Tag: God
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Stutenstreek -1876
Read More: Stutenstreek -1876After Albert left the army (1876), he bought a piece of land of 2000 square yards (.4 acres) in what would later be called “The Stutenstreek”. He paid 460 guilders (125 dollars) for the land and a small house was built on it for 200 guilders (80 dollars). Albert and Tietje made a good start…
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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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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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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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Baby, Toddler, Child
Read More: Baby, Toddler, ChildMy body, which shall return to dust within the next 30 years [Herman returned to dust on twenty-seventh day of July, 2004, after enjoying thirteen years of retirement], was born on the eleventh day of January 1932. More than a body, a living system of flesh, blood and bones, was born. This body had a…
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Aylmer, Canada, church, family, God, Jordan Station, London, music, organ, Sarnia, school, ship, Vennekerk
Occupations
Read More: OccupationsOpa Herman de Jong had the following occupations As you can see: a multi-checkered career. Of course, now these occupations were on a part-time basis, otherwise I would have had to live two lives. And now let’s start at the very beginning… Herman at work
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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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Pa van der Laan’s Death
Read More: Pa van der Laan’s DeathOn a Wednesday in 1916, Pa van der Laan died suddenly. He had pneumonia and his heart failed. I came from school with Grietje [same age as Dina] — Jan had stayed home because his dad was sick. He met Grietje on her way back from school. Grietje cried so, and thus I came home…
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Family Dynamics
Read More: Family DynamicsTrijn had finished school and thus we were both home with mother. Trijn was small and finely built and was close to mother, while I was much closer to my father. That’s why I loved going to the field with him. In the evening Trijn and I sometimes went to the village where we played…
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The Work Begins
Read More: The Work BeginsWhen I was eleven [1916 – now the oldest daughter], my mother suddenly became ill. Her lungs had torn because of lifting things which were too heavy. Mother needed complete bed rest, and I had to leave school to care for her, to cook meals and take care of the youngest children, Meindert and Tiet.…