutch immigration between 1954 and 1958 are due to the relative attractiveness of Canada and Australia as the destination of the Dutch. Canada attracted forty per cent of the post-war Dutch emigrants; Australia twenty-nine per cent. However, in 1955 Australia received twice as many Dutch immigrants as Canada. This swing to Australia was due to the unfavourable reports received from Canada following winter unemployment in 1954-55. The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration was premature in 1955 when he stated that, "the response in the Netherlands would be unlikely to improve because of the f u l l employment there." 1 There were s t i l l several Dutch who wished to emigrate as indicated by the recovery in the immigration to Canada in 1957, but in 1955 Canada was relatively unattractive. The decline in Dutch immigration to Canada after 1958 was due to the changes in the socio-economic conditions in the Netherlands. The decrease i n Dutch immigration followed the 1958 Canadian recession, but the recession did not cause the decline, i t only hastened i t . With the rise in prosperity in the Netherlands the incentive to emigrate diminished. The Netherlands is now an immigration country i t s e l f with labour being drawn from other parts of Europe, particularly Italy. Good economic conditions in Canada are no longer sufficient to attract Dutch immigrants. Even among the Dutch farmers there has been a change in attitude towards emigration. Farm labourers and farmers' sons who could not obtain farms, were the core group of Dutch migration, but they have Corbett, Canada's Immigration Policy, p.56 25 ceased to consider emigration as the only solution to their employment. "The idea that the Dutch farmers would prefer to continue farming abroad rather than to chose another profession is no longer valid."* Hofstede tentatively suggests that this change is attitude i s due to the break-down of some of the traditionalism in Dutch society by the spread of . . 2 mass communication through television. Since 1961 there have been fewer than 2,500 Dutch immigrants annually, forming less than three per cent of the total Canadian immigration. In 1958 the Canadian government initiated a scheme to bring a hundred young farmers to work in Canada for nine months in the 3 hope that they might emigrate. Though several have emigrated, these young Dutch farmers have not started another upsurge in Dutch migration to Canada. Dutch immigration to Canada has returned to the pre-war 4 level and is again numerically and relatively small. This suggests that the large scale immigration of the f i f t i e s should be considered a unique event, rather than the normal pattern of Dutch-^Canadian migration. Characteristics of the Dutch Immigrants Several sources have been used to obtain data on the characteristics of the people who were involved in this post-war Dutch migration to * J. Van Campen, "Dutch Emigration and i t s Role in the National Life of the Netherlands," Migration News, 2 (1960) p.10 2 Hofstede, op.cit., p.190 3 Interview with Van Der Stoel, Dutch Vice-Consul in Vancouver. 4 Supra, p. 16 26 Canada. In the Dutch survey on Characteristics of Overseas Migrants, Wentholt's detailed examination of a sample of two hundred Dutch emigrants in 1955-56, throws some light on the personality of the migrants. Data on the age/sex structure, marital status and intended occupations of the Dutch immigrants is derived from the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship s t a t i s t i c s . The religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch migrants is obtained from Hofstede, Thwarted Exodus, who abstracted his data from the Netherlands census. Demographic Characteristics of the Dutch Emigrants The age structure of an immigrant group usually varies from that of the resident population. The Age/Sex pyramids of the four major immigrant groups to Canada in 1957, show that a higher percentage of the immigrants than of the Canadian resident population, which is depicted by the 1956 population census figures, are in the twenty to-forty age bracket. (Fig.3). The Dutch pyramid is similar to the Italian and British ones; i t is not distinctively 'Dutch', but rather reflects the age/sex structure of an immigrant group. Family migration has been more characteristic of the Dutch than of the total Canadian immigration. The Dutch ratio of dependent wives to workers has ranged from .35 to .49 to one worker.1 This is higher than the ratio for the total Canadian immigration which ranged from .29 to .45 per worker. There was a higher Dutch ratio of dependent wives to workers in every year except 1948 and from 1961 to 1964. About a third ofthe total Canadian immigrant workers had dependent wives, compared with almost a half of the Dutch.immigrant workers. The Dutch survey of the 1 Calculated from the Canadian Immigration Statistics 1946 to 1962. FIG. 3 A G E - S E X PYRAMIDS OF M A J O R IMMIGRANT GROUPS TO CANADA IN 1957 D U T C H I T A L I A N C A N A D I A N P O P U L A T I O N I N 1 9 5 6 Y E A R S M A L E F E M A L E 27 28 male emigrants in 1955 emphasises family migration even more strongly than the Canadian immigration st a t i s t i c s . The survey indicates that 21% of the male emigrants were single, 4 >% engaged, 12% married just prior to departure and 62% had been married for some time. 1 Thus almost three quarters of the Dutch emigrant males were married. It i s the 'average man' that emigrates from the Netherlands, but 2 one with a generally high level of a b i l i t i e s . This discredits the two extreme views that i t is either the e l i t e , often expressed by observers in the emigrants country, or the dregs, the view of observers in the immigrant countries, of society, who emigrate. Wentholt found that in both "intelligence and in. .occupational s k i l l s the majority of the emigrants could be classified as 'good' or 'moderate', with few at either end of the scale. There are two personality characteristics that Wentholt attributes to the Dutch emigrants which are contrary to what observers have con-sidered as emigrant characteristics. Surprisingly, only 28% of the 3 Dutch emigrants had a 'purposeful personality'. This suggests that the desire to achieve goals in the immigration country is not dependent on a particular emigrant personality. Secondly, though relations have been important in stimulating migration and directing i t s flow, Wentholt 1 Beijer et a l . , op.cit., p.39 2 . Beijer op.cit., p.243 3 . . . Wentholt carried out a detailed examination of a sample of two hundred Dutch emigrants to throw light on their personality structure among other things. Beijer, p.180 29 considers that family ties among the Dutch are not so emotionally important as to lead to a ghetto mentality.'1' These two personality characteristics of the Dutch emigrants would tend to reduce rather than increase their impact in a region. As there is no comparable study on other immigrants i t cannot be said whether these are distinctively Dutch characteristics or whether they are only a refinement to the concepts on migration.. The most distinctively Dutch demographic characteristic i s the higher percentage of married males among the Dutch than among the other Canadian immigrants. The injection of a youthful group into an area w i l l create an impact for this age group tends to have more i n i t i a t i v e and f l e x i b i l i t y than older groups, but this i s a demographic characteristic of a l l immigrants and i s not limited to the Dutch. To consider the reasons for a particularly Dutch impact one must therefore turn to the occupational and social characteristics of the Dutch immigrants. 2 Occupational Characteristics of the Dutch Immigrants Few professionals emigrated from the Netherlands. This supports the , contention that the e l i t e i s not well represented among emigrants. Though the percentage of professionals among the Dutch immigrants to Canada increased from 5 .8$ in 1953 to 13.5$ in 1 9 6 l , the actual number declined 1 Ibid., p„311 The data has been obtained from the "intended occupation" statistics in the Canadian Immigration s t a t i s t i c s . These may not represent the occupations of the Dutch immigrants at present, but only their i n i t i a l occupation. However, they are the only statistics available. 30 from 504 to 150. In the same period the professionals among the British immigrants increased from 18% to 34%, among the Germans from 2.5% to 7.5%, and among the Italians from .8% to 2.3%. In the per-centage of professionals to total immigrants the Dutch l i e in an intermediate position between the British and the other major Continental immigrant groups to Canada. The bulk of the urban Dutch have skilled or semi-skilled occupations. Manufacturing attracted the majority, but they have entered the entire range of occupations, from janitors to trained technicians. There are no large concentrations in any one occupation, but there is a slight preference for the trades, such as carpentry, bakeries and the electrical trade. From the f i e l d observations in the Lower Fraser Valley i t was found that within five years the immigrants have generally returned to the same type of occupation that they had in the Netherlands, with the exceptionaof the older immigrants who were hindered in their occupational goal by a slower adoption of English as their language. As noted already, agriculture has attracted a higher percentage of the Dutch immigrants than of any other immigrant group to Canada since 1945 (TABLE III). Though the percentage of agricultural worfeersuhas declined for a l l groups since 1950, i t remains highest for the Dutch * The professional occupational classification in the Canadian Immigration statistics was redefined in 1953. It includes accountants, chemists, engineers, teachers, nurses, physicians etc. 31 TABLE III A COMPARISON OF THE PERCENTAGE OF AGRICULTURAL TO TOTAL WORKERS OF THE DUTCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN AND BRITISH IMMIGRANTS TO CANADA 1946-1961 Percentage of Agricultural to Total Immigrant Workers Year Dutch German Italian B r i t i : 1946 20.5 3.9 0.0 4.7 1947 46.0 16.7 5.1 8.0 1948 50.3 48.9 29.1 9.6 1949 78.0 59.0 55.6 10.3 1950 72.5 46.8 66.5 8.9 1951 58.7 20.0 41.1 4.9 1952 45.5 27.7 33.4 4.8 1953 41.0 32.0 17.5 4.7 1954 30.5 14.7 15.9 4.1 1955 30.7 11.7 16.0 4.4 1956 20.7 6.8 10.7 3.4 1957 12.0 4.9 6.7 3.3 1958 13.0 5.2 10.3 3.4 1959 14.6 4.8 9.4 3.6 1960 13.5 4.7 8.6 4.0 1961 15.6 6.1 1.5 3.1 1946-1961 38.7 17.5 20.9 5.1 Total Agricultural Workers 26,315 26,614 31,054 16,742 Source: Canada, Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Division 1946-61. Up to 1961 the 'intended occupations' were tabulated by ethnic origin of the immigrants; since 1962 they have been tabulated by last place of permanent residence of the immigrants. immigrants. Between 1946 and 1961, 26,315 of the total Dutch immigrant workers intended to enter agriculture. This is 39% of the Dutch workers,which is much higher than the German percentage of 18%, the 32 Italian of 21% or the British of 5%. According to the 'intended occupation' stat i s t i c s , the actual number of Dutch agricultural immigrants i s less than the number of Italian and German agricultural immigrants, but there are weaknesses in these s t a t i s t i c s . (TABLE III). Until 1956 the easiest way to enter Canada was to contract to work on a farm for two years, so, though agriculture might only be a temporary occupation, i t is the one recorded in the s t a t i s t i c s . This pattern of entry, though not entirely lacking among the Dutch immigrants, was not so common, because in the Netherlands the emigration bureau, the Netherlands Emigration Service, checked the prospective emigrants to ensure that they were bona fide farmers. Allyn also considers that, for the Dutch, "the vast majority have entered with the idea of remaining in agriculture," 1 In view of this proviso to the sta t i s t i c s , i t seems that more Dutch than German or Italian immigrants may have become farmers in Canada. The Dutch are not the only post-war immigrants to Canada to enter agriculture. The idea that a l l Dutch immigrants are farmers was, at the most, only partially true un t i l 1951. Yet such misconceptions about the Dutch migration to Canada have arisen because as Tuinman 2 states, "the Dutch agriculturists have apparently made such an impression" The Dutch may not be the main group to enter agriculture, nor have a l l the Dutch started farming,but they are the immigrant group that has shown 1 Allyn, see foot p.25 2 Tuinman, op.cit., p.183 33 that most marked preference for agriculture. Why have the Dutch immigrants entered agriculture more than the other post-war immigrants? Though Canada did make a specific b i l a -teral agreement with the Netherlands stressing agricultural immigrants, there i s an agricultural bias in Canadian immigration policy and the opportunities in Canadian agriculture would be equally available to a l l immigrant groups.1 Thus the explanation of the high percentage of farmers in the Dutch migration must be sought in the socio-economic condi-tions of the Netherlands. The push factors favouring the emigration, of farmers from the Netherlands are more important than the pull factors of the Canadian policy and opportunities. The scarcity of farmland in the Netherlands was the basic cause of the agricultural emigration. The Netherlands has the highest population density of any country in the world. There is an absolute shortage of land. It is almost impossible to obtain a farm by other means than inheritance. After the war many of the farms were too small to provide an economic return, yet there was no room to expand. There was thus an over-supply of labour in relation to the land available for agriculture. In the late'forties and early " f i f t i e s many farmers who could not obtain a suitable farm in the Netherlands, turned to emigration as a solution to their employment problems. The emigrant farmers can be classified into four main categories: the self-employed farmers whose units were uneconomic or threatened by urbanization; farmers' sons, especially the younger sons who would not inherit the Supra, p. 21 3h family farm; farm labourers who wanted a farm of their own; and a small group who wanted to farm yet cameifrom non-agricultural milieu.* The policies of the Dutch and Canadian governments did play a role in confining the migration to agricultural workers in the immediate post-war years. The Netherlands only encouraged the emigration of 2 rural workers through subsidization between 1945 and 1947. The number of urban workers who applied to emigrate to Canada between 1948 and 1954 was twice the number of agricultural workers, yet they were not a l l 3 accepted. The Canadian bias in favour of agricultural immigrants did influence the Dutch migration pattern. The widening of the admission categories in favour of non-agriculturalists in 1951 and the further relaxation on occupational admissions in 1956, is reflected in TABLE III. The Dutch and Canadian immigration policies both favoured the migration of agriculturalists. As Petersen states, "the group whose emigration Holland subsidizes are precisely those that Canada is seeking as immigrants."^ Religious A f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch Immigrants Religion has an important role in differentiating the social structure of the Netherlands. It is thus valuable to examine the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch migrants to see i f religion is also a factor in the propensity to emigrate and in the choice of destination. Beijer et al.,op.cit., p.188 Petersen, Planned Migration, op.cit., p.478 Tuinraan, op.cit., p.183 Peterson, The Politics of Population (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., Anchor Books, 1965) , p.308 35 Netherlands society is one of the most compartmentalised of a l l the advanced industrial societies. In addition to the normal horizontal division on socio-economic class lines, there i s a vertical organization based on r e l i g i o n . 1 There are three main divisions; the Catholics, the Protestants and the non-religious, each taking part in separate organi-2 zations, institutions and ac t i v i t i e s . Within the Protestant group there is a further division between the more lib e r a l Calvinism of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Orthodox Calvinist churches. Though the relations between the Protestant groups are not as bitter as at 3 the time of the Secession, the Orthodox Calvinists s t i l l form "a more 4 or less separate group both ecclesiastically and socially." The internal group coherence is strongest for the Catholics and the Orthodpx Calvinists. Both these groups could be classified as 'sub-cultures' in Netherlands society. The Orthodox Calvinists dominate the Dutch migration to Canada. (Fig.7), TABLE IV illustrates the variations in the propensity to emigrate and in the destination of the three main religious groups and those of no religion.' Though less than 10% of the Netherlands population, the Orthodox Calvinists formed 41% oftthe Dutch immigrants to Canada in the i n i t i a l immigration period 1948-52. Canada was the 1 D. 0. Moberg, "Social Differentiation in the Netherlands," Social Forces, vol.XXXIX (May, 1961), p.333 2 There is a Dutch term,"verzuiling'," to describe this columnisation of society and there i s no comparable English term. 3 Supra, p.14 4 E. W. Hofstee, Rural Life and Rural Welfare in the Netherlands (The Hague: Govt. Printing & Publishing Office, 1957) p.112 36 TABLE IV DUTCH EMIGRANT DEPARTURES 1948-62, (expressed as a percentage, according to COUNTRY of DESTINATION AND DENOMINATION) Destination Roman Catholics Denomination Dutch Reformed Orthodox Calvinists no Denomination Canada Australia 24 23 35 38 49 45 26 27 25 30 24 24 41 27 24 9 7 7 7 10 13 19 17 20 Netherlands Population 39 40 40 31 30 29 10 10 17 18 19 Dates.of emigration: 1 - 1948-52; 2 - 1953-57; 3 - 1958-62 Source: Hofstede, Thwarted Exodus, p.96 destination of 74% of the Orthodox Calvinists who emigrated. A smaller proportion of the Dutch Reformed emigrated both to Canada and to Australia than their proportion in the Dutch population would warrant. The Catholics did increase their percentage in the Canadian migration, but they were more significant in the migration to Australia. There is a similar pattern among the emigrants with no religion. Hofstede states that, "the distribution of Australia-Catholics and Canada-Calvinists really forms the basic structure for the spread of Netherlands emigration,"* yet the Orthodox Calvinists are a more distinctive feature of the Canadian migration, than the Catholics are of the Australian one. Hofstede, Thwarted Exodus, p.92 37 Two questions arise from the role of religion in Dutch migration: f i r s t l y , why are the Orthodox Calvinists more inclined to emigrate, and secondly, why did they select Canada as their destination? The answers to the two questions are linked. The Orthodox Calvinists were the one group in the Netherlands that had an emigration tradition. They are the theological descendants of the 1834 Seceders, half of whom emigrated to.the United States. 1 The largest church in the Orthodox Calvinist column is the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, which has a well established sister church in the United States: The Christian Reformed Church. (AppendixVII). In 1945 there were outliers 2 of this church in Canada, and the American church was prepared to give financial help to the immigrants to establish new churches. The Orthodox Calvinists had links with America while in Australia they would have had to stand on their own. By contrast, Australia was more attractive to the Catholics because there the Catholic Church has a more highly developed system of parochial schools than exists in English-speaking Canada. As an emigrant tradition was strongest amongst the Orthodox Calvinists, they were the most sensitive to the emigration climate that developed in the Netherlands in 1945, and quickly reacted to i t . Their traditional destination was the United States, but, as the "doors" were 3 partially closed, Canada provided the best alternative. Summary and Conclusions The Dutch in Canada are a post-war immigrant group, characteristically 1 Supra, p.14 2 Supra, p.17 3 „ Supraiii p, 15 • 38 agricultural in their occupation, and predominantly Orthodox Calvinist in their religion. There was a phenomenal increase in the Dutch migration to Canada after 1945, which is surprising considering the traditionally low emigration from the Netherlands. The peak years of Dutch immigration were in the early f i f t i e s , so there has been a decade in which the immigrant could adjust to Canadian society and achieve his goals. This means that there has been time for a. particular impact of the Dutch to evolve. The Dutch have shown a more marked preference for agriculture than any other immigrant group to Canada since 1945. Within agriculture the Dutch are said to prefer dairying and market gardening. They have not been linked to an urban occupation to the same extent. It is this supposed characteristic of the Dutch immigrants which w i l l be examined, to assess their impact in the Lower Fraser Valley. The most important demographic characteristic in assessing the positive impact of the group, i s , the age structure. The youthful age structure is similar to other immigrant groups. The impact of the Dutch may not l i e so much in particular Dutch preferences and a b i l i t i e s , but in the effect of a young group penetrating a region which has a population with a mature age structure. So in considering the impact of the Dutch in the Valley there w i l l be an attempt to isolate how much of their impact is due to their immigrant status and how much to their particular national characteristics. Religion i s as strong a variable in the post-war Dutch migration 39 to Canada as i t was in the nineteenth century migration to Iowa and Michigan. Orthodox Calvinists again showed the greatest propensity to emigrate, and almost three quarters of them selected Canada as their destination. Religion has been a factor in the emigration decision, in the selection of the immigration country, but does i t continue to. be significant when the Dutch have settled in Canada? In the following chapter the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch, their occupational goals and the existence of pre-war nuclei of Dutch in Canada w i l l be discussed as factors in the location of the Dutch within Canada, British Columbia and, at the micro level, in the Lower Fraser Valley. C H A P T E R I I I DISTRIBUTION OF THE DUTCH IN CANADA The Dutch do not form a large percentage of the Canadian, British Columbian or Lower Fraser Valley population, yet there are some areas which have attracted a relatively high percentage of the Dutch immigrants. In these areas of concentration the impact of the Dutch should, be most marked. In this chapter the distribution of the Dutch i s discussed to isolate the areas of Dutch settlement; and the reasons why such concentration should occur, are examined. The Problem of Sources The recurring problem of insufficient s t a t i s t i c a l material i s encountered when discussing the distribution of the Dutch. The only statistics available to describe the destination of the Dutch immigrants within Canada are tabulated by provinces, and give the "intended destination" which may not be the present location of the immigrant. Census material i s used to describe the d i s t r i -bution of the Dutch in British Columbia and in the Lower Fraser Valley. The advantage of the census material i s that'it i s available for small areas; but the greatest disadvantage i s the ambiguous definition of the 'Dutch*. In the census, immigrant groups can be identified from three c l a s s i -fications. "By Birthplace" i s the most satisfactory but unfortunately, the Dutch are included as "Other European" i n the census. The "Mother. Tongue" . statistics underestimate the number who could be included in the Dutch cultural group, as the younger age groups tend to be excluded. The Dutch are over-represented in the "Ethnic Origin" statistics because some Germans and 1*0' 41 Mennonites are also included with the 'Dutch'.1 As Siemens defined the Mennonite concentrations in the Valley, this can indicate the areas where the ethnic origin statistics could be over-representing the Dutch. It therefore seemed that the ethnic origin statistics were the most satisfactory of the census statistics for describing the distribution of the Dutch. It was also considered that alternative primary sources would not give a more accurate distribution of the Dutch immigrants in the Valley. The Dutch Vice-Consul in Vancouver provided an estimate of the number of Dutch in the Valley, but without an areal breakdown. The number of Dutch belonging to the Dutch ethnic churches could be readily obtained from the church r o l l s ; the number of Dutch Roman Catholics from the Dutch diocesan priest; the enumeration of the Dutch who have joined the Protestant churches existing in the Valley is much more d i f f i c u l t , but the basic weakness in using church ro l l s to describe the distribution of the Dutch, is that there is no way of estimating the number of Dutch with no church links. Church r o l l s would provide a more inaccurate description than the ethnic origin census s t a t i s t i c s . Figures 4 and 5 are therefore based on the ethnic origin statistics as these were considered to be relatively more accurate. The explanation of the distribution of the Dutch is more problematical than i t s description. At best the general influences behind the Dutch location decisions can be suggested. These influences at the micro level of the Dutch in Canada are derived from secondary sources;such as W. Petersen, Planned Migration; at the micro level of the Lower Fraser Valley from the 1 Ryder, op.cit., p.472 k2 interviews with the immigrants. The complexity of the factors involved in the distribution of the Dutch; the interaction of the several economic and social factors, means that i t is d i f f i c u l t to rank the location factors. The Dutch in Canada The Dutch have not been attracted to the several provinces i n the same proportion as the total Canadian immigrants. (TABLE V). Between 1946 TABLE V COMPARISON OF THE DUTCH PROVINCIAL DESTINATIONS (A) WITH THAT OF THE TOTAL CANADIAN IMMIGRANTS (B), 1946-61, expressed"as a percentage Provincial Destination Year Ontario Quebec Br. Columbia Alberta A B A B A B A B 1946 39 41 10 14 10 12 11 8 1947 58 55 4 13 10 13 8 5 1948 47 49 3 20 12 10 15 8 1949 53 51 7 19 9 8 17 9 1950 55 53 6 18 9 8 14 9 1951 60 54 6 24 9 7 16 6 1952 57 52 6 21 11 9 13 8 1953 54 53 6 20 9 8 16 9 1954 52 54. . 5 18 9 8 17 9 1955 51 52 8 20 13 11 15 7 1956 56 55 7 19 16 11 12 6 1957 52 52 8 20 19 13 14 7 1958 49 51 8 23 15 11 17 7 1959 55 52 6 23 14 10 16 7 1960 56 52 7 23 11 10 15 7 1961 58 51 8 24 11 10 12 7 1946 -61 56 52 6 20 11 10 15 7 Source: Canada, dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Division, Table 2, Origin and Destination 1946-61. In 1962 the intended destination of the Canadian immigrants was cross-tabulated with 'last place of permanent residence' rather than by the 'ethnic origin' of the immigrants, as previously. 43 and 1961 the ratio of Dutch to total immigrants was 1:13. Deviations from this ratio for the immigrationl;to Canada, show which provinces were more and which less attractive, to the Dutch immigrants. The Quebec ratio was 1:45, so this province was less attractive, Ontario and British Columbia with a ratio of 1:12 were slightly more attractive, while Alberta with a ratio of 1:7 was almost twice as attractive to the Dutch as to the total immigrants. Ontario was the destination of over half of the 155,000 Dutch immigrants to Canada between 1946 and 1961 and was also the chief destination of a l l the Canadian immigrants. This shows that the economic factor is basic in the locational decision of the Dutch within Canada for Ontario offered the greatest employment opportunities. Yet social factors must be included to understand why almost twice the number of Dutch immigrants went to Alberta than might be expected, and why three times fewer Dutch went to Quebec. Alberta was not only the chief area of Dutch settlement in Canada before the war, i t has also the largest number of Orthodox Calvinists. 1 On the other hand, the absence of these historical and religious ties, indeed the lack of interest of Orthodox Calvinists in a Catholic province, i s the most probable reason why Quebec was relatively unattractive to Dutch immigrants. Though there were small pre-war Dutch settlements in Ontario and British Columbia, they did not increase the attraction of these provinces to the post-war Dutch immigrants to the same extent as the more numerous pre-existing settle-ments in Alberta. The attraction of Ontario and British Columbia was almost entirely dependent on the economic opportunities which these provinces offered. 1 Supra, p. 17 kk The Dutch in British Columbia According to the "intended destination" statistics 17,000 Dutch settled in British Columbia between 1946 and 1961. Lycan, using Family Allowance Registration as his data, shows that there is a net in-migration to British Columbia from the other provinces, which suggests that more Dutch may have eventually settled i n British Columbia than the statistics indicate. 1 In the sample of one hundred Dutch families in the Valley, thirty had been in some other province before coming to British Columbia. Seventeen had been in Alberta, five in Ontario and the remainder in the other Prairie provinces and Quebec. In two instances during the interviewing i t was mentioned that relatives had.moved from the Valley to Ontario. It is however impossible to document the extent of the Dutch out-migration from British Columbia from interviewing Dutch immigrants in the Valley, but the interviews suggest that there has been a net gain by British Columbia from the inter-provincial migration of the Dutch immigrants. r-In 1961 there were 23,793 Dutch "by mother tongue" or 60,176 "by ethnic 2 origin" in British Columbia. This illustrates the wide variation in the number of Dutch according to the different census definitions. Using either of the definitions the statistics show that there was a tremendous increase in the Dutch population from 1941 to 1961, by 373% using ethnic origin, and by 504% according to the mother tongue s t a t i s t i c s . The latter particularly re-emphasises that the Dutch are a post-war immigrant group in Canada. 1 R. Lycan, "A. Multiple Regression Model for. the- Prediction of Internal Migration in Canada," mimeographed paper delivered at the Canadian Association of Geographers, May 1965 2 Census of Canada, Bulletin c7-22 h5 Nevertheless the Dutch are s t i l l a small group in British Columbia forming less than four per cent of the total population, even using the ethnic origin statistics which tend to over estiMate the number of Dutch. The largest number of Dutch in British Columbia are located in the Lower Fraser Valley, Census Division 4. (TABLE VI, Column 1). Sixtyrtwo per cent of the Dutch, compared with f i f t y - s i x per cent of the total population, live in the Lower Fraser Valley. Vancouver Island hasrvthe second largest number of Dutch, and is followed by the Prince George area (Division 8), and the Okanagan (Division 3). It is in the Lower Fraser Valley and the Prince George area that there i s a higher percentage concentration of the Dutch than of the total population. (Compare column TABLE VI DISTRIBUTION OF THE DUTCH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA IN 1961, by ethnic origin Census Number of % Dutch/total % Dutch/total % population/ Division Dutch population Dutch in B.C. provincial . total 1 712 2.07 1.18 2.10 2 1,630 2.30 2.71 4.34 3 3,475 3.67 5.77 5.80 4 37,533 • 4.14 62,37 55.70 5 7,515 2.58 12.49 17.85 6 2,042 3.08 3.39 4.06 7 722 3.38 1.20 1.30 8 4,244 5.71 7.05 4.55 9 1,231 3.23 2.04 2.35 10 1,071 3.45 1.79 1.90 Total 6 0 * 1 7 6 3 ' 7 0 Source: Census of Canada, Bulletin CI'-22, Table 37. 46 3 and 4, TABLE VI). These are also the areas where the Dutch are more than 3.7% of the population, which is the provincial average. Both the Lower Fraser Valley and the Prince George region have been economic growth centres since the war. They are also the two areas in the province that had nuclei of Dutch before the war, so again historical and religious ties have accentuated the economic attractive-ness of certain areas, and resulted in an above average penetration by the Dutch immigrants. The Dutch community was most strongly developed in the Prince George region around the settlement of Houston in the Bulkley Valley. 1 Employment as such is not sufficient to keep the Dutch immigrants in a particular region of the province, unless i t i s the type of work that the immigrant wants to pursue. Six in the sample of a hundred Dutch families in the Valley, had i n i t i a l l y worked in the orchards of the Okanagan, but when they saw no opportunity for obtaining either a dairy farm or land foranursery in the Okanagan, they moved to the Valley. Economic opportunities seem to be the basic reason why the majority of the Dutch settled i n the Lower Fraser Valley,, but the immigrants' occupational goals, historical and religious ties contribute to the variation between the distribution of the Dutch and the total population. 2 The Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley The majority of the Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley reside in 1 Supra, p. 17 2 • In this thesis the place-name Lower Fraser Valley xs abbreviated to Valley, and is used to describe the area from Hope to the sea and from the International Boundary northwards" to the edge of the Coast Range. U7 metropolitan Vancouver.* (Fig.4). Within the metropolitan area the most marked concentrations of Dutch are in Vancouver City, east of Cambie Street, New Westminster, Whalley and central Richmond. In the remainder of the Valley, the Dutch are relatively evenly distributed, though there is a slight clustering in South-west Matsqui and western Chilliwack. As Figure 4 is based on the ethnic origin statistics there i s a problem of interpretation resulting from the possible inclusion of Mennonites in the s t a t i s t i c s . Mennonites reside in south east Vancouver and in west Chilliwack and so probably contribute to the more marked 2 concentration of the 'Dutch' in these areas. As w i l l :be.illustrated by the distribution of the members of the Abbotsford Christian Reformed Church (Fig. 8), and confirmed by f i e l d observations, the Dutch are located in the north of Matsqui more than in the south west as Figure 4 suggests. South-west Matsqui is the main Mennonite settlement in the 3 Valley, but, as there are also some Dutch residing among the Mennonites, the area cannot be completely neglected in a consideration of the Dutch in the Valley. The Dutch form a higher percentage of the population in the agri-cultural municipalities than in metropolitan Vancouver. As has been shown, the absolute numbers accentuate the significance of the urban 1 2 3 This included Richmond, Delta and Surrey in the 1961 Census Siemens, op.cit., p.82 Ibid., p.75 pi' Fl G. 4 D I S T R I B U T I O N OF THE D U T C H IN T H E L O W E R F R A S E R V A L L E Y 49 Dutch, yet the Dutch account for only 3% of the metropolitan population. This i s below the average for the Valley of 4.14%, and even the provincial average of 3.7% (TABLE VI). There are a few census tracts in Surrey and Richmond, on the urban fringe, where the Dutch form 8% of the population. In the eastern and northern agricultural municipalities of the Valley, the Dutch account for more than 10% of the population, rising to as high as 34% in Matsqui. 1(Fig.5). The unorganised territory of which Pitt Polder i s a part, is included in Figure 5, because 2 the population is almost entirely Dutch. Factors influencing the Distribution of the Dutch in the Valley P o l i t i c a l Factor The Role of Government Placement. During the immediate post-war years, the Canadian government insisted that the immigrants should have sponsors who would guarantee that the immigrant would support himself. The sponsor actually signed for the immigrant and either offered him employment or found him an Occupation. The Dutch immigrant obtained his sponsor from one of three sources: directly through relatives, through his church or from the Canadian government. The immigrants generally arrived in ithe Canadian region that they wanted to settle in i f they had relative or church sponsors, but this did not always occur with government sponsors. This percentage is exaggerated because of the concentration of Mennonites in Matsqui. There are only a hundred people residing in this division. The con-trast with Vancouver is not aparent from Fig.5, but to use proportional c i r c l e s according to the size of the population in a l l the census divisions would have made the small segment of Dutch in Vancouver visually too striking, because of the large size of the c i r c l e , when the aim of this map is to show the relative importance of the Dutch. F I G. 5 T H E D U T C H IN R E L A T I O N TO T H E T O T A L P O P U L A T I O N 51 The Dutch immigrant could find himself in any one of four situations as a result of the sponsorship system. He could have been placed in the area that he wanted to reside in, so in this case the sponsorship system has aided his migration. He may have wanted to go to another part of Canada than the one he was placed in, the Lower Fraser Valley in this case, so he then has to decide on whether to remain in the Valley, or to move to the region of his original choice. The fourth situation occurs when the immigrant was placed in another Canadian region and has since moved to the Valley. In the sample of one hundred Dutch families in the Valley, over 60% had been placed in the Lower Fraser Valley, the region of Canada which they prefered. 1 Four families in the same sample had wanted to go to Ontario, but were placed in the Valley. During the peak Dutch immigration years 1951-52, a l l the sponsored places in Ontario were quickly f i l l e d , thus the immigrants had to be allocated to some other province. Government placement has counteracted the original desire of these Dutch immigrants to settle in Ontario. Not only has i t influenced their location, but i t has also lead to a change in occupation. For example, a farmer whose enterprise in"the Netherlands was arable farming, when placed in the Lower Fraser Valley, a dairy region, changed to an urban occupation, largely because he was not interested in dairying. Two in the sample stated that relatives who had been placed in the Valley, 1 Unless otherwise stated when a 'sample* i s mentioned in the text i t refers to the interviews among the Dutch immigrants in the Valley carried out by the author in 1964-65, 2 . . Similar decisions were made by market gardeners. Infra, p.108 52 have since moved to the region that they i n i t i a l l y wanted to settle in, but i t is impossible to document the f u l l extent of this movement from f i e l d work in the Valley. As has been shown, Dutch immigrants have moved from other provinces to the Valley, particularly from the sugar-beet d i s t r i c t around Tabor in Southern Alberta, and also from districts within British Columbia where the immigrants were placed, as for example in the Okanagan.1 Government placement is relatively more important as a factor in the distribution of the Dutch within Canada, than within the Lower Fraser Valley. The government can direct the immigrants to particular regions of Canada, but i t i s not very concerned about the samll scale locational decisions of whether the Dutch should settle in Kent or Delta in the Valley. Indeed government placement as a locational facto:r in the Valley is closely related to the employment opportunities available for emigrants in the early f i f t i e s . Economic Factors I n i t i a l Employment Opportunities. The Dutch were i n i t i a l l y employed in the labour intensive occupations such as peat cutting, hop and berry picking, and in:the saw mills,; and as skilled dairy labourers in the Valley. There was a large demand for labour in these occupations. Each of these occupations has a relatively well defined location: peat in Richmond and Delta; hops in Sardis and Chilliwack; b e r r i e s south of Abbotsford; and saw mills near New Westminister and along the north arm of the Fraser. Though there was a demand for 1 Supra, p. 46 53 dairy labourers throughout the Valley, i t was greatest in the.areas xd.th very large farms, Delta, Matsqui and Langley. In the early f i f t i e s the Dutch accounted for a quarter of the labour force of the Western Peat Moss company which i s located in eastern Delta. At that time the company employed four hundred men, though now, with rapid mechanisation in both the cutting and processing of peat, only thirty-five men are employed and none of-these are Dutch.1 The Dutch immigrants used this occupation as a means of acquiring capital to achieve their urban or agricultural occupational goal. A few Dutch are employed by peat- companies in Richmond now, but these are permanent 2 . . rather than transitory employees. The Dutch peat workers resided in Richmond and Delta, and also commuted from Langley, about fifteen miles from the plants. The hop companies have also reduced their dependence on hand labour, but at the time of the major Dutch entry into the Valley, pro-duction was s t i l l labour intensive., John L. Hass Hop Co. employed twenty-five' Dutch immigrants a l l the year round from 1953 to 1960, but 3 only employs a couple of Dutch labourers now. In several cases the company sponsored the emigrants and provided temporary accommodation, though of a low standard, in the hop camps near Chilliwack and Sardis. Farm labouring, rather than these- labour intensive occupations, 1 Interview with production manager 2 For example Acme Peat Company 3 Letter from the manager, John L. Haas Hop. Cop. 5h provided the i n i t i a l employment for the majority of the Dutch dairy farmers. Of the forty-three dairy farmers in the sample who had emigrated direct to the Valley, thirty-eight worked as farm labourers of which thirty-one were dairy hands. The Dutch were mainly employed as farm labourers in Matsqui, Langley and Delta. (TABLE VII). Half of the Dutch i n i t i a l l y employed in TABLE VII DISTRIBUTION OF THE INITIAL EMPLOYMENT OF THE DUTCH AS FARM LABOURERS IN THE VALLEY Municipality Number of Dutch Immigrants % distribution Kent 1 2.6 Chilliwack 2 5.0 Sumas 2 5.0 Matsqui 14 37.0 Langley 8 21.0 Surrey 1 2.6 Delta 5 13.0 Richmond 2 5.0 Maple Ridge 1 2.6 Mission 2 5.0 Source: Field Work Sample - 38 Matsquir worked on berry farms, and half on dairy farms. The high concentrati«n af i n i t i a l employment in fatsqui is related to the role of Abbotsford Christian Reformed Church acting as a 'clearing house' for the new Dutch immigrants of that religion.* Though the average farm Infra, p.75 55 size in Langley is less than forty acres, in -1961 there were forty-seven farms with over 130 acres. 1 There were less than three hundred farms in Delta in 1961, but seventy of these were large, again leading to a demand for skilled labour. In the Lower Fraser Valley, Langley, Matsqui and Delta municipalities had the largest number of farms over seventy acres in 1961. Migration Aims of the Dutch Emigration motivations and aims are fundamental to the way in which immigrants view the economic opportunities that a region offers. The distribution of the Dutch based on their i n i t i a l employment is modified when the Dutch immigrant moves to achieve his migration goal. I n i t i a l l y the Dutch worked at any occupation to support themselves; now they are generally in the occupation of their choice. ; The migration goal of two thirds of the sample of Dutch dairy farmers in the Valley was to obtain a farm of their own. (TABLE VIII). The reasons why they emigrated to acquire a farm varied; fifteen had been farm labourers so they would not inherit a farm, nor did they have the opportunity of purchasing one; eight had farms that were economically too small to support them; five were younger sons who would not inherit the family farm; two had been renting farms and wanted to own one; and 2 three saw their family farms threatened by urbanisation. For these dairy 1 Census of Canada, Agriculture. 2 . . . Compare this with the general reasons given for the migration of agriculturists. Supra, p. 33 56 farmers the main locational influence is the availability of economic farm units to f u l f i l their migration goals. TABLE VIII MIGRATION AIMS OF THE DUTCH IN THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY Migration Aims Present Occupation of the Dutch ^ o n . Dairying Other Agriculture •agricultural To own a farm Economic Progress Adventure Follow a Relative Other 33 4 6 4 3 4 5 2 2 2 9 2 2 8 Total Dutch i n Sample 50 13 23 Source: Field Work SAMPLE - 50 The desire for economic advancement was the main motivation among the Dutch in other agricultural enterprises and in urban occupations. As with those who emigrated for adventure, this emigration motivation does not set such definite locational limits as the desire to own a farm. By contrast those who gave 'following a relative' as their motivation would try to find employment in the vi c i n i t y of their relative.* It is among the agriculturalists who wanted to own a farm, and the immigrants who are following a relative, that the emigration motivation has a direct influence on the locational decision of the Dutch. Openings in Agriculture in the Valley If the chief emigration motivation was to obtain a farm, then the location of the Dutch w i l l be directly related to where they could acquire The role of kinship ties as a location factor i s treated at greater length under the section on social factors. 57 a farnu In chapters V and VI the reasons why so many openings occurred in agriculture in the early f i f t i e s , and why more farms were available in some parts of the Valley more than others w i l l be discussed; 1 here the interest lies in the location of the areas where the Dutch could achieve their goals. The chief dairying areas are on the flood plains of the Fraser, but in the west, farm land is being purchased to be held for residential, commercial or industrial development at prices which a farmer could not afford. This i s the major reason why few Dutch immigrants could obtain a farm in Delta, though this municipality was the third employer of 2 . . Dutch dairy labourers. Langley too did not provide suitable farms for the Dutch immigrants because there were few medium sized farms available. Matsqui, Sumas, Chilliwack, Kent and Pitt Meadows offered the largest number of openings for the Dutch agricultural immigrants. When farms, are available in the same area that offered i n i t i a l employment to the Dutch, then there is a marked concentration of the Dutch immigrants, as in Matsqui. However, i f there are few suitable farms, as in Langley and Delta, the i n i t i a l distribution is modified as the Dutch spread out to the areas in the Valley where they can obtain a farm. Kent, the most isolated municipality in the Valley, has attracted the Dutch because farms were available there. The desire of the Dutch agricultural! immigrants to own a farm has encouraged them to settle in the eastern and northern parts of the Valley as this is where the farms were most readily available. 1 Infra, p.127 2 Sup*ra, p.54 58 Social Factors When the economic factors provide the Dutch immigrant with alter-natives, then social factors intervene to contribute to the locational decision. For example, i f a Dutch dairy farmer could obtain a similar farm in Matsqui and i n Chilliwack prairie, then kinship ties, religious a f f i l i a t i o n s or provincial loyalities can be the factors that lead to the ultimate decision. Kinship ties Though only twelve per cent of the sample gave their chief emigration motivation as 'following a relative', the relations factor has contributed to the propensity to emigrate and kinship ties have influenced the choice of destination.* In TABLE IX i t can be seen that about thirty per cent of the Dutch immigrants selected their i n i t i a l location because relatives \olitan iver Provinces of •H -\ Lwack Langley yfeadows Le Ridgi c >olitan iver the Netherlands Matsqi Sumas Chill] Kent Langley Pitt 1 + Map] o •t-i CO CO •H Surrej Delta Metroj Vancoi Total Friesland 6 3 4 5 1 3 2 1 _ 25 Groningen 2 - 2 1 1 1 1 - - 1 9 Drenthe 1 1 1 3 Overij ssel 3 - - - - 1 - - - - 4 Gelderland 2 - 3 2 1 2 - - - - 10 Utrecht - - - 1 - 2 - 1 1 5 Nord-Holland 4 2 4 1 1 - 1 - - 2 15 Zuid-Holland - 1 10 - 1 3 - 3 2 4 24 Zeeland 1 - 2 - 1 - - - - - 4 Nord-Brabant I - - 1 1 3 Limburg Total 20 7 26 11 7 9 5 6 4 7 102 Source: Field Work:- from a Sample of 102 Dutch families. a higher ratio of farm labourers to owners.* The latter is an added incentive to the agriculturalists to emigrate in order to own a farm. In the Netherlands, the Frieslanders are the most vocal on their 2 provincial identity, yet they are scattered throughout the Valley with no marked concentration in any municipality. It is the Zuid-Hollanders who have concentrated in one area, as almost half in the sample are in Hofstee, op.cit., p.36 They insist, for example, that Fries is a separate language and not simply a Dutch dialect. 61 the .town and municipality of Chilliwack. This concentration i s d i f f i c u l t to explain; three of the ten families are members of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation which has only one church in the Valley located at Chilliwack; three had friends in the d i s t r i c t before they moved .to i t ; and the other four had selected Chilliwack because i t offered the type of farm that they wanted. This one marked concentration does not appear to be due to any sense of provincial loyalty, but rather as a result of kinship t i e s , religious a f f i l i a t i o n s and economic factors. Religious A f f i l i a t i o n s The religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch immigrants should be examined as a locational factor, because the Dutch immigrants have been used to religion playing an important role in their social l i f e , and also because the Netherlands churches took an active part in the migration process. Kinship ties and provincial loyalties often find their expression as locational factors through the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the immigrants, for relatives are often of the same religion, and there is such a provincial variation in the religious a f f i l i a t i o n of the Dutch. (Fig.6)..1 The influence of religion in Dutch migration was enhanced by the Dutch Law for the Establishment of Emigration Bodies, 1952. This allowed the Netherlands denominations to "interpret and handle emigration according to their views." The aspiring Dutch emigrant could either go 1 A table on the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch, in Hopstee, Rural Life and Rural Welfare" in the Netherlands, i s the source for Fig.6*..p.ll2 2 Van Campen, op.cit., p.9 F IG. 6 0 R E L I G I O U S A F F I L I A T I O N S IN T H E N E T H E R L A N D S • O R T H O D O X C A L V I N I S T £ 3 D U T C H R E F O R M E D iS R O M A N C A T H O L I C O T H E R R E L I G I O N S N O R E L I G I O N 15 T O T A L P O P U L A T I O N N E T H E R L A N D S E M I G R A T I O N C A N A D I A N D U T C H I M M I G R A T I O N P. Source:E.W.Hof s tee:Rura l Li fe and Rura l W e l f a r e in the Nether lands ,? . ! ! 2 6 2 63 to a denominational bureau or to the Public Offices. The following Table shows the percentage of Dutch emigrants who went to Canada via the several boards in 1957. Not a l l the emigrants went to their respective denominational boards as some preferred to emigrate through TABLE XI PERCENTAGE EMIGRATION TO CANADA IN 1957 VIA THE MIGRATION BUREAUS Bureau Percentage of Emigrants Christian Emigration Centre (Christian Reformed) 32.8 General Emigration Centre (Dutch Reformed) 17.9 Protestant Emigration Foundation (Article 31) 1.5 Catholic Central Emigration Foundation 13.5 Public Offices 3*w3 Source: Emigratie,-1957 the Public Offices. Yet a third contacted the bureau of the Christian Reformed Church. In the Valley, the Christian Reformed Church was the most highly organised. To alleviate the hardships of the a r r i v a l , an Immigration House was opened in Vancouver to provide accommodation for the f i r s t few days- 1 The church had i t s own fieldman i n the Valley to find sponsors for their immigrants though i t also worked through the Canadian government. Rev. Van Andel, New Westminster Christian Reformed Church. 6k The fieldman was a Dutch immigrant of the 192U-30 period^ a member of the Vancouver Christian Reformed Church and a resident of New Westminister. 1 He found sponsors and i n i t i a l employment for the Christian Reformed immigrants, and later collected information on the farms that were up for sale. The ministers of the other Dutch churches provided a similar service, while the Catholic church had an immigrant representative to help in the personal adjustment of a l l the Catholic immigrants to the Valley. There i s a degree of segregation based on religious a f f i l i a t i o n apparent in the distribution of the Dutch immigrants in the Valley. This has occurred because once a particular denomination has been established in an area, i t tends to be self-perpetuating, by attracting later immigrants and finding sponsors and employment for them in the vicinity.- There are few Catholic Dutch in Matsqui, Sumas and Chilliwack, compared with the number of Protestant Dutch. (Fig. 7).. This in part i s simply a reflection of the religious composition of the-resident population. According to the„1951. census s t a t i s t i c s , Matsqui and Chilliwack had the lowest percentage of Catholics, 8.8^and 6.k% respectively, of a l l the agricultural 2 municipalities- Though i t i s not a specific government policy to place immigrants with employers of the same religion, in practice this could be the result, for i t might be easier to find a sponsor for a Protestant immigrant in a Protestant.rather than a Catholic d i s t r i c t , and vice versa. The Catholics were also relatively insignificant in the early years of the Rev. Groeneboer, Vancouver, Bethel church-Census of Canada, 65 Dutch immigration to Canada, so the Protestants were established f i r s t in the two major agricultural d i s t r i c t s of the Valley, Matsqui-Sumas and Chilliwack. The Protestant Dutch are focused on New Westminister and Abbotsford to the virtual exclusion of the Catholics i n the v i c i n i t y , whereas the Catholics do not dominate any d i s t r i c t to this extent. The Catholic Dutch seem to be located i n the more isolated parts of the Valley, such as Kent, or on the smaller prairies. Even amongst the Protestant Dutch there are variations in the distribution of the denominational groups. The most striking example of the dominance of one Dutch Protestant denomination in a d i s t r i c t i s in Chilliwack, where the Netherlands Reformed Congregation so successfully established i t s e l f , that the largest Dutch church in the Valley, the Christian Reformed Church, i s relatively unimportant in this, the largest dairying area of the-Valley. Summary and Conclusions The dominance of the economic factor in influencing the distribution of the Dutch, i s illustrated by the fact that the majority of the Dutch have settled in the areas which offered the greatest economic opportunities, no matter at which scale their distribution i s examined. Within Canada, Ontario was the province which attracted 56$ of the Dutch immigrants to Canada, between 1916 a^ndi)l-96l...od Inil9.6lthe jLower :Frase£>Valley had 62% of the Dutch in British Columbia, while within the Valley, 63% of the Dutch resided in metropolitan Vancouver. The majority of the other immigrant groups were also attracted to these areas in their respective Supra, p.36 66 regions, so such preferences are not distinctively 'Dutch' and in fact reflect -the basic economic r e a l i t i e s . To consider the distribution of the Dutch in relation to that of the total post-war immigrants to Canada, or in relation to the total population of an area, then different regions to those mentioned above appear more significant for the Dutch. In relative terms Alberta was twice as attractive to the Dutch than to"the other immigrants. This was mainly due to the strong Dutch religious and historical ties with Albertai Within British Columbia, the Dutch account for the highest percentage of the population in" the"Prince George region, the area i n British Columbia with the largest pre-war Dutch community. In the Lower "Fraser Valley, -though the majority of the Dutch settled in metropolitan Vancouver, the Dutch account for a higher percentage of the population in the agricultural municipalities. This i s related to the distinctive characteristic of the Dutch immigration with i t s high percentage of •agriculturalists. The higher relative penetration of the Dutch into particular areas was as much due to religious, historical and social factors as to the economic attractiveness of these areas. The occupational goals of the Dutch immigrants and how, and where, these can best be achieved are the main factors i n the location of the Dutch i n the Valley. To the agricultural Dutch immigrants, the districts where they could achieve their goal of owning an economic farm, were the most attractive. These were the municipalities of Pitt Meadows, Kent, Chilliwack, Matsqui and Sumas to the north and east of the Valley. Social 67 factors, particularly the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch immigrants, have, added, a variable to the distribution, which has resulted in a degree of segregation between the Protestant and Catholic Dutch, and even between different Protestant"denominations. In the following chapter the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch immigrants • are examined to see how they influence the integration of the Dutch with the resident population, and contribute to the Dutch impact on the l i f e and landscape of the Lower Fraser Valley. C H A P T E R I V THE PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGION IN THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE DUTCH IMMIGRANTS "The division of a l l Dutch l i f e along religious lines begins with the segregation of children into Catholic, Calvinist, or secular schools. Typically, a Dutch child plays only with children of his own faith .... when he grows up his friends are of the same religion, he marries in his own faith, joins the party and trade union associated with his church, reads his church's newspapers and periodicals, often even buys in stores owned by those of his faith." W. Petersen 1 According to Lenski the Netherlands i s one of the most prominent examples of a society in which "virtually a l l the major institutional systems are obliged to take account of socio-religious distinctions." In Canada, by contrast, socio-economic distinctions have greater relevance, with social institutions mainly divorced from religious distinctions, except perhaps in Quebec; for example, in Canada generally, the major p o l i t i c a l parties are not linked with a particular denomination. Religion has been selected as the social characteristic of the Dutch immigrants to be discussed i n detail for two main reasons. F i r s t l y , 3 religion was a differentiating factor in the migration process and in h the distribution of the Dutch within Canada , so i t i s of interest to see i f religion continues to be a variable among the Dutch immigrants 1 Petersen, The Politics of Population, p.142 2 Lenski, op.cit., p.328 3 Supra, p.35 ^ Supra, p. 43 68 69 after they have settled i n the Valley. Secondly, i t i s interesting to observe how the Dutch immigrant adjusts to the role of religion in Canadian society, which i s very different from the Netherlands. The basic question i n an assessment of the impact of an immigrant group's, religious a f f i l i a t i o n s on the social geography of an area, indeed of any population, is whether the members* faith i s nominal or "personally appropriated". Decisions w i l l tend to be based on church doctrine when the faith i s personally appropriated. In such circumstances the church doctrine would provide a yardstick by which the immigrant measures the values and norms of the society which he : has settled i n . 1 . It i s very d i f f i c u l t to state categorically when religion i s personally appropriated or not, as there i s usually a wide variation in the faith of the members. Though many aspects of the social and economic l i f e of the Netherlands are organised within the bounds of church a f f i l i a t i o n s , i t does not necessarily follow that they are a l l in the "personally appropriated" classification. In the Netherlands, i t seems that the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox Calvinists have gone furthest in their attempts to organise social institutions around the church, for these two groups have established "confessional" universities. The concern of these two religious groups with secular matters suggests that the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Calvinist Dutch immigrants w i l l ; The term 'host society* i s used to describe the society of the immigration country. 70 make the greatest impact on the social l i f e of the Valley. In the decision on how and where he w i l l worship the immigrant i s faced with two alternatives; he can join the autochthonous churches, or he can transplant his home country church. The latter i s only feasible i f the immigrant settlement i s sufficiently compact and large enough to support an ethnic church, that i s a church with members drawn from one immigrant group. As the Roman Catholics belong to a universal church, i t is the Protestant Dutch immigrants who have to make this decision. In this chapter three questions are raised. F i r s t l y , what are the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch immigrants, where are the denominations located i n the Valley and what groups have established churches? Secondly, how have the Dutch immigrants reacted to the different attitude which the majority of the population have towards the linkage of religion with social institutions? Thirdly, has religious a f f i l i a t i o n s had any influence on the rate of integration of the Dutch, the degree to which they have lost their identity? In short, what impact have the several religious groups among the Dutch immigrants made on the l i f e and land-scape of the Valley? Religious A f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch in the Valley Ethnic Churches Established by the Orthodox Calvinists The Orthodox Calvinists have established the greatest number of ethnic churches in the Valley. Indeed the four divisions of the Orthodox 71 Calvinists which are represented i n the Valley, have established seventeen churches. The denominations originated in the Netherlands as a result of secessions from the Dutch Reformed Church and of divisions amongst themselves. (Appendix VII). Though the four denominations place an orthodox interpretation on the Calvinistic teachings, there are sufficient differences in the emphasis on particular doctrines to lead to the establishment of the same separate denominations i n the Valley, as occur in the Netherlands. Migration to a new country has not provided a strong enough incentive to weld these various divisions into one Dutch Orthodox Calvinist Church in Canada. This however, seldom occurs amongst immigrant religious groups for they generally tend to maintain their separate identity. The Christian Reformed Church i s the largest denomination of the Orthodox Calvinists. It has a membership of 4,500, which i s almost B0% of the Orthodox Calvinists i n the Valley, and has established twelve churches. 1 It i s also the largest Orthodox Calvinist church in the Netherlands. (TABLE XII). The Christian Reformed Church was formed in the Netherlands in 1869, by the unification of two groups of the 1834 'Seceders'. It was remodelled in 1892 when another secession group from the Dutch Reformed Church joined i t and a splinter group broke away. In 1857 a sister 1 Yearbook of the Christian Reformed Church 1964 2 3 Supra, p. 14 Infra, p. 78 72 TABLE XII RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS POPULATION IN 1947 Netherlands Church Membership Canadian Name of Sister Church Roman Catholic Dutch Reformed Orthodox Calvinists Reformed Churches Ref. Church (Art.31) Christian Reformed 3,703,572 2,988,839 637,670 89,040 67,9^9 Reformed Church of America Christian Reformed Church Canadian Reformed Church Free Christian Reformed No religion 1,641,214 Source: St a t i s t i c a l Yearbook of the Netherlands, 1957-58, Table E-68 church, that i s a church with the same doctrine and close links with the main church, though not administered by i t , was established among the Dutch immigrant seceders i n America. The existing links with the American sister church encouraged the post-war Christian Reformed immigrants to establish ethnic churches i n Canada. As soon as the Dutch immigration to Canada commenced after 1945, the American church sent 'home missionaries' to organise the immigrants into congregations and also provided financial assistance to establish the churches. Half the ministers in the Lower Fraser Valley are Americans and another quarter have been trained at Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the Christian Reformed college and seminary are located. Until 1958 the churches in British Columbia were in the same 'classis' as Washington. Classis i s the term applied to the areas by which the church i s administered. It i s equivalent to a diocese or a presbytry. 73 The Christian Reformed Church has reacted to the challenge of migration by transplanting the church to Canada and establishing branches i n the Valley. The policy of the church favoured the formation of a separate church, and this was encouraged by the example of a pre-war church i n Vancouver, the need for a church which could minister to the immigrants in the Dutch language, and by the active and determined support of the American church. The churches i n the metropolitan area are located in what were the lower-cost residential d i s t r i c t s expanding at the time of immigration, and in the dis t r i c t s that offered i n i t i a l employment for the Dutch immigrants. (Fig.7) Vancouver I, the largest Christian Reformed Church, is located near East Broadway, an expanding residential area in the twenties. Ladner and New Westminster were areas of i n i t i a l employment. The New Westminster church i s the second largest in the Valley and the main centre of the Christian Reformed Church as i t can serve the metro-politan and agricultural congregations better than the Vancouver I church, because of i t s greater nodality. (Table XIII). The second Vancouver church was established i n 1953 at a location mid-way between the f i r s t church and the growing population in Richmond. By 1957 there were sufficient Dutch i n Richmond to establish a separate church, and then churches were organised in Burnaby and Whalley, the other post-war lower-cost expanding residential nodes in the metropolitan area. It is noticeable that no church has been established in West Vancouver, a high-cost residential area. F I G . 7 C H U R C H E S WITH D U T C H M E M B E R S H I P I N C L U D I N G E T H N I C A N D R O M A N C A T H O L I C C H U R C H E S 1L 75 In the agricultural districts the churches have been established in the Valley service centres. The largest i s at Abbotsford, the "hub of the Valley*, which serves two of the major dairy regions, Matsqui and Sumas Prairies. It attracted many of the Dutch immigrants on their a r r i v a l . Langley was one of the f i r s t churches to be established for many of the Dutch immigrants found their i n i t i a l employment there. 1 TABLE XIII MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCHES IN THE VALLEY Date Established Location of Churches Membership no.of Families no .of Members 1926 Vancouver I 170 937 1950 Abbotsford 1U5 770 1950 Ladner 67 341 1950 Langley 57 204 1951 Haney 70 343 1952 New Westminster 160 783 1952 Chilliwack 32 161 1953 Vancouver Bethel 65 279 1957 Richmond 85 405 1961 Agassiz 26 144 1961 Surrey 56 250 Source: 1964 Yearbook of the Christian Reformed Church In contrast, Agassiz, the isolated prairie of the Valley, was the last to have an organised church, because the Dutch immigrants only penetrated this asea when they could not obtain a satisfactory farm elsewhere. The S.upra, p. 54 76 church in Chilliwack i s very small, considering the size of the farming area and the number of the Dutch in the municipality, but, this i s because another Orthodox Calvinist denomination dominates the religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch. (See Fig.7) The distribution of the members of the Abbotsford church has been mapped, to i l l u s t r a t e the area from which the congregation of a Christian Reformed Church i s drawn. The congregation of the Abbotsford church is widely dispersed, the majority l i v e within a five mile radius of the church, but some are almost sixteen miles from the church. (Fig.8) There is not a compact settlement. It w i l l be shown in the last section of this chapter that the church is a strong focus of social relations, 1 This suggests that the dispersed settlement pattern has not hindered the growth of the "sense of community;" the ties of relgious a f f i l i a t i o n are strong enough to overcome spatial distance. 3 The Canadian Reformed Church i s the second largest of the Orthodox Calvinist churches in the Valley, with eight hundred members and three k churches at New Westminster, Abbotsford and Cloverdale. Compared to the Christian Reformed Church there was no Canadian or American example to provide encouragement, so these immigrants were entirely responsible 1 Infra, p. 91 p Young, M. and P, Willmott, Family and Kinship in East London (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1964), p.113 3 The mother church was founded in the Netherlands in 1944 when a group under the leadership of Dr. Schilder, s p l i t with the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Christian Reformed Church) over the interpretation of Article 31 of the church statutes on baptism. (Appendix VII) ^ Interview with Rev. Van Oene, minister of the Canadian Reformed Church in New Westminster. F I G . 8 78 for establishing churches and a l l the ministers are Dutch immigrants. The Canadian Reformed Churches have to serve a much larger area than the Christian Reformed Churches. At f i r s t there was only one church at New Westminster to serve the entire Valley, but, as the farmers moved eastwards to obtain farms, the church followed; in 1954 one was established at Cloverdale, in 196l another at Abbotsford. Nevertheless, the congregation i s s t i l l drawn from a wide area, for example a Pi t t Polder farmer goes to the Cloverdale church, about twenty-five miles away. The ultra conservative, denominations of the Orthodox Calvinists, the Netherlands. Reformed Congregation and the Free Christian Reformed, have only one church each i n the Valley, thovjh they differ considerably in size of congregation. The Netherlands Reformed Congregation has about eight hundred members, i t s church in Chilliwack serving the entire Valley though the majority of the congregation l i v e i n the municipality. The Free Christian Reformed Church has a small congregation of forty families and was not organised until i960 when the numbers warranted a minister. 1 This denomination i s a remnant of the original Christian Reformed Church i n the Netherlands which refused to enter into a union in 1892 with the Doleantie group. (Appendix VII). It i s the one Dutch ethnic church that i s not located i n a service centre, as i t i s 1 Interview with Rev. Gverduin, Fxee,^C3iris£iahjRe'formed:ministerci Church 2 The position of the Free Christian Reformed Church i s thus analagous to that of the Presbyterian churches that preferred to maintain a separate identity when.the United Church of Canada was formed. 79 situated on Otter Road about three miles outside Aldergrove.. The number of churches established by the Orthodox Calvinist denominations has depended on their respective representation among the Dutch immigrants i n the Valley... The larger the representation, the greater the number of churches established, and the smaller the area that each church has to serve. The f i r s t churches were established in the areas that provided i n i t i a l employment for the immigrants; later they were established in the residential suburbs of metropolitan Vancouver and the more, isolated parts of the Valley. The Dilemma of the Dutch Reformed Church 1 .The dilemma of the Dutch Reformed immigrants was whether or not they should establish ethnic churches in Canada. They could either establish sufficient churches to serve a l l the Dutch Reformed immigrants, or join the autochthonous churches that had a similar theology, such as the Presbyterian or United Church of Canada. The latter alternative would encourage the social integration of the immigrants for they would meet Canadians at church, but i t has not considered a satisfactory solution for the pastoral care of new immigrants unfamiliar with English. A compromise solution has resulted. More as a matter of expediency than as a major church policy, three churches were established in the Valley at Vancouver, Whalley and Abbotsford, to provide pastoral care in the Dutch language. Other Dutch Reformed immigrants have joined the In Canada the Dutch Reformed Church i s called the "Reformed Church of America" 80 existing Protestant churches and in a few instances the Christian Reformed Church, when there i s no Reformed Church of America in the vi c i n i t y . Unlike the Orthodox Calvinists the Dutch Reformed immigrants appear to be willing to join another church rather than travel long distances to attend the ethnic church of the denomination that they had belonged to i n the Netherlands. Now that the immigrants of the f i f t i e s have learnt English and there i s not, a continuous influx of new immigrants who can only speak Dutch, there i s not the same justification for a separate church. The dilemma now centres on whether these three churches should continue to exist or whether the members should be encouraged to join the Protestant churches in the Valley which some of their compatriots have already joined. 1 Between 19^6 and 1 9 6 l for every five Orthodox Calvinists there were four Dutch Reformed immigrants to Canada. I f i t i s assumed that the Valley attracted these two major religious groups in the same proportions,' then, as there are seventeen Orthodox Calvinist churches in the Valley, one would expect thirteen, rather than three, Reformed Churches of America. The limited number of churches established by the Dutch Reformed immigrants illustrates the differences i n policy of the denominations, and particularly the indecisiveness of the Dutch Reformed church when faced with the problem of the immigration to Canada. Compared with the Orthodox Calvinist denominations, neither the Dutch Reformed 1 Interview with Rev. Klein, minister of the Vancouver Reformed Church of America. 0 No data i s available to substantiate or disprove this assumption. 81 church i n the Netherlands, nor the sister American church, endorsed the idea of a transplanted church as a solution to the challenge of the immigration to Canada. It i s d i f f i c u l t to explain why there i s such a divergence i n the attitude to transplanted churches between these two Dutch Protestant groups. Perhaps the Orthodox Calvinists are more concerned with the church being the focus of the l i f e of their members, and so they had a greater desire to establish the outward expression of their faith, the church, in Canada. Catholic Parishes Augmented by the Dutch Catholics In nineteenth century America, the Roman Catholic Church faced a similar dilemma, though on a much larger scale, to -the Dutch Reformed Church i n post-war Canada. Like them, and as a matter of expediency, the Catholic church agreed to the organisation of ethnic parishes. 1 Yet mindful of i t s universal character, the Catholic church prefers to integrate the immigrants into the existing parishes. Thus the post-war Catholic Dutch immigrants have joined the Valley parishes, and there has been no Dutch demand for a separate church on the same lines as the German language Catholic church in Vancouver. The Catholic compromise solution to the need for pastoral care i n the Dutch language was to ' appoint a Dutch immigrant priest i n 1956 to v i s i t the parishes in the Vancouver Archdiocese. A'transplanted church' i s often also an 'ethnic church', because a l l i t s members i n i t i a l l y belong to one ethnic group. The terms can both be used to describe the churches which the Dutch immigrants have established i n the Valley. 'Ethnic church' i s a better term to apply to the national language Catholic parishes, because the Roman Catholic church existed before the influx of the particular immigrant group. 82 There are about two thousand Dutch Catholics in the Valley. Though there are a few Dutch families i n every parish, the largest number are found in Richmond. (Fig.7). Cloverdale, Agassiz and Pitt Meadows are the agricultural parishes with the largest Dutch membership. Generally the Dutch account for a small percentage of the parishoners, but they reach 20$ in the Pitt Meadows parish. The Dutch have integrated into the parish structure, and as an ethnic group they have not made a particular impact i n the parishes, even i n Pitt Meadows. In summary, the Catholic Dutch and the majority of the Dutch Reformed have integrated into the existing Valley churches. In doing this they had to accept the i n i t i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s of communication i n English. About a quarter of the Dutch Reformed and almost a l l of the orthodox Calvinists have established ethnic churches. They have made the greatest impact on the geography of religion i n the Valley by establishing twenty churches in a l l . There i s a bi-nodal pattern in the distribution of the ethnic churches. Three of the denominations, the Christian Reformed, Canadian Reformed and the Reformed Church of America, are represented in the New Westminster-Whalley d i s t r i c t , on the fringe of metropolitan Vancouver, and in Abbotsford, the hub of the Valley, which serves the agricultural districts of Matsqui and Sumas. As has already been described, the other characteristic of the distribution of the Dutch religious groups is the degree of segregation between the Catholic and Protestant Dutch, which i s explicit in the virtual exclusion of the Catholics from these two 1 Interview with the Catholic Dutch immigrant priest, 83 modes of the Dutch Protestant churches. (Fig.7) Dutch Religious Group Views on Social Institutions In the Netherlands the major denominations have their own p o l i t i c a l party, schools, trade unions and co-operatives. The Roman Catholics and the Orthodox Calvinists also have "confessional" universities. As these two groups have gone furthest i n their attempts to organize separate social institutions in the Netherlands, i t might be expected that the Catholic and Orthodox Calvinist Dutch immigrants would also prefer to have separate institutions i n the Valley. The Catholic Dutch found that parish schools were in existence in the Valley. The Orthodox Calvinists have not only established churches, they have also built schools and are trying to form a trade union organisation, but as yet, they have not attempted to extend their views to other social institutions, such as the formation of a 'Christian P o l i t i c a l Party*, or co-operative. The Establishment of ^ Christian" Schools Two groups of the Orthodox Calvinists, the Christian Reformed Chruch and the Canadian Reformed Church, have together established nine schools in the Valley; the Free Christian Reformed Church would establish a school i f their membership was large enough to financially support a school. (TABLE XIV). These denominations consider that the home, the church and the school are the three essential props by which Calvinist principles can be maintained. As Beets states, " i t i s unmistakebly plain that our denominations on ^ principle stand committed to the task of truly Christian schools." 2 The Orthodox Calvinists consider that this 1 Supra, p.64 p H. BEETS, The Christian Reformed Church - Its Roots, History,. Schools and Mission Work a.d. 1857 tp 1946- (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1946) p.119 — •••> 81* TABLE XIV DUTCH CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS IN THE VALLEY School Location Date Established Number of Pupils Up to Grade Christian Reformed Vancouver - Kingsway 1951* 80 7 Abbotsford 1954 150 7 Ladner 1954 70 7 Langley 1955 60 7 Haney 1955 90 7 New Westminster 1955 250 10 Richmond 1958 80 7 Agassiz 1964 - — Canadian Reformed New Westminster 1955 8o 8 Source: Data collected from personal interviews with the ministers Agassiz school was opened in September 1964, data on number of pupils was not available, hope to teach up to Grade 7. can best be achieved through separate schools, administered by parents* committees drawn from the congregations. In British Columbia there is no p o l i t i c a l hindrance to the foundation of separate schools, but there i s also no encouragement of such schools. The Catholics and the Mennonites had separate schools in the Valley before the arrival of the post-war Dutch immigrants.1 However, the Dutch immigrants found a big difference between the attitudes of the Netherlands and British Columbian governments to separate schools. The latter give no financial support to separate schools, while in the Netherlands there has been financial equality in the subsidies fdr^the denominational and Siemens, op.cit., p.66 85 the secular schools since 1 9 1 7 . 1 The Catholic Dutch immigrants find that they have to pay to send their children to the existing parish schools; the Orthodox Calvinists have to construct the schools as well as maintain them i f they want a Christian education for their children. The Canadian federal government and the British Columbian provincial government think-that separate schools hinder social integration, so they do not wish to encourage their foundation by providing state subsidies. The Orthodox Calvinists argue that as they pay taxes they should obtain, in return, some state financing- L»-Temminga in an ar t i c l e , "Let's make room for Christian schools too," has argued, in an attempt to disprove the basis for the Canadian opposition to separate schools, that the schools are not 'Dutch' but 'Christian', that i s their aim i s to proprogate Christian 2 • attitudes, not Dutch national views. This contention i s supported by the use of the British Columbia schools curriculum, the lack of emphasis on the Dutch language and the employment of some non-Dutch teachers in the Valley schools. In practice however, the majority of the pupils are Dutch, the teachers are either Dutch immigrants or second generation Dutch educated at Grand Rapids or at the University of British Columbia, and the school building i s often.sited beside one of the Dutch churches. The separate school isolates the Dutch children and accentuates the intra-group relations to a greater extent than i f the children attended a state school. The intra-group relations are based on religious links, as 1 Government state subsidies for both Catholic and Calvinist parochial primary schools was accepted in the Netherlands as early as 1886. Petersen, The Politics of Population. p.l46 L. Tamminga, "Let's Make Room for Christian Schools Too," The Edmonton Journal, July l 6 , 1964 86 Tamminga contends, but this does not weaken the Canadian contention that the separate school reduces the Dutch contacts with Canadians. Even without state.;support , the Christian Reformed, Canadian Reformed and Catholic Dutch immigrants think that Christian education i s a sufficiently important church principle, for the schools to be personally financed. The nine Christian schools in the Valley are the most noticeable impact of the Orthodox Calvinist Dutch immigrants' views on education* The Dutch demand for state subsidies seems to be more vocal than among the other groups that have separate schools, mainly because they are trying to achieve what they had accepted as the norm in the Netherlands. Attempts to Organise Christian Trade Unions ; The Christian Action Foundation has been founded, mainly under the auspices, of the.Christian Reformed Church, to promote the organisation of Christian trade unions in Canada. In the Netherlands there are three labour organisations: the Catholic, the Protestant and the secular unions; in Canada the Dutch immigrants found that there was only a secular union. Again i t i s the Orthodox Calvinists who have shown the greatest inclination to establish the institutions on the lines that they had been used to in the Netherlands, rather than accept the Canadian approach. ..So far their impact has been small on the trade union movement in the Valley. One Christian trade union, the Fraser Valley Construction 87 Workers Association, was formed in the Richmond-Ladner d i s t r i c t in 1964, 1 The "Christian Vanguard", the organ of the Christian Action Foundation, has endorsed the refusals of individual workers, whether Dutch or not, to join the secular unions when the aims of the latter are supposed to violate Christian principles. It has been suggested, though i t cannot be documented, that this attitude to secular trade unions has contributed to the Orthodox Calvinist preference of being self-employed, rather than being employed by a large business, for which membership of the secular union might be a prerequisite of employment. It has been shown that in the establishment of separate schools and trade unions, as i t was in the formation of ethnic churches, i t i s the Orthodox Calvinists more than the other Dutch immigrants, that have t r i e d to re-establish their social and p o l i t i c a l milieu in Canada. The Catholics and Reformed Dutch have carried fewer concepts with them; they have accepted the Canadian institutions to a greater extent, so that their impact i s less apparent on the social institutions of the Valley. The Social Integration of the Dutch Immigrants Is religion a significant variable in the rate of social integration of immigrants? Weinberg disgards religion and stresses the age of the immigrants and their distribution, that is whether they are in 1 "The Christian Vanguard", August 1964, p.5. The same issue also reported that the Mennonites in Manitoba had shown interest in the Christian Trade Unions. 88 dispersed or in compact settlements, as the chief factors influencing the rate of integration; Handlin emphasises religious faith as the major factor in integration. Mol suggests that these two authors may be considering different things; Weinberg - institutionalised religion; Handlin - a personally appropriated f a i t h . 1 The aim of this section i s to ascertain i f religion does retard or accelerate integration, and i f , as Mol suggests, the significance of the religious factor in integration varies between the denominations according to the characteristics of their faith . Four indices of integration w i l l be examined to il l u s t r a t e the 2 rate of Dutch social integration. The acceptance of the language of the immigration country is not an index that integration has been achieved, but i t i s a prerequisite for increased social contacts with the resident population. This, and the adoption of citizenship are superficial indices of integration but they are basic steps towards i t . The strength of social ties and particularly inter-marriage between the immigrants and the resident population are better indices of integration. These indices w i l l be used to isolate any variations in the rate of integration among the Dutch religious groups. J. J . Mol, "Churches and Immigrants," Research group for European Migration Problems, Supplement V (May 1961), p.7 The U.N.E.S.C.O. conference on the "Cultural Integration of Immigrants" in 1956, discussed indices of integration, and emphasised that social integration was usually slower than economic integration. 89 The Rapid Acceptance of English The majority of the Dutch immigrants are using English as their daily language and also as their language of worship. 1 In less than twenty years even the transplanted churches, which often lag behind the integration of the individual immigrant, have selected the language of the immigrant country. This i s quite a remarkable rate of language 2 integration. The Dutch immigrants who joined the autochthonous churches had no option but to accept English as the language of worship, so the extent of the language integration of the Dutch immigrants can be most conspiciously documented by the way Dutch has been giving way to English i n the trans-planted churches. Seven of the twelve Christian Reformed churches use English at both Sunday services, and only have a Dutch service once a month, specifically for the older immigrants. The Cloverdale Canadian Reformed church has services twice a month entirely in English, the New Westminster church on one Sunday a month. The Free Christian Reformed Church i s lagging behind these others with only one service i n English each fortnight, but there i s a growing demand by the congregation for the immigrant minister to increase the number of English services. English i s used more extensively in the services of the transplanted Only on two occasions during f i e l d work amongst the Dutch immigrants was i t impossible to communicate because they could not understand English. Compared with the rate of language integration of Welsh immigrants. E. Jones, "Some aspects of Cultural Change in an American Welsh Community", Trans.Hon.Soc.Cymmnodorian (1952) 90 Dutch churches i n British Columbia than in Ontario. The reason for this provincial variation appears to support Weinberg's dispersion hypothesis. There are fewer Dutch immigrants in British Columbia than 2 in Ontario, their settlement i s less compact, thus their daily contacts with other Dutch speakers i s minimised and the necessity to converse in English i s heightened in British Columbia. In addition, there i s a higher percentage of immigrant ministers in Ontario and they prefer to conduct the services in Dutch, their mother tongue, while the American and second generation Dutch ministers in British Columbia favour English. The decline of Dutch immigration to Canada has contributed to the decline i n the use of the Dutch language in the services, because there are few new immigrants to demand pastoral care in Dutch. The rate of acceptance of English by the transplanted churches has been fast, considering that the churches have been organised around the language as well as the particular church doctrine. Other ethnic churches have adopted English more slowly, for example Mennonite churches established in the Valley in the thirties have only recently used English widely. In summary, the Dutch immigrants, whether Orthodox Calvinists, Dutch Reformed or Catholics, have taken the basic step towards social integration by accepting the language of the host society whole-heartedly. The Widespread Adoption of Canadian Citizenship There was no variation between the Dutch religious groups on the adoption of Canadian citizenship. The majority of the Dutch immigrants 1 From a comparison of the number of English services in the Ontario and British Columbia churches recorded in the Christian Reformed Church Yearbook. 2 Supra, p.42 91 have become Canadian citizens, on deciding to make Canada their home. The Dutch i n the sample who had not become citizens, have either not f u l f i l l e d their five year residential requirements, or else do not consider that their status would he sufficiently changed to warrant the effort and expense of acquiring their citizenship papers. The adoption of citizenship provides the immigrant with the opportunity of taking part i n the p o l i t i c a l l i f e of the country, through the right to vote, but i t i s not as valuable an index of integration as the acceptance of English. The Paucity of Social Relations with Canadians1 Primary group relations, that i s contacts that are personal, 2 informal and intimate, provide a good index of social integration. The social integration of the Dutch immigrants i s best guaged by the extent to which their close friends are Canadians, Dutch immigrants, or are limited to the Dutch members of their church. Variations in the rate of social integration of the Dutch religious groups i s noticeable when this more accurate index of integration i s applied. Almost three-quarters of the seventy-eight members of transplanted churches, in the sample of Dutch in the Valley, had their closest social contacts with the members of their particular church. A f i f t h had both Dutch and Canadian friends, while second generation Dutch immigrants, who had been to High School in Canada, account for the 1% whose close 1 2 In this context 'Canadian' i s used to denote the non-Dutch residents of Canada. This term i s used i n preference to the longer, though more accurate description, - 'Non-Dutch Canadian'. Gordon, op.cit., p.31 92 friends were Canadians. The most interesting aspect of this pattern of social relations i s that members of the Reformed Church of America have as few contacts with Canadians as the Orthodox Calvinists. What-ever the character of the denomination, i t seems that the transplanted church can become the focus of the Dutch community. However, this community i s limited to the particular Dutch denomination and does not extend to the Dutch immigrant group as a whole, for there are as few contacts with the Dutch who are not members of the church as there are with Canadians. The Dutch immigrants who joined the autochthonous Protestant and Catholic churches have more contacts with the Canadians, than their countrymen who are members of the transplanted churches. Though the sample of Dutch, who are members of the Protestant churches, i s small, only one out of the seven said that their close friends were Dutch. The others have Canadian friends and are actively participating i n the local community organisations, such as the Parents Teachers Association. The Dutch Catholics do not account for such a high percentage of any parish that they form a clique i n the parish, which would result in few contacts with Canadians. The majority of the Dutch Catholics in the sample actually stated that they were opposed to clannishness among the Dutch. Those immigrants with no religious a f f i l i a t i o n s said that they had both Dutch and Canadian friends. In their case nationality was the only link with the other Dutch immigrants; i t was not reinforced by religious t i e s . Inter-marriage i s not common between Dutch immigrants and Canadians. 93 With inter-marriage social integration has almost been achieved. The majority of the Dutch males in the sample had been married on immigration, but twenty-nine married in Canada. Only four of these married non-Dutch g i r l s . (TABLE XV) TABLE XV ETHNIC ORIGIN OF THE MARRIAGE PARTNERS OF THE DUTCH SINGLE MALE IMMIGRANTS Male Religion Dutch Girls T ' Second Immigrants,, , . Generation Direct from Netherlands Non-Dutch Canadian Girls Other Immigrant Christian Reformed 10 k 3 2 Roman Catholic 1 2 1 -Ref. Ch.of America 1 2 — -Neth. Ref. Congreg. 1 - • - -Other Protestant 1 - - -No religion - - - 1 Total ih k 7 3 1 Source: Twenty-nine male Dutch immigrants, who were single on immigration to Canada, from a total of one hundred and two Dutch immigrants in the Valley., sample. Three of these married gi r l s who had been born i n Canada; one, to a Roman Catholic, the other two, Mennonites; and the fourth married a German immigrant. The inter-marriage of Dutch female immigrants and non-Dutch males was not documented by the f i e l d work because the sample was selected from Dutch surnames in telephone directories, so the Dutch gi r l s who have married outside the Dutch immigrant group would not be represented in the sample. 9h The Orthodox Calvinists do not set out to reduce their contacts with Canadians, but this i s the indirect result when the church, which i s composed of Dutch immigrants, i s the centre of their social l i f e . The members of the Reformed Church of America, whose close friends are also Dutch, are the exception to the generalisation that the non-religious, Catholics and Liberal Protestants have more social contacts with Canadians than the Orthodox Calvinists. Religion i s thus an important variable in the rate of social integration of the Dutch immigrants with the resident population i n the Valley. Summary and Conclusions The Dutch immigrants have made an impact on the religious l i f e of the Valley through the establishment of ethnic churches. Four new denominations have been added to the welter of Christian denominations in the Valley, and a f i f t h , the Christian Reformed Church, has increased i t s representation from one to twelve churches. A strong sense of community has developed among the Dutch immigrants who are members of these ethnic churches, despite the fact that the Dutch do not l i v e i n compact settlements, because the churches act as social f o c i . Some of the Dutch have established schools and a trade union centred on their denomination. This approach differs from the general Canadian attitude of the separation of the church from education or from labour organizations. These Dutch organizations have not made a great impact on the l i f e of the Canadians because few non-Dutch Canadians have joined the churches and trade union, or sent their children to the Christian schools. It i s surprising that in terms of architectural style these ethnic 95 churches are not distinctively Dutch. This i s mainly because the buildings were not constructed by the Dutch immigrants. The Dutch same have been successors to church buildings in the Valley in the way as they have been successors on farms. The Reformed Church of America i s heir to a Pentecostal church i n Abbotsford, (Plate I ) , a Lutheran one. in Vancouver; the Christian Reformed to a Sikh temple in Haney (Plate II), a Mennonite church in Vancouver. The Canadian Reformed Church in New Westminster i s the very unlikely successor to a cinema. Even in the few instances where new churches have been constructed, there i s not a distinctively Dutch style of architecture. In Agassiz and Richmond the simple rectangular structure i s extremely functional, b u i l t to serve as a church and as a school. The only Dutch aspect of the large Christian Reformed Church at New Westminster i s the stained glass which was imported from Groningen. (Plate III). The church i n Abbotsford looks l i k e some of the Mennonite churches in the Valley, and was i n fact b u i l t from the plans of a Mennonite church, as this was cheaper than drawing up special plans for the Dutch church. (Plate IV). •Dutch' landscape features would give a very poor index of the significance of the Dutch ethnic churches in the religious l i f e of the immigrants. The Orthodox Calvinist denominations have been more inclined to establish churches in the Valley than the other Dutch religious groups. They are also the group that has shown the greatest tendency to organise institutions on denominational lines in the same manner as occurs in the Netherlands. They have organised schools and a trade union, and are the most vocal in their demands for state financial support for their schools. 96 PLATE I The Abbotsford Reformed Church of America : Heir to a Pentecostal Church. PLATE II Haney Chr i s t i a n Reformed Church : Heir to a Sikh Temple 97 PLATE III Abbotsford C h r i s t i a n Reformed Church with c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Mennonite Churches i n the Valley 98 The Catholic Dutch also favour separate education, but they were able to join the existing parish schools. The Orthodox Calvinists and the Dutch Reformed immigrants who have established ethnic churches in the Valley are the groups that have had the slowest rate of integration, measured by the extent of their social relations with Canadians. The different attitudes towards ethnic churches, separate schools and trade unions, and the varied rate of integration, suggests that the Dutch immigrants should not be regarded as a homogeneous group, but as a series of sub-groups, focused on a particular religion, that react differently to the challenge of the immigration country. There is one characteristic that does cut across these social divisions of the Dutch immigrants, and that i s their preference for agriculture, which w i l l be discussed in the following chapters. C H A P T E R V THE DUTCH AND AGRICULTURE IN THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY In Canada the Dutch immigrants have been linked with two agricultural enterprises: dairying and market gardening. 1 In the Lower Fraser Valley they have only been associated with dairying. This suggests that generalisations about the Dutch in Canada have been drawn from observations of the Dutch in Eastern Canada. In this chapter the emphasis is on the reasons why the Dutch selected particular agricultural enterprises in the Valley, and the impact that they have made on these enterprises. The reasons why so many Dutch immigrants entered agriculture i s related to the very nature of the Dutch migration to Canada and has 2 already been discussed. To examine the relative importance of economic and cultural factors in the Dutch decision, that i s whether the immigrants have selected an enterprise for i t s economic potential, or because they are 'Dutch', the following questions are posed: - what agricultural enterprises are represented in the Valley? How are they ranked in terms of the number of farms involved and value of production? What was the relative economic attractiveness of the enterprises, and were there openings in them for new producers? What type of farming did the immigrants follow in the Netherlands ? 1 Petersen, The Politics of Population. p.3l8 2 Supra, p. 33 99 100 To assess the impact of the Dutch in the Valley agriculture, their enterprise selection and i t s location in the Valley w i l l be discussed. Both the number and the s k i l l of the Dutch immigrants who enter an enterprise are important factors i n influencing the impact of the Dutch. If there i s a large number of Dutch producers forming a high percentage of the total producers, then there i s a greater opportunity for the Dutch to make a distinctive contribution to the enterprise. The relative technological development of the Netherlands and Canadian methods is also important. If the Canadian methods are more advanced, then the Dutch, to be successful, w i l l have to adopt the Canadian methods, so their impact w i l l tend to be reduced; on the other hand, i f the Netherlands methods are more advanced, the Canadian producers may adopt the methods used by the Dutch immigrants, so the Dutch w i l l have made a more definite impact on the enterprise. Agricultural Enterprises in the Lower Fraser Valley Dairying i s the main agricultural enterprise in the Valley. 1 (Fig.9). Dairy farms account for HQ% of the Valley commercial farms, which are the farms selling produce to the value of #1,200 off the farm, annually; 2 and produce h2% by value of the total Valley agricultural production. Poultry production, including egg and broiler production, i s second in importance, being the enterprise on 20$ of the commercial farms and accounting for 26% of the value of production. The other enterprises in descending number 6"f commercial farms in the Valley are: f r u i t and 1 Census of Canada, Agricultural Division, 196l 2 See Appendix VIII for s t a t i s t i c s . F l 6. 9 C O M M E R C I A L F A R M S I N T H E L O W E R F R A S E R V A L L E Y I N 1 9 6 1 D A I R Y 0 M I S C . S P E C I A L T Y * X 1 P O U L T R Y F R U I T a V E G E T A B L E B E E F C A T T L E Q F l E L D C R O P S O T H E R 101 102 vegetables; miscellaneous speciality such as fur farms nurseries; beef cattle and grain crops. Each of these enterprises w i l l be considered, in turn to examine the extent of the Dutch penetration and impact, but, as dairying i s the major agricultural enterprise i n the Valley and also the enterprise with which the Dutch have been most associated, i t w i l l be discussed i n greater detail in the next chapter. Post-war Changes in the Valley Agriculture Since the war there have been tremendous changes i n agricultural technology, organisation, the economic size of unit and in marketing in Valley agriculture. 1 Technological improvements have been made in f e r t i l i s e r s , feedstuffs, breeding and farm methods and mechanisation has increased. Specialisation i s widespread, with mixed farming rapidly disappearing and being replaced by single enterprises, such as dairy, egg or broiler farms. The size of the economic unit has increased continuously for a l l enterprises. The regulation of production and marketing, aimed at stabilising prices and maintaining the farmers* returns to provide economic security for the producer, has been extended to milk, vegetables, tree fruits and broilers. As yet.there i s no marketing board in the Valley for eggs. In Netherlands agriculture there was a higher degree of state 2 regulation of production and marketing than i n Canada in 1945. Breeding f e r t i l i s e r s , land and animal husbandry were as well, i f not more, developed than i n Canada. . However, Dutch agriculture was not as highly 1 J. J. Richter, "The Developing Pattern of B.C. Agriculture," B.C. Natural Resources Conference, (1964), p.155 Dutch Agriculture (The Hague: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1959) 103 mechanised and was generally mixed farming, though there were regional variations i n what was the dominant agricultural enterprise. (Fig.10). Though specialisation was not so marked in the Valley in 1950 as i t i s today, i t was s t i l l greater than in the Netherlands at the peak period of Dutch immigration to the Valley. In some ways the Dutch agricultural immigrants were more advanced than the Canadian farmers, in other ways they lagged behind. The Dutch immigrants entered the Valley during the f i f t i e s when there was an accelerated rate of technological and organizational change taking place i n agriculture. As immigrants, the Dutch farmers could encourage this rate of change for three reasons: f i r s t l y , they had different ideas, on farm management acquired in the Netherlands; secondly, they expected to find and have to adopt new approaches in Canada; and thirdly, with a younger age structure than the Valley farmers, 1, they would generally be more willing to adopt innovations. The Dutch could also benefit from the increased economic security for producers derived from the regulation of milk, vegetable, tree f r u i t and broiler production. The Dutch and Poultry Production Poultry production is second only to dairying i n the Valley agriculture, yet i n absolute terms, and also in relation to the number of Dutch who have entered dairying, few Dutch have selected poultry production as their farm enterprise. The Dutch agricultural immigrants were not as technologically advanced 1 Supra, p. 26 FIG. 10 T H E M A J O R A G R I C U L T U R A L D I S T R I C T S A N D P R O V I N C E S O F T H E N E T H E R L A N D S Source: E.W.Hof stee: Rura I L if e a nd R u r a I W e l f a r e in the Net her la nds, p.l 7. 105 as the Canadian farmers in poultry production, nor were they accustomed to the idea of 'egg' or 'broiler' production as single farm enterprises. Though egg production i s an important enterprise in the Netherlands, as late as 1959, most of the production was s t i l l on mixed farms, 1 as a supplementary enterprise to dairying. By contrast, in 19^3 British p Columbia egg production tended to be quite specialised. Broiler production was virtually non-existent in the Netherlands at the time of the Dutch emigration. Egg Production It i s d i f f i c u l t to document the number of Dutch egg producers or their percentage of the total Valley producers, as there i s neither a marketing board nor a large processsing plant from which data might have been collected. The Poultry Officer for British Columbia, Mr. Wood, who i s based at Clearbrook, could name Dutch egg producers in other parts of the province, but none i n the Valley. A Dutch egg retailer in Vancouver employs ten Dutch drivers, five Dutch in the handling and sorting of eggs, but depends on Mennonite producers for eggs. Considering the marked preference for Dutch employees one would expect the retailer to purchase eggs from Dutch producers, i f they existed. Four out of seventy-two in the sample of Dutch agricultural immigrants in the Valley, produced eggs, but this was asoa supplementary enterprise on mixed farms, not as a specialised enterprise. The evidence from these three indirect sources suggests that very few Dutch immigrants have entered egg production in the Valley. Dutch Agriculture, op.cit., p.87 o E. D. Woodward, "Some Factors that Influence Poultry Farm Income in Coastal B.C., "MSc. A g r i c , Dept. of Agric. E c , Thesis 19^5, p.3 106 The relative attraction of dairying and egg production in the Valley i s probably the main reason why so few Dutch have entered egg production. Over half of the f i f t y - s i x Dutch dairy farmers in the sample had been on mixed farms i n the Netherlands, yet they have specialised i n dairying i n the Valley. Some Dutch immigrants did commence with mixed farming, but as soon as they could afford sufficient acreage for an economic dairy farm, they abandoned poultry. The reasons why dairying was-so attractive w i l l be discussed in the next chapter, 1 but i t i s necessary to discover why egg production has been so neglected by the Dutch. There does not appear to be a Dutch predilection to avoid egg production for i n the rest of the province 60% of the egg 2 producers are Dutch: so i t seems that economic factors, such as the fluctuating egg prices since the war and the comparative advantage of dairying i n the Valley, have been the most important in influencing the Dutch decision not to specialise i n egg production. Broiler Production . There are twenty Dutch broiler producers in British Columbia; 3 sixteen of these are located in the Lower Fraser Valley. The Dutch account for tenaper cent of the broiler producers, so, though they had no knowledge of broiler production techniques when they, emigrated, there has been a higher Dutch percentage penetration of this enterprise in the Valley than of egg production. 1 Infra, p. 118 o Interview Mr. Wood, Chief Poultry Officer for British Columbia •a This data was abstracted from the l i s t of registered broiler producers in the Broiler Marketing Board. There are two hundred and four producers in British Columbia. 107 Br«iler production was economically more attractive than egg production; "in the f i f t i e s i t was a relatively new, expanding enterprise. There was no entrenched group of producers, so the Dutch, or any other group, could create an opening for themselves in the expanding market. Except for the i n i t i a l lack of capital, the Dutch could compete with the Canadian producers, who were also adopting a new technique. The cultural influence on the Dutch decision to select broiler production as their agricultural enter-prise may be disgarded as the immigrants had no experience of broiler production in the Netherlands. The Dutch broiler producers in the sample had been in mixed farming in the Netherlands* Why did these Dutch immigrants decide to specialise in broiler production rather than follow the majority of the Dutch agricultural immigrants into dairying? The main reason seems to be a lack of capital to finance a dairy farm at the time when the immigrant wanted to start to farm on his own. The capital outlay, particularly on land, i s not so great for broiler production. A second reason i s that on their mixed, farms in the Netherlands, crop production had been the major enterprise, so they had not been accustomed to being tied to the farm to the same extent as in dairying, with i t s milking schedule. Broiler production seemed to offer more freedom than dairying. The Dutch have made l i t t l e impact on both egg and broiler production in the Valley. This i s because so few Dutch have entered these enter-prises and also because the Dutch had to learn the management techniques of specialised poultry production from the Canadians.1 Their cultural 1 The term 'Canadian' i s used in this context to describe a l l the non-Dutch producers residing in the Valley before the Dutch entry 108 baggage from the Netherlands did not contribute to their impact in these enterprises. The Dutch and Market Gardening There are very few Dutch i n market gardening in the Valley. This i s very surprising, considering that market gardening i s one of the two agricultural enterprises with which the Dutch have been linked in Canada. The horticultural officer for the chief vegetable districts of the Valley, said that he had not come across any Dutch vegetable growers in his area. 1 The British Columbia Coast Vegetable Co-operative Association does not 2 have any Dutch members, though i t has 137 Oriental members. One reason for so few Dutch entering market gardening in the Valley might be that a l l the Dutch immigrant market gardeners settled in Ontario. But this i s not the case: in the sample of seventy-two Dutch agriculturalists, three had emigrated with the intention of continuing i n market gardening. Two are i n dairying and one i s specialising in flowers, while the egg reta i l e r , mentioned above, is another example of a Dutch market gardener who changed his occupation in the Valley. Nor i s a lack of capital an answer to the question, because both the Pitt Polder company and the Netherlands Overseas Farm, which i s located north of Sturgeon Slough on Pitt Polder, abandoned large scale vegetable production after experimenting 3 with i t , mainly because the enterprise was uneconomic. 1 Interview, Mr Thorpe 2 Letter from the Secretary of the B.C. Coast Vegetable Marketing Board Morrison, Ramsey & Watson, "Pitt Polder", Term essay, Geography 30k t University of British Columbia. The physical characteristics of the s o i l also contributed to this decision. 109 These Dutch immigrants would have prefered to continue in market gardening i n the Valley, but they found that: i t was-uneconomic. Those who do produce vegetables, two i n the sample of seventy-two, seem to be moving towards another enterprise. One, has twenty of his one hundred and ten acres in potatoes and the rest in hay; the other, combines vegetable production with eggs and f r u i t , but would prefer to be in an agricultural enterprise which i s not so labour-intensive. Why did the Dutch immigrants find that market gardening was so unattractive economically, that even their interest i n the enterprise did not encourage them to continue in market gardening? Any new vegetable producer, Dutch immigrant or not, faces s t i f f competiton from the cheap Imperial Valley imports and from the local Chinese producers. To compete with the imported vegetables, local production and marketing costs have to be out to a minimum. The Chinese have achieved this by accepting a low return for labour, and through the vertical integration of the vegetable industry, by means of Chinese wholesalers and retailers in metropolitan Vancouver. The Dutch could neither compete on production costs with this efficient entrenched group, nor did they have a marketing structure to support them. So, in the Lower Fraser Valley the economic factor was strong enough to counteract any cultural predisposition that the post-war Dutch immigrants had for market gardening. The- Dutch and Bulb and Flower Growing Bulb Growing Bulbs, particularly tu l i p bulbs, are almost synonymous with the Netherlands. One expects to find Dutch immigrants i n Bradner, the bulb 110 d i s t r i c t of the Lower Fraser Valley. A f i f t h of the Bradner bulb producers are in fact Dutch, so there has been a definite intrusion into what had been anAnglo-Saxon preserve. There were openings for new producers because many of the original bulb growers had reached retirement age and their sons did not want to remain on the farm, so bulb farms in Bradner went up for sale or to rent. 1 The bulb producers i n Bradner used to s e l l cut flowers as their main source of income and import bulbs from England and the Netherlands. The post-war Dutch have accelerated the trend towards specialised bulb production, with a decline in the significance of cut flowers. The Bradner growers had been facing increased competition from the Vancouver Island growers for, due to an earlier growing season and improved accessibility, the latte r can effectively compete for the Vancotrrer cut flowers market; ~ The opening up of a new market for bulbs on the eastern seaboard of the United States was the positive factor encouraging the increase in bulb production in Bradner. A Dutch immigrant, formerly the American salesman, for a Netherlands bulb firm, has been instrumental i n opening this market to Bradner bulbs. His task was made easier by the increase in the price of Netherlands bulbs, due to the rise in production costs, following the rising standard of l i v i n g in the Netherlands:. Bradner bulbs now compete with Netherlands bulbs for the eastern seaboard market, largely due to the i n i t i a t i v e and market knowledge of this post-war Dutch immigrant to Bradner who was aware of the opportunities. 1 Interview with the widow of the f i r s t bulb grower in the Bradner d i s t r i c t I l l Howeyer, the Dutch have failed in their attempt to increase tulip bulb production in Bradner- The original producers had already rejected tulips because the f i e l d micetruined the crop by devouring this edible bulb- The Dutch, after the experience of a few unsuccessful years with tulip bulbs, are growing the same bulbs as the Canadian growers: daffodils, narcissi, and i r i s -Flower Growing Some Dutch immigrants concentrate on greenhouse flowers and potted plants, or grow flowers in conjunction with nurseries or garden shops on the fringes of metropolitan Vancouver in Maple Ridge, North Surrey and Richmond. This flower production i s more important than that which occurs in combination with bulb growing. The Dutch are only one of the many European immigrant groups that have specialised in flower growing for Danes, Swedes and Germans are also involved. 1 There i s a highly elastic demand.for cut flowers or nursery plants. With the rising population and affluence in the Valley, the demand has increased rapidly in the post-war years, so the Dutch, and the other producers, have been able to enter the market. The impact of the Dutch on the actual growing of the flowers has been no greater than the impact of the other groups, but in the marketing of the flowers the Dutch have made an impact. A Dutch clock auction has been introduced by a Vancouver flower wholesaler- This auction method It i s outside the scope of this thesis to consider why these European immigrant groups have entered this enterprise or to isolate their impact. 112 i s widely used i n the marketing of horticultural products in the Netherlands.. It is a time saving method because the price for the commodity i s set high on an electric clock and then starts to come down; the retailer then has to make one quick bid at the highest he i s prepared to pay or he may not have the opportunity of obtaining the commodity.1 The Dutch, and Beef and Hay Production Both these farm enterprises are relatively insignificant i n the Valley, being ranked f i f t h and sixth in the enterprise hierarchy. (Fig.9). Only one Dutch farmer' i n the sample of seventy-two agricultural Dutch immigrants, had a beef cattle enterprise and even this was subsidary to hay production. Though there has been an increase in beef production p in the ;Valley, Dutch immigrants have changed the enterprise on farms they acquired from beef to dairying. The reasons for this change by the Dutch immigrants i s related to their preference for dairying and w i l l be discussed in the next chapter on the Dutch i n dairying. The three Dutch farmers i n the sample who are specialising in hay production did start as market gardeners in the Valley. They appear to have drifted into hay production when they discovered that market gardening did not offer much economic return. These Dutch hay producers are located in Maple Ridge, where there i s a demand for hay from the large number of urbanites who keep horses in this municipality; and in Langley, where there are s t i l l part-time dairy farmers who need to purchase 1 This contrasts with the traditional method in which the bids start low and the,price.is increased by stages. 2 Richter, op.cit., p . l 6 2 113 hay as their acreage i s too small to grow their own hay. Summary and Conclusion The Dutch have made l i t t l e impact in the agricultural enterprises discussed i n this chapter. Few. Dutch, have:entered these enterprises, they form a small percentage of the total number of producers, and in the enterprises they did enter, the Canadian techniques were in advance of the Netherlands methods which tended to reduce the possible impact of the Dutch. The Dutch did have s k i l l i n market gardening, but they have not penetrated this enterprise for economic reasons. The one exception to this description of the Dutch impact is bulb production, in which the Dutch account for a f i f t h of the producers and have encouraged the trend i n favour of bulb growing- at the expense~of growing cut flowers in the Bradner d i s t r i c t . Surprisingly, the agricultural Dutch immigrants to the Valley have not selected market gardening as one of their main enterprises. This suggests that Petersen's description of the Dutch selection of dairying and market gardening.only applies to the Dutch in Ontario and not to the Dutch in the Valley. It supports Tuinman's contention that in Canada "the public often wrongly assumes that the number of Dutch vegetable growers is much larger than i t actually i s . " 1 The significance of cultural preferences in the selection of Tuinman thinks that the misconception has arisen because a number of Dutch established themselves as vegetable growers in a d i s t r i c t of Ontario which was, by.coincidence, named Holland Marsh. Tuinman, op.cit., p.l85 114 enterprises i s refuted by the variations i n the Dutch penetration of the specialised agricultural enterprises of the Valley. The economic factor was of over-riding importance in the Dutch selection. When there were economic advantages but no cultural encouragement, as in broiler production, a small, though significant number of Dutch s t i l l selected this enterprise; but a cultural preference was not strong enough to lead to the Dutch selection of market gardening, when i t was not economically attractive. What i s the result when a cultural preference and economic opportunities are combined in one agricultural enterprise w i l l be discussed in the next chapter on the Dutch i n Dairying. C H A P T E R V I THE DUTCH AND DAIRYING What impact have the -Dutch made on dairying i n the Lower Fraser Valley? Indeed, what i s the justification for linking the Dutch, and only this post-war immigrant group with dairying? Has the Dutch entry into dairying been influenced by their cultural heritage or is i t solely the result of the economic attractiveness of this, the major agricultural enterprise in the Valley? Have they made a peculiarly "Dutch" contribution to dairying such as in breed selection or in land use? These are the basic questions posed in this chapter. The Nature of the Post-War Dairy Industry in the Valley Over-production in relation to the Vancouver f l u i d milk demands has been, and s t i l l i i s , the basic problem of the Valley dairy industry. The. price received for surplus milk used in the manufacture of cheese, butter and condensed milk, i s insufficient to."cover the high production costs in the Valley, so i t is essential to the economic v i a b i l i t y of a dairy enterprise that a high percentage of the milk production i s sold on the f l u i d market. The Significance of the 1956 Milk Industry Act Before the Milk Act there was an uneven distribution of the f l u i d milk market between the shippers to the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association 1 and the shippers to the independent dairies. In 19^2 seventy 1 Henceforth abbreviated to F.V.M.P.A. 115 116 per cent of the Valley's milk was shipped to the F.V.M.P.A., hut the co-operative only supplied thirty-eight per cent of the Vancouver f l u i d milk requirements, while eighty per cent of their milk was used in the manufacture of milk products. 1 The independent shippers and producer-vendors supplied thirty per cent of the Valley production, sixty-two per cent of the f l u i d milk requirements, while, only twenty per cent of their production was used for manufactured milk-products. Thus the F.V.M.P..A. shippers received a lower price for their milk than the independent shippers because only 20$ of their milk production, compared with 80$ of the latter's was receiving the premium price of the f l u i d market milk. The Milk Industry Act established a quota system aimed at equalising the producer price~and regulating production. The quota was originally apportioned at the ratio of f l u i d demands to total production: that i s , i f 75$ of the total Valley milk production goes to the f l u i d market then each dairy farmer, whether a co-operative or an independent shipper, receives a quota amounting to 75$ of his average production of the four lowest months. This apportionment of the quota only applies to qualifying milk; that i s milk which f u l f i l s the minimum quality standard. The minimum producer price for a l l qualifying quota and non-quota milk i s 2 calculated by a formula contained in the Milk Act. 1 F* M. Clement and R.P.. Forshaw, A Factual Survey of the Fraser Valley Dairy Industry and the Greater Vancouver Fluid Milk Market, A Report by the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of British Columbia (1942), p.39 p The accounting value i s based on three classes of milk. Class I, a l l milk and cream sold in f l u i d form; class II, milk manufactured into evaporated milk; class III, used in any other way. The price of class I milk i s based on a formula dependent on relevant economic factors such as changes in the general price le v e l , changes in factors of production and the relationship of f l u i d sales to the total qualifying milk. 117 The difference in price between quota and non-quota milk can be the decisive factor in determining whether an enterprise i s economic or not. In 1955 i t was estimated that 03,20 per.cwt. milk at h% butterfat was too low a price for economic milk production, 1 yet non-quota milk prices have seldom been much higher. For example, the 1965 February Settling Rate was $5-64 per cwt. for quota milk, but only 03.26 for non-quota milk. .The size of the dairy farmer's quota i s thus a fundamental factor in the profita'b.ility of his dairy enterprise. Once the quota system was established a new producer could only acquire a quota i f another producer ceased or reduced production. I n i t i a l l y a farmer could increase his quota. He received a bonus quota i f he produced more than his original quota during the four months of low milk production. As this procedure tended to encourage rather than end over-production, the quota i s now only increased when the f l u i d milk market expands. As quota milk i s so essential to successful dairy farm management, the quota has been bought and sold l i k e a commodity, reaching prices of 0200 per cwt. The purchase of a quota, which would be valueless i f the quota system was abolished, i s an additional capital expenditure. The Dutch immigrant, 4 . . . . J. V. Clyne, Report of the British Columbia Commission on Milk, 1954-55 (Victoria: Don McDiarmid Queen's. Printer, 1955) p.45 2 Milk Marketing Board, Settling Rate, February 1965. The Settling Rate i s worked out by the Board, based on a formula which considers the ratio of f l u i d sales to total qualifying milk, and economic factors such as changes in the general price index. 118 l i k e a l l new milk producers i n the Valley since 1 9 5 6 , has to decide whether to buy a quota or not, to purchase extra quota or to wait"for an increase dependent on the expansion of the f l u i d milk, market.. The quota system has contributed to the increased economic security of dairying i n the Valley and has ended the uneven distribution of the f l u i d milk market between the independent and F.V.M.P.A. shippers. The latter are no longer at a marked disadvantage in the price received for their milk. Nor are the producers in Kent, ninety miles from the market, at a locational disadvantage to those of Delta, fifteen miles from Vancouver, because the entire Fraser Valley south of.U 9 ° 3 Q ,_ iis within one pricing system. Thus no consideration of variations in producer prices either via marketing outlets or by d i s t r i c t s , had to be made by the Dutch i f they selected their farms after 1 9 5 6 . The Act also established a more r i g i d inspection system to ensure a high, hygenic standard in milk production. No milk can be sold for the f l u i d market unless there i s a low bacteria count i n the milk and the barns and milkhouse reach the required standards. The high standards had been a goal for some time but "the system of inspectionxin the.Fraser Valley had broken down and was practically useless". 1 The enforced standard of barn construction resulted in advantages and disadvantages for the new producers. After 1 9 5 6 , more capital was needed to commence to farm on a modern dairy farm as i t was no longer Clyne, op.cit., p.x 119 possible to start with dilapidated buildings. The advantage to the Dutch farmers was that the necessity to make farm improvements could be the fi n a l reason for the decision to s e l l by a farmer near retirement age. The latter would not usually have the i n i t i a t i v e to make a large capital expenditure as he=could not hope to get the return from his investment. Dutch immigrants were ready to acquire their own farms by 1956 so the Milk Industry-Act had some -influence on the amount of capital they needed in order to acquire modern buildings and a quota, and also on the availability of farms in the Valley. Though a l l f i f t y - s i x dairy farmers in the sample had immigrated to Canada before 1956, half of these acquired their f i r s t farm after this date and eighty-six per cent the farm they are on at the present. ( F i g . l l ) . Age of the Valley Farm Operators in 19^ 5 The general movement of farmers' sons to urban occupations and the retirement of several of the Valley dairy farmers were the main reasons why there were openings i n dairying for the immigrants to the Valley during the ' f i f t i e s . As several of the farm operators had been the young pioneers on the newly dyked "prairies" in the f i r s t two decades of the twentieth century, when the major agricultural expansion took place in the Valley, they were near or had reached retirement age by 19^5. In the past the son^would have followed the father on to the farm but, with the attraction of urban occupations, there was no successor to the family farm, so, at retirement, the farm was put up for sale, or in a few instances, was F R E Q U E N C Y G R A P H S YEAR OF IMMIGRATION YEAR OF ACQUISITION OF THE PRESENT FARM 15 p 15 p CO tr Mi < > or < Q X o I-3 Q o o Z 10 P 5 U 10 P 5 k J U) o m in to o> o 0> 10 t 0) o m m o CD 0) YEAR OF IMMIGRATION AND ACQUISITION OF PRESENT FARM 121 available for renting* The general age of the farm operators i n a region not only influences the rate of farm sales, but also the efficiency of the agricultural production* The older farmer i s less l i k e l y to adopt new methods or make capital outlays, especially i f there is no member of the family to succeed him* This results in traditional, inefficient farming. The arrival of a new, youthful group w i l l , by contrast, make an impact in the region* The Dutch are such a group in the Valley dairy industry. The Increasing. Size of an Economic. Dairy Farm Though the management a b i l i t i e s of the farm operator are a major factor in determining whether a farm is economic or not, there i s a minimum acreage for a particular enterprise, even for the best managers. In 1957, Menzie-suggested'that twenty milking cows, needing thirty-six acres, i s the minimum size of dairy farm to obtain a satisfactory return 2 for labour* This i s rapidly becoming too small a unit, so that a farmer, single-handed, w i l l need to maintain a herd of thirty-six milki|ig cows, for which sixty-eighty acres are necessary. A farm less than forty acres is on the economic margin: an eighty acre unit i s fast becoming the most economic size for the Valley dairy farm. A much smaller acreage w i l l suffice for a factory dairy farm on the Los Angeles model in which the feed i s purchased and the cows are mainly s t a l l fed, but ¥.alley dairying 1 H* C. Abell found that most of the adult sons in a survey of Ontario farmers were in non-farm occupations. "The Present-?Day. Agricultural Ladder," reprint in Blishen et a l . , Canadian Society: Sociological Perspectives p.244 2 E. L. Menzie, 0. KLassen and F.Van Andel, Dairy Farm Management Manual B.C.Dept. of Agric. & U.B.C. Dept. of Agric. Econ., p.45, 4b 122 has not yet developed to this extent. Relaxation in Credit to Farmers In the ' f i f t i e s more capital was needed to commence dairying in the Valley than previously. Land values were rising as a result of the pressure on the land from the expansion of metropolitan Vancouver. A larger acreage was required for an economic unit; buildings had to be improved to comply with the standards l a i d down in the Milk Industry Act; and a quota had to be purchased. The majority of the Dutch immigrants did not have any capital in the Netherlands, and those that did could not immediately transfer i t to Canada, because of the Dutch post-war restrictions on the export of capital. To accumulate sufficient capital to make a down payment on a farm the Dutch worked as farm labourers, in the saw mills or in peat cutting. They were advised to work from four to five years before commencing to farm on their own as much to gain experience of Canadian methods, as to accumulate capital. Within five years three quarters of a sample of forty Dutch dairy farmers interviewed in this study, had obtained sufficient capital for a down payment.1 The rate of obtaining the farms was accelerated by the more lenient attitude of the banks towards advancing loans to farmers. Agriculture has been an industry in which i t has been d i f f i c u l t to obtain long term credit. The Canadian Farm Loan Board p'rovides There were 56 Dutch dairy farmers i n the Field Survey sample, but information on capital accumulation was only obtained in kO cases. 123 long term mortages of 65% of the appraised value and up to #15,000. Farm improvement loans can be obtained through the banks up to S&jOOO.1 The Dutch immigrants have bu i l t up a reputation for f u l f i l l i n g their payments on loans regularly, and so have been able to obtain loans relatively easily. After 1945 there were openings in dairying for immigrants, as the heirs of many of the Valley farm operators who had reached retirement age, preferred urban occupations. Over half the Dutch immigrants did not commence to farm on their own un t i l 1956 so they reaped the benefits derived from the equalisation of the producer price established by the Milk Act. The disadvantages of commencing dairying.in the f i f t i e s were the necessity of having a modern barn and acquiring a quota which meant increased capital investment... Fortunately, credit, particularly long term credit was more readily available to farmers after the war. Dutch Dairy Farms in the Valley Dutch Dairy Farm Distribution There are about four hundred Dutch dairy farms in the Valley accounting for a f i f t h of the total number of dairy farms. This estimate was obtained from the shippers' l i s t s of the four major dairies, supple-mented by the observations of the District Agriculturists. There are a relatively small number" of shippers to "Jersey Farms", "Lucerne" and "Palm" dairies, so the Field Representatives could quote the exact number of Dutch Menzie, op.cit., p.39 12h shippers to their respective dairies* There are 1,700 shippers to "Dairy-land", the diary of the F.V.M.P.A., and the management in this case does not know the exact number of Dutch shippers. The data on the number and addresses of the Dutch shippers to "Dairyland" was abstracted from the shippers' l i s t . However, some surnames which are not typically 'Dutch' may have been overlooked and some German shippers included. Despite these weaknesses in assessing the number of Dutch shippers to the F..V*M*P.A. this i s the most satisfactory estimate possible. The distribution of the Dutch dairy farms in the Valley i s illustrated by Fig.12. This map i s based on the addresses of the Dutch shippers to the F.V.M.P.A. who represent eighty-five per cent of the Dutch dairy farmers in the Valley. The most marked clustering of Dutch dairy farms i s on the prairie areas of P i t t Meadows, Kent, Matsqui, Sumas and Chilliwack. Generally below 100 feet, consisting of deltaic and a l l u v i a l flats with good 2 s o i l of land capability classes II and III, the prairies are the major dairying areas of the Valley. There are fewer Dutch in Langley and Surrey, but there too they are located in the valleys of the Nicomekl, Serpentine and Salmon rivers and in the Glen Valleym rather than on the glacial t i l l uplands. The Dutch seem to have settled readily on poorly d drained land, (which i s cheaper to acquire), because they were aware of the po s s i b i l i t i e s of correcting this s o i l problem from their experience 1 The Field Representatives are the dairy employees who regularly v i s i t the shippers to the dairy.. Land for Farming (Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board, 1962) p.7 ' F I G . 12 D I S T R I B U T I O N OF D U T C H D A I R Y F A R M E R S Source: SHIPPERS' LIST OF F.V.M.P.A. 126 gained in the Netherlands.. In the P i t t Meadows-Haney Local of the F.V.M.P.A., 44$ of the dairy farmers are Dutch.. (TABLE XVII).. This i s the highest percentage that the Dutch reach in any of the Locals of the F.V.M.P.A. Kent has the second highest percentage (33%), and indeed the District Agriculturist thought that the Dutch accounted for almost half of the Kent dairy farmers. This impression may have been created by the fact that the Dutch have large scale enterprises in Kent.. . Almost a third of the dairy farmers on Matsqui Prairie are Dutch. TABLE XVI:. DUTCH SHIPPERS AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL SHIPPERS TO THE MAJOR DAIRIES Dairies Number of Shippers % Dutch/ Non-Dutch Dutch total shippers Dairyland - Total 1,371 349 20 Kent 61 34 36 Silverdale-Deroche 112 23 17 Pit t Meadows-Haney 46 36 44 Ladner „ 36 8 18 Richmond 13 1 7 Surrey 81 25 24 Langley 287 43 13 Matsqui 290 81 22 Matsqui Prairie 94 42 31 Rest 196 39 17 Sumas 50 17 25 Chilliwack 395 81 17 Sardis 157 32 17 East Chillowack 238 49 17 Jersey Farm 117 18 13 Lucerne 57 15 21 Palm 54 31 36 Total 1,599 413 21 Sources: Dairyland: abstracting Dutch surnames from the l i s t of shippers Lucerne and Palm Dairies: interview with the Field Representatives Jersey Farm Dairy: l e t t e r from the Field Representative. Letter from P.- E. Ewert. Mission District Acripult-n-H st.. TOfis 127 It can be seen from a comparison of the percentage distribution of the Dutch dairy farmers with the distribution of the milk cows in the Valley, or from a consideration of the variations i n the ratio of Dutch to the total co-operative shippers in each d i s t r i c t , that the Worth Bank and Matsqui have attracted an above average number of Dutch dairy farmers. (TABLE XVIII). TABLE XVIII THE PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DUTCH AND THE TOTAL F.V.M.P.A. SHIPPERS AND MILK COWS IN THE VALLEY Percentage Distribution District F.V.M.P.A. Shippers' Milk Cows ' Dutch Total North Bank 27.0 18.0 14.0 Delta 2.3 2.5 7.0 Richmond 0.3 0.8 7.0 Surrey 7.0 6.0 10.0 Langley 12.0 19.0 15.0 Matsqui 23.0 22.0 15.0 Sumas 5.0 4.0 9.0 Chilliwack 23.0 28.0 23.0 Sources: 'Shippers' l i s t of F.V.M.P.A., 1965 "Menzie, Dairy Farm Management Manual, p . l In Richmond and Delta, areas of low Dutch penetration, there has been an absolute decline in the number of dairy farms due to the extension of the b u i l t up area. Land values are high and few farms have come on the market as the land i s being held for urban development. The 'North Bank.', is. used as an abbreviation to include the d i s t r i c t .north of the Fraser River, which comprises the municipalities of Pitt Meadows, Haney, Mission and Kent, and the unorganised territory of Pit t Polder. 128 relatively low Dutch entry into Langley may be due to the large number of small holdings under thirty acres in the municipality, for these are only suitable for part-time farming or for a combination of dairying and poultry production. On the North Bank the pressure on the land has not been as great along the Lougheed Highway as in Richmond and Surrey, whilst in Kent land prices were relatively lower due to the isolation of the municipality, so there were more openings for new producers. The attraction of Matsqui prairie to the JDutch i s partially explained by the availability of a wide range of farm sizes from thirty to a hundred acres, and partially by the role of Abbotsford as a focus of the newly arrived Dutch immigrants. Dutch DairyFarm" and-Herd Size The Dutch dairy farms range from thirty to two hundred and forty acres. Three quarters of the farms are over sixty acres, while only four out of the sample of f i f t y - s i x farms are below forty acres, which Menzie suggests i s the minimum acreage for a dairy farmer to obtain a return for his labour under the present management techniques in the Valley. 1 The most common farm sizes are forty and seventy acres. (Fig.13). The largest Dutch farms are in Kent, Sumas and Delta, which are also the districts with the highest percentage of farms over seventy acres. (TABLE XVIII). In 196l the Crossfield and Woodward survey of ninety-two dairy farms in the Valley found that the average number of milking cows on the high Supra, p* 121 FIG. 13 NUMBER OF FARMS IC ACREAGE FREQUENCY OF FARMS DUTCH DAIRY 25 FARMS 15 r —r— 50 75 100 25 150 + A C R E S MILKING HERD SIZE FREQUENCY to -o 15 25 35 45 55 65 f MILKING COWS ACREAGE AND MILKING HERD SIZE OF DUTCH DAIRY FARMS 130 TABLE XVIII ACREAGE OF THE DUTCH DAIRY FARMS BY MUNICIPALITIES Dutch Dairy Farms** Percentage Census* Municipality Sample 'acreage farms over 70 acres Number smallest largest in 196l Kent 10 60 105 37 Chilliwack 13 4o 112 9 Sumas 7 55 240 26 Matsqui 13 32 115 30 Langley 3 1+2 90 13 Delta 2 86 100 48 Source: *In 1961 a census farm was defined as an agricultural holding of an acre;or more with sales of 050 in the last year. Census of Canada, **From the total sample of f i f t y - s i x Dutch dairy farms. labour income farms was thirty-five. Three-fifths of the f i f t y - s i x Dutch dairy farms have smaller herds than this. However, seventy per cent have thirty or more milking cows, the average size in the 196l survey, while only seven per cent have less than twenty head. A detailed study on the management of the nine rented Dutch dairy farms on Pitt 2 Polder by Klein, showed that these are high labour income farms. The general herd size suggests that the majority of the Dutch dairy farms are medium labour income farms. Tenure on Dutch Dairy Farms The Dutch show a greater propensity for renting than the other Valley D. C. Crossfield and E. D. Woodward, Dairy Farm Organization in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia 19oT, (Dominion Economics Div., Dept. of Agriculture), p.45 M. Klein, "Pitt Polder" (unpublished research paper, Dept. of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1965) 131 dairy farmers. A l l the tenants of the nine Pitt Polder farms are Dutch. Though the history of unsuccessful attempts at draining 1 the polder may be the major reason why the Canadians have avoided the Polder farms, the tenure did not encourage them either. Excluding the P i t t Polder farms, nine farms, or seventeen per cent of the sample of fifty-three Dutch dairy farms, are rented. In the Crossfield and Woodward survey thirteen per cent of the dairy farms were rented. Dutch farms were included in this survey, so there may be more than a four per cent difference in renting between Dutch and non-Dutch dairy farms. The greater willingness of the Dutch to rent farms i s probably due to two characteristics of their farming in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, renting i s more common than in the Valley for in 1950 over half the farms were rented, 1 yet in the Valley 2 only five per cent of the farms were rented i n 1951. Several of the Dutch immigrants had" been agricultural labourers in the Netherlands, so even to rent a farm was a step up the agricultural ladder. In addition i t does not take as much capital to start farming on a rented farm, and in the case of P i t t Polder i t has been shown that renting offers the farmer a higher.return.for his labour. The Desire to Own an Economic Unit The Dutch seem more willing to rent a farm than the other Valley farmers, yet the chief emigration motivation of two thirds of the Dutch 3 dairy farmers was to own a farm in Canada. To rent a farm may only be a 1 Dutch "Agriculture-. (The Hague: ^ . Ministry .of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1959), p*35 2 . . . Census of Canada, Agricultural Statistics. 3 Supra, p.56 132 transitional stage in the achievement of this migration aim, because the Dutch immigrant may not have sufficient capital to purchase an economic unit. Thirty-seven of the f i f t y - s i x Dutch dairy farmers in the sample have been on two or more farms; of these twenty-one increased their acreage and changed from renting to ownership in the move; five increased the acreage but continued to rent; while two actually reverted to renting i n order to increase the acreage of the unit they were farming. It seems that ultimately the Dutch dairy farmer seems to want to own an economic dairy farm,:ibut to work an economic unit has been the short-term goal. Mobility of the Dutch Dairy Farmers Mobility has characterised the Dutch dairy farmers for they have moved from one farm to another and often to another municipality as they took another step up the agricultural ladder towards their goal. In the sample of fifty-two dairy farmers, a third had been on one farm, just over half on two farms, and the remainder on three farms. (TABLE XIX. Almost four f i f t h s of the Dutch dairy farmers have moved from the municipality where they obtained their i n i t i a l employment, though less than half had moved to different municipalities when they changed farms. If the Dutch dairy farmer could obtain the type of farm that he wanted in the area of i n i t i a l employment there was no incentive to move tOL,another Municipality. In the selection of their farm location, the Dutch were influenced by the number of farms available in the area, the size, tenure and price of these farms. The majority of the Dutch who were i n i t i a l l y employed in Richmond, Delta and Langley could not obtain the type of farm they wanted, either because few farms came on the market in these municipalities 133 TABLE XIX MOBILITY OF DUTCH DAIRY FARMERS r>_ i m , , • Number on their T .. ,. _ _ _ Present Total l g t 2 n d 3 r d Location differs from their Location Number _ ' _ n _ I n i t i a l Work 1st Farm Farm Farm Farm Kent 10 4 6 8 3 Chilliwack 13 1 11 1 11 8 Sumas 7 1 4 2 7 4 Matsqui 13 7 6 5 4 Langley 3 - 2 1 2 Delta 2 2 - - -Pitt Meadows 1 1 - - 1 Pitt Polder 3 2 - 1 2 1 Total 52 18 29 5 36 20 Source: Sample of fifty-two Dutch dairy farmers or because the holdings were too small, so they moved eastwards to Chilliwack or Kent where they had a better selection of farms. By contrast the immigrant who arrived in Abbotsford had a wide range of farm sizes to chose from on Matsqui and Sumas Prairies. The pattern of movement has been one of short hops within, and between, Matsqui and Sumas Prairies, with the immigrant really remaining within one social and religious community focused on Abbotsford. (Fig.14) Predecessors on the Dutch Dairy Farms When the Dutch entered the Valley in 1945, there was l i t t l e good land on which new dairy farms could be developed, thus the Dutch had to R E S I D E N T I A L M O B I L I T Y OF THE D U T C H 135 acquire existing farms. The Dutch obtained the farms from farmers who had reached retirement age, had no interest in farming, or were having great d i f f i c u l t i e s in management either through illness, or a shortage of ski l l e d labour. The migration of these farmers' sons to the towns created 2 the vacuum in farming, which the Dutch have f i l l e d . Sixty-two per cent of the previous owners in the sample of f i f t y Dutch dairy farms were Anglo-Saxon, eighteen per cent were Mennonites, and, surprisingly, twenty per cent were Dutch. (TABLE XXI). TABLE XXI ETHNIC ORIGIN OF THE PREDECESSORS ON THE DUTCH DAIRY FARMS Ethnic Origin Municipality Anglo-Saxon Mennonite Dutch Sample no. % no. % no. % Total Kent 7 78 1 11 1 11 9 Chilliwack 8 63 3 23 2 15 13 Sumas 3 50 1 17 2 33 6 Matsqui 7 k6 k 27 k 27 15 Total 31 62 9 18 10 20 50 Source: From f i f t y of the f i f t y - s i x dairy farms in the sample. On the three Pitt Polder farms, in the sample there was no predecessor, in the other three cases the ethnic origin of the previous owner was not obtained. Pitt Polder i s the exception to this generalisation. It i s a new settlement created by a Dutch Company comprising nine dairy farms, a nursery and a beef and hay enterprise. As the most spectacular impact of the Dutch on the settlement of the Valley i t is discussed in detail on page 151" M. Timlin states that, "the coming of Dutch agricultural immigrants... f i l l e d a vacuum l e f t by the departure of farmers' sons for the towns and by the retirement of older farmers." Borrie, op.cit., p.398 136 Even within fifteen years Dutch farms have come up for sale. In the Dutch succession, relative and religious links are important, as often a son-in-law or someone from the same church acquires the farm. Half of these Dutch farms were available because the immigrant had. moved, to a larger farm, but for the other half the Dutch owner had. reached retirement and had no successor as his sons were not interested i n farming. Thus in ten per cent'of the sample there i s an indication that the Dutch are already slipping into the general trend of the d r i f t from agriculture. The question i s , who w i l l succeed the Dutch in another generation when they too leave agriculture, following the Anglo-Saxons, Mennonites and a few of the Dutch who have provided the openings in Valley dairying for them? This i s probably a hypothetical question, for, with the rapid urbanisation of the Lower Fraser Valley and changing dairying technology, there may be no place for the family dairy farm in another generation. The Preference of the Dutch for Dairying A l l the post-war immigrants could avail themselves of the economic opportunities and the openings in dairying, yet i t i s only the Dutch,who have penetrated the industry to such an extent that they are noticeable. "The basic reason for this lack of penetration by the other immigrant groups is that there were fewer bona fide farmers among these groups than among the Dutch immigrants. The reasons why a higher percentage of the Dutch immigrants were farmers has already been discussed in Chapter I I . 1 Supra, p.33 137 Why did so many of the Dutch agricultural immigrants select dairying in the Valley? If these immigrants had been dairy farmers in the Netherlands then their cultural background would encourage them to chose the same occupation. On the other hand, i f they only found dairy farms on the market, then economic factors influenced their occupational selection* A cultural preference for dairying among the Dutch agricultural immigrants isesuggested by the fact that in selecting dairying some of the immigrants are acting contrary to two socio-economic trends in the Valley. A general trend i s the d r i f t from agricultural to urban occupations and in the Valley there i s a trend in favour of beef production at the expense of dairying. Yet urban Dutch immigrants have become dairy farmers in the Valley; and on some Dutch dairy farms the previous owner had a beef enterprise. Occupational Change from the Netherlands Twenty-one per cent of the Dutch dairy farmers in the Valley had worked on dairy farms in the Netherlands; f i f t y per cent on mixed farms; thus seventy-one per cent had some experience in dairying and would be inclined to enter dairying in the Valley. (TABLE XXII). However, TABLE XXII NETHERLANDS OCCUPATIONS OF THE VALLEY DUTCH DAIRY FARMERS Occupation D a i r r Farmers no. Dairying 12 21 Mixed Farming 28 50 Specialised Agriculture 3 5 Non-farm 13 23 Source: Valley Sample of f i f t y - s i x dairy farmers. 138 twenty-three per cent had urban occupations in the Netherlands, and. though half of these were only one generation removed, from the farm, i t i s a surprisingly high percentage, when set in the general trend from agricultural to urban occupations in western industrial countries. In the Netherlands these thirteen non-agricultural Dutch immigrants had occupations ranging from surveying to general labouring, but the Canadian immigration policy and sponsorship system encouraged them to enter Canada as agricultural labourers. 1 I n i t i a l employment as dairy farm labourers placed non-agricultural immigrants on the path that lead some to dairy farming as their occupation in the Valley. This i n i t i a l employment did provide experience and created an interest in dairying, but why did these non-agricultural immigrants continue in dairying, when other urban immigrants, including some Dutch, only remained in agriculture for a couple of years? The example of the agricultural Dutch immigrants moving from labouring to their own dairy farms, had a snowball effect on the non-agricultural Dutch immigrants, for they were encouraged to follow the same path, rather than follow their former occupation in Canada. The Dutch group identification with dairying, combined with the economic attractiveness of this self-employed occupation, influenced the decision of these thirteen Dutch immigrants, a f i f t h of the Dutch dairy farmers, to become dairy farmers.. Changes in the Farm Enterprise The majority of the farms which- the Dutch acquired were already Supra, p. 34 139 specialised dairy farms. A f i f t h of the dairy farmers changed the enterprise on the farms they acquired. (TABLE XXIII). The concentration on dairying to the exclusion of berries, poultry or vegetables i s part of TABLE XXIII FORMER ENTERPRISE ON THE DUTCH DAIRY FARMS IN THE VALLEY •r, . • Farms Enterprise no. Dairying Mixed Farming Beef Production Dairying and Berries Hops 42 79.2 4 7.5 4 7.5 2 3.7 1 1.8 Source: Sample of fifty-three Dutch Dairy Farmers: The three Pitt Polder farms in the sample are no included. the general trend towards specialisation in Valley agriculture. There has been no comparable trend from beef to dairying, indeed i t has been suggested that "beef may become a serious competitor for input factors now used for the production of milk" in the Valley. 1 Though beef production i s s t i l l a minor agricultural enterprise and ranked f i f t h in the Valley enterprise hierarchy, i t expanded between 1954 and 196l. The Dutch immigrants who purchased beef cattle farms have changed the enterprise from beef to dairying at a time when i t appears that the trend in enterprise Selection' i s inltheaother direction.. This enterprise change by Richter, op.cit., p.l6l iko the Dutch illustrates that the Dutch have a cultural preference for dairying, which reinforces the economic attractiveness of this enterprise. The Impact of the.Dutch on the-Valley Dairy Industry There are three reasons why the Dutch might be expected to make an impact on the Valley dairy industry. F i r s t l y , the very fact that they are a mew group in dairying, generally younger than the majority of farmers, means that they would tend to have more i n i t i a t i v e and thus should make an impact. Secondly, the Netherlands is renowned for i t s dairying with a high standard of animal husbandry leading to milk yields that are bettered only by Israel. The Netherlands milk yi e l d i s 4,230 kilograms per cow per year, which i s much higher than the Canadian annual y i e l d of 2,960 kilograms. Thirdly, in the Netherlands there i s a large scale training programme for farmers, involving agricultural schools and an efficient advisory service, which leads to a relatively fast dissemination of new techniques from the 2 research to the farm l e v e l . JThus the Dutch farmers have been used to adopting new techniques relatively quickly. This background suggests that the Dutch would be efficient, s k i l l e d , modern and flexible farmers. The dynamic aspects of Valley dairy farming since the war has increased the problem of isolating characteristically Dutch methods in dairying. Both the Dutch and the non-Dutch dairy farmers have had to adapt to the changes in technology and market demands. The selection of U.N. Trade Yearbook, 1963 Dutch Agriculture, op.cit., p.19 141 the dairy breed, farming methods and techniques, and the changes in buildings and land use w i l l be examined in an attempt to identify the Dutch impact in Valley dairying. Selection of the Dairy Breed A l l f i f t y - s i x of the Dutch dairy farmers in the sample have Holstein herds. The Dis t r i c t Agriculturists observed that almost a l l the Dutch dairy farmers in the Valley have Holstein herds.. Is this almost exclusive selection of the Holstein breed based on a cultural preference, or i s i t only a reflection of the economic advantages of the breed? -The Holstein-Friesian i s a Dutch breed. 1 In the Netherlands lk% of the dairy cows are Black and White Friesians and another 2k% are Red p and White Friesians. The Dutch who had been dairying i n the Netherlands, thus had experience in working with the Holstein; they had no experience with the Channel breeds (Guernsey and Jersey) or with Ayrshires. The Dutch would therefore tend to favour a Holstein herd. It i s d i f f i c u l t to state categorically which i s the most economic breed in a particular market situation. As the price received for milk i s dependent on both the quantity and the quality of the milk, the farmer must weigh the relative merits of each breed in these respects before he selects his herd, because no breed combines a high yield with rich milk. 1 In North America the Black and White Holstein-Friesian breed islinown as the Holstein, and henceforth w i l l be"referred to as such. 2 Dutch Agriculture, op.cit., p.55 142 The Holstein i s the highest yielding breed, but i t s milk has the lowest fat content. (TABLE XXXIII). It is also a large-framed animal; the bull calves and culled cows fetch a higher price when sold for veal TABLE XXIII QUANTITY AND QUALITY.OF THE MILK OF THE MAJOR BREEDS IN THE VALLEY Breed Yield in lbs. 1958* % Fat 1947* 1958 % Solids^nbt-^fat 1947 Holstein Guernsey Jersey 10,000-13,000 7,307- 9,021 6,312- 8,083 3.40 4.95 5.37. 3.70 4.90 . 5.25-6.00 8.86 9.66 9.5k Sources: *The results of tests of pure-bred dairy cattle in 1947, C. L. Roadhouse & J. L. Henderson, Market Milk Industry **Dairy Cattle Breeds, U.S.D.A. Farmers' Bulletin, 1943 (April 1958) pp. 12, 13, 17 or beef. The Ayrshire provides good uniform production with anaverage milk composition. Jerseys have the highest fat content, but total yield and thus the amount of milk solids i s less than other breeds. It i s a more delicate breed and has smaller calves which fetch lower prices. The Guernsey f a l l between the Ayrshire and the Jersey i n both the advantages and disadvantages.• The Dairy Farm Manual, source of this review of breed characteristics, emphasises that the selection of a breed i s largely a matter of personal choice, but where the market does not demand milk with a high fat content, Holstein and Ayrshire are favoured as they are higher yielding breeds. 1 Menzie, op.cit., p.6 143 The minimum producer price in the Valley i s set for milk with a k% fat content. The price i s adjusted by a 0.062 differential per cwt. for each tenth.of one per cent fat content. 1 The dairy farmer thus has to decide on whether he could receive a higher milk income from the larger volume of milk with a low fat content of a Holstein herd, or from the smaller volume of milk with a high fat content of a Jersey herd. Over two thirds of the Valley dairymen have selected a Holstein herd, increasing the fat content of the milk production by including a few Jersey or. Guernsey in the herd. The majority of.the Valley dairy, farmers therefore consider that the Holstein has slight economic advantages in the Vancouver milk market. However, i t does not seem to be the relative economic advantages of the Holstein breed alone that has influenced the Dutch selection of this breed. Two surveys on dairy farm organisation in the Valley carried out in 1954 and 196l document a tremendous swing towards Holsteins on the 2 commercial dairy farms.. Unfortunately in both these surveys no indication i s given of the ethnic origin of the dairy farmers, and as the Dutch were acquiring their farms during this period, they are included in the 10% dairy farms with Holstein herds, but even i f they are not, there i s s t i l l the difference between 70$ of a l l the Valley dairy farms having 1 I f the price i s 05.66 per cwt. for k% fat content, quota milk, then for 3.7$ i t i s 05.474. This i s not such a great difference as between the price of quota, 05-66 per cwt., and non-quota milk, 03.21 per cwt. Thus the quota has a greater influence on prices than the fat content of the milk. Both these surveys were of commercial farms so exclude the small, part-time dairy farms which have mainly Channel breeds. Ikh Holstein herds, and the almost unanimous selection of the Holstein as their basic stock by the Dutch dairy farmers. A few of the Dutch dairy farmers have irrational objections to the Channel breeds.. They do not think that they look l i k e a dairy cow. "The goats are too smallI". For the majority of the Dutch dairy farmers there i s no irrational depreciation of the Channel breeds, but a decided preference for the breed which they had been used to in the Netherlands. .The almost exclusive selection of the Holstein by the Dutch dairy farmers i s due to the combination of economic and cultural factors favouring this breed. The Dutch had experience with the Holstein. The structure of the Vancouver milk market did not force them to select another breed, instead i t encouraged them to continue with the Holstein. Farming Methods and Techniques. .The farming methods and techniques of the Dutch farmers are not as distinctively "Dutch" as their breed selection. This i s partly the result of the Dutch adapting their methods to the conditions for dairying in the Valley and adopting Canadian methods, and partly the result of the non-Dutch dairy farmers adopting some of the Dutch methods. This two way exchange of ideas, operating over a period of fifteen years or more, has reduced the distinctiveness of the Dutch immigrants' methods. Dutch dairy farms are as mechanised as the other dairy farms in the Valley. Yet in the ' f i f t i e s , mechanisation, such as the use of milking machines, had progressed further i n Canada than in the Netherlands. The 145 Dutch immigrants gained the experience of working the milking machines while they were employed as dairy labourers, and they have adopted machine milking rather than reverting to hand milking. The only aspect of mechanisation that seems to differentiate the Dutch i s that they appear to be more willing to borrow capital to invest in equipment. Considering that instalment buying i s not so common in the Netherlands, this i s surprising, but this i s countered by the fact that the immigrant i s making a new start and i s ready to accept new methods and approaches. A high application of f e r t i l i s e r to the land has characterised Netherlands land husbandry because i t has been essential to obtain high yields per acre, when there i s such an overall pressure on the land. Such intensive land use has only become economically necessary, or feasible, in the Valley since 1945 with the rapid rate of urbanisation. The Dutch, with their knowledge of intensive methods, were therefore valuable new operators for the dairy industry in the ' f i f t i e s . In the opinion of the Mission d i s t r i c t agriculturist the Dutch have been more inclined to use f e r t i l i s e r and lime. Now, there i s not such a great difference between the Dutch and non-Dutch dairy farmers i n the application of f e r t i l i s e r because the younger non-Dutch farmers have increased the amount of f e r t i l i s e r used, while the Dutch, adapting to the market and subsidy conditions i n the Valley, do not apply such a high quantity of f e r t i l i s e r per acre as they did in the Netherlands. The Dutch also differed from the bulk of the Canadians in hay making. July was the traditional time in the Valley for taking the f i r s t cut. In the Netherlands the agricultural service had encouraged the farmers to cut Ih6 when the grass was in i t s early flowering stage to obtain the best combination of y i e l d and nutritive value. This may occur as early as mid-May. Early hay making was also carried out by the best Canadian dairy farmers at the time of the Dutch immigration, so i t i s not a "Dutch" prerogrative, but i t was more common.among the Dutch than the non-Dutch.dairy farmers. The Dutch had to adapt their methods to the local conditions; climatic i n this instance* Favourable drying conditions are as important as the stage of growth in hay making, as exposure to rain results in a loss of nutrients. In most parts of the Valley, precipitation i s twice that i n the Netherlands, thus the problem of hay drying plays a larger part in the decision on the time to cut.* Today few Canadian dairy farmers wait un t i l July before cutting their f i r s t hay crop, so again the differences between the Dutch and non-Dutch dairy farmers have gradually dwindled in the past decade.. The Dutch, as a 'Ginger Group' . The Dutch have acted as a ginger group for the Valley dairy industry by providing keen competition and challenging the accepted methods of the other dairy farmers. Their success as a ginger group l i e s in the fact that the methods that the Dutch followed were the ones which the agricultural extension officers considered- desirable for the Valley dairying. Dr. Clarke Head of the Experimental Station at Agassiz, estimates that 10% of a farming community are willing to try out new ideas, while the rest wait un t i l they see their neighbours obtain a better return from the new methods. Four hundred Dutch dairy farmers, added to the ten per cent who quickly 1 Average Netherlands precipitation 30" per'annum, compared with Delta-3 1 *", Abbotsford-60", Agassiz-63", Hatzic-80" or P i t t Polder-86" 147 adopt new techniques, meant that almost a third of the Valley dairy farmers would be following intensive land use methods, which would then be more rapidly disseminated to the rest of the dairy farmers. The role of the Dutch dairy farmers as innovators i s illustrated by the following comments from interviews with them:..."The f i r s t year here we started to make silage on May 12th, the Canadians thought that we were crazy, but they watched and were interested in the results...At f i r s t few Canadians cut hay before July, now i t i s only the old-timers... The Canadian next door borrowed the f e r t i l i s e r spreader when he saw how well the grass grew." The Dutch have made an impact on the techniques and methods used in the Valley dairying. That there i s not a great difference between the Dutch and non-Dutch dairy farm methods now i s partly the result of the successful role of the Dutch as a ginger group, their willingness to adapt their methods to the particular economic and climatic conditions of the Valley, and partly due to their willingness to adopt the higher mechanisation of the Canadian dairy farmers. Farm Building Renovations. The Dutch have transformed run-down farms into modern dairy farms by remodelling and constructing farm buildings. Even those who acquired modern dairy farms made some improvements. Only thirteen of the f i f t y -six farms reported no major improvement, but eight of these had been occupied for less than a year. The construction of the milkhouse for the recently 148 installed milk cooling tanks, has been the most.common improvement. (TABLE XXXV, PLATE V).. TABLE XX1.V IMPROVEMENTS ON THE DUTCH DAIRY FARMS - NEW CONSTRUCTIONS Construction Number bu i l t Stanchion Barn 9 Stanchion Barn remodelled 12 Loafing Barns 6 Silos - Cement 19 Silos - Wooden 1 Milkhouses 19 Milking Parlours 3 Farmhouse 4 Farmhouse remodelled 2 Source: Sample of f i f t y - s i x Dutch dairy farms The construction of silos reflects the growing preference for silage feeding. New barns were constructed to meet the Milk Act standards, and old barns remodelled to comply with these standards and to accommodate the larger-framed Holstein, as s t a l l s for Channel breeds are too short and too narrow. (Plate VI). Some Dutch farmers have constructed loafing barns as they wanted to have loose-housing herd management. (PLATES VII & VIII). Other dairy farmers have also made improvements to their buildings as they too had to comply with the Milk Act standards, and wanted to modernise the f a c i l i t i e s . However, a new operator i s more inclined to make improvements than the resident operators. As the Dutch are almost the only new operators in the Valley i t i s on their farms that the improvements are apparent, more because they are new than because they are Dutch. The improvements that 149 New Milkhouse on an East Chilliwack Farm PLATE VI New Stanchion Barn beside the Old One on a Matsqui Farm 150 PLATE VII New Loafing Barn on a Sumas Farm PLATE VIII New Cement S i l O | MiJJsiiouse and. Loafing Barn on a Kent Farm 151 they made have a similar function and design to those made by the non-Dutch dairy farmers so they are not distinctively 'Dutch' landscape features per se. The Creation of New Dairy Farms - The Case of Pitt Polder .The reclamation of Pi t t Polder has been the most spectacular.impact of the Dutch in the Valley. P i t t Polder is the only area of i n i t i a l Dutch settlement in the Valley, for in a l l other parts of the Valley the Dutch have been successors on the farms.. It is the only place with a Dutch name - 'Polder*, which i s used to describe land reclaimed from the sea as in the polders of the Ijsselmeer (Zuider Zee). 1 After the war, Dutch business men who wanted to invest capital i n Canada, decided to form the Pitt Polder Company to reclaim the flats between the P i t t and Alouette rivers.. The injection of Dutch capital into the area has transformed marshland into an agricultural landscape. (Compare PLATES IX and X).. Drainage ditches and dykes were constructed, the land was prepared for agriculture, experiments were carried out to select the most suitable land use, and then farm buildings were constructed. The dispersed settlement pattern on the Polder bears a closer resemblance to the Valley settlement pattern than to the traditional village and hamlet pattern in the Netherlands. A village was incorporated in the original plan, but i t did not materialise, though the site of the 1 A Polder i s an area of low-lying land with an individually controlled water management, including an individual water table. A polder i s enclosed by dykes which protect the land against the water outside, where a higher level has to be maintained. Dutch Agriculture, op.cit., p. PLATE IX. Pitt Polder in 1940, note only one building. The area enclosed by the red line i s shown in the next Plate. 153 PLATE X. P i t t Polder i n 1963. Note the drainage ditches, c i r c u l a r d i t c h ( s i t e of the abortive v i l l a g e ) , nine dairy farms and nursery north of Sturgeon Slough, 154 proposed village can be picked out on Plate X by the circular ditch which was designed as the boundary of the village. Even in this one area of i n i t i a l Dutch settlement, there i s not a distinctively Dutch settlement form to compare with the Mennonite 'strassendorf' at Yarrow. The Polder was not intended to be an area of Dutch dairy farms. Large scale market gardening was the original land use, but after successive failures with peas and potatoes, dairying was adopted as the major land use, though there i s a nursery and beef and hay farm to the north of Sturgeon Slough. Nor was the Polder meant to be a "Dutch colony" for the idea was to create a community of Dutch and Canadian farmers, but Canadian farmers showed no interest in renting the eighty acre farms from the Pitt Polder Company. The development of Pitt Polder illustrates again that the Dutch immigrant plans have been modified to f i t the Valley conditions. Pitt Polder i s the most spectacular impact of the Dutch in the Valley; i t i s the area with which the Dutch have been most associated; i t has attracted the most attention; yet there are only nine dairy farms on the Polder. Though effic i e n t , high-income dairy farms, in the context of the Dutch contribution to the Valley dairy industry, the nine Pitt Polder farms have had a small impact, compared with the cumulative effect of the four hundred Dutch dairy farms scattered throughout the Valley. The significance of Pitt Polder l i e s in the reclamation achievement and in the tenure innovation of renting farms from a company. 155 Summary and Conclusion There are oyer four hundred Dutch dairy farmers in the Lower Fraser Valley accounting for a f i f t h of the producers, so there i s a jus t i f i c a t i o n for linking the Dutch with dairying. A few post-war German immigrants also entered dairying, hut their numbers are negligible compared with the Dutch penetration- Yet the economic opportunities and openings in dairying were available to a l l the post-war immigrants to the Valley. The reason why only the Dutch took advantage of the economic opportunities in dairying l i e s in the nature of the Dutch migration to Canada and in the cultural background of the agricultural Dutch immigrants. There was a higher percentage of farmers among the Dutch immigrants than among the other European immigrants to Canada. The almost exclusive selection of dairying suggests that the Dutch immigrants had a preference for dairying. Not only have they changed the enterprise on the farms they acquired from beef to dairying, and urban Dutch have become dairy farmers, but they did this when the general trends in the Valley were in favour of beef production and urban occupations. It was the com-bination of favourable economic opportunities with their cultural pre-ference which encouraged the high penetration of the Dutch immigrants into dairying-It i s d i f f i c u l t to isolate a peculiarly Dutch contribution to Valley dairying. The Valley dairy industry was in a state of flux in the ' f i f t i e s , the period of Dutch entry, so i t i s almost impossible to decide whether the Dutch initi a t e d , accelerated or simply followed, 156 particular trends in dairy farming* Nor can i t be satisfactorily decided, from the limited data available, whether the rapid Dutch adoption of particular techniques, was due to their cultural heritage or to their immigrant status, for a young immigrant, group tends to be predisposed to accepting new methods in their new country. The preference for the Holstein breed i s the most distinctively 'Dutch' characteristic of Dutch dairy farmers. However, even this selection can not be entirely attributed to their cultural preference, for in the market conditions of the Valley dairy industry, the Holstein is an economic breed and has been increasingly adopted by non-Dutch dairy farmers. The Dutch have maintained their intensive land use methods, but adapted them to the economic and climatic conditions of the Valley and they have accepted wholeheartedly, the high specialisation and mechanisation of the Valley dairying. In fifteen years, through the processes of adoption and adaptation, the differences between the Dutch and the non-Dutch dairy farmers have decreased, and though they have not completely disappeared, there i s not a clearly defined, method of Dutch dairy farm management in the Valley at present. The Dutch impact in the Valley dairy industry i s an i l l u s t r a t i o n of the value of immigrants with particular s k i l l s to an immigrant country. By example, and through competition, the Dutch have acted as a 'ginger group*,- encouraging a more scie n t i f i c and rational management of resources. In this way they have contributed to the rejuvenation of the Valley dairy industry. CONCLUSION The distinctiveness of the post-war Dutch migration to Canada l i e s in the fact that a high percentage of- the Dutch immigrants were farmers, whereas most post-war immigrants to Canada were urban workers. These Dutch, agricultural immigrants differ from the agricultural immigrants to Canada in the early twentieth century i n two respects. They are not pioneers, but-a succession group, acquiring farms where they are available, rather that pioneering new land. Secondly, they have settled in South West Ontario and the Lower Fraser Valley rather than in the Prairie Provinces. It i s with the impact of the rural Dutch immigrants on the l i f e and landscape of the Lower Fraser Valley, particularly their influence on settlement form, their distribution, their social characteristics and their occupational selection, that this thesis has been concerned. It has been shown that the Dutch immigrants have not created peculiarly 'Dutch' settlements in the Lower Fraser Valley. There was no space in the Valley for almost ten thousand Dutch immigrants to form a compact settlement. Instead they had to penetrate the existing settlement and they could only commence farming where the farms were up for sale or to rent. If there are Dutch on every other farm, as for example on Townshipline Road, Matsqui, and on Prairie Central Road, Chilliwack, this has resulted from the availability of farms rather than by the design of the Dutch. One new settlement was created, appropriately named Pitt Polder; but i t was not meant to be entirely-inhabited by the Dutch, nor i s the settlement form distinctively 'Dutch'.. There i s no Dutch impact on settlement form to compare-with the 'strassendorf' 157 158 developed by the Mennonites at Yarrow. Though there are no exclusively Dutch regions in the Valley, there are areas where the Dutch have tended to settle. These are located in Pitt Meadows, Kent, Matsqui and Chilliwack, the major dairy regions of the Valley. Although the ava i l a b i l i t y of dairy farms of an economic size was the basic factor in influencing the Dutch locational decision, the location of their i n i t i a l employment, kinship t i e s , religious a f f i l i a t i o n s , and the direction of the immigrant flow by the Canadian government, modified the underlying economic influences. Indeed religion i s particularly significant as a modifying variable in the distribution of sub-groups within the Dutch immigrant group. There i s a partial segregation between the Catholic and Protestant Dutch immigrants: Dutch farmers on Matsqui and Sumas prairies are almost entirely Protestant, whereas in Kent the majority of Dutch farmers are Catholic. Religion was the social characteristic of-the.Dutch immigrants to receive the most detailed study, for i t was seen to be a variable in the emigration decision, in the selection of the immigrant country, in the location of the Dutch within Canada and within the Lower Fraser Valley, and that i t played an important role in the social geography of the Dutch immigrants in the Valley. There was only one Dutch church in the Valley before 1945, now there are twenty, representing five Protestant denominations, four of which are Orthodox Calvinist and the other Liberal Protestant. This i s the most noticeable impact of the Dutch on the religious l i f e of the Valley, but the 1 ! Siemens, op.cit., p.102 159 church buildings have not l e f t a 'Dutch* mark on the landscape. The Dutch have taken over existing buildings in the same manner as they acquired farms, and, when newly constructed, the churches have not been built in a Dutch style. Abbotsford and New Westminster are the chief foci- of the Dutch denomi-nations. The Christian Reformed Church, with twelve churches, has established the churches in the Valley services centres, so that each church generally serves one of the major prairies which are the main dairy regions. "The other denominations draw their congregations from a wider area, as they do not have a sufficiently large membership .to establish a church to serve each pra i r i e . They have also carried from the Netherlands the idea that other social institutions can be organised around religion. This i s particularly-applicable to the Orthodox Calvinists who have established eight Christian schools and a Christian trade union in the Valley. These Dutch immigrants expected the Canadian government to subsidise separate schools, and the appropriate Canadian trade unions to accept separate Orthodox Calvinist trade unions- That i s , they wanted to recreate the pattern that they had been used to in the Netherlands.. As yet their views have not been accepted by the Valley administrators. The integration of the Dutch immigrants into Canadian society varies inversely with the degree of cohesion of the religious group to which they are a f f i l i a t e d . The church appears to be a stronger social focus among the i6o Orthodox Calvinists. This reduces the opportunities for mixing socially with Canadians or even with the Dutch immigrants who are not members of the particular denomination. It i s the Dutch of no religious a f f i l i a t i o n , the Liberal Protestants, who have joined the autochthonous churches, and the Catholics, who have the most social contacts with the Canadians and have gone furthest i n the process of integration and in losing their identity. It has been observed that i t was the more fundamentalist religious groups among the nineteenth century American immigrants who established separate churches and other social institutions. This i s one of the immigrant characteristics that does not appear to have changed over time, for the same generalisation applies to the post-war Dutch immigrants in the Valley. The Orthodox Calvinists show the greatest tendency to establish churches, schools and trade unions. In their occupational selection, the rural Dutch immigrants of a l l religious persuasions, have shorn a preference for dairying. There are over four hundred Dutch dairy farmers accounting for a f i f t h of the Valley dairy farmers. The very high penetration of the Dutch into dairying i s due to the combination of their interest in this occupation with favourable opportunities being available for new producers. No other immigrant group took advantage of these opportunities in dairying to this extent, which suggests that the cultural preference of the Dutch was significant in their occupational selection. However, the low penetration of the Dutch into market gardening suggests that a cultural preference alone i s insufficient to lead to the penetration of an occupation. There were several market gardeners among the Dutch immigrants, l 6 l yet few have entered this enterprise because i t was economically unattractive in face of the s t i f f competition from the Chinese producers. Within dairying the most distinctive characteristic of the Dutch dairy farmers has been an almost total concentration on the Holstein breed of dairy cattle. Again the immigrant preference was reinforced by the economic advantages of this particular breed. The Dutch have contributed to the swing in favour of Holstein herds among the Valley dairy farmers which occurred since the f i f t i e s . Are the Dutch an immigrant group whose impact can, and w i l l in future, be easily recognised? The Dutch immigrants were i n i t i a l l y distinguished by their common national language and citizenship, but, as the majority have become Canadian citizens and adopted English as their language, even to the extent that i t is the language of worship in the ethnic churches, they can no longer be identified by these alone. The rural Dutch immigrants have made their most noticeable impact through their occupational selection. Even the casual observer links the Dutch with dairying. In this too there i s an indication that the Dutch immigrants may cease to be identified by their association with dairying. Second generation immigrants have been selecting urban occupations. The breakdown in the association of the Dutch with dairying w i l l take much longer than the decline in the use of their national language, but i t appears to have commenced with ten per cent of the heirs, in the sample of Dutch dairy farms, preferring an urban occupation. 162 The religious a f f i l i a t i o n s of the Dutch immigrants w i l l l i k e l y survive longer than their language or their assocation with dairying. There i s not the same pressure to adopt one religion as there i s to adopt English, nor is there a general trend in favour of one religion to compare with the trend towards urbanisation. The congregations who have established ethnic churches, particularly the Orthodox Calvinists, have made the slowest progress towards integration into Canadian society. It seems that these groups w i l l be identified as the remnants of the post-war Dutch migration to the Valley. Immigrant groups, united by religion as well as by nationality, have shown a higher survival rate as sub-cultures in American society, than the immigrant groups only bound together by national t i e s . This has recently been documented by Lenski and Kennedy among third generation immigrants in America. 1 The examination of the Dutch immigrant group has indicated that the religious differences within the group are apparent even among the f i r s t generation immigrants. It has also suggested that in the future i t w i l l not be the Dutch dairy farmers who w i l l have the most marked impact on the trultural^ geography of the Lower Fraser Valley, but rather that the most readily identifiable Dutch group w i l l be the Orthodox Calvinists. R. J. R. Kennedy, "Single or Triple Melting Pot: Intermarriage i n New Haven, American Journal of Sociology, LVIII (July 1952) SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Beets, H. Beijer, G., Frijda, N.H., Hofstede, B.P. and Wentholt, R. 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"Migration and the Christian Faith," Research Group for European Migration Problems, Supplement VE (May 1964) "Dutch Group Settlement in Br a z i l , " Research Group for European Migration Problems, VII (Jan. 1959) "Single or Triple Melting Pot: Intermarriage in New Haven," American Journal of Sociology, LVIII (July 1952), p.56-59 "Where Trails Meet," Centennial Society of Matsqui, Sumas and Abbotsford, 62 p. "Ethnic Groups and their Behaviour," Annals of the American Academy of P o l i t i c a l and Social Science, CCLIII (Sept., 1947) pp.158-163 "Land for Farming," Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board, (March 1962), |f,6 p. Mather, C and Kaups, M. McQuade, G.D. Meinig, D.W. Menzie, E.L., KLassen, 0- and Van Andel, F_ Moberg, D.O. Mol, J.J.. Richter, J.J-Ryder, N..B. "The Finnish Sauna: A Cultural Index to Settlement," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, LIII (Dec.1963), pp.494-504 "Trends in Canadian Immigration," International Migration,II ( 3, 1964)., pp.221-234 "The Mormon Culture Region: Strategies and Patterns in the Geography of the American West 1847-1964," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, LV (June 1965)., pp .191-220 "Dairy Farm Management Manual," British Columbia, Dept. of Agriculture & U.B.C. Dept. of Agric. Economics, 55p. "Social Differentiation in the Netherlands." Social Forces, XXXIX (May 19&L), pp.333-337 "Churches and Immigrants," Research Group for European Migration Problems, Supplement V (May 19ol) "The Developing Pattern, of B.C.. Agriculture,' 1 Transactions of the B.C. Natural Resources Conference, (1964) pp.151-166 "The Interpretation of Origin Statistics," The Canadian Journal of Economics and P o l i t i c a l Science, XXI (Nov.1955) pp.466-476 The Science of Geography, National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington D.C, Pub.1277 (1965) 167 "Television C r i s i s , " Time (March 12,1965). Thornton, H,P- "Chilliwack and District - An Economic Survey," Victoria, Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Dept. of Industrial Development, Trade and Commerce (July i960) 60 p. Timlin, M.F., "Economic Theory and Immigration Policy," The Canadian Journal of Economics and P o l i t i c a l Science, XVI (Aug.1950) pp.375-382 "Canada's Immigration Policy 1896-1910," C.J.E.P.S., XXVI (Nov.1960), pp.517-532 Trewartha, G.T. "A Case for Population Geography," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, XLVIII (June 1953), pp.71-97 Van Campen, J. "Dutch Emigration and i t s role in the National Life of the Netherlands," Migration News, 2"(1960) Vanderhill, B.G. and "The Settlement of New Iceland," Annals of the Association Christensen, D.E. of American Geographers, LIII (Sept. 1963), pp.350-363 Vanderhill, B.G. "Pitt Polder: Dutch Enterprise on Canadian S o i l , " Canadian Geographical Journal, LXV (Sept. 1962), pp.94-99 Selinsky, W. "An Approach to the Religious Geography of the United States: Patterns of Church Membership in 1952," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, LI (June 1961), pp.139-193 Government Publications, St a t i s t i c a l Material and Year-Books British Columbia. Revised Statutes i960. Milk Industry Act 1956 Canada, Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration. Annual Report (i960) — — — — , National Seminar on Citizenship 1953 — i , "Canadian Immigration: An Outline of Developments in the Post-war Period," Reference Paper 1 (Nov.1957) — — — , Statistics Section. Immigration 1946-1964 Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Canada Year-Book 1957-58 , Census 196l Agriculture Population -Christian Reformed Church. Year-Book 168 Netherlands, Emigratie 1956, Staatsdrukkery-en Uitgeverybedryf The Hague, 1958 , S t a t i s t i c a l Yearbook of the Netherlands 1957-58. Uitgevers-maatschappy: W.De Haan Zeist, I960 United Nations, Trade Book 1963 Unpublished Material Allyn, N.C. "European Immigration into Canada, 1946-1951," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of History, Stanford University. Gibson, J.R. "A Comparison of Anglo-Saxon, Mennonite and Dutch farms in the Lower Fraser Valley: A Methodological Study in Areal Differentiation and the Relative influences of the Physical and Cultural Environment." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of Oregon 1959. Howell-Jones, G.I. "A Century of Settlement Change: A Study of the Evolution of Settlement Patterns in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, Univ. of British Columbia 1966. Klein, M. Morrison, T.R., Ramsey, J.D. and Watson, R. Sas, A. Siemens, A.H. Walhouse, F. Welch, R.L. White, G.B. Woodward, E.D. "Pitt Polder" research paper, Dept. of Geography, Univ. of British Columbia, 1965. "Pitt Polder." Undergraduate term paper Dept. of Geography, Univ. of British Columbia, 1964. "Dutch Migration to and Settlement in Canada since 1945 (special emphasis on S.W.Ontario)." Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Geography, Clark University, 1957. "Mennonite Settlement in the Lower Fraser Valley." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of British Columbia, I960.. "The Influence of Minority Ethnic Groups on the Cultural Geography of Vancouver.." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of British Columbia., 1 9 6 l . "The Growth and Distribution of Population in British Columbia 1951-61." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1964. "History of the Eastern Fraser Valley since 1 8 8 5 . " Master's dissertation, Dept. of History, University of British Columbia, 1937. "Some Factors that'Influence Poultry Farm Incomes: A Study made on 46 Poultry Farms in Coastal B.C." Master's dissertation, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, University of British Columbia, 1945. 169 Bibliographies Canada, Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Economics and Social Research Branch. "Citizenship, Immigration and Ethnic Groups in Canada: A Bibliography of Research, Published and unpublished Sources 1920-1958". (I960) — — — , "Citizenship, Immigration and Ethnic Groups in Canada: A Biblio-graphy 1959-1961." . British Columbia, "Ethnic Groups, in British Columbia: A Selected Bibliography based on a check l i s t of Material in the Provincial Library and Archives*" (1957) Appendix I OUTLINE OF INTERVIEW USED IN THE FIELD WORK 1. Individual Dutch Immigrant A. Personal Names Address Age Marital Status...married on emigration, married in Canada, i f Children, number born in Netherlands, in Canada? Religion? B. History and Migration Motivation What Province emigrated from? Occupation in the Netherlands? Why the decision to emigrate? When did you emigrate? Did you come with the family? Were you sponsored? What role did the government, relatives, or church groups play? Why did you choose Canada? Why did you select British Columbia? If British Columbia was not the i n i t i a l location why did you move? C. Social Knowledge of English. Applied for, Canadian.Citizenship? Where do the children go for their education? Do you belong tetany local societies? What church do you belong to? Does i t provide a focus for social activities? Are your close friends Dutch? D. Economic Is this a similar occupation to what you had in the Netherlands? If not, why did you change? Do you propose to stay in i t ? Do you think that you are economically better off than in the Netherlands? i . Farming How did you obtain this particular farm? Why was i t up for sale? Where did you obtain the capital? What acreage i s the farm? What i s the tenure? What was the ethnic origin of the previous owner? 170 171 What i s the principal source of income? a. dairying*.*.size of herd, breed b. . poultry. ...*egg, broiler, size of production c* f r u i t and vegetables d. flowers and bulbs Why did you chose this enterprise? What was the enterprise of the previous farm owner? What changes have you m a d e . i n enterprise inventory buildings machinery f i e l d size, access? How do your methods compare with surrounding farmers? What are the major differences from the Netherlands methods? How much do you produce? How do you market the produce? Does i t provide a sufficient return? Do you think your son w i l l continue in farming? Observations of barn type, size, farm layout, general appearance of the farms. 2. Administrators - both Dutch and Canadian What are the reasons for the Dutch immigration to Canada? Why did they chose British Columbia and the Lower Fraser Valley in particular? What are the major occupations that they have entered? Why i s there a concentration in particular .occupations? Have there been changes in occupational goals since 1947? What role did the Netherlands and Canadian governments, and the religious emigration societies play in the migration process? Where are the major concentrations of the Dutch in the Lower Fraser Valley? Can they be identified in the population? What has been their contribution? To what extent have they integrated into Canadian society, and i s there any variation in integration between urban and agricultural Dutch, or between the several religious denominations? 172 Appendix II THE INTERVIEWS Dutch Immigrants Agricultural Dutch 73 Rural Non-Farm 10 Urban 17 Admini strators Agriculture Dis t r i c t Agriculturists:-Mr Cruickshanks ..Chilliwack and Kent Mr Hall ...Matsqui, Sumas, Langley Mr Ewert ..............Mission, Maple Ridge, P i t t Meadows Mr Wood Poultry Officer (Clearbrook) Mr Thorpe ........Horticulture Officer (New Westminister) Dr. Clarke .Head of the Experimental Station, Agassiz Agricultural Suppliers and Services:-Feeds ....Surrey Co-op, B & K, Buckerfields Livestock. Sales...Gibsons, Langley Laval Milking Machines, Langley Hatcheries .... Pacific Broiler Marketing Board Dairies Jersey Farms ) Lucerne ) Manager and Field Representatives Palm ) F.V.M.P.A. ........ Public Relations Officer and Production Manager Real Estate Offices in Abbotsford, Langley and Haney Employers of Immigrants John L. Haas Hop Coy. (letter) Western Peat Moss, Blue Whale Peat. Immigration Mr A. Lockwood, Settlement Officer, Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Vancouver Mr Vander Stoel, Dutch Vice-Consul, Vancouver Municipal Officers Kent, Maple Ridge, Langley, Pitt Meadows, Richmond 173 Religious Leaders Roman Catholic Dutch Diocesan priest Parish priests i n Haney, Pitt Meadows, Chilliwack, Cliverdale, Richmond. Dutch Churches Christian Reformed.,., ministers of Whalley, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Vancouver Bethel, New Westminister, Ladner and Richmond churches. Free Christian Reformed .... Aldergrove minister Canadian Reformed ...... New Westminister minister Reformed Church of America..... Vancouver Minister. nu Appendix III DUTCH IMMIGRATION TO CANADA 1901-1964 by Ethnic Origin 1901 25 1923 119 1945 159 02 35 24 1,149 46 2,146 03 233 25 1,637 47 3,192 04 169 26 1,721 48 10,169 05 281 27 2,242 2,465 49 7,782 06 389 28 1950 7,404 07 394 29 2,340 51 19,130 08- ' 1,212" 495 1930 2,458 52 21,213 20,472 09 31 788 53 1910 74l 32 269 54 16,340 11 931 33 259 55 6,929 7,956 12 1,077 1,524 34 164 56 13 35 148 57 12,310 14 1,506 36 208 58 7,595 5,354 15 605 37 192 59 16 186 38 232 i960 5,598 17 151 39 376 61 1,960 18 94 1940 4 l l 62 1,982 19 59 41 238 63 2,181 1920 154 42 203 64 2,464 21 595 43 146 Max. 22 183 44 131 1965 377 Sources: 1901-45 Dominion of Canada, Report of the Department of Mines and Resources for the Fiscal Year, ended March 31, 1947 1946-65 Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Division. Fig. 2 i s based on these s t a t i s t i c s . Appendix IV NETHERLANDS IMMIGRATION TO CANADA 1946-63 by Different Classifications Total Dutch Immigrants By Country of Birth 149,742 Last Place of Permanent Residence 152,470 Country of Citizenship 151,476 Ethnic Origin 164,748 Source: CANADA, Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Division 1946-63 175 Appendix V AGE AND SEX OF IMMIGRANTS,BY ETHNIC ORIGIN 1957 British German Italian Dutch 0-4 M 6,348 1,195 1,284 788 F 5,975 1,079 1,155 697 5-9 M 5,424 1,027 947 1,573 772 F 5,065 1,472 682 10-14 M 3,265 593 1,016 519 F 2,939 633 1,052 473 15-19 M 2,431 1,755 1,574 590 F 2,723 8,986 1,252 5,656 1,504 34l 20-24 M 3,171 2,425 1,133 F 10,373 3,044 1,035 25-29 M 12,223 2,785 2,528 967 F 10,248 2,001 1,943 831 30-34 M 8,855 1,413 1,486 674 F 6,638 1,390 789 1,459 613 35-39 M 5,766 850 482 F 4,Ol4 852 851 459 40-44 M 2,813 420 470 319 F 2,050 528 5U3 249 45-49 M 1,515 392 467 169 F 1,220 440 544 141 50-54 M 645 217 369 84 F 841 326 412 87 55-59 M 3Q4 127 255 51 F 615 237 270 59 60-64 M 170 68 101 18 F 507 166 244 32 65-69 M 136 4i 82 16 F 312 90 150 8 70 + M 124 34 77 9 F 303 67 116 12 Source: Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration, Statistics Section Immigration 1957, Table 7. Figi'3 i s based on these stati s t i c s 176 Appendix VI Distribution of the population i n the Netherlands, by Provinces 1947 Groningen 449,862 Friesland 459,36l Drenthe 271,909 Overijssel 638,797 Gelderland 1,028,127 Utrecht 549,566 Nord-Holland 1,77^,273 Zuid-Holland 2,284,080 Zeeland 260,800 Nord-Brabant l,l80,133 Limburg 684,105 Netherlands 9,625,499 1958 471,745 474,744 308,028 760,020 1,250,317 662,847 2,038,196 2,668,158 283,356 1,456,650 869,326 % province/total 1947 4.67 4.77 2.82 6.63 10.68 5.70 18.43 23.72 2.70 12,26 7.10 11,278,024 Source: S t a t i s t i c a l Yearbook of the-Netherlands 1957-58 Table B-7 Appendix VII HISTORICAL TREE OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES "IN"THE NETHERLANDS The corresponding name of the churches in North America i s given in brackets below the Netherlands name.. NETHERLANDS REFORMED CHURCH (Reformed Church of America) 1834 REFORMED CHURCH UNDER THE CROSS CHRISTIAN SECESSION CHURCH 1 1 1869 CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH 1S86 I DOLEANTIE MOVEMENT - Kuyper 1892 THE CHRISTIAN J REFORMED CHURCH I IN THE NETHERLANDS 1Q92 (Free Christian Reformed) THE REFORMED CHURCHES OF. THE NETHERLANDS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ — — — — — — . (.Christian Reformed Church) 1944 SCHILDER MOVEMENT - ARTICLE 31 (Canadian Meformed Church) 177 Appendix VIII AGRICULTURE IN THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY Enterprises Number of Commercial Farms* Value of Production in dollars** Dairy 2,095 27,998,669 Poultry 888 17,324,480 Fruit and Vegetables 1*89 9,969,583 Miscellaneous Speciality 405 6,709,546 Beef 305 2,289,000 Grain Crops i4o 277,800 Other 62 1 ,628,000 Total 4,384 66,197,083 Sources: * I96l Census of.Canada, Agriculture, British Columbia Table 15 ** J- S. A l l i n , "Inventory of Agriculture in British Columbia" Statistics for Fig. 9.