BEHIND THE FENCE: A woman from Doukhobor recalls her childhood spent in hiding

Third in a series of first-hand accounts from Sons of Freedom Doukhobors who were forcibly removed from their families and confined to the New Denver School. Some 200 children were interned at the school between 1953 and 1959.

Nellie Makortoff never set foot inside the New Denver school building, but the 84-year-old still carries the burden of trauma from spending much of her childhood hidden from the authorities who wanted to put her there.

Nellie was the child of Doukhobor parents, followers of the Sons of Freedom movement.

Before she was born, both her parents spent time in the Freedomite penal colony on Piers Island, where the then government sent more than 500 men, women and children, mostly convicted of public nudity.

The family had always been wary of outsiders and the police, even before the government began removing children from their homes and placing them in a school in New Denver in the 1950s.

“I spent my whole childhood hiding,” Nellie told the Castlegar News shortly after the British Columbia government apologized in February to the Sons of Freedom for detaining about 200 children between 1953 and 1959.

Nellie’s family lived in Slocan Park, grew their own food and sold butter.

She says her father was known as a healer, fixing animals and people, and even delivering several babies. He was considered a “natural chiropractor” and spent a lot of time in Freedomite camps.

Nellie’s aunt was “Big Fanny” Storgeoff, who in 1962 led a group of about 1,000 Sons of Freedom followers on a year-long trek to the purpose-built Agassiz prison, where more than 70 Sons of Freedom prisoners were being held. The group set up camp outside the prison and remained there for years.

Nellie says that because of these family connections, she felt the Sons of Freedom community always had her back.

This support has allowed her to hide from the authorities, but Nellie isn’t sure if that’s really the best solution.

She recalls being a small, skinny child and sometimes simply hid behind trees to avoid detection.

Once, when a policeman knocked on their door and there was no way to leave the house, Nellie hid behind household appliances and was not noticed.

She also recalls watching police sticking pitchforks into hay stacks while looking for her.

“Some of them had hearts and some didn’t,” Nellie said.

READ MORE: BEHIND THE FENCE: Castlegar woman reflects on her time at New Denver School

She’s not sure if it had anything to do with her short time on the school’s attendance sheet or if it was just a coincidence.

As she grew up, Nellie continued to live at home, taking on odd jobs, such as helping elderly people with housework.

But soon after, when she got married at 17, she had her own home to manage. She later had three children of her own.

Nellie eventually returned to work as a domestic.

She says she would like to get a better education.

“I don’t know how to spell, I don’t know how to spell correctly. I don’t know commas in Russian or English.”

She claims that her childhood was not conducive to acquiring knowledge.

“You were in shock and that’s why you didn’t want to learn. You didn’t know what was what and what was right.”

Nellie admits that what happened to her during those years was not as bad as what some of the survivors from New Denver experienced.

“Compared to what I went through, I guess it was OK,” Nellie says. “But the constant stress of hiding, that fear stays with you forever.”

He says the provincial government’s apology brought back many old memories.

“After the apology, I was like a zombie, thinking back to when I was 11,” Nellie said.

Although Nellie was afraid to tell her story and feared the potential consequences, she decided to share it in hopes it would encourage others.

“I hope it’s helpful to people,” Nellie said. “That people who might be afraid of coming out will share their stories, too.”

READ MORE: New Denver School Survivors Say Trauma Lasts a Lifetime