In 1969, a new Onnink shop opened in Barlo. The opening was captured on film. The footage recalls a time when a local grocer did more than sell food: the shop also served a practical and social role for the rural district.
A grocer in Barlo
The shop stood at what is now Markerinkdijk 24. In Aalten’s 1967 address book the location was still recorded as Barlo 86/1. H.A. Onnink is recorded by Old Aalten as a resident of the shop premises.
The business traded as VIVO and later as Super Onnink. In the post-war years, shops like this were important to residents of the rural districts around Aalten. Everyday groceries could be bought close to home, at a time when car ownership was far from universal and larger supermarkets were developing mainly in the town centre.
The opening on film
Film footage of the opening of the new shop in 1969 has survived. It records not only the shop itself but also the people involved in such a local event, making the film a small document of everyday life in Barlo at the end of the 1960s.
A communal freezer too
Onnink was also associated with a communal freezer. Families could rent their own compartment in such shared freezing facilities. Before affordable domestic freezers became widespread, this was an important new service in the countryside. The Piek installation company operated a similar communal freezer in Barlo.
Communal freezers eventually disappeared as freezers in the home became commonplace. The function of local facilities such as these changed with them. Onnink’s film preserves a moment from that transition.
See also
Sources
- Old Aalten, VIVO / Super Onnink profile and Aalten address book, 1967
- Old Aalten historical data, H.A. Onnink – VIVO / Super Onnink relation
- Barlose Berichten, retrospective on local facilities and community life in Barlo
- Film Onnink in Barlo, opening of the new shop, 1969