club no. 101 chartered with probus canada

   Probus Club of Ottawa Alta Vista

   sponsored by the rotary club of ottawa

SPEAKER PROGRAM

May 28th, Johanna Lemke
A Wartime Childhood - Netherlands

Johanna Lemke lived through the horrors of WWII as a child in war-torn Hengelo, The Netherlands. She lived through nights of terror spent in the cellar during air raids and the dreaded raids, when friends and neighbors were taken away to the camps. Perhaps the most stressful time was when a Nazi officer forcefully billeted himself in her family home.

After the liberation of The Netherlands, three Canadian soldiers were billeted with her family. One of the soldiers, William B. McKeever, from Brockville, encouraged the family to emigrate to Canada and offered to be their sponsor. In 1953 the family arrived in Brockville and connected with 'Uncle Bill'.

Johanna graduated from Ottawa Teachers' College. After eleven years of teaching she took writing courses at Algonquin College and the University of Ottawa. At Carleton University, she studied Children's Literature as part of her combined English/German major and won a Senate Medal for her efforts.

Johanna took her wartime experiences and wrote about them in Enemy Under Our Roof: A Childhood Memoir from the Nazi-occupied Netherlands 1940 - 1945 which was published in 2020.

Stay Safe

Johnson Insurance

We have added a link to the Johnson Insurance web site (see "Links" page).
Johnson provides competitive rates for Probus members for all kinds of insurance, particularly travel insurance.
They are in the process of joining with Belair Direct, but this link will still give you access.

Guests and Visitors from other Clubs are welcome.

Meetings are at:

Gloucester Presbyterian Church
91 Pike Street
Ottawa K1T 3J6

Pike Street runs north from Hunt Club just west of Conroy. The church is at the corner of Lorry Greenberg and Pike. The parking lot entrance is off Pike.

... to stimulate thought, interest and participation in activities at a time in life when it is easy to become complacent and self-centred.