 Every Nov. 23, Helga
receives flowers for her birthday. The 87-year-old Torontonian has been
the recipient of birthday blooms, on order from Germany, for the past
30 years. However, Helga’s floral surprise is unique for many reasons.
The flowers tell the story of a relationship that began 60 years ago
before the Second World War and through a simple bouquet, still
continues today.
Helga grew up in Essen, Germany where she dated a fellow student named Helmut. When they met, Helmut had just begun his first year of university while Helga was studying the arts. Reflecting back on the relationship, Helga says it was much different from the relationships that often exist in today’s society, and describes the relationship as very serious and romantic. “In those days, in the 1930’s, we were very much in love,” says Helga. Both played in the orchestra together and Helga says much of the time they “talked and made music together and philosophized.”
When the Second World War struck, Helmut was called to serve as a soldier. “Both of us, we were certain we would get married once the war was over,” says Helga. The two knew that it might take a number of years, but they planned to wed once Helmut returned home, completed his schooling and got his PhD.
What the couple couldn’t account for was the chaos that the Second World War would bring. As the destruction ripped through Germany in the 1940’s, Helga lost contact with Helmut. By the time the war ended, the barrage of bombs had ruined both the homes of Helga and Helmut, making it quite impossible for the two to find each other.
The next time Helga heard from Helmut again wasn’t until the 1970’s. By that time, Helga had been living in Canada after moving overseas with her daughter in 1955 and married for the second time in 1964. Back in Germany, Helmut had married and raised a family of his own. He’d found Helga’s address through her sister and sent her a letter. The two eventually began to speak on the telephone occasionally, and Helga says during these conversations, she had also got to know Helmut’s wife as he got to know Helga’s husband, Frank.
On her next birthday in 1977, Helga received her first bouquet of flowers from Helmut, ordered all the way from Germany - “just Happy Birthday flowers,” says Helga. The flowers soon became a tradition and year after year, the flowers continued to arrive. When Helga and her husband Frank made a trip to Germany in the 1980s they also spent time with Helmut and his wife Christa. “We visited them in their home and had a wonderful time,” says Helga. During the visit, Helmut even treated Helga and Frank to piano concertos in the evening, harking back to the days Helmut and Helga had spent in the orchestra.
Over the years, the two couples continued to keep in touch. In May of 1992, Helga received notice from Christa that Helmut had passed away. Although, Helga still kept in touch with Christa, with Helmut gone, she assumed the birthday bouquets would cease to arrive. Yet, when Nov. 23 came around that year, Helga received another birthday surprise. “There again was a gorgeous bouquet of flowers,” remembers Helga. The flowers were from Christa, Helmut’s widow, who had decided to continue the tradition.
Fifteen years have passed since Christa took over the ritual. Even so, when her 87th birthday arrived this year, Helga says the flower were still an unexpected and delightful, surprise. “I never know for sure if they will come,” she says.
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