Check It Out: The greatest generation gave us exceptional opportunities

By Joan Janzen

Here’s a bit of humour for anyone who finds themselves getting older. That’s everyone, right? So the question is - why do people snore more when they get older? Answer: It’s nature’s way of letting their spouse know they’re still alive.

One of my favourite online voices recently paid tribute to people in their 90s. Dr. Suneel Dhand referred to them as “the greatest generation. “I regularly tell them, with heartfelt gratitude, how easy we have it because of their sacrifices,” he said.

This week, during Ag Safety Week, we pay tribute to our agricultural community, which was built upon the perseverance, discipline, and sacrifice of the greatest generation.

The doctor said one of his greatest privileges has been spending time with the last remaining members of that generation, listening to their stories of rationing, veterans serving during WWII, and stories about the Great Depression. It’s a privilege I also cherish as I’ve listened to individuals share their stories.

The stories I heard included recollections of children being evacuated to safer locations during WWII, unable to see their parents for four years. At that time, young men volunteered to join the military as soon as they were old enough to provide finances for their families because there were few employment opportunities.

It was common for young people to drop out of school after completing Grade 8, and help out on the family farm. “My folks didn’t have money to board me out for high school. That’s the way life went in those days,” one man recalled.

As Dr. Dhand listened to the stories of his elderly patients, he noted they possessed an increasingly rare mindset. “The most profound differences between then and now is the concept of duty has been replaced by the concept of rights,” he observed. The senior generation saw their lives through the lens of responsibility, often placing their obligations above their personal interests.

Sadly, as people age our modern culture tends to forget about them. Although they are physically cared for in senior homes, their valuable contributions are often forgotten.

“Not many are left now but I still see that sharp 90 plus year old weekly on my hospital patient list who I can make a special effort to talk with,” the doctor said. Their generation often grew up having their grandparents living with them in their homes; however now we need to make a special effort to converse with the greatest generation.

“I often wonder what the greatest generation thinks when they observe today’s world?” Dr. Dhand asked. I recalled the story of three 80-year-olds I had heard recently. After seven decades the three individuals finally discovered they had one thing in common: they were all born in the same concentration camp prior to their liberation in 1945.

Their mothers had carefully preserved the stories of their births. Each of their mothers weighed approximately 70 pounds and gave birth to their premature babies weighing only two to three pounds amidst appalling conditions. Yet their mothers’ determination for the survival of their babies kept both mothers and babies alive.

Stories such as these are unimaginable to our modern society, but what must these three 80-year-old miracle babies think when they hear of increasing anti-semitism in Canada?

Faytene Grasseschi interviewed Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy, who reported, “The figures are astounding! Jews represent one percent of the Canadian population, yet they represent over 50 percent of the hate crimes in Canada and specifically those targeting religious minorities.” How sad it is for Jews who miraculously survived atrocities, live to be a ripe old age, and then be forced to endure modern day hate crimes.

The greatest generation endured the Dirty 30s. “Nobody knows what poor was until you lived in the 1930’s. A lot of people didn’t have anything, and we didn’t waste anything either,” one woman told me. “If kids today went through half of what we did they wouldn’t make it.”

Another man shared his story and recalled his dad coming home and saying their “bank account was done.” However, they persevered, and a few years later, things turned around when they harvested a good crop.

Dr. Dhand observed, “They built a world that gave future generations unparalleled opportunities.” That is certainly true for our agricultural world. “What we choose to do with those opportunities is up to us.”

A popular question upcoming generations ask is, ‘What is my purpose?’ Dr. Dhand observed that modern society wonders why people haven’t been given success just for showing up, whereas the senior generation asked what they must give in order to succeed. They found their purpose by asking, ‘What is my duty to my family, my community, and my country?’

“As their numbers dwindle, I feel an urgency; younger generations must learn from them while we still can,” Dr. Dhand said. “When they are gone, we will have lost more than just individuals - we will have lost an invaluable perspective on life.”

“Let’s honour their sacrifices, not just with words, but by living with the same integrity, resilience, and duty that defined them,” he urged.