A Nanaimo man knows what it means for family mementos to be lost and found.
So he害羞草研究所檚 determined to do whatever he can to return 10 photo albums to a family he doesn害羞草研究所檛 know.
Suiker had while moving back to British Columbia from the Prairies in 2015. While the truck was recovered and Abbotsford Police solved the case, Suiker didn害羞草研究所檛 get back everything that was taken.
害羞草研究所淏its of history and little trinkets and items that were passed on from my grandparents,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭here were a lot of those things that as far as value goes in the marketplace, are worth next to nothing, but they害羞草研究所檙e priceless when you actually consider what they mean to yourself.害羞草研究所�
A couple of years later, a stranger came across more of Suiker害羞草研究所檚 family害羞草研究所檚 belongings which had been separately mislaid 害羞草研究所� photos and letters and documents 害羞草研究所� and ensured the family got them back. Thanks to that kindness, Suiker was able to hold the ship ticket that his grandmother and aunt had used for passage from the Netherlands to Canada in 1928.
害羞草研究所淪omebody made the effort and reached out to somebody in my family to help us retrieve these items and that害羞草研究所檚 in part why it害羞草研究所檚 so important that these photos and documents that I recovered get back to the family害羞草研究所π卟菅芯克鶟 he said. 害羞草研究所淚 may not necessarily know what item or picture or document in particular will have that effect on somebody else because it means something different to everybody.害羞草研究所�
Suiker spied the 10 photo albums at an estate sale in Nanaimo in 2018. He was fascinated at the old pictures taken in Latvia at least as far back as the 1930s, and when advised the albums were to be thrown away, he didn害羞草研究所檛 think twice.
害羞草研究所淚 said, 害羞草研究所榯hese are somebody害羞草研究所檚 and they mean something to somebody. I can害羞草研究所檛 let them go to the landfill,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 Suiker said.
The albums seem to have belonged to Juris Bergins, who died in 2018, and therefore to his daughters Kristine Bergins and Monika Young, but Suiker hasn害羞草研究所檛 had success locating family members. He害羞草研究所檚 made inquiries at a funeral home, followed other leads that fizzled, and even contacted a newspaper in Latvia. Every few months he looks at the albums, he said, and 害羞草研究所淸looks] into it a little bit more, and unfortunately every avenue that I took led to a dead end.害羞草研究所�
More than once he害羞草研究所檚 considered throwing the albums away, but 害羞草研究所渕orally害羞草研究所� can害羞草研究所檛 bring himself to discard something he says is irreplaceable.
害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 a story, there害羞草研究所檚 a history, there害羞草研究所檚 culture,害羞草研究所� Suiker said. 害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 so much that when you look over it, at times it has almost brought me to tears when I害羞草研究所檓 looking through it because this is somebody害羞草研究所檚 life in picture form.害羞草研究所�
Suiker can be contacted at bms@sasktel.net.
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