Category: Herman de Jong
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Religion and Faith
Read More: Religion and FaithOne can talk about religion in generalities and about churches being staunchly Reformed and very orthodox, but what was my personal experience as a child? I can’t remember that my mother often told Bible stories, but she must have done so. At table Dad read from Anne De Vries’ Bible Story Book and when I…
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The Raid
Read More: The RaidIn 1944, when I was twelve years old something happened in that church which would not be forgotten for many years to come. The German occupation was forever on the look-out for young men who were supposed to be working in Germany but had gone underground. But during periods of a more relaxed attitude of…
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Church
Read More: ChurchMy parents went to churches where sermons lasted 1½ hours, but when I grew up they had been shortened to appr. 45 minutes. Sometimes men would suddenly stand up in the middle of a sermon. They began to feel sleepy, and this was the way to stay awake. Other men would enter the church with…
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Organ Playing
Read More: Organ PlayingI have no recollection that I played much with my siblings, Kees, Truus and Sense. I imagine they had their own friends as I had mine. Of course, they were 5 and 4 years older. All of us had organ lessons, but I was the only one who took lessons for over one year. My…
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Elementary School – Final Years
Read More: Elementary School – Final YearsIn 1944 I became twelve years old and almost finished elementary school. In Holland you went to High school after grade 6. There were three types of high schools. The ULO was the easiest, The HBS prepared for university education, especially for engineers and business jobs, while the Gymnasium was the hardest, because you had…
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Health Problems
Read More: Health ProblemsDuring the last years of the war my mother began to suffer from Meniere’s Disease, which affected the balancing components in the middle ear. She was always terribly dizzy and would sometimes keel over unexpectedly. As children we had to be very quiet, because noise upset her terribly. Now, as I am sixty years old,…
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Incidents
Read More: IncidentsMy nickname was ‘Jeude’ (Jew). My brother Kees was called by that name because he had black hair, and when he finished elementary school, that nickname was loaded on me. One Saturday morning I was walking downtown, close to our church. Onno Bolhuis passed by on his bike and waved at me. “Ah, die Jeude!”…
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The War Years
Read More: The War YearsChildren usually are not interested in world politics. When I was 8 years old I didn’t know Hitler was planning to conquer all of Europe. Of course, I had seen pictures of this beastly man, but only thought he was funny with his mustache and straight hair. On May 5, early in the morning our…
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Pedagogy
Read More: PedagogySchools during my childhood were places where quietness in classrooms, disciplined order, and endless drilling were paramount. When you didn’t hold a pen in your hand, your arms were crossed across your chest. To make an impression on a teacher, you sat up as straight as possible, crossed your arms as high as you possibly…