EARLY DAYS IN DENMARK

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 67, 6 April 1937, Page 15

EARLY DAYS IN DENMARK

Mr. Peter Ericksen's Reminiscences TRADE BY BARTER Reminiscences of early days in Denmark before he emigrated to New Zealand were given the Napier Rotary Club at its luncheon yesterday by Mr Peter Ericksen, of Greenmeadows. He gave an interesting comparison of Jif© in his native country and in the Donunion, emphasising that every hour he had spent in New Zealand h&d .be^n happy. The sound agricultutal training he received in a college iji the land of his birth, he said, fitted him for the hard work that was encountered in the early days of his life in a strange country, and the eomparatively bigh rate of wages had been a further i»centive to work, "I was born," began Mr Ericksen, "some time before Germahy and Ausi tria made war on Denmark and. took from her half her teiTitory. Up to this), times were very bad, and, although tho slump we have just passed through was bad, it was not to be compared witk the position in Denmark. ' ' Money was almost an nnknown quantity, and consequently one could not buy anything, so that we had to grow on the farm everything we want* 6d: The wool for our clothes, ont wheat, beef, and our corn. I remembet my mother shearing a sheep — she would tie it np very carefully and tg.ke aboufc half a day over the job — and spinnijij? the wool into yarn preparatOTy to weaving it. Everything wals made on tho farm, and it is hard to believe that science could have made tho vaist diflerence it has in the days since then. "We had to barter everything, and the Government taxes were paid in so many bushels of wheat, which we had to carry to the stores. "All religion was nationaixsed in Denmark. We had what was called the Lutl«3ran Church", and instead of a fee the minister had a farm, which he let to some neighbouring farmer. Tha farmers also had to give a few bushels of wheat, and that was his income." Oil lamps were unknown in the country in the early part of Mr Ericksen's life there. When a sheep was killed the fat waa used for the lamps. Memories of the first oil lamp, possessed by the minister, were bright in his memory. All the farmers in the district gathered to see the flame burn within the glass. Compulsory education in his country ended for Mr Ericksen at the age of 14, and further education was taken at an agricultural college. He remarked that he would merely tell his listeners about the college and leave comparisons to them. 1 The 24 cadets rose at- four^ o'clock each morning and spent the time until 6.30 in grooming their two-horse tearus and in stable work. Breakf&st ended at seven o'clock, and the cadets had to take a full share in all the work on the training farm. At seven o'clock in the evening they stopped for tea, and every evening in the week was spent in thooretieal education in farm work. At the end of three years, the cadet who had made stisfactory progress in his work was given a certificate which stated that he was capable of managing a small farm or of taking part in the management of a larger establishment, but work was difficult to find, and at the age of 19 Mr Ericksen decided to serve his two years compulsory tiaining with the Danish army. He spent the time in the Koyal Artillery, and on being drafted out .deeided to emigrate to New Zealand. In New Zealand, although language difficulties proved a great obstacle, work was easy to find, and Mr Ericksen found himself, in less than a year, able to pay back to his brother in Denmark tlie amount of £34 that he had borrowed for passage money, despite the fact that five minutes after landing he had been penniless. With a broad smile, the Speaker remarked that so impressed with the possibilities of making so much money in so short a time had his brother been that he came to New Zealand himself within a few months. At the conclusion of the aactress, *otarian W. Harvey thanked Mr Ericksen for the amount of interesting information he had given, and Spoke of the sterling qualities that most emigrants to New Zealand from Denmark possessed.