Old Aalten

Inhoudstype: Story

  • The burial vault in the Old St Helen’s Church in Aalten

    The burial vault in the Old St Helen’s Church in Aalten

    In 1973, during restoration work at the Old St Helen’s Church in Aalten, carpenter Henk Heijnen stumbled upon a burial vault beneath the choir containing three coffins with human remains. At the order of the church board, the vault was swiftly resealed. However, before this happened, Heijnen had already climbed inside to meticulously measure and photograph everything. In 2019, Heijnen completed a wooden replica of the burial vault.

    The Discovery in 1973

    On October 16, 1973, the then 23-year-old carpenter Henk Heijnen was involved in restoration and maintenance work at the Old St Helen’s Church. The floor of the choir had been removed, leaving only sand. During the work, he was visited by Jan Tinnevelt from the Kattenberg, who asked if they were searching for the golden chalice. According to legend, this chalice was buried alongside the last priest of the Old St Helen’s Church. Heijnen’s boss at the time ushered Tinnevelt out.

    However, Tinnevelt was persistent, returning at least three more times to ask if anything had been found. This prompted Heijnen to start digging at the spot under the choir that Tinnevelt had pointed out. He soon struck a brick vault. Together with his boss, he used a sledgehammer to create a hole in the structure. Heijnen enlarged the opening until he could descend into the space using a ladder. Below, he found a burial vault containing three partially decayed coffins. Of the deceased, only dust and hair remained. He did not find a golden chalice…

    Measured and Resealed

    As always, Heijnen had a folding rule, a carpenter’s pencil, and paper with him. Before the vault was closed again, he measured the space precisely, noted the dimensions and initials, and made sketches and photographs of the vault, the inscriptions, and the dates. On the wall of the vault were the initials IHW with the year 1746, GWA with the year 1815, and DR, without a date. He preserved all these notes and images.

    Meanwhile, his employer had informed the church council. Around ten o’clock that evening, the members of the church board arrived at the church, accompanied by the Reverend Van der Heiden. The minister pointed out that no one should descend into the vault as it would constitute grave robbery. Because the restoration was being carried out without the involvement of the National Heritage Agency (Monumentenzorg) and there were fears that the work would be halted, Heijnen was sworn to strict secrecy. At the request of the church board, he had to seal the manhole with concrete as soon as possible.

    While he was closing the opening, Jan Tinnevelt entered the church once more. Upon realising what had been found, he was again politely requested to leave.

    Burial vault in church – Dagblad Tubantia, 2 March 1974
    Dagblad Tubantia, 2 March 1974

    In the week following the discovery, work began on laying the new natural stone floor in the choir, permanently sealing the access to the burial vault. Only Heijnen’s notes and his employer’s photographs remained as a source. Shortly after the completion of the choir, national news channels reported the discovery of a burial vault in the Old St Helen’s Church; it is not known who leaked this information.

    Research and Replica

    The portraits of Lambert Joost van Hambroick and his wife Mechteld Anna Bentinck-Van Diepenheim, photo: Lydia ter Welle
    The portraits of Lambert Joost van Hambroick and his wife Mechteld Anna Bentinck-Van Diepenheim, photo: Lydia ter Welle

    It was only years later, during a trip to Israel with his wife, that Henk Heijnen visited a burial vault in Jerusalem. This gave him the idea to build a replica of the burial vault in the Old St Helen’s Church.

    He produced new construction drawings and came into contact with Herbert Welling from Bocholt and Thaddeus van Eijck from Bredevoort, both of whom were interested in cultural heritage. The trio hit it off, and their combined research led them to the historian J. Grooteboer from Borne.

    They discovered that Lambert Joost von Hambroick and his wife Mechteld Anna Bentinck van Diepenheim were closely connected to St Helen’s Church. In 1706, they donated two silver communion cups to the Aalten church, which were later found in a safe within the church.

    Replica of the burial vault in St Helen's Church – Aalten Vooruit, 4 October 2024
    Replica of the burial vault in St Helen’s Church in Aalten, photo: Aalten Vooruit, 4 October 2024

    Who Was Buried in the Vault?

    Based on the research, it was determined that the following individuals were buried in the vault:

    • Judith Hambroick Welvelde († 1746)
      The connection to the Welvelde and Hambroick families is still visible in the church via the Welvelde coat of arms, which features a wolf’s head.
    • Gerharda Wilhelmina Arentsen (1777–1815)
      She had purchased the burial vault at a later date. She was the daughter of the sister of Mayor Christiaan Caspar Stumph and the granddaughter of Roelof Arentsen, the scholte (local official) of De Ahof.
    • Rev. De Roy († 1762/1785)
      Uncertainty remains regarding the initials DR. They were linked to a Reverend De Roy. However, in the second half of the 18th century, there were two ministers of that name: Philippus de Roy (1733–1762) and his son Adrianus Rudolphus de Roy (1762–1785). Which of the two might be buried in the vault remains unknown for now.

    Completion of the Replica

    In 2019, Heijnen completed a wooden replica of the burial vault. Two employees from Broekhout used his drawings to recreate the frame exactly. Heijnen personally handled the painting, including the initials and other details. The replica was later put on public display in the Helenahuis, opposite the church on Landstraat.

    Thaddeus van Eijck produced a film titled “Verscholen erfgoed in beeld” (Hidden Heritage Portrayed), which documents the entire process surrounding the replica: from the initial notes and research to the craftsmanship with which the burial vault was reconstructed.

    At the presentation of the replica in 2019, Heijnen mentioned that he still always carried his folding rule, even when sitting in church on Sundays, and that he felt nervous if he did not have it on him. That habit led to an extraordinary result: a booklet, a film, the recovery of two silver communion cups, and a skilfully and accurately crafted replica of the burial vault in the Old St Helen’s Church. Hidden heritage, beautifully brought to light.

    A report on the presentation of the replica of the Old St Helen’s Church burial vault on the Market Square in Aalten. Video: RTV Slingeland / Henk Nijenhuis

    Sources

  • Rickety police garage collapsed

    Rickety police garage collapsed

    AALTEN — With a resounding thud, the garage of the old police station in the Peperstraatje collapsed yesterday. The rickety structure was unable to serve out its time. Within the foreseeable future, the new police station on the Polstraat will be completed, and the restoration of the building currently serving as the police station can begin. It will then house several municipal offices. The national police in Aalten will likely not be too distressed about the destroyed garage.

    They will, however, be concerned about the car that was parked in the garage at the moment it gave way. The police report drawn up regarding the incident states that the vehicle was quite seriously damaged. It is further unknown whether a report was filed against the owner of the property for neglecting maintenance obligations. In that case, it would be the municipality that should be held responsible for the damage to national property.

    Police garage collapsed – Tubantia, 30 October 1970

    Source

    • Daily newspaper Tubantia, 30 October 1970 (Delpher)
  • Golden Margriet for Joke ter Maat from Aalten

    Golden Margriet for Joke ter Maat from Aalten

    Margriet, weekly magazine for women and girls, 7 February 1970

    Which woman-of-the-year deserves our tribute in the form of a golden Margriet? Whom may we honor with this gold for her selflessness, her helpfulness, her charity? You answered this question with so many letters that the editors of Margriet, after reading and re-reading all your spontaneous stories, simply had to decide to award more than one golden Margriet: there were no fewer than FIVE!

    Fourth Golden Margriet: the rock and mainstay in this family of seven orphans

    Aalten; the Hessenweg is a rather hard-to-find path, far behind the newest housing estates of this southern corner of the Achterhoek. To the side of that Hessenweg: a small farm. The property consists of a few cows, a few pigs, a few hectares of land. A young man in blue overalls is working with a tractor; some children are running around. There is no farmer, no farmer’s wife. But in the kitchen-diner there is a scent of freshly brewed coffee, and a girl, small in stature but sturdy, is busy juggling eggs, bread, and bacon to set an evening table for seven hungry mouths.

    Joke ter Maat from Aalten
    Joke ter Maat from Aalten

    Her name is Joke ter Maat, 18, and she is the rock and mainstay of this family of seven orphans, of whom she is one herself. Her sister Riet: “Mother has been dead since ’61. And in ’69, father also passed away. Joke ensures that everything at home runs smoothly. For years now. She literally does everything, except for the real men’s work that needs to be done on a small farm like this. My brothers do that. The brothers are 23 years old.”

    The farm is only small; they have jobs on the side. Riet also works “outside the home”; together, the three of them ensure that the business and family have the necessary financial resources. “But we can only do that because our Joke takes everything else off our hands,” these children say. For Dick (16), Gerard (14), and Ada (11), Joke is also, and perhaps primarily, a second and very caring mother.

    “Since father passed away, it has actually become doubly difficult for her,” the older brothers feel. “She has now become the sole pivot around which everything revolves. And in fact, we leave almost everything to her. We decide on major financial expenditures among the older ones, and even then she has the final word; we trust her yes or no. If she didn’t do all this, our little family really wouldn’t be able to stay together as well as we do now…”

    To all these praises, Joke herself hardly comments; she laughs and pulls up the chairs. And she doesn’t even sit at the head of the table…

    Source

  • Deep well rediscovered near mill in Aalten

    Deep well rediscovered near mill in Aalten

    Dagblad Tubantia, 5 August 1969

    Water well Molenstraat Aalten – Dagblad Tubantia, 5 August 1969
    The future Mr. and Mrs. Ossendorf at the well

    The engaged couple Ossendorf-Hubers in Aalten has no reason to feel down. On the contrary! Their engagement will soon be followed by marriage, and they are already busy furnishing a brand-new home on Molenstraat. And yet, this very house gives Mr. Ossendorf and his future wife reason to be careful not to literally end up in the well—the well found in the garden just behind the house, which is nearly fourteen meters deep.

    At this location—as the name Molenstraat suggests—the Aalten mill once stood, the last remains of which were removed last year in the spring. Now, four beautiful homes stand there. The well is over a hundred years old and is constructed of heavy masonry. It belonged to the mill, and the former miller, Mr. Klomps, recalled that the well was to be found somewhere in this vicinity. The future residents of the houses were also informed. All four houses are currently still vacant, but work is already well underway in the gardens. In these gardens, four heavy millstones have since been found.

    Mr. Ossendorf also went in search of such objects and the well. After a few “test drillings,” it did not take long before both the millstone and the well were located. That is to say: the well was covered with a millstone. With great effort, the stone—which was no longer in very good condition—was removed in pieces, and the couple then gazed into the depths. According to local residents, the well must have supplied the entire neighborhood with water in the latter part of the previous century. The water is currently at a depth of about thirteen meters. Consequently, the houses will not be much troubled by groundwater. Following tradition, this mill was also built on the highest part of the village.

    The well has a diameter of one meter, and climbing bolts have been bricked into the wall, allowing one to descend. Since its rediscovery, no one has yet ventured this experiment. It is unknown what will happen to the deep well. Filling it in or developing it into a beautiful antique well with a lever, for example. That is still a matter of consideration. The latter seems appealing, but in the back of one’s mind, there is also the thought of filling it in before any accidents occur.

    Source

  • Rise of the textile industry in Aalten

    Rise of the textile industry in Aalten

    The textile industry in Aalten was deeply rooted in the centuries-old tradition of domestic weaving and flax processing. In the 19th century, this craft grew into a flourishing industry, partly thanks to the establishment of German textile families such as the Driessens.

    For centuries, flax was cultivated in the Achterhoek and the adjacent Westphalia region, from which linen was woven on farms. This cottage industry led to a lively cross-border trade in woven fabrics.

    Numerous farm and street names in Aalten still recall this era, for example: de Weversborg, de Pellewever, de Bleeke, the Vlasspreideweg, and—due to the pure water—the Zilverbekendijk.

    The arrival of the Driessens

    Import duties on foreign fabrics were increased in 1823 to protect Dutch industry. German textile companies, including the firms Gebrüder Driessen and Peter Driessen & Sohn in Bocholt, moved to the Achterhoek. In 1826, they established themselves in Aalten.

    With their arrival in 1826, 56 looms and approximately twenty families from Prussia also came to Aalten. Most of them settled here permanently.

    Growth of employment

    The number of domestic weavers grew steadily. While the number was 292 in 1828, it had risen to 352 a year later, and in 1833 it was reported: ‘The fustian factories continued strongly, with the factories in Aalten typically employing approximately 630 weavers according to records. Both in this and in the surrounding municipalities of Winterswijk, Dinxperlo, Varsseveld, Lichtenvoorde, etc.’

    Spinning flax
    Spinning flax on the spinning wheel

    The first factories

    In 1829, there were two cotton mills in Aalten ‘which provide work for about 40 people’, including that of the Driessen brothers. In 1830, there were three, with approximately sixty employees.

    On August 15, 1829, Jan Gerard Kraak ten Houten, ‘licensed shopkeeper and merchant in Aalten’, informed the Governor of Gelderland of his wish to establish ‘a fustian factory, spinning mill, dye works, and bleachery’ in his hometown, for which he requested permission. The municipal council had no objections to this establishment, ‘considering that the petitioner’s intention is only to have fustian manufactured by weavers at their homes, without erecting a spinning mill, bleachery, or dye works. This ensures sufficient work for the craftsman’, while no other interests are harmed. Ultimately, the King had to decide on the matter. Favorable advice was given by all advisors. It is not known how long this company existed or where it was located.

    Sources

    • Geweven goed, the textile history of Aalten and Bredevoort
      H. de Beukelaer, J.G. ter Horst – Fagus, 1992
  • Modern-day Robin Hood

    Modern-day Robin Hood

    GROENLO — The Groenlo cantonal judge, Mr H. J. Steenbergen, was confronted yesterday afternoon with a modern-day Robin Hood. The youthful J. P. from Bredevoort had turned back the clock centuries and had gone hunting in Aalten armed with a bow and arrow. But since the days of Robin Hood have long since passed and legislation today is entirely different, he came into conflict with the hunting laws.

    With this primitive weaponry, P. had terrorised a plot of woodland between the Walvoortweg, the Stationsstraat, and the Bredevoortsestraat. The forest is named Het Zwarte Woud (The Black Forest) — a name that fitted wonderfully with the adventurous atmosphere in which historians have shrouded the gallant followers of King Richard the Lionheart.

    The Bredevoort archer had set his sights on creatures walking through life on two or four legs and on anything winged soaring through the air, but he went from hunter to hunted when the police caught him in their sights. It then appeared that P. was no true follower of the great hero from the exciting story. He dropped the bow and made off. However, he lacked the cunning and the speed of Robin Hood, who was always too slippery for his pursuers, and so P. — after handing his arrows to a friend — fell into the trap. His adventure was over.

    Modern-day Robin Hood in Aalten
    © Disney

    Sheepish

    P. looked at the cantonal judge sheepishly when the latter made him understand that he had made himself guilty of illegal hunting. That his game would have such far-reaching consequences and also financial repercussions took him by surprise. Somewhat crestfallen, he managed to blurt out that it was not hunting he was after, but purely the sport. The sensation that shooting with a bow and arrow provided him pushed the rules and regulations far into the background. “You did shoot at animals with it, though,” asked Mr Steenbergen. “Tried to, but I wasn’t very successful,” P. answered. He had bought the bow in Germany.

    The cantonal judge had put the weapon to the test and had come to the conclusion that it was a dangerous piece of equipment. “The heavy arrows, tipped with a metal point, whizzed hard through the air,” he said. Mr Steenbergen also inquired why P. had run away. “Didn’t you feel very well?” he asked. “I don’t know,” P. stammered.

    The public prosecutor, Mr J. Punt, was of the opinion that someone roaming the fields with such hunting gear is clearly hunting. He felt this deserved no encouragement, and in order to deter other Wilhelm Tell figures, he demanded a fine of 60 guilders or 6 days’ detention, and the forfeiture of the bow and arrows. The cantonal judge declared that P. would have acted more wisely by joining an archery association, and if such an opportunity had existed in Aalten, he would have been inclined to let P. keep the bow and arrow. However, that possibility does not exist, and therefore Mr Steenbergen deemed it necessary to confiscate the weapon. He sentenced P. to a fine of 30 guilders or 3 days.

    Sources

    • Tubantia, 9 oktober 1968 (Delpher)
  • Zeskamp (1968)

    Zeskamp (1968)

    Event

    In 1968, Aalten put itself on the map by participating in the popular TV event ‘Zeskamp’ (Hexathlon). At the time, the municipality had approximately 12,000 inhabitants. The textile industry was in decline, and outside the built-up area, farming remained the primary way of life. During this period, Aalten was a pillarized village. However, Zeskamp appears to have brought about a turning point.

    Zeskamp was a sporting event organized by the NCRV and the Belgian BRT, which they broadcast live on TV. At the time, it attracted millions of viewers, making it one of the most-watched TV programs. There were participants from six different locations: three from the Netherlands and three from Belgium.

    Residents participated en masse and with great enthusiasm. People of various religious and ideological backgrounds worked together. For the first time, they truly met and got to know one another. In this way, imaginary walls were broken down.

    The competitions were held on six Saturday evenings, each time in one of the participating locations. In Aalten, the Market Square served as the arena.

    Ultimately, Aalten advanced to the final in Zutphen and won! The participants were honored with a parade through the village.

    See also:

    1968 Zeskamp (Hexathlon) Aalten
  • Aalten has big plans

    Aalten has big plans

    Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 27 February 1967

    Demolition of buildings on the Market Square – New town hall and cultural center on the site of the old festival building.

    The municipality of Aalten has commissioned an ambitious structural plan that will give the Aalten village center a completely different appearance. According to this plan, several well-known buildings on the Market Square, including the old town hall (see photo), will have to disappear. In their place, a kiosk, bus station, and small shops will be established.

    Aalten has big plans – Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 27 February 1967
    Aalten Market Square with the old town hall, 1967

    The old festival building on the Pol will have to disappear according to the plan, and a modern new Town Hall and a Cultural Center are envisioned for this location.

    Furthermore, new streets have been projected, which will require quite a few breakthroughs. Realizing all these plans will likely take several decades. But in any case, the residents of Aalten will then know what to expect.

    It is sound policy to guide the future growth of the village in a timely, well-considered manner. One remaining question is whether the old Town Hall is actually allowed to be demolished; “Monumentenzorg” (Heritage Netherlands) might object.

    The latest insights regarding the construction of a new post office point toward new construction on the site of the existing office. The grounds near the monastery, which were initially intended for this purpose, will soon serve as a parking lot.

    Land is available north of the Ringweg for a general Christian hospital that may be assigned to Aalten. Expansion of the industrial estate is possible in a northerly direction up to the railway line, and finally, land is available near the Keizersbeek where farmers who are “displaced” by the land consolidation can settle.

    Sources

  • Aalten Budget Closes at Nearly Nine Million

    Aalten Budget Closes at Nearly Nine Million

    Dagblad Tubantia, 18 January 1966

    It is truly no wonder that the explanatory memorandum accompanying the 1966 budget for the municipality of Aalten begins with the words: We are pleased to inform you… For not only is the budget for ordinary services balanced at an amount of nearly nine million guilders (including f 26,600 for unforeseen expenditures), there is also limited room for the execution of capital works. And that is a sound that not all municipalities can produce.

    1000 guilder banknote, 1956
    1000 guilder banknote, 1956 (for illustration)

    For those capital works, apart from the sewage treatment plant and sewerage, the primary consideration is to resume the restoration of the streets in the old town center, with priority to be given specifically to the Prinsenstraat.

    That is not to say that everything is coming up roses. Due to a shortage of land ready for construction, there is a threat of stagnation in housing development, while it is expected that the upcoming expansion of the treatment plant will place a heavy burden on the population, who will then likely see the sewage charges to be paid approximately doubled.

    Expansive and Pluriform

    The fact that the budget is balanced is partly due to a more adjusted allowance from the municipal fund regarding the social care component starting in 1966, as a result of which the general allowance from this fund, in addition to the general increase by raising the allowance percentage, could be estimated at around f 160,000 higher.

    An amount of f 60,000 is available for interest and depreciation on new capital expenditures for 1966. This amount is too small to enable a smooth completion of many necessary works, while furthermore the “lending ceiling” established by the government acts as a hindrance. To this end, a multi-year plan was drawn up, in which the streets and roads requiring improvement in the coming years were included.

    Regarding the acute shortage of building land, the Mayor and Aldermen state that preparations for making land ready for construction have already been made in various places, but that execution must still wait because agreement had not yet been reached with the owners regarding several plots. The acquisition of land through amicable means, according to the memorandum, is clearly becoming a problem in more and more municipalities, forming a serious stumbling block in the attempt to fully realize an “expansive and pluriform construction policy.”

    One Each Year

    The memorandum further speaks of the sporadic issuance of urgency declarations for the construction of new schools. The Mayor and Aldermen would consider themselves fortunate if one new school could be built each year over a series of years. They do, however, express their satisfaction that with the completion of the gymnasium at the ULO school and the already intensively used hall of the lower agricultural school, it will soon no longer be necessary to use other locations unsuitable for this purpose, once the municipal gymnasium on the Dalweg is also completed.

    Satisfaction is further expressed regarding the administrative contact established between Winterswijk, Lichtenvoorde, Groenlo, Eibergen, Neede, and Aalten. Although there is only mention of contact and no formal body was created, this cooperation is also of value within the framework of broader regional bodies.

    In Detail

    To remain in style, after these more “general considerations” regarding the budget, we would like to proceed to the discussion of specific parts, without, as they say, being exhaustive.

    Slaughterhouse: It is expected that, after the extensive renovation, this will be self-supporting due to the intensive use for export slaughtering.

    Drinking Water Supply: Around April 1966, approximately 125 properties of the Heurne-IJzerlo plan will be connected to the water supply network. On the work program of the water company, 150 properties are estimated for Aalten in 1966.

    Public Housing: Despite the fact that an average of 100 homes per year have been completed in recent years, the housing shortage is not being reduced. The construction of so-called Bogaers houses outside the quota is also hindered by the shortage of land ready for construction.

    KSA Slaughterhouse, Industriestraat, Aalten
    Slaughterhouse, Industriestraat

    Ring Road: Specifications for the improvement are ready. It is possible that preparatory work, such as the felling of trees, can still take place this year. The road will be provided with a layer of asphalt over its full width, including the existing cycle path.

    Kemena Expansion Plan: Waiting for necessary land purchases. For this, however, the approval of the partial expansion plan must first be awaited.

    Paving of Dirt Roads: In 1935, 68.90 kilometers were paved, bringing the total of paved dirt roads from 49.430 km to 56.32 km. The paving of the Boshoeveweg and parts of the Kriegerdijk and Bodendijk is in preparation.

    Education

    Public Primary School, Herenstraat, Aalten
    Public Primary School Herenstraat

    O.L. School Aalten: The possibilities for replacing existing old schools with new ones are so slim that there can be no question of replacing the school for the time being.

    R.K. School Aalten: The original plan for the construction of an 8-classroom school has been changed to the construction of two 6-classroom schools. Final applications have not yet been submitted.

    Groen van Prinsterer School: An urgency declaration for the construction of three classrooms has been obtained. The possibility of achieving a six-classroom school through industrial construction methods is being investigated.

    Allowance per Pupil: This will be significantly increased for 1966, namely for the private G.L.O. f 70.- (f 64) per pupil, for the private ULO f 125.- (f 102), and for the private special L.O. f 135 (f 125) per pupil. The amounts stated in parentheses are those for 1965.

    Recreation VVV

    The ideal would be a new VVV office in the old building on the Markt, where the Local History Museum is already located. The collection would then be even better presented; perhaps this can be realized in the foreseeable future due to the departure of the current resident.

    The establishment of a motel at the intersection of the Bredevoortseweg with the new Hamaland route would be appreciated. This would create an attractive recreation center between Aalten and Bredevoort, with the swimming pool, the municipal estate “‘t Walfort“, the summer cottage area, and the municipal campsite in the immediate vicinity.

    Industry: Did not develop to the same extent in 1965 as in previous years. The number of male employees has hardly increased, which may partly be a result of the commute to Germany, which currently amounts to 70 men and 40 women from the municipality.

    Frerikshuus – Markt 14, Aalten
    Museum (Oudheidkamer), ‘t ‘Frerikshuus’, Markt 14

    Sources

  • Jewish life in Aalten

    Jewish life in Aalten

    New Israelite Weekly, January 29, 1965

    There is still a synagogue in Aalten. In recent weeks, one could read about it in both the national and international press. Seldom before can this Beth Haknesseth have been so much in the public eye. A procession of journalists has flocked to Aalten. “I can’t bear to see another journalist,” I noted from the lips of one of Aalten’s Jews. They travelled to Aalten because the synagogue has been defaced. It was but one incident among a multitude of anti-Semitic expressions reported in the Netherlands and abroad in recent weeks. One could have learned of those other incidents as well—though not in this publication. One simply cannot keep up with them all.

    And not only that: anti-Semitism is not a question of us. It is a disease that proliferates and proliferates, usually in silence, occasionally openly. We ourselves are less upset as long as there is no survival involved, than the groups among whom the tumor rages. We ourselves have become more self-aware, more self-confident. On the one hand, it is because of the appalling that we had to go through only a generation ago — and what could happen to us even worse — because of the stimulating effect that the existence of the State of Israel exerts on us.

    Synagogue in Aalten defaced
    Synagogue in Aalten defaced

    Perhaps these are the reasons that in Aalten there has been hardly any interest from our organizations — only Chief Rabbi E. Berlinger and the Permanent Committee showed their sympathy. The lack of interest on our part is in stark contrast to the dozens of letters that have been received from non-Jewish quarters. This can be read in one of the letters: “… Since the war, only since the war have many people, including myself, taken into account, not only what has been done to a part of our people in particular, without us having done or being able to do anything of significance against it (?)… And now this: what am I to do — how can we, non-Jewish fellow citizens, undo this insult, this terrible blow to the barely healed, so deeply damaged face. That’s the reason I have to write!!”.

    In Aalten, people take note of the letters, of the verbal interest. Is it doing them good? Undeniably, it provides support. All the more fiercely one feels that there has been hardly any reaction from our side. What hardly causes a stir in the relatively large Jewish communities in the West, is still the talk of the town in Aalten. It is not surprising, the cold one is only small. What kind of support can one give each other? Not that there is fear, not at all. In Aalten, too, the defacing of the synagogue is considered an incident. But still…

    Only nine families make up the chilly Aalten. Nine families with a total of 28 souls, seven of whom are children. They do not view the smearing of the shul, the destruction of the stones in the cemetery in Winterswijk with a shrug of the shoulders. Because there is a connection between one and the other. They are not unrelated facts. The police investigation has finally shown that those who caused destruction in the cemetery of Winterswijk are the same as those who smeared the synagogue in Aalten. It has been proven by comparison of the manuscripts and chemical investigations of the chalk that was used for chalking. But no matter how active the Aalten police are, there is no question yet that the active anti-Semites could be arrested.

    Requirements only

    There is another synagogue in Aalten. But shul services are held only sporadically on Shabbath. And only with shul services can one actively prove one’s Judaism in the small kehilloth . Until last year, the services still took place every Shabbath. But in the last five years, three shul visitors have died and some young people have left elsewhere. Only when these young people come over to Aalten is there sometimes a service on Shabbath. However, the synagogue is now only populated on Jamiem Towien.

    Synagogue Aalten - New Israelite Weekly, 29-01-1965
    The synagogue in Aalten, 1965

    Nevertheless, Aalten still had its own chazan until 1948. He left for America. He was the last of the many excellent chazanim that this kehilla has known in its long history. Since his departure, one of the people from Aalten acted as Sjeliach Tsibboer. During the Jamiem Noraiem one of the young people comes from Amsterdam. It is no longer possible in Aalten to appoint his own chazan — apart from the question of where he should come from. The cold cannot pay his salary from the tax revenue.

    “The Permanent Committee demands a share of this proceeds, the Arnhem district demands a share of the money. And people forget that we have to maintain our shul and that we have to take care of (our) large cemetery. Money is demanded of us, but what do we get in return? If we have a bar mitzvah, we have to beg for the arrival of a chazan. The bill will come later. If we need someone for a lewaje, the bill will be presented later: ƒ 0.25 per car kilometer, beyond the requirement that is not on the bill.”

    Butcher knows better

    There is another synagogue in Aalten. It is hardly used anymore. There is no more chazan. They have been to Aalten. Some were also mohel, most also sjocheet. This has sometimes led to skirmishes in Aalten. Because the four kosher butchers in pre-war Aalten did not agree with the shechete’s decisions. If the shochete said: the cow is treife, then the butchers knew better. The sjochetim then got all kinds of things thrown at their heads. One of them, Levi Gasan, small in stature and slender, was very afraid of the wrath of the butchers. When he found a cow treife, he quietly left the abattoir, ran the last few meters to the door and only then shouted: “The cow is treife!, because he expected to have a cleaver thrown at the head if he said it to the face of the butchers. His work plus the fear of life preservation was honored in those years with 1800 guilders a year. The respective chief rabbis did not exactly understand the butchers in Aalten either. Chief Rabbi Levisson in particular turned against them.

    “The chief rabbis were authorities. If they held an inspection once every six months, people were nervous. They decided in more areas than they formally had to decide. They did not want butchers as parnassims. They kept an eye on the administrative decisions of the parnassim. They interfered with the salaries. And no one dared to contradict the chief rabbi”. Nevertheless, the Aalten parnassim often quarreled with the chief rabbi. They blamed them a lot. But these reproaches never reached the chief rabbi. He was back in Arnhem by then. On the heads of the chazanim the wrath of the parnassim was discharged. They received criticism in many areas: also that they did not provide sufficient education. It also happened because some church members had more knowledge than the chazan. Because there were many chewres in Aalten. They are no longer there. The children receive an hour of Jewish lessons every week. For youth meetings they have to travel to Winterswijk.

    Things have sometimes been tough in Aalten. The taxes were low. Those who paid a dime more counted themselves among the prominent ones. Many rights were derived from that dime. In Shul people bid against each other to obtain a mitzvah. Partly because of this, the parnassim sometimes knew better what the income of the congregation members was than the inspector of taxes. Perhaps that is also why people were so committed to being elected parnas. The elections were in reality a get-together. But despite the battle for the kawod, there was great cohesion. The quarrel of one day was settled the next.

    Quarrel

    But there were frequent arguments. Because the Jewish community of Aalten consisted largely of cattle shochriem. On Friday evenings they quarreled with each other in shul because one had bought a cow from a farmer that had been promised to the other. On Shabbath morning, the quarrel was settled in shul. On Shabbath afternoon they visited each other, also to hear each other out. Shabbath evening people wished each other “gut woch”.

    Aalten, which had eighty Jewish souls before the war and one hundred and forty souls shortly before the war; of whom many German refugees, was always a pious cold. “On Shabbath, all Jewish businesses were closed here. No Jew worked. That would not have been possible. The population had not taken that. It once happened that a Jewish representative of a Jewish firm from Amsterdam visited a shopkeeper on Shabbath in Aalten. He was thrown out of the store and his monster suitcase was thrown after him. “On Shabbath there is no Jew in my house,” he was shouted at. There is still a synagogue in Aalten…

    M. KOPUIT

    This article was written with the help of Mr. J. Weyel and Mr. S.I. de Haas of Aalten.

    Source

  • The Spanish Sword ‘Tholeta’

    The Spanish Sword ‘Tholeta’

    In 1964, during excavation work for the construction of a new workshop on the premises of the Klein Nibbelink smithy, various items were discovered, including remnants of walls, moat fill, wooden posts, and an iron fire grate. However, the most impressive find was a Spanish sword from the Eighty Years’ War, bearing the inscription ‘Tholeta’, the Latin name for the city of Toledo in Spain.

    Johan Klein Nibbelink currently has the sword in his possession and tells about it in the video below.

    Sword Bredevoort – Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 12 October 1964
    Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 12 October 1964

    Sources

  • The Netherlands in the year 2000

    The Netherlands in the year 2000

    Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 23 October 1963

    Workers will then earn around ƒ 15,000 – Smaller towns (including Winterswijk-Aalten) merged into large cities – Further industrial revolution with possibilities currently beyond imagination!

    One can indulge in the most elaborate fantasies regarding the rise in labor productivity in the near future, but with normal, steady development over the next 37 years, real income per capita will be 2.5 to 3 times greater than in 1963. The amount available for spending exceeds our imagination: a worker currently earning ƒ 6,000 per year will then have more than ƒ 15,000 to spend.

    Prof. P. de Wolff, director of the Central Planning Bureau, presented this as a topic for discussion to the participants of the “Netherlands in the Year 2000” conference of the Netherlands Discussion Centre in Oosterbeek. He had calculated that by the year 2000, the population of our country would number 20 million souls. Prof. Jac. P. Thijsse of the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague also based his work on this figure. In his plans, he concluded, among other things, that by 2000, perhaps 95 percent of the population would live in cities. These people would not only live in cities, but according to his vision, there would be many cities in the Netherlands outside the Randstad Holland with 750,000 to one million inhabitants. He had assumed a density of 50 people per hectare. This relatively high population density need not hinder the “livability” of the cities, as this is a matter of quality in urban planning and housing construction.

    The Netherlands in the year 2000
    The Netherlands in the year 2000, according to Prof. Jac. P. Thijsse

    Prof. Thijsse stated that to accommodate the expected population growth, it is necessary to begin building 125,000 homes per year immediately. Using a map of the Netherlands in 2000, he showed that cities are hubs within an area with a radius of fifty kilometers. He had also formed “ring cities” from, among others, Apeldoorn, Deventer, and Zutphen; Arnhem-Nijmegen; Winterswijk-Aalten; and Enschede-Hengelo-Almelo, disregarding provincial borders. He also anticipated that national borders would no longer exist by then. In this regard, he pointed to the large city formed by the towns of Sittard, Geleen, Heerlen, the German city of Aachen, and the surrounding areas.

    According to Prof. Thijsse, not a single airport in our country is in the right location. He had projected the major airport of 2000 onto the Wadden Sea, which was yet to be reclaimed. If the Netherlands maintains its function, as currently derived from transport to and from the European hinterland, Prof. Thijsse envisioned new port and industrial areas in the Western Scheldt and on the land yet to be reclaimed between Den Helder and Wieringen.

    In his economic vision for the future, Prof. de Wolff assumed that no major conflicts or enormous depressions would occur in the coming 37 years. He calculated that if productivity increases by 2.7 to 3.25 percent per year and working hours are reduced to 35 hours per week, gigantic tasks must be completed in the Netherlands, given the then-altered composition of the workforce.

    How the industrial revolution will proceed cannot yet be foreseen, but this development will be completely different from what is currently imagined. Perhaps certain types of labor will become so scarce that, for example, clothes will no longer be washed but thrown away, and washing dishes will likewise no longer be feasible. Perhaps people will then have to perform auxiliary tasks themselves during part of their free time, such as washing cars and painting houses. Prof. de Wolff also saw major tasks for the government and could find no room to lower taxes over the next 37 years. Not even if the defense budget were to disappear because the concept of war had become obsolete.

    Sources

  • Vaags Family Reunion (1960)

    Vaags Family Reunion (1960)

    Dagblad Tubantia, 10 & 17 May 1960

    On Monday, a group of ladies and gentlemen will gather at the sociëteit in Aalten who, although completely unknown to one another and coming from various parts of the country, need no introduction. For the simple reason that their names are identical. Short and sweet: Vaags. After years of genealogical research and months of administrative preparation, the Vaags reunion will finally become a reality. And where better to hold it than in Aalten, where the forefather of all those named Vaags first saw the light of day?

    Chemist from Geleen established family tree

    That was nearly two hundred and fifty years ago. We may accept this on the authority of someone who has investigated it all in meticulous detail. A Vaags, naturally. Specifically, a certain P.B. Vaags from Geleen, a 35-year-old chemist at the state mines. This Vaags from Limburg was able to make grateful use of the oldest data when constructing a family tree, as collected at the beginning of the last war by the late Mr A.A. Vreede, whose daughter currently resides in Dinslaken.

    He was busy with it for years, making enquiries at home and abroad, obtaining and processing official data from municipal registries where available, and occasionally chatting with various individuals. Thus, a booklet gradually emerged that is interesting not only to the Vaags family. A briefly described family history that reaches back centuries.

    Forefather Voogedes

    The forefather of all those named Vaags originally lived in Bocholt, where he was born on 8 April 1693. After his marriage to the Aalten beauty Hanna Degenaar, the couple settled in Aalten. That forefather was actually named Voogedes. Their son Jannes Petrus, born on 23 January 1718, eventually came to be called Vaags after name changes to Voegts, Vaegts, and the like. All currently living members of the Vaags family descend from this later assessor and churchwarden.

    From this Dutch forefather and his marriage to Berendina Lankhof, seven branches lead through the centuries to the current generation. Two of them have already died out. There are therefore five remaining. However, by human calculation, one of these will disappear again in the short term, as the last scion of the so-called G-branch is an unmarried man in The Hague.

    Then there remain the P-branch, the H-branch, the J-branch, and the B-branch. According to the research by Mr Vaags from Geleen, a respectable number of branches or twigs have emerged from these lines. Currently, there are 232 living members of the Vaags family, of whom 153 live in Gelderland (63.4 per cent in the Achterhoek) and the rest are scattered across all parts of the country, as well as 14 in Canada, 7 in Rhodesia, 4 in Norway, and 1 in South Africa. They are people from all ranks and stations of life.

    Planting trees

    The group of reunionists who will gather next Monday at 11 o’clock in the morning for greetings and introductions will certainly be very diverse. Naturally, not all of them will attend. During the day there will be about 90, and in the evening approximately 120. After a communal lunch, four Vaags trees will be planted in the afternoon on the ‘t Walfort estate, one for each still growing and flourishing branch: these trees will be handed over to the municipal executive for maintenance. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to walk around Aalten and, for example, take a look at the old “ancestral homes”. In the evening, there will be a more festive gathering.

    Should any outsider feel the urge to infiltrate this reunion with a simple introductory murmur: “Vaags, pleased to meet you”, they should be advised that all reunionists wear a neat bow, differing in colour according to the branch to which they belong. Furthermore, Mr Vaags from Geleen has found something of a code to make the family tree clear. And that code can really only be deciphered if you are in possession of such a Vaags family book. But for that, of course, you must be a Vaags.

    A week later, Dagblad Tubantia writes about the course of the reunion:

    Vaags reunion became a pleasant family celebration

    The reunion of the Vaags family in Aalten yesterday became a joyful and pleasant gathering. Most of the Vaagses and semi-Vaagses knew each other due to their various Achterhoek residences, yet several kinsmen had also come from afar. But soon after the reception, at eleven o’clock yesterday morning in the Sociëteit, they were what one calls “en famille”. The word “Vaags” was heard a hundred and one times during the mutual introductions. Then there was some searching and feeling amongst the foliage of the family tree to determine if they might be directly related. The bows worn by the reunionists, in the colours orange, red, white, and blue, were an excellently functioning aid in this regard.

    Four trees planted at ‘t Walfort

    Vaags reunion – Dagblad Tubantia, 17 May 1960
    One of the four Vaags trees, that of the orange branch, is planted near the remains of ‘t Walfort castle.

    Yesterday, during mutual conversations at the table or over a drink, there was plenty of browsing through the family tree that the animator of this reunion, Mr P.B. Vaags from Geleen, has so solidly established. The fact that everyone was related to everyone else was not enough to satisfy everyone. People wanted to know to what extent that kinship went. And for this, the booklet by the Vaags from Limburg with its handy coding was indispensable.

    Quite rightly, the chairman of the working committee, Mr J.B. Vaags (from Winterswijk), outlined the merits of that work in his welcoming speech. And it did not stop there. One of the Aalten reunionists had crafted a neat miniature family tree with the four main branches in colours, and this was presented to Mr Vaags from Geleen as a lasting memento of his work and the reunion that resulted from it.

    A special word of welcome was extended to Mr and Mrs Brinkmann-Greeve, the clerical couple from Dinslaken. Mr Greeve had collected the first genealogical data on the Vaags family at the beginning of the war, and Mr Vaags from Geleen built upon this data in his later research. Mrs Vreede said in her response, also on behalf of her husband, that she considered it a great honour to be able to attend this reunion.

    With that, the official part was temporarily at an end. People chatted for a while and then went to the lunch table.

    In four groups

    The afternoon began with the second official part, the planting of four Vaags trees on the ‘t Walfort estate. With this, the Vaagses hope to have given symbolic form to the memory of their reunion for a very long time. The approximately one hundred reunionists set off on foot, by bus, or by car to the (now) municipal estate. A better place could hardly have been chosen; after all, the resident of what remains of the old castle is also related to the Vaagses.

    There, the saplings provided with an orange, red, white, or blue bow (one for each still vigorous branch of the family) received their destination, surrounded by the corresponding kinsmen. For a moment, the large Vaags family split into four groups. But after Mayor Van Veen had accepted the trees into municipal care with a few friendly words, unity was quickly restored. Afterwards, people walked pleasantly around Aalten, visited an old “ancestral home” here and there, and ate together. And in the evening, de Heikneuters entertained the family, which had by then become somewhat more numerous, for a few pleasant hours with a song, a chat, and some music.

    “A small effort, I thought….”

    P.B. Vaags – Dagblad Tubantia, 17 May 1960
    P.B. Vaags from Geleen

    The man who essentially made the reunion of the Vaags family possible through his genealogical research, Mr P. B. Vaags, may live in Geleen in Limburg, but is a true Achterhoeker by birth. His grandfather was from Aalten, and his father and he himself come from Eibergen.

    “The name Vaags has intrigued me for a long time, especially because you hardly encounter it elsewhere in the country. I thought it would be a small effort to trace all family members. But I certainly underestimated that. I began by simply examining a series of old giro and telephone directories for the name Vaags – you have to start somewhere – and it soon became apparent that the tree was growing thicker and thicker. I wrote to various people, went to talk to baker Vaags in Aalten, and once I had got that far, the work would not let me go.”

    All in all, it took a year and a half before the family tree, complete with all branches and twigs, stood tall and firm. Then the organisational work for the reunion could begin. But the Vaags from Geleen did not involve himself with that. That was more the work of the VVV secretary, who is very skilled in such matters.

    Sources

    • Dagblad Tubantia, 10 May 1960 (via Delpher)
    • Dagblad Tubantia, 17 May 1960 (via Delpher)
  • New clubhouse for scouts

    New clubhouse for scouts

    Dagblad Tubantia, 21 September 1959

    On Saturday afternoon, the scouts in Aalten were presented with their own brand-new clubhouse. This marked the end of a years-long struggle by this guild to obtain its own modest yet solid accommodation.

    Scout hut near Nannielaantje, Aalten
    Scout hut on Haartsestraat

    The Aalten scouts have known various premises, but most were ‘hovels’ that after some time were only fit for demolition, with the result that this branch of youth work was repeatedly ‘out on the street’. However, the girls and boys in the familiar uniform did not lose heart. Their work continued with determination, ultimately resulting in them being able to move into their own home, thanks to the cooperation of many.

    The road was not a bed of roses

    Half hidden in the Veldhuisbosje on Haartsestraat stands a small building that many a youth club would be envious of. However, that the road to the completion of the clubhouse was not always a bed of roses was made abundantly clear in the opening speech by the chairman of the foundation board, Mr B. Garretsen.

    Many difficulties had to be overcome, but, as Mr Garretsen put it, is this not the case with all buildings established through private initiative? It would have been a terrible shame, the chairman continued, if we could not have provided accommodation for these 80 boys and girls, because without this building, the entire scouting movement of the N.P.V. and N.P.G. in Aalten would have had to be disbanded.

    So something had to be done, and something was done. The building is there, it looks neat, but much is still missing, such as water and light, while the interior painting also leaves much to be desired. However, the board takes the view that they must first get out of debt before further work is carried out. As the building stands now, it has cost ƒ7,000. An appeal will therefore be made to several wallets.

    Cooperation of many

    Among the many pleasant things, Mr Garretsen mentioned the cooperation of the local council. He thanked them for making the site available and for the sum of ƒ2,500. He also expressed his gratitude to the director of the Christian Technical School in Aalten, Mr S.J. v.d. Oever, who designed the building and had it constructed by teachers Schuijtemaker and v.d. Woestijne with a number of 15-year-old pupils.

    With the handing over of the keys to Scoutmaster W. Prinsen, Mr Garretsen finally transferred the building to the scouts. After this, various speakers took the floor. Mayor E.S. van Veen, who was present with both aldermen, offered congratulations on behalf of the local council, Mrs Hartsuiker on behalf of the headquarters of the Dutch Girl Guides Guild, District Commander Bosman on behalf of the Winterswijk district, Akela Strating from Borculo, assistant from the headquarters, and further representatives of the Aalten clergy. Also present were scout groups from surrounding municipalities such as Doetinchem, Neede, Ruurlo, Varsseveld, Eibergen, etc. The Enschede Scout Marching Band provided the musical accompaniment and performed a tattoo on the Market Square on Saturday evening.

    It should also be mentioned that the official opening ceremony was performed by Mayor E.S. van Veen. For this purpose, the ‘Burchtlanciers’, as the Aalten group is called, had built a drawbridge in front of the building. After it was lowered, Mr van Veen and the numerous guests crossed the bridge to the building.

    Source

  • Urnfield in Barlo

    Urnfield in Barlo

    In 1959, remains of an urnfield from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age were discovered on a site near the De Kamp farm on the Lichtenvoordsestraatweg in Barlo. The urnfield was designated a national monument in 2003.

    The Arnhemsche Courant reported on 11 March 1959:

    “Yesterday, during excavation work at the farm of farmer A.J. te Paske, De Kamp in Barloo, municipality of Aalten, a number of urns were found. During the morning hours, the first urn was discovered at a depth of approximately 40 to 50 centimetres; it was still virtually undamaged and contained skeletal remains.

    Mayor E.S. van Veen was immediately informed of this find, after which municipal workers continued with the excavation. Over the course of the day, four more urns were uncovered in an area of a few square metres. A few years ago, urns had already been found about a hundred metres from this site.”

    Urns at De Kamp, Barlo (1959)
    Urns at De Kamp, Barlo (1959)

    Urnfield, Barlo
    Urns found, Barlo - Zutphens Dagblad, 11-02-1953
    Zutphens Dagblad, 11 February 1953
    Urns found, Barlo - Zutphens Dagblad, 22-10-1957
    Zutphens Dagblad, 22 October 1957
    Urns at De Kamp in Barlo
    Arnhemsche Courant, 11 March 1959

    Sources

  • Aalten Film City

    Aalten Film City

    In 1958, a film was made about Aalten on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of football club AZSV.

    Below you will see the film in two parts, as well as the announcement.

    Aalten Film City, 6 May 1958
  • Operation Sunshine for Annie Smees

    Operation Sunshine for Annie Smees

    Christian National Weekly De Spiegel, November 16, 1957

    Slowly and carefully, she was lifted out of the ambulance. Strong men’s arms carried the stretcher step by step across the yard, where some withered leaves were driven along by the fresh autumn wind until their progress was halted by the wire mesh stretched around the chicken run. Step by step the men went further, past the people who had sought some shelter from the wind under the roof of the open barn. And Annie smiled at all those people, for it was a particularly joyful day for her. Today she received her new, own little room! And these people and many more had seen to that.

    The stretcher was set down. Annie looked aside and then… then suddenly there was a tear in her eye, which she hastily wiped away. But another one came, and another… Oh, this – no, she had not expected this after her absence! A whole new little house with two French doors through which she saw a new table – and chairs – and her little radio stood next to her bedstead on a brand-new bookcase and then a beautiful lamp – and… and… once again the emotion became too much for her and as she was carried inside, she let her tears of joy and gratitude flow freely…

    Would there be no solution!

    It must have been about half a year ago that Hendrik Arentsen, clothier in Aalten, visited Annie Smees for the umpteenth time. She had been bedridden for so long, so very long – for as many as fifteen years – and humanly speaking, no cure was possible anymore. Arentsen looked around. The room where the sickbed stood was pleasant enough in terms of space, but he knew it was damp and that at ten o’clock in the morning, the sun bid farewell to Annie for the day.

    Annie Smees, De Spiegel, 16 November 1957
    The story of Annie Smees and Operation Sunshine in De Spiegel, November 16, 1957
    Annie Smees' old little room
    The girl needed sunshine, and she did not receive it in this room.

    What a pity, the clothier thought, that this girl, who already sees so little of the outside world, cannot receive a bit more sunshine. Could no solution be found for that? Could no other room be found? Would no other room be available for the girl? – He talked about it with father and mother Smees, but these elderly people did not know either. After all, had it not gone well for so many years? For three months of each year, Annie had lain in the small garden house, and for the rest of each year, she lay in this room.

    Was there then no other place at all in the farmhouse where Annie’s bedstead could face south? “Our bedroom,” said mother Smees, “but then again, that has no window looking south.” Well, that became more difficult. Especially since the farmhouse is not owned by the Smees family. Nevertheless, Mr. Arentsen kept thinking about it. Annie had to have sunshine. If only he and all those friends, family, and acquaintances who visited her regularly could give her that! It had to be possible somehow.

    Donations poured in

    And it worked! It worked much better than Annie’s friends had expected. For when permission was given to exchange the room of father and mother with that of Annie and to furnish it as a cozy sickroom with a large window, a chimney, wallpaper, and floor covering, then the donations poured in.

    At birthdays and weddings, from private individuals and businesspeople, everyone who belonged to Annie’s family, friends, and acquaintances was immediately prepared to respond to Arentsen’s appeal and to contribute a stone (or sometimes a large stone) to the costs that had to be incurred. Thus Operation “Sunshine” was born, and the amount of one thousand guilders involved in the improvement and furnishing of the room was soon exceeded and grew to two thousand guilders!

    't Brook, Vierde Broekdijk 24, Heurne
    Farmhouse ’t Brook, Vierde Broekdijk 24, formerly Heurne 4

    But that was wonderful! Why, Annie’s friends thought, should we not do it completely right at once? Let us give her a whole new little room as a gift! And while talking, they finally came up with the idea of having a removable, portable, and double-walled wooden house made. After all, mother, the only one who cared for her day and night, was already nearly sixty-nine years old, and if Annie ever had to be nursed by someone else, she could beautifully take her little house with her.

    Because people love her

    So it was decided, and so it happened. The little house was built and its interior furnished. Girls from the Christian Agricultural Domestic Science School of Aalten bought and made the curtains from their saved money, the teachers provided them with hand-printed motifs, the Orange-Green Cross donated the rug, the Luimes firm gave, in addition to a financial contribution, the beautiful bookcase on which the modern radio set could stand, which Annie had previously received from a reader of De Spiegel after an appeal for postcards had appeared in our magazine and these people had visited Annie personally.

    Furthermore, there were gifts and donations from… oh no, let us mention no more names, for otherwise we might skip someone, and besides, it is not at all the intention of all Annie’s friends that their names be made known. These gifts, this bringing of sunshine to a girl who has been struggling with her back since she was eleven or twelve years old due to an unfortunate fall while playing, where surgical intervention could be of no avail, all this selfless love and this tangible sympathy was given to her because people love her, because they wanted to put into practice the neighborly love commanded by the Lord Jesus.

    Touching neighborly love

    This report should therefore be seen in that light. Amidst all the misery to be found in this world, the devouring of one another through jealousy or feelings of hatred, the shouting of “I won’t stand for that!”, the… well, all that ugly and nasty stuff that so many people inflict on their neighbor, in the midst of that, this beautiful thing, this giving of touching neighborly love, suddenly happens in the Gelderland Achterhoek.

    Annie Smees' little room was full
    When the mayor of Aalten and Mr. Arentsen spoke, the little room was full of family and friends.

    “It is by no means the intention to squeeze money out of you,” Mrs. Te Loo from Bredevoort wrote to us, “but we found this spontaneous sympathy for the sick Annie Smees so lovely and so heartwarming that we thought: we must write this to De Spiegel. It could be an example for others.” And so it is indeed!

    Before Annie arrived with the ambulance, we took a look around. We saw her previous sickroom, where almost no sun comes and from which she saw practically nothing of the road. The road, which is already a long way from the farmhouse. The room is also located entirely on the other side of the house, so that Annie also saw nothing of the activities performed by her parents, brother, and sister around the farmhouse, and as a result, she also had little contact with her housemates.

    We also looked at her “summer house,” which stands in the garden. It is no larger than a gazebo. If her bedstead was in it, one chair could fit with difficulty. Moreover, it was not easy for her mother to have to go outside once every night during the three months that Annie lay there.

    Unencumbered property

    No, then her new room is better in every respect. Through a door, the little house is directly connected to her parents’ bedroom, Annie has a better view of the road and the yard, and the sun can shine in unhindered from morning until late in the afternoon.

    When she was carried inside – as we already wrote – several family members and friends were there to be present at the handover. We saw the mayor of Aalten, her physician, Dr. H. Knol with his wife, Alderman Te Roele, the chairwoman of the Red Cross, Aalten branch, Mrs. Van Egmond, and many more. They all came to congratulate Annie on her new residence and to listen to the deed that Mayor Van Veen read out and handed to her. It contained the following:

    “On this day, the first of Nov. 1957, was transferred in unencumbered property by the Honorable (“yes, that is me, Annie, how do you like that?” the mayor laughed) E.S. van Veen, mayor of the municipality of Aalten, to Miss Annie Smees, Heurne 4, also municipality of Aalten, a double-walled and tile-roofed wooden building, measuring over three by four meters, with double windows, mantelpiece, asbestos chimney, tiled terrace, electrical installation with accessories, balatum, carpet with two rugs, chair, bench, table, book furniture, lamp, oil heater with 200-liter tank. All this is the result of a campaign conducted among friends, family, and interested parties under the motto ‘Operation Sunshine’.”

    Mother Smees also had to shake many hands and receive congratulations.
    Mother Smees also had to shake many hands and receive congratulations.

    A blessing to many

    Annie Smees, Operation Sunshine (1957)
    Annie Smees in her new little room, on the right Mr. H. Arentsen.

    “It has overwhelmed Anneke,” said her parish minister, Rev. R. Siertsema, “therefore she cannot find words to thank you all and has requested me to do so.” “Let us also not forget,” Mayor E.S. van Veen said a little later, “that although Annie has this cross to bear, she nevertheless manages to let many who visit her go away again with a joyful and grateful heart. Unconsciously, she has been a blessing to many people, and I am sure she will continue to be so.”

    Annie lay there perfectly happy, the red cyclamens bloomed on the windowsill, flowers scented the whole room, and her folded hands lay in the mild light of the joyfully shining autumn sun.

    The original article is also available as a PDF (click here).

    Annie and her sister Mina moved in 1970 to a sheltered housing unit of the Cederhof, Hogestraat 80. The sickroom then served as a storage room for several more years.

  • Swimming Pool War in Aalten

    Swimming Pool War in Aalten

    Sunday, July 7, 1957, was a sweltering day. Consequently, many residents of Aalten wished to take a cooling dip in the ‘t Walfort swimming pool. At the time, however, it was not permitted to open the pool on Sundays. Hundreds of residents disagreed and marched to the pool that afternoon. The youth climbed over the fence, and older residents forced entry into the pool. Moments later, the crowd dove into the refreshing water, and the hastily summoned police were powerless to intervene!

    Stampede at ‘t Walfort

    Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, July 8, 1957

    Aalten possesses a beautiful natural swimming pool, ‘t Walfort. However, swimming is not permitted on Sundays. The predominantly right-wing Christian municipal council recently decided, by a majority of a few votes, that the pool must remain closed on Sundays. This decision has greatly irritated a large portion of the Aalten population, who do not share the motives behind this resolution. This irritation was further exacerbated last Sunday by the extreme heat, which created a longing for a cooling bath.

    On Sunday afternoon, young and old alike flocked to ‘t Walfort in great numbers, where they initially stood before the closed gate, protesting against the municipal executive for withholding this pool from the more liberal Protestant segment of the population, as well as Catholics, Jews, etc., while it was sweltering. Soon, the youth began climbing over the pool’s enclosure, and before long, older individuals were kicking in the wooden fences to force access to the pool. Moments later, the entire crowd—numbering in the hundreds—dove into the refreshing water.

    When the hastily summoned police and several board members of the pool arrived, they were faced with a fait accompli! The police could do very little; it was impossible for them to get all those people out of the water. Finally, Alderman Obbink of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (A.R.) delivered a speech, which, however, fell on deaf ears. The people simply held fundamentally different views than the municipal executive and continued swimming calmly.

    De Volkskrant, July 8, 1957
    De Volkskrant, July 8, 1957

    After several hours of swimming, the pool board made another appeal to the swimmers: they had had their chance, and the pool had to be closed again. This appeal was successful: in a sporting manner, everyone left the pool, and shortly thereafter, Sunday rest was restored to the swimming pool. However, the municipal executive of Aalten is faced with a problem; it is now clear that, regardless of how this matter is framed on principle, a large part of the population disagrees and believes that the interference with their freedom on Sundays goes too far.

    Naturally, the municipal executive made its decision to keep the swimming pool closed on Sundays based on grounds that were serious to many council members. However, Alderman Obbink promised “to look into this matter once more” for those who cannot share the Council’s fundamental considerations.

    Aalten Swimming Pool remains closed on Sundays

    Tubantia, July 9, 1957

    't Walfort Swimming Pool, Aalten
    Archive photo of ‘t Walfort swimming pool, for illustration purposes

    At the proposal of the Mayor and Aldermen of Aalten, this body met with the board of the “‘t Walfort” swimming pool to discuss the incidents of last Sunday, when the youth of Aalten stormed the pool. The pool board indicated that it fully respects the council’s decision to keep the pool closed on Sundays and that it condemns Sunday’s actions; the latter in contrast to rumors suggesting that the pool board had cooperated with the demonstration.

    The municipality will issue a serious warning during the course of this week against entering the swimming pool on Sundays. The necessary measures will be taken. We further understand that the council factions of the K.V.P., P.v.d.A., and Gemeentebelangen will not submit a new proposal to open “‘t Walfort” on Sundays this season. Since no new proposal can be expected from other parties either, it is almost certain that the pool will remain closed on Sundays this season.

    Warning

    Tubantia, July 11, 1957

    The acting mayor of Aalten, Alderman W.B. Obbink, has announced following the demonstration that took place on and around the swimming pool on Sunday that, should the disturbances recur, they will not hesitate to take criminal measures. This publication was issued following a statement from the board of ‘t Walfort. It reads as follows: “The board of the ‘t Walfort’ bathing and swimming facility, meeting on July 8, 1957, discussed the disturbances that occurred on and around the swimming pool last Sunday. It deeply regrets this reaction to a decision that was reached in a perfectly legal manner and unanimously expresses its disapproval of this subversive conduct. It strongly urges the population, especially the youth, to respect the Council’s decision, to refrain from vandalism, and to comply with the decision in a sporting manner.”

    Aalten Council revises decision

    Tubantia, April 16, 1958

    This coming summer, residents of Aalten will be able to go swimming in their own ‘t Walfort pool at four o’clock on warm Sunday afternoons. Last night, the municipal council decided that the pool will be open from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM on summer Sundays. A corresponding proposal, submitted on behalf of the K.V.P. and Gemeentebelangen factions, was adopted after a calm debate by 9 votes to 6.

    The decision itself was not a surprise, but the relatively large majority the proposal received was. Unlike last June, when a similar proposal was rejected by 8 votes to 7, all three Christian Historical (C.H.) council members now voted in favor. The Anti-Revolutionary Party (A.R.) remained steadfastly opposed. As is well known, last summer, a few weeks after the council’s rejection, ‘t Walfort was stormed by hundreds of Aalten residents on a sweltering Sunday afternoon, after which swimming took place for several hours.

    Disturbed peace of mind jeopardizes Sunday rest

    Last night’s debate did not open any new perspectives. It was essentially a brief repetition of the arguments that were presented extensively and sometimes passionately on June 30 of last year. This time, the council finished its discussion within half an hour. Mr. Luiten, faction leader of the A.R., called it less than edifying that another proposal to open the swimming pool on summer Sunday afternoons has already been submitted.

    If we were to make a different decision now, people might think we are giving in to opposition from the streets. He once again explained the pros and cons, admitting that mass swimming in the stream creates unacceptable conditions, but stated he did not see why, in a municipality like Aalten with its wealth of natural beauty, the swimming pool must also be open on Sundays. In his view, a piece of Sunday rest is lost because of it.

    Mr. H.L. Obbink (C.H.) clarified why he would take a different position this time than last year. The events of that time proved that the peace of mind of the population can be so disturbed if the swimming pool remains closed that the Sunday rest itself could be jeopardized. This had led him to decide to revise his position. Mr. Huinink (Labor) again raised the argument of Sunday labor in the service of the police, railways, etc., which is also performed by Anti-Revolutionaries.

    't Walfort Swimming Pool, Aalten
    Archive photo of ‘t Walfort swimming pool, for illustration purposes

    (“Only necessary labor,” Mr. Heinen stipulated), and called the attitude of the A.R. typically Aalten. In a municipality like Varsseveld, the situation is quite different. What was proclaimed 50 years ago no longer applies today. He believed that the Sunday rest would not be jeopardized by the opening of the swimming pool.

    Not through resistance

    Mr. Wijkamp (K.V.P.) stated that the irregularities of last summer were not the reason for bringing the proposal forward again; it was already certain then that another attempt would be made before the new swimming season.

    After Mr. Brethouwer (C.H.) explained why he would vote in favor (“swimming in the stream at Lintelo certainly does not benefit the Sunday rest”), Mr. Heinen (A.R.) expressed his surprise at the changed attitude of Mr. Obbink and especially of the K.V.P., which a few years ago was even opposed to mixed swimming. Mr. Lurvink (K.V.P.) replied that moral welfare was certainly as important as the sanctification of the Sabbath. After brief replies, in which Mr. Wijkamp requested strict police action against swimming in the stream, the vote was taken.

    After Mayor Van Veen announced the result, Mr. Ter Linde (P.v.d.A.) addressed the population over the heads of the council with a request to make appropriate use of the swimming pool and to prevent any excesses. The Mayor and Aldermen will now consult further with the swimming pool board regarding the implementation of the decision.

    Sources

  • Old Christmas Traditions

    Old Christmas Traditions

    Several excerpts from the Java-bode, December 22, 1956

    Christmas: A Christian holiday, yet many customs originate from paganism. In modified forms, they have withstood the test of time.

    Already several days before Christmas, a festive mood awakens in people, reaching its peak during the Christmas days. It is no coincidence that the Christmas tree, holly, and mistletoe are popular then, and that Christmas bread, Christmas wreaths, and other Christmas pastries enhance the festive joy. It is seldom considered that such items and customs originate from ancient paganism.

    In the past, our ancestors celebrated the Yule feast around this time, the festival of fertility, in honor of the return of the light. The shortest day had passed, and the days began to lengthen again. Sacrificial meals were held, and sacrificial fires blazed high in the sacred forests. Christmas is a Christian holiday, but all those customs emerged from pagan soil and have, more or less modified, remained and been adopted by modern man.

    It is difficult to link Christmas customs to a specific day, as what occurs here on Christmas Day takes place elsewhere on December 26th or even on Epiphany. Some customs, such as eating certain types of cookies and pastries, are in vogue throughout that entire period between Christmas and Epiphany. In general, it can be said that in the rural Netherlands, Christmas Day is the holy day, a day of reflection and meditation, while Boxing Day is used more as a day for going out or visiting.

    Achterhoek

    Among the elderly in the Achterhoek, the superstition still lives that on Christmas Eve “Derk met de bèèr” rides around, destroying everything left lying outside. In many places, all agricultural tools are still stored in the barn and the yard is cleaned…

    In many families in the Achterhoek, something extra is eaten on Christmas Eve, and this custom is reminiscent of the old name “dikkevretsavond” (gluttony evening). In farming families, pancakes fried with sausage are often served. A mocking rhyme that points to an extra treat goes: “Kasaventjen, Kasaventjen, dan gaat ‘t er bie ons op. Dan slacht mien va ‘nen pekkelhering en ik, ik kriege de kop”.

    In Aalten, people eat “pilleweggeskes” on Christmas Eve, small spherical “weggen” (loaves) on which two dough pills are placed in a cross shape. Children still know an old begging song: “Pilleweggen-aovend, offert geld, Geft de kleine kinder wat, Geft de groten ‘ne schop vör ‘t gat!”

    The aforementioned two dough pills in a cross shape did not originally belong on this Christmas pastry. They were placed there when the common people no longer understood the name “pilleweg.” A “pil” is a godchild or baptized child, and the “pillegift” in the form of a “pillewegge” was a baptismal gift. It was also a reminder of the pagan bread offering made to ward off the demons of the childbed. Anise, caraway, and cinnamon drove the gods away with their strong scent.

    The fact that “pillewegen” are given as gifts on Christmas Eve likely finds its origin in the veneration of Mary as a woman in labor. The custom of eating walnuts on Christmas Eve in the cozy domestic family circle (in Aalten, for example) is still in vogue.

    Source

  • Johannes Korten went to Canada

    Johannes Korten went to Canada

    Zutphens Dagblad, 4 February 1956

    He is working on a new life there

    Winter 1951 in the Netherlands, an important meeting about a burning issue. A meeting that may have escaped the attention of the Dutch people and certainly did not have a report in the press, but whose results have been no less drastic in the life of a family, rooted by generations in the familiar surroundings of our beautiful Graafschap. The meeting was a family gathering of the Kortens at the parental farm “Lensink” below Aalten.

    The subject is familiar to many families in the Dutch countryside: what to do when the children grow up, get married and want to stand on their own two feet, have their own farm? A problem, although not new, but increasingly topical as the population increases, land is lost due to the construction of industries and the construction of roads, expansion of cities and airports. A problem for which no reclamations can provide a solution, tragic because of its unsolvability in its own country.

    Lensink

    “Lensink” is a farm, twelve hectares in size, where father Korten and his family already got the most out of it. A farm, which gives an existence to one family, but can no longer be divided. Under the roof of the familiar farm, a decision was made on that day of 1951. If no solution could be found in their own country, they would try it across the borders. Many had already gone before, including to Canada, also from their own area. And the reports heard from overseas about the experiences there raised hopes that perhaps a solution to their problem would be found.

    It must have been a melancholy farewell in the autumn of that year. Farewell to the farm, the familiar surroundings, to the children who stayed behind because other ties bound them in the old country. A melancholy perhaps hidden behind the excitement of the big event and the nervousness of the preparations, but also gilded by the expectations of an uncertain future. Have those expectations been met? Was the solution found in Canada that was no longer available in the Netherlands?

    In the autumn of 1955, four years after leaving the Netherlands, Korten will answer that question in the affirmative. In his cautious way, he will point out what was achieved at that time, with an open eye for the difficulties that lie ahead, but also with confidence in his own abilities and grateful for the horizons that have been opened up for him and especially for his children. Perhaps there will be those who, seeing the results, say that it is easy to achieve success with such a bunch of big children. But does that make any difference? In the Netherlands it might have been achieved only partially or never. The young families will have to struggle longer to get this far, may have to make more sacrifices for it and have more difficult early years. But they have the strength of youth.

    How Korten is doing now

    Zutphens Dagblad, 04-02-1956
    The Korten family, who after careful consultation exchanged the familiar farm in Aalten for an unknown future in Canada, were allowed to call themselves owners of a spacious wooden house and 45 hectares of land after two years.

    In October 1951, the family arrived in Canada and traveled on to a small town in Southern Ontario, not far from Hamilton. An old acquaintance from Aalten made sure that the family found work and shelter on a fruit farm, while a place was found for the family of a married son on a farm nearby. Korten stayed there for two years. The children were given work in fruit and tobacco cultivation, where good wages are earned during the summer through long days. The joint income was saved and in the summer of 1953 the time had already come to look around for companies for sale.

    By that time, Korten will have become accustomed to the big difference between the Netherlands and Canada, where farms are offered for sale in abundance. Good and bad, cheap and expensive, big and small. He drove around with his sons for many hours, visiting companies, before he had made his choice. The available financial resources imposed limitations, the company had to be large enough for his family and offer development opportunities for the future…

    If someone had told Korten before his departure from the Netherlands that he could once again call a vast vineyard his own, he would have laughed at him. But that unexpected happened, because in November, barely two years after his departure, the family moved into a farm, large 45 hectares, half of which were with grapes; the company that Korten had chosen. One can imagine that it means quite a change for a Dutch farmer of the mixed farm when he exchanges his place among the cows for a life in the middle of the vines, especially if he has no experience with grape growing.

    The Kortens were in that position. A lot of adaptation was demanded of them again, much was and still has to be learned. Neighbors in this region, where many grapes are grown, gave advice and Korten now also knows that he can turn to the Information Service for advice. The pruning in the winter, tethering in the spring, the watering and tillage, the harvest, everything was new and strange. Gradually they grow into it and learn the tricks of the trade and the demands it makes.

    Warden’s and Niagara’s, Concords, Fredonia’s and Diamond’s, grape varieties that each require their own care, are names that no longer sound strange to them. And that’s what this company needs more than anything else: expertise. Several times during the last few years it has changed hands, it was neglected and polluted when it was moved into. Production is still below normal, which is not only due to the fact that most of the vineyard is still young and not at full production. Pruning should be improved and old trunks removed. The buildings should be refurbished, but in Korten’s eyes that can wait a while. First production must be brought up to standard. And that already requires enough time and capital.

    For his sales, Korten has a contract with a wine factory in the area. The price he receives for his grapes is fixed in the spring and is different for the varieties. Over the past year, these prices ranged from $80 to $100 per ton. These grapes are processed into wines and grape juices. Some varieties are more popular than others and Korten can count himself lucky with a considerable variety in the varieties on his farm, which ensures that he is more assured of good sales than when only a few varieties are grown. He sells a small part of the harvest as hand grapes to wholesalers or directly to the public. Although he can charge more for this, it also takes more work and time to prepare the baskets. Moreover, this sales are very limited.

    Zutphens Dagblad, 04-02-1956
    Over the years, Johannes B. Korten has become a real grape connoisseur, who manages his extensive vineyard with care and consultation.

    Grape cultivation is subject to significant risks, such as frost and hail damage, plant diseases, bird and insect damage, against which the grower can only partially insure or arm himself. Sales do not cause Korten any headaches and he gets a good price for his product. For sales, the Canadian grape grower is to a considerable extent dependent on exports to the United States, where production is regularly increasing. However, much has already been done in the field of marketing organization by grape growers’ associations.

    However, it does not look like there will be any major difficulties in marketing in the future. On the Niagara Peninsula, where Canadian grape cultivation is concentrated and where Korten has his business, the same phenomenon is occurring that our own country knows so well: more and more land is being taken up for industrialization and the area cultivated with grapes is also declining. This region, so ideally suited for climate and soil type, has a great attraction for industry due to its location in a densely populated part of this country and the presence of excellent transport facilities. Although this development is not in the general interest of fruit cultivation in this region and there is talk of setting up regional plans to steer this in the right direction, it means a guarantee for the grower for sales in the future.

    In addition to the vineyards, the company has more than 20 hectares of arable land and grassland. Originally, this was all in grass, but Korten only has two dairy cows and two heifers and decided to tear up part of the grassland. On the arable land, he now grows wheat, oats, corn and tomatoes, the last crop on a supply contract with a cannery. The cattle are also in such a state that he would like to keep more cows, especially because he needs the manure so much on the farm. But he is not yet sufficiently well equipped to be able to put money into this now. It is still “all hands on deck” to meet the obligations that have been entered into with the purchase of the company and also to develop the company.

    The boys work with others whenever they can be missed, either in the construction company or in tobacco cultivation. Despite the heavy burdens, however, there is the satisfaction of building a life and the confidence in a future without fear of the problem that drove them to Canada: what are the boys going to do? There is now sufficient space for development on their own farm and beyond. Mother Korten now makes her own wine, not much but from “own cultivation” and good taste, to taste on special occasions. And on those occasions, she and her husband will sometimes reminisce about the time in Aalten, on the “Lensink”, where a son now holds sway and a young family grows up.

    Do you have interesting stories about family members who emigrated from Aalten to Canada? Send us a message!

    Sources