MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS: Angels We Know By Name

Showing posts with label Angels We Know By Name. Show all posts

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Limburg — The Emotional Part

My second brother Piet, came to pick me up for going to the spot where Mom & Dad first met when they both were in servitude.

Also the spot where my eldest brother Martin suggested to disperse Mom & Dad's ashes.

Of course in 2020 when five of my six siblings came together on Holy Saturday, for dispersing the ashes, I was not present.

See post below about that: Dad is One Year in Heaven Now...

My brother Piet and me...

Arriving at this historical spot with huge oak 't Struukske.

Oh how I indulged in all the wild flowers and wild grasses!

Even the long absent Adderwortel, Persicaria bistorta L., that we used to call 'toothbrush or tandenborstel' in Dutch as children.

Common poppy or Papaver rhoeas with bee inside...

Korenbloem or Kornflower in English — Centaurea cyanus that we used to weave into flower wreaths, when children.

Brother Piet's hand and one common poppy is visible here and lots of Margrieten in English Marguerite or Oxe–eye daisies Leucanthemum vulgare.

Brother and sister at this historic spot...

Now approaching the almost sacred area...

In 1915 the cross had been placed out of devotion and in the hope of being spared from natural disasters... see more info in my previous post below.

Close to my left foot, the ashes of Mom & Dad got dispersed of.

Now overgrown by nettles...

An emotional but very special visit!

Brother Piet searched for his long–time friend Ton Hoeijmakers who with his wife Fien have run Landgoed de Gortmeule.

Here I talk with Sandra Cuijpers-Rijs, half of the new manager couple of the campsite.

Ton and Fien continue living on the homestead from 1600 but are only limited involved.

Piet wanted to take me to the Lollebeek, a project where he was involved with, shortly before his retirement...

A beautiful nature area, near the Castenray fens.

The Lollebeek

Me standing near the Lollebeek... captured by Piet Van den Munckhof

Piet later sent me this picture from October 24, 1965 when we together were for the last time at the Lollebeek in 'De Pes'...

Piet on the left, Mom, youngest sister Gerd, Me, youngest brother Jan and younger sister Diny with Dachshund Wally.

Jan still has bad memories of a horse we had to pass on this narrow walking path...

Well, I was 14.5 then...

Next we went together to Restaurant De Turfhoeve, a restaurant that was very close to where Mom was born.

To the left bottom part you see STRUIKEN... that's where she got born.

Fond memories with Mom & Dad, as we often took them there for dinner or for eating a yummy pancake.

Piet and I opted for an apple pancake.

The present owners have only a very limited listing of pancakes, compared to the days when we went with Mom & Dad... Nostalgia!

It was a very special but emotional day.

Took me days upon arriving home for digesting it all.

Never could be in The Netherlands for my Parents' cremation service but this kind of rounded it off for me.

And we did go for seeing Dad one final time; proved to be very well chosen as Dad died only two weeks after our departure back to the USA.

We both said our farewell and did a LOT of talking; felt good.

For Mom it was different, I saw her last about one year before and I knew then, that I never would see her again...

Souls never die and one day we will meet again!

Angels we know by name.

To be continued...

Sunday, January 10, 2021

My Angel Sister who Died TWICE

BLUE BAND MARGARINE

Cute decorative grocers nostalgia

These two boxes date from the first years just after World War II when the margarine was delivered to the grocery store in large blocks in a box. At the customer's request, the desired quantity was cut off and packed in a greaseproof paper or bag.

Parts of the production stamps are still present.

The lidded boards are missing, but the boxes themselves are in good condition.

Dimensions: 34 x 24.5 x 9.5 cm or 13.4 x 9.6 x 3.7 inches

Production stamps still present

On Wednesday January 11, 1950 my Angel Sister Mariet was born...

At least, she struggled hard for making it into this world!

She was the very FIRST GRANDCHILD on Dad's side of the family...

Here in the house (photo courtesy of brother Jan Van den Munckhof) where seven of us are being born, except the youngest who was born in the hospital...

Mom had to manage doing this with the assistance of a midwife, which was normal for that time.

My Angel sister had been too active and twisted around, so she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and arrived looking BLUE

None of them acted rapidly for giving AR (artificial respiration) to the baby, for saving it.

WORSE, it got taken away from Mom, she NEVER got to see her own daughter...

It would be better for forgetting and getting over it FAST, they reasoned.

How CRUEL. The baby clothes also got taken away.

Thirteen months later, I got born and again, I had the umbilical cord around my neck but the midwife came timely.

But now back to those Blue Band boxes...

Dad put the tiny body of my Angel sister inside such a wooden Blue Band box and put her under the fast-binder at the back of his bike.

My Angel sister Mariet was not allowed to be buried on blessed ground of the real Catholic Church's graveyard but instead on a small parcel of ground next to it.

When I was a toddler and a bit older, often Mom would take me there for a visit.

She told me about my older sister that had my name... I could feel her unprocessed grief.

I've for that reason, always felt so very close to her and in a way tried to live for her as well.

Maybe that's why I got two crowns on my head, a funny way for trying to part my hair when making two tails.

Later on that parcel of ground, an iron shop got constructed, also selling household goods.

My Angel sister has been always very close and I often can sense her presence.

She has been watching over me.

When I talked to Mom over the phone after she got hospitalized, it was on my Angel Sister's Birthday, January 11, 2015.

Mom had been weeping all night, so scared and feeling so lonely.

Then around 7:00 AM Dutch time (1:00 AM our time), I called and a gracious nurse lend her the phone for half an hour.

I started by saying to her: Congrats with the Birthday of your first born today!

Oh, she said, is it?... I had not realized that and her voice changed.

I then went on that SOON she would finally be able to hold and hug her and SEE her for the first time.

She did so on January 27, 2015.

It felt so good for sharing these thoughts with her, her innermost thoughts and even for me myself, they'd been pent up feelings for so many years.

When Dad himself, was still active as the family patriarch, Mom's obituary came to be like above:

My Angel sister is listed at the very top, strange though with her baptismal name, one of three and she never got baptized...

Guess they found it odd for listing twice 'Mariet'...

Dad had arranged a solemn requiem Mass at our local Catholic Church, where also the choir sang, in which Mom was a member for over 25 years and lately, together with Dad.

Organ music and all.

Again, this got done by Dad, the patriarch!

The patriarch had died himself so now my sister Diny took the lead, and she omitted our Angel sister!

So that is WHY she Died TWICE!

She did however add her significant other to whom she was not married...

Worse, there was NO requiem Mass, nothing, not even a chance for condoleances.

And that for Dad, who got his Royal Certificate for being a Choir Member for exactly 81 years to the date of his death. He got a Certificate for 70 and 80 years; unique in The Netherlands!

Over the weekend we heard that our honorary member has died

Piet Van den Munckhof

Piet has until this day been a member of the Horster Men's Choir; he joined in July of 1938 and was by far the oldest member of our association.

Although he has not been actively singing in our choir for many years, in May we were able to enjoy his singing qualities when singing the old Horster Anthem. As an accomplished performer, he recited this song at the St. Lambert Church.

"Horst can boast of scholars, shine because of their great talent", he sang then.

Piet was our teacher for many years as a 1st tenor and we are grateful to him for his contribution and commitment.

Board and members

Horster Men's Choir

Horster Mannenkoor

In the guest book of the (Horster Men's Choir)—Horster Mannenkoor—I replied to the above:

Deemed board of directors and members,

From Dublin, Georgia we would like to bring the following to your attention.

We had a certain premonition and therefore we were during Papa's last days in Horst and thus have been able to say goodbye.

We cannot take the thought out of us, how wonderful it would have been if his very beloved Horster Mannenkoor would have graced his Requiem Mass.

We do not doubt that the singers would have liked to have done so.

Unfortunately, my younger brothers and sisters have denied you this opportunity because they decided not to have a Requiem Mass...!

We congratulate the board of directors and members of the Horster Men's Choir for the well-chosen words in the newspaper report of Hallo Horst aan de Maas.

With respect and warm greetings from the U.S.A.,

Mariet(te) Van den Munckhof-Vedder

Pieter Vedder

PS The American law first uses the maiden name, then that of the spouse.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Uncle Jan A Role Model

Picture from 1947 with Dad on the left, Uncle Louis, Aunt Nelly and Uncle Jan helping with harvesting potatoes.

Grandpa Van den Munckhof had purchased the land in1943 in Dad's name and Dad started to work on it after Easter 1945 for making a living.

From Easter 1945, Dad no longer went into servitude, working for a big farmer, as he did since age 15.

He had moved back in with his Parents...

That's also why his siblings, still living with their Parents, got involved helping out.

July 1950 Dad & Mom between the Fava Beans.

Those plants grow 1 meter tall and need to be planted together as they tend to fall.

Loved the velvety inside of those long beans when opening them up for gathering those broad beans.

We ate them a lot!

By the way, Mom was pregnant with me in this photo!

Uncle Jan made lots of photos, and he frequently helped Dad out before he started his own work as a house painter.

It was also Uncle Jan that made all of my baby pictures!

Very grateful to him for having done so!

Being also a first tenor, like Dad, and singing in the same choir, they spent more time together.

My 19 months younger sister Diny has always been very resentful because of my baby pictures...

Because my Angel Sister was 13 months older than I am, she would have been the FIRST grandchild in the Van den Munckhof family.

So Uncle Jan did capture me frequently, also as he came to help Dad out in the field.

Sometimes, goodness is misunderstood...

The kind photographer, Uncle Jan on April 4, 1959 on his wedding day...

In 1984 we got invited for their 25th wedding anniversary in The Netherlands but could not be there.

Traveling from the U.S.A. was not always feasible for such events...

Uncle Jan is the Godfather of my youngest brother Jan, who got born before Uncle Jan's marriage.

Stay tuned...

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Dad is One Year in Heaven Now

On June 30, it will be one year since Dad went to Heaven for joining my Angel Sister and Mom, who died on January 27, 2015.

1982 Photo of huge Oak named in our dialect 't STRUUKSKE
Brother Martin made this photo and together with brother Piet, they created a Calendar for 1983 which got printed with photos and information about the beautiful local nature.

Dad's handwriting where he stated that after Easter 1940, he got to serve at a Homestead from P. Janssen-Tielen in the hamlet of Veld Oostenrijk in Horst, The Netherlands.
He stayed there till Easter 1942.
Easter time was always the time (planting season I guess...) for changing location while in servitude.
There he got to know Mom, who was in servitude at the Geurts Homestead, just a couple of houses apart.
In August of 1941 they met for the very first time...
This big oak was the spot!
There was the beginning of a long and blissful relationship...

My Sister-in-love Wilma Van den Munckhof made this special photo on April 17, when she went biking together with daughter (niece) Caro.
It shows so beautifully the entire area.
The beautiful fencing has been placed by: Pieter Jacob (Sjaak) Van den Munckhof (1896-1995 Horst, Limburg, The Netherlands)
He was a far relative, as there are numerous Van den Munckhof in Horst
~

Photo by Geert Van den Munckhof used by permission from his blogpost: Eiken en eikels...
Hail cross at the Gortmolen
In 1915, Gortmolens Hannes had this cross placed out of devotion and in the hope of being spared from natural disasters.
The terracotta corpus was bought in Italy in 1930.
MONUMENT OF PIETY NO. 9
~
There are several field crosses in my birth town!

1930 Corpus from Italy
The sign below the Corpus reads:
My Jesus Mercy
Photo from blogpost: Klein mysterie 557 – Christus' lendendoek (Small mystery 557 – Christ's loin cloth)
~
My eldest brother Martin, the photographer of the 1st photo, suggested that Mom & Dad's ashes would be dispersed of right here, at this historical spot.
So five of my six siblings met there on Holy Saturday and it was a very warm and meaningful gathering; however complying still to social distancing...
Only my younger sister did not join for whatever reason.
Wish I could have been there!
~
This made for a perfect Easter!

See short video about Estate de Gortmeule: Jac Hanssen - De Gortmeule mien Landgoed

Friday, February 7, 2020

Sister Diny's Rabbit LOVED my Saddlebag from The Bridge Italy

After having been to the Congress in Hong Kong, we continued traveling to Australia for another Congress in Sydney.

Next we flew to Melbourne for a weekend at the Grand Hyatt, using our points.
On Saturday, September 4, 1993 we went to an Italian shop, run by an Italian so I was happy being able to chat with her. In the window we'd already eyed a beautiful tan Saddlebag from The Bridge, Italy.

Now I became its happy owner!

Loved the lock and the stitching around the cording.

So did my sister Diny's pet-rabbit, as it managed to chew a hole in it, while we were visiting her on September 18, 1994... 🐇

Screenshot from video taken at the Gardens of the Alhambra in Spain, with the saddlebag.

We had visited Diny prior to that vacation by bus via France, into Spain and Portugal.

April 20, 1997 at The Spa at Norwich Inn in Connecticut where we stayed at one of their villas during our consulting work.
Wearing my saddlebag (left in picture).