Vol 23 No 3 Summer 2022

VOLUME 23 NUMBER 3 SUMMER 2022

THE CREST

NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE SALVATIONS ARMY
ARCHIVES CANADA AND BERMUDA TERRITORY

THE SALVATION ARMY ARCHIVES, CANADA AND BERMUDA TERRITORY WWW.SALVATIONIST.CA/ARCHIVES
26 HOWDEN ROAD, TORONTO ON M1R 3E4 [email protected]

A VERY SAD DÉJÀ VU

By Major Donna Millar

At the time Russia initiated war on Ukraine in Febru- Handcrafted Easter card from the Ukrainian Group—1946
ary 2022, I was working on a conservation project at
the Archives. The item on the right was part of this
project. Upon perusing the text, the word
“Ukrainian” gave me an immediate déjà vu of the
current displacement of Ukrainians, which was the
historical displacement of Ukrainians and others 80
years ago during World War II. It is a very sad déjà
vu, indeed.

Our data base revealed that the “Sir” in the greeting
was a Canadian Salvation Army Officer, Major Carl
Hiltz. In 1944 Major Hiltz was seconded to the United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
(UNRRA). At the time, he and his wife Agnes were
the Corps Officers of Earlscourt Citadel in Toronto.
He had to leave Agnes and their three children be-
hind.

After a three-month orientation course at Maryland
University, Carl proceeded to England. Upon the
cessation of war he was assigned to Germany, to
work with displaced persons and refugees. He was
Team Director for Area 1046, headquartered in Re-
gensburg. His work was to direct the provision of
relief for multitudes of United Nations nationals who
for various reasons were forced into German territo-
ry, and to facilitate their return to their respective
homelands.

Carl’s multi-faceted work was most highly esteemed
by all: UNRRA leaders, colleagues and nationals.
They wrote of his humanitarian compassion and his
excellent administrative skills. One Zone Field Rep-
resentative wrote in October 1947, when he learned
that Carl was going to return to Canada: “We are
losing in you one of our most sincere and able offic-
ers.” The message to “Dear Sir” expresses grati-
tude from the specific groups of nationals he worked
with.

A VERY SAD DÉJÀ VU (cont’d) Page 2

Major Carl Hiltz Major Hiltz also worked with displaced persons from Latvia.
Photo taken by UNRRA c1945 Here is an excerpt from a very moving letter from them when
he left Regensburg:

Under the ruins there lies our dear Homeland...The cruel mights
have changed us, once free people, into rightless disregarded
and superfluous DP’s [Displaced Persons] to whom the measure
of suffering seems to be not full enough, or it is still insufficient
to the great world to realize its mistakes and the approaching
danger...

Direct in the last period, Sir, we Latvians learned to know you as
the representative of the brave New World who is fighting
against the evil powers and who is sacrificing all his strengths
and abilities to lighten the created distress.

May we declare, Sir, that in your personality we met a man who
tried to understand and did understand us, who estimated us
right as men but not as DP No…[Displaced Person Numbers]

Sir, let this declaration be our sincerest gratitude to you without
looking for more nice words!...

May the fate and good luck favour you in your future! God bless
you, Dear Mr. Hiltz, your family and your Homeland—Canada!

A scene from the farewell meeting for
Major Hiltz in October 1947.

Following his work with UNRRA, Major and Appreciation from the Jewish Group at Regensburg.
Mrs. Hiltz were appointed to the Territorial
Immigration Department. Here, in Septem-
ber 1948, they are receiving a newly arrived

British immigrant mother and her baby.

EMPRESS OF IRELAND STORY LIVES ON Page 3

After more than a century, The Em-

press of Ireland tragedy in which
over 1,000 lives were lost, of whom

133 were Salvationists, remains one

of the most significant events to
shape the history of the Army in our

Territory. Descendants of victims Old Mill Heritage Centre Display
and survivors continue to feel a Kagawong, Ontario
strong bond of their shared family

history even after five generations.
Each year around May 28, the anniver-

sary of the sinking, family members

connect with each other in remem-
brance of the occasion, and some con-

tinue to make a pilgrimage to the Army

monument at Mount Pleasant Cemetery
in Toronto.

The Old Mill Heritage Centre in Kaga-
wong, Ontario situated on the beautiful
Manitoulin Island, features an Empress Major David Ivany, descend-
of Ireland display that includes a sec- ant of survivor, visits monu-
tion on The Salvation Army. Curator
ment with wife Beverly

Rick Nelson has planned a History Day to commemorate this his-

toric event, and the Army has been invited to participate. Major
Ron Millar will be making a presentation on the impact of The Em-

press Tragedy on The Army and its people entitled
Not One Tragedy - A Thousand Tragedies In One

And so the Empress of Ireland Story lives on through those committed to its memory even to this day.

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CAMP TREASURES

One of the most treasured artifacts in the Archives is the original man-
ual hand-rung phone that was installed at Jackson’s Point camp when
it was first established in 1916. Children and staff alike would simply
give the handle a few cranks, and familiar voices from home could be
heard on the other end. That phone remained a fixture at the camp for
almost 50 years!

But Jackson’s Point was not the first camp established in our Territory.

According to historian Herbert Wood, a journal entry recorded by

Colonel Gideon Miller in 1902 states that the first camp was established by Eva Booth, Territorial Com-
mander in Canada at the time. A friend of hers provided use of his orchard near Oakville, overlooking

Lake Ontario. Tents were erected and over 300 children enjoyed a fun-filled camp experience during

July and August. Whether the orchard owner felt that his trees had suffered too much from the energetic
activities of all those children, or Commander Eva Booth felt that the children had suffered too much from

getting sick eating too many green apples, the “camp in Clarkson Camp c1911
Scout Camp Flag Raising
the orchard” was short lived and was not heard of again!
In 1910, a farm located near Clarkson’s on the shores of

Lake Ontario was purchased After some years, the waters

of Lake Ontario were considered too cold for children to
swim in, so the farm was sold, and in 1916, the camp was

relocated to property on the milder and warmer shores of

Lake Simcoe where the camp exits today.

ARCHIVES TEAM VISITS ONTARIO PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES Page 4

Major Mike Major Donna Major Ron Millar (Director of Archives), Major Mike LeBlanc
Millar (Assistant Director), Major Donna Millar (Accessionist/
LeBlanc Bob Ellis Researcher), and Bob Ellis (volunteer Archivist) were invited to
Dee undertake an educational tour of the Ontario Provincial Ar-
chives. The team was enthusiastically greeted by Dee Psaila
Psaila (Division Project Manager and Facilities Lead - Information,
Privacy & Archives - Ministry of Government and Consumer
Services). Dee treated us to an informative, educational, and
enlightening behind-the-scenes 3-hour tour of the inner work-
ings of the Archives. Of special significance were the tech-
niques, methods, equipment, and resources she shared to ad-
dress challenges such as digitization and preservation that are
common to all archives - large or small. We also look forward
to the occasion when Dee will visit our Archives. Her willing-
ness to continue to share her expertise and experience with us
is a great gift to our team.

Film Digitization Lab Major Ron Millar Ontario Provincial Archives Inner Wall
Archival Shelving System

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NEW WEBSITE GOES LIVE!

We are pleased to announce that after many
months of tireless toil by Assistant Director
Major Mike LeBlanc, the new look website is
now launched and ready for readers to enjoy.

FEATURES INCLUDE
 Searchable access to Army publications
 Profiles of Army leaders throughout the

history of our Territory
 Access to the data base index listing

publicly available archival holdings.
 Application for free subscription to our

newsletter “The Crest”
 Facility to make research requests di-

rectly through the website
 Photo gallery on some key Army histor-

ical themes.

The website continues to be a work in progress, with the capacity to expand. New items will be added
regularly and historical gaps will continue to be filled on an ongoing basis. Readers are invited to con-
tribute information on the history of their ministry units, especially corps. Feedback is appreciated.

CHECK IT OUT. HERE’S OUR LINK: https://salvationist.ca/archives/