As scratchy and as cheerful as she left Aalten six months ago to visit her relatives in Canada, Mrs. wed. Lammers-Bulsink, better known in Aalten as “grandma Lammers”, arrived back at her home in the Willemstraat.
On November 30 of last year, this energetic woman, of whom one can hardly believe that she will turn 84 this year, left with the Rhine Dam to Canada to visit her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who emigrated to Canada after the war and had written several times in letters: “Grandma, you should be able to see, how we have it here”.
Granny Lammers, after some consideration, accepted this invitation and left for Canada at the end of last year. She visited her many family members, who had a hard time imagining that “granny” really came to watch, and also gave her eyes a good feast. She also met other former Aalten residents in Canada. The visit of their elderly mother and grandmother was a surprise for the children and grandchildren in Canada, bigger than one could have imagined there.
Granny Lammers, who had a pleasant time in Canada, traveled back on May 14 with the Rijndam. Yesterday she arrived in Rotterdam, where she was picked up by her children. She then drove by car to Aalten, where she arrived last night at seven o’clock. She had to shake many hands of family, neighbors and acquaintances upon arrival. She had had a good time in Canada, she said.
Last night, the Lammers family, who live in the Netherlands, met in an intimate circle in the “Irene” building. There grandma told about her experiences and she knew how to do this in a very entertaining way, so that everyone could get an idea of the circumstances under which the “Canadian branch” of the Lammers family lives.
When grandma Lammers left Aalten, she took an audio tape with her for the family in Canada, on which words spoken by the Aalten family members were recorded. The playing of this tape caused a lot of joy and surprise in the Canadian family circle. Granny Lammers also brought a soundtrack from Canada. For example, last night in the family meeting, the voices of the relatives in Canada were heard. It turned out that many had not yet forgotten the Aalten dialect.
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