Tag: canal
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Genealogy: 1500-1900
Read More: Genealogy: 1500-1900We can trace our family line back to the late 15th century. The first was Jan Huich zoon, occasionally spelled Huigzoon and later as Huygen. Most people didn’t have surnames, so they added their father’s name to tell them apart. Jan Huigzoon means, Jan, son of Huig. In the next generation a son Huig was…
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Emigrating to Canada: 1954
Read More: Emigrating to Canada: 1954Some time after the war ended and things were settling into place in Holland my brother Jaap emigrated to Canada, as farmland was still very hard to come by. That went well so I wanted to emigrate too. About two weeks before I was to be granted permission, I told a friend of my plans…
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Indonesia: 1947-1949
Read More: Indonesia: 1947-1949Much of what follows is written by Wendy based on memories my sisters and I shared of stories he told us over the years, although there are a few paragraphs that he must have written very early on because they were written in Dutch. When I was 19 years old (1947) I was called up…
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The Depression Years: 1928-1939
Read More: The Depression Years: 1928-1939The depression began in 1928. By this time the oldest three had left school which was normal after finishing grade 7 and were helping on the farm. That was really needed because we couldn’t afford outside help anymore. When dad married on March 30, 1921, three years after the first world war everything was still…
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Grade School Years: 1934-1941
Read More: Grade School Years: 1934-1941When I was six years old I started school on May 1, 1934. There were nine of us children in our family. The youngest was 1 ½ years old and my oldest brother was 12 and started grade 7. There were seven grades at that time so one of us was in every class except…
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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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Kindergarten
Read More: KindergartenBut to kindergarten I went. In wintertime much too heavily dressed. I walked all by myself about 1 1/2 km. on a, for that time, quite heavily travelled road along the canal. I was to walk on the less busy road on the other side of the canal, but since I had to walk all…
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My Father
Read More: My FatherMy father, Hendrik de Jong, assisted my mother during my birth, something I have been excluded from doing when I became the father of seven children. Since I was the third baby in the de Jong family, my father was by now somewhat used to the hectic activities surrounding a home birth. I’m told that…
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Amsterdam, Arnhem, boat, canal, college, Cornelis, family, Groningen, Midsland, school, ship, Terschelling, Vlagtwedde, Winschoten
About my Family
Read More: About my FamilyMy eldest brother Herman was my father’s biggest support on the farm. Later he had a butcher’s shop in West Terschelling, and he was also the first of my brothers to die. While slaughtering a cow, he got TB, as he had an open wound.