1950s Gazelle Bicycle
Datec. 1950s
Credit LineGift of Dick Tolhurst, Chatham, Ontario, 2016.
Object number2016.053.001
Label TextGert Koopman brought this Gazelle bicycle with him when he and his family immigrated to London from the Netherlands in 1953. The Canadian government had restricted immigration following the Second World War. By 1947, with the economy booming, it eased restrictions. Thousands of Dutch immigrants left their war-ravaged country for new opportunities in Canada. The Koopmans came to Canada on the Dutch ship “Maasdam,” landing in Halifax. Each family was allowed to bring a large wooden container on the ship, containing all their worldly goods, furniture, housewares, and for the Koopmans’ that included the bicycle. For years, he rode it to his job at the Thompson boiler works.
NameBicycle
