Growing Up with Houdini

Part Two: The Mullers Get to Allanburg

Upon clearing Canada Customs and Immigration, the Mullers found a telephone and called Sam Mitchell; he contacted Ferko, who was able to translate. They all decided the Mullers would come to Welland where Mr. Mitchell and Ferko were; after all, they did not know another soul in Canada. The Mullers got on a train and took it to St Catharines, and were thrilled when they were met at the train station by Mr. Mitchell and Ferko, who brought them to Welland. The Mitchells arranged for the Mullers to stay at the home of friends of the Mitchells, Agnes and William Kassirer, who had room for the Mullers because their own sons were off at university.

In order to obtain the visas to Canada, the Mullers had to commit to becoming farmers. The process was such that whatever funds the family had was put into an account with the Canadian government before they arrived and would then be used to buy a farm. In the case of the Mullers, this was $14,000. The Mullers were to meet with the Canadian government agent for the relocation of immigrants, a Mr. McDonald, to look for a farm to buy. The problem was that none of the Mullers spoke any English, so Ferko and Mr. Mitchell went to the meeting with them. They looked around the area, and after seeing several farms, settled on one at a place called Black Horse Corner in Allanburg. The $14,000 was used to buy that farm. 

Thus, in November 1939, the Mullers left the Kassirers’ house and moved to the farm. It was a large farm — 135 acres — but the house on the farm was old, with one bathroom. The furnace was as old as the house, and it consumed coal at a voracious rate. If it was not completely filled with coal in the evening, it would be empty by the morning, and the house would be freezing. The furnace also broke down often, and since it was wartime, parts were almost impossible to find.

The big wood-burning stove in the kitchen became the central point of the house. Everyone gathered around it in the evening to keep warm. Water came from the windmill. Wind powered the water into holding tanks in the attic. When there was wind, there was water. No wind, no water. That first winter was horrible. The water tanks froze regularly, and in the morning, there was no water in the taps, just ice droplets.

Even though it was November, the middle of the school year, Henry and Alice started school immediately. The school was a one-room schoolhouse: all eight grades were in one room of forty students. It was located in Allanburg, about two miles from the farm. The two Muller children began school not knowing one word of English, and mixed in with a group of farmers’ children who must have thought these two had walked out of a previous century.

Thus the children began to learn English, much faster than their parents, for whom the new language was very tough to figure out. The Mullers truly had no idea about farming, and it was only by the grace of neighbors that they were able to learn what to do. Within a short time, a Hungarian – Janos – came to the farm looking for work and room and board. He was gladly brought aboard, because he had farming experience.

Knowing nothing about farming, the Mullers began raising cows, pigs and chickens. They sold the milk to the Hamilton Pure Milk Dairies, and beef, pork, and poultry at the local farmers’ market. The customers were mainly Italian and Ukrainian immigrants, who had something in common with the Hungarian immigrants in that they did not know English either!

After that first year, the children transferred to a real school in Thorold. Their English began to improve. This became very important. It is fair to say that for the rest of their lives, the children’s ability to speak English is really what propelled the families to be able to succeed in Canada. It was Henry, even at a young age, who was able to converse with the customers. His grandson Jacob told the following story at the eulogy he gave at Henry’s funeral:

Not only did he love working, but my grandfather was the hardest worker I know. He shared a story that when he was young, he used to walk to the market in the morning and sell meat for the business. While in school he learned about the light bulb and realized that if he had a light bulb at his stand he would be able to sell meat earlier than anyone else. So he would show up at the market in the early morning while it was still dark, turn on his light bulb, and was able to sell all his product before any of his competitors showed up. The story represents my grandfather in every way. A brilliant man who went the extra mile to succeed in everything he did.