Of Sweat and Soil
Part 2
By John W. Vander Velden
It
was not family problems that drove my parents to cross the sea. Both had very good relations with their
individual large families. Mom had eight
brothers and sisters, and dad had six.
Maybe it was because they loved and admired their parents that they were
impatient to prove themselves. Their
whole lives had been denied. Born in
1925 the depression hit Holland as hard as anywhere. Simply put there was nothing. But just when things might have begun to
improve, World War II sent the low countries and much of the rest of Europe
into a turmoil that none could have expected, and fortunately a turmoil that
we, the next generation, have been spared.
The Netherlands became an occupied country. And when you hear your parents speak of
hardships in the United States during that time…well yes, it was tough, but
nothing in comparison to what those that lived beneath the gun had faced.
So
dad found himself in the “doughnut hole” when he was ready to begin his
life. Opportunities were promised in the
future. Opportunities existed for those
that had started before the war, but in the late forties there were nothing but
promises. Dad was not a patient man, and
promises were, in his mind for those that would wait. He had little faith in promises.
My
parents went to meeting about foreign possibilities. They considered Brazil and Peru, but the best
future seemed to be found in the land of “Possibilities” the United
States. So with plans made and years of
procedures to follow dad’s sister and her family went to LaPorte County,
Indiana. And with Frank Scholl, the
brother of Dr. Scholl of foot fame, as their sponsor, my newlywed parents
followed a few months later. So in
October of 1948 Jacob and Nel Vander Velden began the difficult task of
fulfilling their dream.
(311 Words)
