Category: Harry vd Laan
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Aylmer, Bach, blessed, Canada, church, college, family, London, marriage, music, politics, religion, school, ship, Toronto, university, Winschoten
Immigrants – The First Two Years
Read More: Immigrants – The First Two YearsThe train ride to Toronto was a two-day affair, at first interesting, then tedious, as we had little priority and were sidetracked for scheduled passenger- and freight trains many times. We did get a feeling for Canada’s extent and for the distance we were putting between us and Holland, between me and my girl. In…
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Aylmer to Granton
Read More: Aylmer to GrantonThat summer (1954) our parents had started to look for a farm of our own. Dad was itching to be his own man again, had occasional differences with boss Jerry and disputes with colleague Albert. By late summer several places were visited and then one became a serious candidate. It was in Middlesex County, north…
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boat, Canada, Christmas, church, emigration, family, God, organ, Rotterdam, school, ship, Vlagtwedde, Winschoten
The Emigration Leap
Read More: The Emigration LeapMom and Dad involved us older children in the deliberations about the future. We agreed that if we were to emigrate, it would not be Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Brazil; the first two too far from Europe, the latter too different from us. The USA seemed too populous, too mighty and rich for…
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Searching
Read More: SearchingSearching for a farm, searching for a future If we were without a care, our parents were not. Seven years go by quickly when you have no prospects at their end. From 1950 onwards our next farm became the most frequent topic of dinner table conversation. It seemed that for Dad farming was very rewarding…
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Bible, boat, Canada, Christmas, church, college, family, Groningen, organ, politics, religion, school, ship, Winschoten
Wedderveer
Read More: WedderveerThe farm in Wedderveer. Note the fruit trees close to the barn, the orchard of the neighbour Begeman on the right, the tractor shed at the back, the vegetable garden this side the clothesline and the rows of potatoes between clothesline and shed. On the left the small barn of our immediate neighbour Van der…
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Arnhem, Bach, Bible, church, Easter, family, God, Groningen, Hommes, marriage, organ, school, ship, Winschoten
World War II
Read More: World War IIThe family and its circumstances during WWII How should I begin? Perhaps with my birth in Blyham (NL) on 3 October 1936, as my Mom told me many years later. Could a time be darker, a place be humbler? Hitler tightening his grip on Germany’s people, raucously goading them towards catastrophic war. A small farm…
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Our Place
Read More: Our PlaceCountry /province /region /town /hamlet /farmhouse In 1945 The Netherlands was a maligned country, reeling from five years of enemy occupation and a final brutal season known as the hunger winter. Infrastructure was largely neglected or destroyed, the economy was in tatters, poverty was widespread. Elation swept across the country from south to north, March…
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Preface
Read More: PrefaceAutobiographies are a risky genre, they are about the authors as they perceive their life, partial, biased, subjective, egocentric, selective … All true, inevitable, so? This booklet is not the result of any research, of any consultation of others’ documents, not even of my own. It was written in about ten days spread over three…
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Harry van der Laan
Read More: Harry van der LaanHarry van der Laan’s memoirs cover the shared trajectory of the van der Laans, from Harry’s birth until a couple of years beyond immigration