Clinton News-Record, 1980-04-24, Page 3Pe° rofile
an.a
By Shelley McPhee ,
The day was sunny and warzn,
Spring was out in .bloom. and some of
the grain Was already Coming up
through the soil.
These were,.signs of hope for Uilke
and Anna!' Dykstra and their nine
Children. They ;came in on.the noon
-
train to the Clinton station, to a new
country full of opportunities and a
new future waiting to be built.
The Dykstras like hundreds of their:
fellow Country, risen 'were part of the
mass immigration into this area from
, Holland. They carne in the late 1940's,
and early 1950's with a. brief,, beautiful
image of Canada. They sold their
hones, left their friends, relatives
andfamiliar ties in Holland and
bravely set forth into the unknown.
The cross continent move was no. t
easy. The families came with no
. money, only,, _ personal belongings
'
Mere--a11QW ed- 3 -t :_ _ .. ^ .
came despite the language barriers
and the cultural differences.
For the Dykstras, it was a move the
family never regretted and on April 14
last week they recalled the trip, made
25 years ago and the happy life they
have since made for themselves.
The Dykstras' family home in
Holland, depicted in an oil painting
which hangs on a wall in Uilke and
Anna's home, was beautiful. Located
in Anjum in the northern part of
Holland, the white. house was
surrounded by water and current
bushes grew nearby. Two large barns
were attached to the house where
stuck in
t.the middle
If only I were married, then I'd
have something to write about.
That__ may ..seem, likea., _strange.
reason to want to be in the state of
matrimonial bliss, but being an
unwed columnist has its
limitations.
No, this in not an advertisment
for a husband, I truly enjoy being
single, but it seems that married
columnists have an advantage over
their unwed fellow writers.
Once the nuptial tiesare made,
`the newspaper or m-agazine
columnist has an endless supply of
topics to write about. The kids, the
spouse and the house all become
Often used subjects for nearly
every columnist, from nationally
known Bill : Smiley to' lowly Jim
Fitzgerald.
It hardly seems fair to me. As a
unwed columnist, I face the
disadvantage of-•miss'ing out on
many things to write about.
I don't have a husband to pick on
or praise. Unlike writers with
children, I'm not able to tell
readers about the arrival of a new
baby in the house or the weekly
progress of the kids from day one
up until adulthood. They can offer
an endless supply of topics that
writers like Erma Bombeck and
Peg Bracken thrive on. Readers
hear about how rotten the kids are
at home, how smart they are in
school, the variety of childhood
diseases that they go through and
all the humorous little anecdotes
farml
■ s
Uilke and his sonsran a dairy
operation of registered, l°Iolstein
cattle. .
Selling those cattle,; whose names
had gone down through generations
,of the family, was the hardest part for
Uilke„ Mike, the oldest son,
remembers that his father had second
thoughtsabout- moving to, Canada at
that time,
It took two years for the family to
make the decision to 'move„ and
although it wasprobably the hardest,
choice they ever had to make, they
pressed on.
. Like other Dutch ' families, the
Dykstras moved because of economic
reasons. After World War Int im-
migration was stressed` in Holland,
Films were shown to the people of
places like Canada, South Africa and
Australia and of the,,Qpportunities
these countries had to ive.
To ensure a 'good future for their
families, people left Holland..
Uilke explained that with six sons
all wanting to farm, there wasn't
enough to offer in . Holland, so they
left, and on April 12, 1955 they boarded
the plane for their new home. Their
first real sighting of Canada was
frightening. The family stopped over
in Gander, Newfoundland . on a cold,
snoWy night. Later they landed in
Montreal, caught ,a train and arrived
in Clinton on April 14 and ,were
greeted by better weather conditions.
Mike remembers walking through
Clinton with his brothers and sisters
l
that parents must. face as their
offspring grow up.
Many, married -columnists are
also homeowners and 1 that can
offer a whole series of topics,
Redecorating, gardening and
trying to keep . up with the mor-
tgage payments are subjects that a
majority of readers can relate to.
But I'm, an apartment renter, my
decorating projects are almost
non-existant and any columns
telling you about the problems at
my abode and complaints about the
rent I pay could leave me with an
irrate landlord and an eviction
notice.
Columns on my personal life are
limited to stories _about myself. It
would seem a little un-
complimentary to tell you about
my mediocre love life and my not
so glamorous existence in the
singles world.
When ideas for columns run out,
I must think twice as hard as
married jounalists in the business.
I'm not able to dig out a story from
fa -m ily life to expound on.
Although some columnists
successfully tell readers about
married life and their families
week after week, it seems that they
have an unfair advantage. Perhaps
columns about such topics should
be banned from publication. Either
that or give me a part-time family,
just to write about when I've
completely run out of ideas too.
1
it only comes once
a year...a gift from
Anstett Jewellers tells
-Morn "I love you'
all year round
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members
and looking in amazement at the wide
streets.
After being fed a howl of soup at the
Christian Reformed Church, the
family of 11 went to their new home
and work. Mike worked on a farm
north on Clinton owned by Murray
Roy and two of the boys worked at
McKinley's chicken farm in Zurich,
"We worked: hard," ,(1,nna,
remembered, "and, we built Our life
on the children,"
Mike rernernbered, "We were
determined to work fora farmer and
not in a factory." ,
However a. compromise had to be
made. In 'order to make money, the
boys had• to work at the hoisery fac-
tory in Clinton where some other 20
Dutch people also worked.
Within a year, the. Dykstras had
enough money to make a down.
a rnent on a far and bought their
own home and land in Goderich
Township, just west of Clinton. Uilke
and Anna have since retired from the
farm, but one of their younger sons,
Bert, operates it now.
In explaining why they chose : the
Goderich Township farm Anna said,
"We wanted to stay close to Clinton.
That's where we landed and it was a
bit of our home."
Uilke started with two dairy cows
and when he retired from farming in
1969, he had a herd of over 100 cattle.
Along with making a new home and
finding work, Uilke and Anna also had
to think about educating their
children and learning a new
language. Uilkeand. Anna took
English lessons at the • Clinton high
;school. Ulike remembered that they
were taught the language by reading
lists of words.
"I got about two words from each
list," he joked.
Breaking the language gap for the
five youngest children was the
easiest. They communicated with
their new Canadian friendsby playing
together and attended school in
Clinton and in Goderich Township:
But the .transition in .lifestyles also
had its hardships. Anna remembers
not being ablle tolook at the painting
of their home in Holland. For nearly a
year, the large painting lay face down
in a drawer.
Mike remembers missing his
friends when he came to Canada and
the distances where so great in this
area' that it wasn't easy to see other
people.
"In Holland you bicycle
everywhere," Mike explained, "but
here we had one carfor 11 people."
Sunday was the big day to socialize.
Then the "Dykstras could visit with
people from their own country at the
Christian Reformed Church.
Sornedays were harder then others
and Anna remembered that she used
to visit her husband's employer's wife
Ru`tliRoy,
"We couldn't talk to one another,
but it was nice to see her," Anna said.
Ruth <-0 was .only one ofthe many
helpful people that the Dvkstras met.
The Dykstras believe that the care
and ;concern they received from their
new neighbors .helped in the family's
adjustment to,a new life.
•It is obvious that the Dykstras are
comfortable and happy in Canada and
as Uilke said, "You should be a good
citizen of Canada."
"But," he added, "don't forget your
own mother's tongue."
Uilke and Anna still speak Dutch
between themselves and their older
children still remennber the language
of their homeland.
"To lose a language is no good,"
Anna said.
Uilke and Anna claim that their
English is still not very good, but they
understand the language with little
difficulty and other than distinctive
accents, they speak English well.
Retaining the language of their
ancestors is what keeps the memories
'of Holland alive for the Dykstras.
Mike explained, "The memories
are good, but we have no regrets
• leaving."
The Dykstras are active Canadian •
citizens and take pride intheir home
and their country. They agree that
Fluron County has good land and good
weather and despite the ad-
venturesome blood that was in Uilke
25 years ago, the Dykstras have made
Canada their home for life.
As Mike explained, "We've got
roots. We don't move easily."
Garbage...
• from page 1
clean up their properties before ther.
to, "Give people a good impression of
our town."
The tender application of C.E.'Reid
and Sons of Hensall has been accepted
to supply 500 cubic metres 01
Granular A gravel at $2.69 a metre
and 1,000 cubic. metres of pit run
gravel at $1.69 a metre.
The accepted tender was the lowest
of four received by council. ThE
others included: Gary Merner Con•
tracting, Granular A, $3.25, pit run
$1.90; Lavis Contracting, Granular A
$2.84, pit run, $1:69; 1-lerb 'Con.
struction, Granular A, $3.00, pit run
$2.10.
CLINTQN NH'W'SaRECORURSDAY, Al RIL 24,1 l'AGE 3
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MAIN CORNER
CLINTON 482-9732
"NEWLYWEDS" 1980
'HONEYMOON TRIP to the BAHAMAS for one week!
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