Untitled Page

My earliest memories are from around 3 years old living in Sweden. I can remember my parents bringing home my sister Christina. I was sitting on the kitchen sink and saw Mom and Dad arriving in a car with "Kikia". She played havoc with my play layouts that I had arrainged on the floor, refering to her as the destroyer. In spite of this I loved her dearly and would protect her at all costs.
   The trip to Canada was an adventure. Months before the trip I dreamt about Indians in the Old west. I don't remember too much about the train ride to Oslo, but I do remember boarding the S.S. Stavangerfjord for the trip to Kanada. I had a toy carousel as a departing gift and played with it often. Two incidents that stayed with me to this day was the death of a baby onboard and the scalding incident to Kikia. I enjoyed the train trip from Halifax to Vancouver and watched as my father approached on the train platform.We settled in Vancouver, in a walk-up suite on Broadway st. We then moved to an apartment on Broadway where Kikia and I would get up early and raid the kitchen to make early morning oatmeal cookies/snacks, making a mess in the process.
   Dad smoked cigarettes from a Players tin in those days. This was the first and only time that I got my mouth washed out with soap, not for swearing , but for salvaging used gum off the sidewalks.
   From there we moved to a small house in Burnaby. I enjoyed the time there, with many freinds and lots of room for adventure, sometime I would be gone for the whole day. I can't imagine how my mother would worry, and if she did, she didn't show it. Times have changed!
   Even in grade one, I learned how to skip school, hiding out in the culverts running under the street.

So here's my memories and stuff. My favourite memories are when we would all spend Christmas Eve together. I remember the beer belly contests between Grandpa, Roly and my dad (Dennis). Those were the days. Everyone seemed to be able to come together. Now everything seems so busy we hardly get to see each other.. I guess not much of a story.... Let's try again. Let's see. I was born on October 20, 1978 in Victoria, BC.
I lived in Victoria until I was 23 and then I decided to make the move to Kingston Ontario...for no good reason at all. So on August 11th, 2002 I filled my good friend's 2 door honda civic full of our lifes possessions....which by then were few. We made the beautilful drive through the green Rockies, the bug sky of the prairies, and the length of northern Ontario. Finally we arrived in Kingston, the once nations capital. Being from Vancouver Island i have never really experienced real weather. The occaisonal snow fall, lightning storm or heat wave but never the humidity that I felt and loathed like that in Ontario. Toronto was even worse. Fall soon came and passed. One thing I noticed was that it didn't rain very much... not like Victoria or anywhere on the island for that matter. That is when I started to realize that this wasn't my home. And then came winter. Let's see it started to snoe I believe sometime in November and didn't stop until I left near the end of April. It got cold. When I walked to meet my new firends I lost feeling in my limbs very quickly. Once again, growing up on Vancouver Island left me a little naive about what the rest of Canada goes thruough at this time of year. Anyway, I survived and am better for it. I don't really want to do it again but I'm glad that it happened when it did. After 8 short minths I hightailed it back to Victoria and have stayed put. Since being back I started and ended a career in woodworking. I was a joiners apprentice for about 2 1/2 years. I quit that job when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant ( it kept me fit). It was afunny sight for clients to walk in the shop and see 5'2" girl who's 8 1/2 months pregnant carrying a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood form one end of the shop to the other. And so my daughter was born. On October 27th, 2005 at 1:35 I gave birth to a very healthy 8lb 8 oz baby girl. Greta Beau Ritchie. Ever since I have been smiling, a little sleep depreived, and in love. She just celebrated her first birthday 4 days ago and is going strong. Walking, sort of talking and is really really cute. She's definatley a Nilsson. She's got those beautiful Swedish good looks...as do her cousins: Sidney, Marshall, Morgan, Brodie, Samatha, Chloe, and Sophia. Maybe this year we can all get together and get some family photos done. There's my story for now but I will try and conjure up some more. Keep in touch, Sarah

Hi; My story is this- - - - .I was born in “Kulladal “ in the southern part of Sweden near the city of Malmö, to which it is now part of the city as a suburb, I was born March 30/ 1927. My parents where Ruth and Oscar Nilsson, My mothers parents were fishermen and her dad was a part time preacher in the local church, my dads parents were farmhands on a big farm, “Goods”, that had a castle on and belonged to some nobility ( this is what I gather from stories that I have been told, I left school at the tender age of 14 and went to work as a delivery boy for a warehouse, delivering paper goods using a hand-drawn two-wheeled cart, Heavy work to say the least. I lasted the better part of three months or so, tried a few other jobs in offices etc. and eventually became a bus boy in a summer restaurant in Höllviken then at Restaurant “Amiralen”. I joined the navy 1943, It lasted 2-1/2 years ‘till the “big war” ended . I became a waiter, a cooks helper, a cook then emigrated to Canada in 1951. This was an exiting time for me, I had no desire to emigrate to Canada, but a friend of mine did, he asked if I would go to the Canadian embassy in Stockholm and inquire how to go about Becoming an immigrant to Canada. The only way to do that according to the staff at the embassy was to apply to become one. This I did and in less than two weeks I stood there with tickets in my hand and a travel itinerary, the tickets were issued for passage on “Cunnard “ lines “M/S Georgic” to depart from Southhampton July 12 1951 to arrive in Halifax 5 days later , were I was to board a train to take me to Vancouver and subsequently to Victoria BC (but I didn’t get to Victoria ‘till September 1972) . However my friend never made it to Canada! My dear wife and the reason for the emigration ( one of them), Roly and Christina were to follow in November, which they did. We settled in Vancouver and Burnaby. Mybfirst job as a cook was with CPR as a cook on a worktrain up in the Kootenays , a place called Altamere, I lasted ten days. Next job was with the Hotel Georgia, In Vancouver
Stayed better part of a year. The rest of the story will eventually appear here also.

My earliest memories are of Grandma and Grandpas house during the holidays.
The food, the laughter, the music, the presents, the christmas tree with the flags all over it. I still cant believe I couldent put 2 and 2 together when Grandpa would "need something from the store" and then 10 minutes later santa would show up. I used to love going to their house so much I decided one day I could walk there with my sister Kim (they lived in Nanaimo, we lived in Port Alberni). I didnt make it that time but years later I would show up unannounced with some vagrant looking girl and ask for food and
shelter, which they where always happy to give (Thanks ;). We moved around alot when I was young (Uklulet, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Port MacNeil, Port Hardy) but we always made our way back tothe foundation of our family, that beautiful quante little house on Harding Avenue in Nanaimo. Birthdays, Christmas, Holidays, Vacation or justagood ol' road trip- none were complete without a visit to Grandma and Grandpas house. Of coarse every once in a while some one from "down south" or "the big city" would come up to
visit us (which we all loved) but a visit with G & G just wasnt the same without heart shaped waffles and homemade syrup for breakfast.

Thats all for now as I have Kids to put to bed, good night and dont fall down.

Greg Nilsson, A.S.C.S.

Amanda (Mandy) Grace Ritchie

I was born the youngest of 3 girls on October 13/1980. We grew up in victoria BC with my mom and Dad (Dennis Ritchie).

I went to Victoria High school and then to Camosun College where I got a Certifcate to work as a Resident Care aide...Basically I provide care (daily activities and needs )
to people (and children) with disabilities and the elderly.
I recently have moved to Saskatoon , Saskatchewan to be with my partner Byron Hamlund.

He is attending Veterinary College which is a 4 year program and is only offered here and in Guelph. Ont. We picked here because of the cost of living is cheaper and its closer to home... We also are expecting to have a baby in mid- February 2007!

At home here I keep myself busy painting, doing crafts,
going to yoga and freezing my lil BC butt off!!!!

I am sooo happy you are putting together this family tree I believe it is soo important to know of our family and what everyone is up to! So here are some pics of me!
Cheers
uncle Roly!

Nov5,2006
Ok so... after reading the website I realize that Sarah has done a great job with her memories.....So my memories of Christmas Eve are as follows; sing
alongs with Mom, Darren, Auntie Carol and anyone who could stay up late enough to join in. I remember Grandmas tree was always sparce but beautifully decorated (with yards and yards of flags) and there was always a white fence around the presents so the kids (and the dogs) couldnt disturb them. I remember waiting for one of the older men to leave "to go to the store" because that meant that Santa would come......so naive! As the years have passed the one tradition that remains at Christmas every year is the "SKOL" every 10 minutes or so! Who could ever imagine wee lil grandma holding her own and always raising her glass, Oh what a jolly bunch! Grandma
and Grandpa always were adiment about keeping the swedish tradition alive and having a traditional smorgesborg..mmmmm smoked oysters and lots of yummy
cheese, oh and the ham my god the ham! I love that my mom and Sisters and I still enjoy having all the traditional things at our christmas'. I remember
playing board games downstairs in the basement and being so scared to sleep at night down there with those paddle african masks lurking over me!!! AHHH.
I remember dancing with Grandpa to the sounds of Boney M and cudling on the couch with anybody who wanted. Although I think I was often refered to as
the quiet, cuddley and content (if i had barbies) one it was because all of you made it so comforting of a place to be. My partner Byron hears about my
memories as a child all the time and as he is also from Swedish background he enjoys partaking in our traditions every year! This year I will try to
make us a small cozy swedish christmas here in wintery Saskatoon where we can create some warm memories of our own. Thankyou to everyone who gave me "the foundation" to start a wee family of my own. For I have learned all it takes is a bunch of crazy swedes a whole lotta cheezy jokes and neverending
bottles of Aquavit to make the holidays really bright! Skol to you all, and I hope you all are planning a big x-mas together there on beautiful and WARM Vancouver Island! Amanda and baby brewing inside.

Check here for updates

I am the oldest child (yes, I’m still a child at heart) of Christina and Dennis (Ritchie). I was born on March 24, 1969, in Prince George, BC. Actually, we were living in the little town of Burns Lake at the time, and I was born in the middle of a very cold snow storm. My early days in such a cold environment lead to a lifetime of seeking out warmth. I love the heat, and have vacationed in Mexico many times, including a 6 month RV trip in 1996 to the Baja (Cabo San Lucas).

We moved to Victoria, BC, when I was only 2 years old. I have lived here ever since. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to University and Law School in Victoria. I graduated from Law School in 1994 and have been practising since 1996. I do civil litigation (law suits) which means I am often in court. This is kind of ironic, as I hate speaking in public, was very shy growing up as a kid, and always sat in the back of the classroom in silence. I also dislike conflict. Currently, I am working for the Ministry of Attorney General of British Columbia, as litigation counsel. I have only been working there for one year - prior to that I worked in a private law firm. I really like my current job and I get to travel all over the Province. I also got to fly in an Air Tanker and drop fire retardant on a real forest fire! Not bad for a desk job.

I was married in 1996 to Doug Rogers, whom I had been dating since 1988. We separated in December 2002, and divorced in December 2004. We didn’t have any children, which is fortunate as it would have made things very complicated when our relationship ended. The end of that marriage turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me, as I have since met my current partner, Christopher Saunders, who is a wonderful person that I am absolutely in love with. Chris and I have been living together for almost 2 years now, and dating for almost 4 (we met shortly after I separated from Doug). We just added a new member to our household - Bruce. Bruce is a 10 week-old puppy. He’s a cross between a poodle and a pug (a “Pugapoo”), and looks like a little black teddy bear.

In my spare time (which I don’t have much of) I like to play ice hockey, mountain bike, ski, golf, belly dance, visit my niece Greta, workout at the gym, paint, read, do crafts, cook (I LOVE to cook!), snorkel, fish, and garden. I used to scuba dive a lot, but haven’t done that for years. I’ll probably take a refresher course and get back into it, but only when I’m travelling in warmer waters! I also briefly took up the art of tying flies for fly fishing, but I only do that once in awhile. My favourite past-time is travelling. I don’t get to do that as much as I’d like, but I do make it to Mexico every once-in-awhile. Now that I’m working for the government, I get more holidays so hopefully, I will be able to make it over to Sweden and Europe in a couple of years - FINALLY!!

My sisters were born in 1978 (Sarah) and 1980 (Amanda). When they were young, I was so jealous of them because they were such beautiful little girls - they had golden hair, blue eyes, pudgy cheeks and rosy lips. They were adorable! They have grown up to be wonderful young women, and I am proud of their accomplishments. Sarah is the best mom ever, and I’m sure Mandy will give her a run for that title when her baby is born! I’m glad to have them as sisters and friends.

I am truly blessed to have such a great family. There isn’t a cousin, aunt, niece or nephew, or even in-law, that I dislike or don’t respect. I think Grandma and Grandpa (Kurt and Marianne) deserve a lot of credit for raising and encouraging a family of individuals who, without exception, are kind, respectful, fun-loving, and not afraid to be themselves. Roly and Chris deserve some of the credit, too, of course!