On April 26 1952, Jacobus Anthonius Boere (born on June 9 1900 in Oudewater, Zuid Holland,  into the family of Adrianus Boere (1865-1929) and Adriana Sluis (1865-1900)), and his spouse Maria Theodora Miltenburg (born on November 22 1901 in Hekendorp, Zuid Holland,  into the family of Adrianus Miltenburg (1865-1955) and Emma van den Berg (1864-1904)) boarded the M.S. Sibajak for a new life in Canada. They boarded in Rotterdam with their thirteen children along with about 1000 other emigrants. The Sibajak was a recently renovated and disinfected troop transport vessel for the East Indies. Their children named Emmie, Arie, Adrie, Jan, Sjaan, Koos, Joop, Riet, Piet, Theo, Wim, Hans, and the youngest Gert, ranged in age from six to twenty-four.

M.S. Sibajak

The previous year on November 17 1951, on the occasion of Jacobus and Maria's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, news of the emigration plans became public, much to the consternation of  friends, relatives and neighbours. They had made their living for the past twenty-five years dairy farming in the province of Zuid Holland's polder land on the farm of Maria Theodora Boere-Miltenburg's grandparents, Jan van den Berg (1829-1921) and Maria Hoogenboom (1828-1901).

From here on the preparations began. Jack Van Raay, R.R. #1 Chatham, Ontario, who was a former hired farm hand on the family farm in the 1930's, was to be the family's sponser. Forms had to be filled out, English has to be learned, passports, health certificates, inoculation and many other matters had to be taken care of. Furthermore, a lease agreement for the farm was arranged with nephew Arie Boere from Oudewater, conditional to a successful emigration.

After a moving farewell from family, friends and neighbours in the harbour halls and later in the little boats on the waterway, the eight day crossing began. Camaraderie with the other emigrants was instant and made a rather choppy crossing quite pleasant. On the morning of May 5th 1952, the seventh anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation, the Sibajak arrived in Quebec City. Over one thousand disembarking new Canadians had to be checked through customs, some were met by relatives and sponsors, but most of them boarded trains for their final destination. Towards the evening many Ontario bound immigrants left the Quebec station not knowing how many hours they would be on the train or whether anybody would be greeting them. The overhead sleeping bunks, the whistling at railway crossings, and the black soot on pretty well everything one touched was an unforgettable experience for almost everyone. After a nearly 24 hour ride on the steam locomotive driven train, with numerous stops to let off families including a nearly 6 hour stop in Toronto, the Boere family was met by the Van Raay and Moons family at the Chatham C.P.R. railway station on the evening of May 6 1952.

Temporary  sleeping accommodations were found for the first few nights. The wait for the garage sized baggage crate seemed endless. A farm house on the 4th concession of Chatham Township had been rented by the Van Raay's from Mr. Steve Korpan of the same township. With the arrival of the baggage crate the whole family settled in the vacant residence which had not been regularly used in recent years. Outside plumbing and weathered interior was coped with very well. The whistling C&O train on the Prince Albert side road crossing was a far cry from the more quiet, much traveled Rotterdam to Utrecht track in Hekendorp.

Spring 1952 in Kent County arrived a bit late and general field work had barely begun. Chatham was home to plants like Canada & Dominion Sugar Company, Libby, McNeil and others which processed numerous fruits and vegetables. Blocking sugar beets was the introduction to the summer labour activities which later included working at the pea thrashing mills, hoeing & weeding soybeans, haying, tomato and tobacco picking. During the first summer a few jobs like carpentry, plastering, housekeeping, and even working at the Niagara Hydro project were taken up by the older members of the family without the benefit of an automobile. In October, because the harvesting activity was finished and the lane way was impassible on rainy days, the search for a farm to own was on.

Farm prices in the Forest (Lambton County) area, which had doubled in the past decade partly due to the immigration influx, were selling in the range of 14,000 to 20,000 dollars for a one hundred acre farm including farm buildings. Before long a farm on the 6th Concession of Warwick Township received acceptance approval and was purchased on the 1st of November 1952. Mr. Robert McPherson was the seller and took 1st mortgage. He was convinced that the property would be back in his possession within two years for reason of inability to make payments.

The winter of 1952/53 was a cold one and a crosscut saw was one of the first tools to be purchased. The house was solid and had a good furnace in the basement. Water was provided by a hand pump in front of the house and a rainwater cistern in the basement. An automobile, a 28 horsepower Ferguson tractor with a three point hitch plough and a few dairy cattle were the first major expenditures.

The first crops grown were wheat, corn, white beans, sugar beets, and pasture. The poorly drained fields played havoc with the harvest of the first white bean and sugar beet crops. Wheat sold for $1.80 per bushel with a yield of 32 bushels per acre, while the corn sold for $1.45 per bushel with a yield of 60 bushels per acre.

Organizing a St. Willibrord Credit Union chapter and a Catholic school board for the area were actively pursued. The Forest basket factory was a source of employment at the rate of sixty cents an hour for some time for a few of the boys. Steadily and gradually bills were paid, payments were made and mouths were fed.

In the summer of 1955, Riet (Mary) entered the St. Joseph's convent in London and Emmie found employment in Ottawa not far from where Henry Leliveld farmed and whom she married that year on the 1st of October in St. Christopher's Church, Forest. Within four years, to the amazement of Mr. McPherson, the final payment on the farm was made. The emigration was considered to be a success and cousin Arie's future back in the Netherlands was secure.