Father grew up in Katwijk aan Zee, and as an architect he found work at an office of the NAM in Oldenzaal. There he met my mother, Leny Endeman, in the swimming pool. They married there in 1949. Shortly afterwards they moved to Katwijk, where father got a position at the municipality. Mother was a gymnastics teacher.
Father already had a camera during the war years, and later he was active in the photography club. My parents made their own New Year's cards, that's what the photo is of. Everything was printed at home in the darkened back room. At that time, Katwijk was a popular family seaside resort and many bathers were accommodated by private individuals. For example, my parents already had an Airbnb at the time: in the summer, three quarters of our house was rented out to bathers. My brother and I would sleep above the coal shed in the shed in the backyard. When father became commander of the volunteer fire brigade, these side activities were put on the back burner.
After his appointment to the professional fire brigade, they moved from Katwijk to Rotterdam. Mother volunteered there for years for the telephone helpline SOS and the rheumatism center. After I left for the United States, where I still live, they visited here regularly. They took long road trips in western Canada and the US.
Ten years after father's death, mother returned to her hometown, where my brother and his family lived. She died at the age of 90. She had bravely undergone all those changes, with their socio-cultural differences, where she always easily fit in and made friends.
#39My #parents #Year39s #card39