Transitional Family

MEET THE ALLEMAND FAMILY!

The Allemand family is a family of 7 people with ancestors from France. For the duration of this story/diary, they will be residing in Winnipeg, Manitoba (except Uncle Rob who resides in Saskatchewan).

Transitional Family

George Allemand grandfather and father of Ben Allemand. George studied medicine at the university of Winnipeg and became a doctor who aided wounded soldiers during WWI

Rob Allemand is brother of Ben and son of George Allemand. Rob pursued the career of a farmer instead of going to university like his father and his brother did.

Ben Allemand is the father. He is a full-time baker and an educated man who went to university in Winnipeg. He was involved in a horrible car accident that would need years of medication and doctor visits to heal

Anne is the oldest child and she enjoys drawing and painting in her spare time. She loves meeting new people and watching talkies with her best friends.

Calum and Luke Allemand. Twin brothers who do absolutley everything together. They're very playful boys and always have a smile on their faces.

Anne had never been out with her friends to see a talkie before and she was overjoyed when her parents told her she could go. It was 6:00pm and the talkie was just about to start. After going through all of the advertisements and pre-shows, Anne and her two friends began watching the feature film. Seeing as how her friends have already experienced movies with sound, Anne was the only one who was truly excited. She realized how far media has come as she compared the movie to the radio shows that her whole family would listen to while being crowded around the only radio in their home. Anne couldn't wait to go home and share her experience with the rest of her family.

Mary Allemand is the mother. She works day and night to make sure her kids are always healthy and happy. She always looks out for her family members.

Good ol' uncle Rob was the farmer of the family. While his brother, Ben, became a banker, Rob threw himself into his crops and his prized farming land. Sadly, the rich soil and flourishing crops didnt last forever...

Within a year, most of the crops were destroyed by drought and eventually Rob joined a parade of other farmers seeking work in the city, leaving his wife, Jillian, behind. He refused to stay with his brother and his family because he too prideful and didn't want to accept anyone's "charity", as he would put it. Despite this, Ben and his family still worried about Rob everyday...

It had been a few days since little twin brothers Calum and Luke started noticing large amounts of people moving into their small town. They noticed that these people looked very different from what their own family looked like. Different hair, different features, and a new different language. Calum and Luke had fun playing floor hockey outside with some sticks and rocks with two Japanese boys who moved from British Columbia. None of the kinds were really sure why they had to move. One morning, Calum and Luke head out in front of their house and waited for their new friends to show up and play with them. They never came...

WWII - War on the Home Front

1930s Economic Event

1930s Social/Leisure Event

Family Members:

grandfather age 77 George

mother age 29 Mary

father age 30 Ben

twin sons age 6 Calum & Luke

daughter age 11 Anna

uncle age 33 Rob

career: doctor (helped in WWI)

career: seamstress/housewife

career: banker

career: farmer

Farming in the 1930s was exceptionlly hard. Wheat prices plummeted and the world became mired in economic crisis. Then mother nature turned her back on the prairie farmers as well. In 1929, an unprecedented decade of drought set in. The once-lush fields dried up and the crops burned in the sun. Many (if not all) of peoples' crops had been destroyed, forcing them out of their homes and their way of life.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in the United States, Japanese-Canadians were seen as enemies, even if they were born in Canada. These were normal families who were discriminated against simply because of their race. 23,000 Japanese-Canadians were evacuated from their homes in the coastal regions of British Columbia. Many moved to bigger cities but still faced may forms of discrimination (like not being able to vote or open their businesses). In 1942, internment camps opened and taught young Japanese-Canadians to be loyal to the British Empire among forcing the families to live in trecherous condition

"Talkies" were very popular in the 1930s and was a form of escapism for many Canadians. Before Talkies, people were limited to silent films but now sound was incorporated to films. Many Canadians migrated to the American industry in search of fame and success in Hollywood. Surprisingly, a few of them became very successful that they were able to symbolize their Canadian identity in the movie industry in Hollywood. They are known as the 'Canadian Pioneers in Early Hollywood'. Hollywood's early cultural impact on Canada was the major starting point of when the two nations began to share their cultures.

1945

1939

1931

1949

1929

http://theeffectsofww2.blogspot.ca/

WWII - Social, Political, Economic

WWII - War in Europe

1930s Political Event

As a result of WWII, Canada established itself as a middle power, therefore taking a more active role on the global stage. Canada's trooops were recognized for their numerous contributions to the war. Their troops and batallions were made up of African-Canadians as well as Aboriginal peoples which could have led to the advancement of civil rights in Canada. Canada's factories had converted to making weaponery and supplies for their troops in the war. This led to many job opportunities for Canadians.

In 1931, the Statute of Westminster was signed. This is when Canada became independent from Britain which meant that Britain could no longer pass laws that affected the dominion or cancel out any dominion laws.

The dreaded second world war had taken place. The incident on Dunkirk beach was a devestating setback for the allies. German blitzkrieg swept across Europe, forcing the allied troops to retreat to the shores of Dunkirk. German aircrafts bombed the French ports which left the troops stranded. After Winston Churchill asks civilians to give up their small boats to help the troops escape, 330,000 soldiers are saved. Sadly, there were still 60,000 casualties.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster/

"Wow" thought George, grandfather of the Allemand family. Of all the years he had spent in Canada, never had he been more proud to be Canadian than right now. It was the 11th day of December in 1931 and despite the cold Canadian air, George felt unbelievably warm in his heart. He had just heard the news of Canada's independence from Britain on the radio. Of course, there were some people who didn't believe that Canada could ever become a powerful nation without the help and guidance of Great Britain, but George thought differently. He was a war doctor during The Great War and he had treated many casualties of the battle at Vimy Ridge. He saw first hand how fierce and determined Canadians really were and truly believed that Canada would be quite the figure as an indepedent nation in the world.

The Allemand family would forever be changed after the death of their beloved father, son, and husband. This war did not just affect them financially or politically... but it had scarred them for life and affected them emotionally.

On the brighter side, they had come into contact with uncle Rob again and he told them that he got a job at a factory. He was with Jillian again and that seemed to raise the Allemands' spirits a little bit.

Ben (children's father) having fully recovered from his accident years ago, now felt a duty to serve for his country and enlist into the army to fight in WWII. can you imagine how his family must have felt when he told them this news? His wife, Mary, knew how many people served and died in the last world war. She feared deeply that her husband and father to her children would be ripped from the world during his time in warfare. And she was right... they had recieved word that Ben was killed in action while fighting on the beaches of Dunkirk against the Germans. Ben was one of 60,000 casualties. The Allemand family would never be the same again.