Derk Jan Winkelhorst

Derk Jan Winkelhorst was born on 11 November 1904 in the Haart rural district. In 1933 he started his own bicycle shop and repair workshop on Hogestraat in Aalten. From that modest beginning, his business grew into the later Autobedrijf Winkelhorst.

A business on a historic site

Winkelhorst established his business at Hogestraat 91. The site already had a remarkable history. From 1849 it had been home to the first steam-powered spinning mill in the Achterhoek, founded by Heinrich Driessen. After the factory was destroyed by fire in 1859, the site remained largely in agricultural use for decades.

Bicycles, cars and freight transport

In 1933, Derk Jan Winkelhorst opened his bicycle shop and repair workshop there. He did not limit himself to bicycles: from an early stage he rented out both passenger cars and lorries. He also operated a freight service twice a week from Aalten via Zutphen to Deventer.

Garage proprietor

The business developed into a fully fledged garage and motor business. In the 1940 land register, Winkelhorst is recorded as a garage proprietor in connection with a site of nearly 1.4 hectares containing a house, workshop, garden and arable land. The 1950 and 1967 directories also list D.J. Winkelhorst at Hogestraat 91.

In time the family business continued as D.J. Winkelhorst en Zoon. In 1979 this partnership is recorded in the land register as owner of the house, garage and yard. The business later also traded under the names Autobedrijf Winkelhorst and Garage D.H. Winkelhorst.

Death

Derk Jan Winkelhorst died on 28 October 1978, aged 73. He was buried at Berkenhove Cemetery in Aalten. With his business on Hogestraat, he belonged to the generation of Aalten entrepreneurs who experienced the transition from the bicycle trade to motorised transport in the 1930s and actively helped shape it.