"Why don’t you record some of your memories of the past before you know, it is all forgotten"?
Herre de Boer, winter 1993/-94
The lady the man and the coffee tin
The monkey the sled with the preacher
The pickerel and the pike
The dirty boy with his hands in his pants.
While the full moon was shining
Using a ladder I climbed through a window
You don’t have the nerve
You don’t have the nerve
Here is a fish and there is a bird
Here goes the girl; you flirt.
A lot of memories came back in my mind when the question was asked: What do you still remember from the past?” and I tried to answer that question. Just like the verse above, very chaotic. In order to make some sense out of it, well I will start with the youth days of my parents.
That interesting song above was one of the many songs my mother knew, she often and with pleasure sang them for us. Also my memories came from that source, therefore I will try to start each chapter with a song like that.
The history of our great grand parents has been documented from before the year, 1700, which was found in archives by both my brother Sjirk and nephew Johan (son of my oldest brother Ate). Pretty well immediately the surnames: de Boer and Atsma were found and also Christian names like Sjirk, Johan have been used in the family for centuries.
Most of our great grand elders lived in a small geographic area: in the province of Friesland (The Netherlands). Workum, was in those days considered a far distance away. Most of the occupations of our family were in the following categories, Farmer, farmer’s laborer, sales man, domestic helper, and merchant or bar man. It was noted alongside one of the person’s that he was of a Christian Reformed religion. All the others were Reformed.
trouwfoto
“ When my father was still a bachelor and mother a young maiden”
My Father.
My father, Johan de Boer, was born and raised in Nijland, a small village North of Sneek in Friesland. His parents were Ate Feikes de Boer (July 27, 1850 – Febr. 3, 1929) and Hinke Cnossen (July 24, 1850 – Febr. 17, 1929).
Grandpa and grandma were married on the 11th of May 1872. They were blessed with nine children, named as follows:
Feike,
Dieuwke, (she lived two years),
Tjiske (she lived one year and died five days before Dieuwke),
Dieuwke,
Tjiskje (she lived one year),
Sjirk,
Tjiskje,
Johan (April 12 1888 – April 18, 1974) and
Klaas.
My grandparents lived on a farm on the road between Nyland and Folsgare in Friesland. Beppe stayed home a lot and was not always too vocal. You could at times find her in a jovial mood, but mostly she maintained a low profile. Her greatest hobby was her flower garden. Grandpa was very active in politics and church matters. Once he was for a little while the deputy-major of the county where they lived, as mentioned he was active in the church, especially in the Reformed church in Nijland. There was a lot of animosity within the churches in those days and grandpa was one of the fore fathers for the church on the right.
Mr. S. ten Hoeve, director of the marine museum in Sneek, found some very interesting articles written by my grandfather. He was very impressed and said; “Even though this person had only basic elementary education, he was very smart in his field”.
According to my father, my grandfather was always eyeing problems of a larger nature, rather than those in the immediate area. Grandpa was therefore under the impression that no poor people lived in his village of Nijland, not realizing that some people living on the same road as his sometimes barely got by during the winter months. Grandma when the opportunity arose would at times bring food to these people, but grandpa was not aware of this or so he let on.
Little Johan was raised in a very quiet area in Friesland, during weekdays there was school and that was usually the only excitement. It was in principle quite a big deal a child in those days when at school they received a new slate, (this is a small wooden box with a lid where the writing materials were stored, including a sponge etc.)
When a car came through the village, everyone came running to view this wonder. When an older person bought a bicycle, the salesman usually provided lessons for the buyer to learn to bike, which was always very entertaining for the children.
In their home many games were played, such as domino, or other board games, but listening to my father's stories I never got the impression that a lot of fun was had at home. My father was never to eager to talk about his parental home, compared to my mother who was always willing to share her stories. One thing was very disappointing for my father, he was not interested in becoming a farmer but took a big interest in becomig a teacher. When he mentioned this to his father, the answer he got was: “ Well, your brother Sjirk has tried it and he could not make it work”.
It was after that that my father chose to become a painter and he was allowed to attend the trade school in Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland. It was normal in those days that you learned a trade working for an employer.
The years my father spent in Leeuwarden were for him the good times of his life. Life compared to life in the village where he lived was full of excitement. Some of his teachers actually taught a bit more than the required subjects for the trade. From one of them my father learned how to make a painting, and when the chance arose my father visited a theatre at the local fair. It was a place not to be associated with in his home village. As a child my father really thought that the devil lived in a “merry go round”. People who lived there would get very angry when an advertisement was written in the blue sky by an airplane, they would call that an insult to god. My father was really good in making fun in song about famous people. An older ex-major employed a young maid in his household; he was blamed for impregnating her. A song about this went as follows:
On this earth he has lived a good eighty years and can sing,
His mind is still young; he has shown this with another off spring.
You did not want to show up in Nijland with ideas like that. I was never able to figure out how my father thought about the discipline expected from his father. At times he would unexpected vehement express himself about a text like: For those who expect the blessings from above, think that there is no water in the sea and that mountains are as flat as the prairies, he would then say out loud “A lot of bull shit that is”. But he always remained a son of Ate Feikes, and that had a big influence on him.
My Mother
Trijntje Atsma, born November 13, 1890 in Uitwellingerga, died March 24, 1973 in Sneek. Her parents were: Willem Frankes Atsma (july 23, 1861 dec. 22, 1933) en Lolkje Herres Zijlstra (Sept.1, 1868 – may 8, 1939).
Grandma and grandpa were married May 17, 1890 and were blessed with eleven children.
click on the picture
Willem Frankes en Lolkje Zijlstra to the left
Trijntje
Neeltje
Franke
Herre
Ekke
Lammert
Ate
Jan
Wietske
Beeuwkje
Geert.
Now January 1994, only Geert is still alive.
The Atsma family lived in Uitwellingerga, a small village south of Sneek and later in Atzebuorren, just West of Sneek. After my mothers wedding the family lived in Heidenskip and Nijland for a while.
Uitwellingerga at the time was located just about at the end of the world. It was not far from the city of Sneek, but the road between the two places was in bad shape. To the West, East, and South of "Top en Twel" were pastures, grass fields and lots of large ponds with ditches, canals and many lakes. Those who wished to travel from Sneek to the Joure, (a small town) in the area was had to take a big detour via Spannenburg to get there. The geographic location of Uitwellingerga made it an refuge for freebooters who lived in that area.
The provincial police from Sneek were called in many times to keep the peace, but the disturbers found protection in the natural marshes which provided excellent hiding places where they were impossible to find. My mother told us with a little shame but lots of pride, that several of her uncles were more than once associated with the rebels. They were family members of the Zijlstra family
Being the oldest in the family, my mother was taken out of school when she was around ten years old. There was so much work to do at home, all the help available was needed.
Mother thought this was awful; she liked school a lot and was a very good student. Even the teacher came to visit the family but he could not persuade her parents to change their mind.
Especially in the spring and summer months there was always a lot of work on the farm. Mother did most of the work in the kitchen, as well as looking after her younger siblings and assisting with the laundry. Most of the men were busy working the fields and mother was busy bringing food and drinks to them.
When in the fall the cattle where housed in the barn, times where not that hectic. Needless to say there was always lots of work to be done around the farm at anytime, but once twilight started and it became dark, one’s mind could think of other things. We sometimes had guests from the family stay with us or we were allowed to visit family ourselves.
There was always a lot of fun at the Atsma’s when visitors came to stay with them for a while. You had to braze yourself for a lot of teasing. The visitors should not be surprised that it was impossible to crawl under the blankets at night. Beds sheets were made so that you could only crawl a little ways under the wool blankets. It was on such occasions that you did not let on anything was wrong even though you might have been upset sleeping in a ice cold bedroom. (Houses where not centrally heated in those days). The first obvious question in the morning would be something like “did you sleep well last night?”
Around the time of St. Nicolas, early December mother visited an uncle and aunt where they also celebrated this festivity. The presents consisted usually of a baked doll made from pastry or something similar, but first you had to go to the barn where it was almost dark. Above in the hayloft you heard strange noises and there was chain’s banging back and forward. Mother was usually not scared, as she always liked a bit of excitement. This was a good thing, when stories were told, which happened quite often, you heard about the hair-raising situations you would never have dreamed of. Mother told us that after listening to these gruesome stories, the kids did not have the nerve to go to the outhouse. There was no inside toilet facility, the outhouse was, like the word says, located in the dark yard with no light, you were afraid of what might happen.
One of those stories was about several tough guys, who had just consumed several glasses of gin in the bar when they invented a new game: “ the Lord's Supper “. When they left the bar, late in the evening, some said that some strange crying noises were heard in the far distance close to the lake. None of the men ever returned home again.
Another story was about a farmer returning from a cattle sale in Leeuwarden pretty well loaded. Normally the farmer had to get off the carriage pulled by a horse to open several gates as he made progress going home, “ but this time he could stay in his seat; all of the gates opened automatically by themselves”. Arriving at the farm, the horse stopped and waited. The farmer had died and that was where they found him.
A lot of stories were told about family members, for example about Atze Geert Atsma, a rough merchant mariner, he was also a long track speed skater and nobody was ever able to beat him or so the story goes, Atze always wore a coat so dirty, when he took it off it would stand up straight on its own. Usually the first races were the easy ones so he did not remove his coat for them but as the competion became stronger he removed his coat and placed it somewhere on the racecourse. Everybody seeing the coat would skate around it with great respect. His secret: “I consume a very large piece of horse meat everyday”. As the story goes on it is led to believe that he drowned in his yacht in the Zuidersea.
Willem Geerts Atsma (1791-1874) was another of our great grand parents. When he was a young lad, he was drafted by Napoleons army and expected to walk during the war to Russia. Somewhere in Poland, Willem and a friend deserted this army but they found themselves on the wrong side of the front. Because of this, a quick return was impossible. It was many years later that they were finally able to come back to their village of Uitwellingerga. Willem found his love, got married and lived a peaceful life. He never, so the story goes, shared his experiences of army ventures in far away lands with anyone.
An uncle of my mother, was an enthusiastic hunter, and loved to hunt for geese during the winter months, for that he used a gun mounted on a small boat. To aim the gun he would have to manoeuver the boat in the direction of his target. Once he got injured during a trip and could not get home. Many days later he was found frozen stiff but still alive in some ponds between two of the surrounding villages.
Mother also had a very famous uncle, his name was: Wijbe Zijlstra. Once I brought home a book from the library about the history of long track speed skating, mother looked a bit through the book and said: “Here 's Wijbe in his underwear”. This man took part in many international competitions; this picture was taken at such an event. Mother had seen him in training, and told me that a lot of training took place on some of the smaller water filled ditches, so he could get stronger leaning forward. During times when ice was not available he would train by doing some of the heavy work required on a farm. The sister of uncle Wijbe, my grandmother Lolkje was also a very good ice skater, she floated over the ice , that’s how beautifully she skated, my mother said. Once when grandma Lolkje was too old to skate, she had one wish to visit family in a small village called Terhorne, on the other side of the Sneekermeer during the winter when there was ice. A trip like that would normally take a good part of a day but a fast skater could do this in less than an hour. They placed grandma Lolkje on a chair, which was mounted on a large sled with a small charcoal lit fire on the sled to keep her feet warm. Note: (ladies in those days, wore long skirts). While two of her sons pushed the sled over the lake, one of them “smelled something burning” What could be wrong? Well you guessed it, grandma’s skirt had started to smolder creating the smell. There was no open water in the immediate area; the lake was frozen solid, how do you now extinguish a fire? Yes," Piss it out”
One of mother’s brothers, Herre Atsma compared himself to uncle Wijbe. During one winter he registered for a short distance (500 m) speed skating competition, having so much self-confidence of winning the first price he took a taxi to the event in Bozum. Herre was eliminated during the first round. He was teased about this incident for the rest of his life, like they would say, “Have you ever been in Bozum? It is supposed to be so beautiful there, did you order a taxi, Ekke?” and the story went on and on.
The nicest present ever to receive would be a cold winter with lots of ice. Most of the time it was difficult to travel from Uitwellingerga but with ice you could travel anywhere and that’s what they did. “ When the hormones of the young start to move, the older ones are not to be held back either” how true this is. A cold winter also had other advantages, kissing amongst distance family was not unknown in some villages. Lovers from other city’s or villages were not always welcome, and many times one could receive a good beating if he did not leave quick enough. On the ice one could skate to someone of her/his liking and many relationships were established. There were some good things about ice huts build on the ice.
My mother never told us very much about her life when she was a young women. I think that it must have been very difficult.
A big trip would be attending the catechism classes which were held once weekly during the winter months. How she ever went from Atzebuorren to Oosthem (two small villages) in the dark I will never know. She enjoyed the fact that during these get together she was able to use her brain again, at which she was very good. Although most of it was to study; answers and questions of the “Heidelberg Catechism”, had to be memorized. It was also a golden opportunity to meet other girls her age from the area, and then you were able to hear and catch up with the latest gossip.
When I think about all of this and with how much feeling she sang, it gives me the impression how much my mother enjoyed her life in the Atsma family, especially when she would sing the song:
“When I remember the days of my youth,
and think about the fun we had playing,
World what are your riches?
What is gold with its glister?
When in springtime the flowers grow all over the meadow,
O, how happy the children were,
O, Old Church tower, I always remember you".
End part 1.
