The Blok family's history

Here is a picture of my father's family. As close as I can figure, this picture was taken in 1923



My grandfather was born in 1890. Not sure where, but most likely in The Hague.
Grandmother was born in 1885, she was five whole years older. He was 18 when they married.

Grandmother (Oma) was the oldest of 24 children. From three different moms.
She was born in Leiden. A small town close to The Hague, and a very historic place.
The story is a little weak, but after someone died, problably mother numer three, most of the kids were put into an orphanage.
Oma was old enough to stay. Most likely to contribute to the family's coffers.

Oma was put to work at age ten. She was a maid of sorts at a 'rich' family's house.
Her boss lady would give her food and clothes to take home on occasion. I guess that was part of her pay.

One day she was walking home and saw a sign in a window: Help wanted. She was offered 25 cents more than she was making at the other place, so she took the job! :>)
She got in trouble for that at home, because she no longer would come home with the extra food and clothes.

I am getting all this information from my artsy fartsy aunt Annie. She is my father's youngest sister, and has always been a gal I could count on when things got rough, especially during my teen years. Annie is 83 now, still doing her artsy fartsy thing, and also doing the "email" thing :>)

Before 1925 Opa worked for the fire department. He drove a horse drawn fire truck, and apparently owned stock in the company. When the fire department planned to merge with the police department, he bought himself out. With the money he bought a small store, from which he sold vegetables and coal. Opa would go out with his horse and carriage, Oma would mind the store. The family lived in the rooms behind the store.

Opa sold mostly veggies, but the need for coal and anthracite was high in those days, so, being the smart dude he was, he sold that too. My aunt helped making bundles of kindling. She would break down small crates, and cut bike tire inserts into rubber bands and tied them together, sold them for 5 cents each.

They had five children: Ria, Karel, Koos number one, (who died very young) Koos number two, my father Antoon, and Annie.

(I will have to go up into the attic to find more cool pictures. Especially the one of Opa on his fire truck.)

Around 1928 the family moved to a very small dead end alley adjacent to the Royal Palace in The Hague. The family lived there all throughout the war and beyond, and my Opa died there in 1968.

When you see this place now you wonder how the heck that family ever existed in that house.
The bottom floor housed the carriage and the horse. Upstairs was a front room, a toilet, a hallway, a door to the stairs to the attic, and a backroom, which was used as the grown up's bedroom, and behind that backroom the tiniest kitchen in the world.

Teeny tiny granite sink, small stove. Not a lot of room for more than two people.
How did they do their laundry? How did they take baths???
The attic was divided into three rooms. The outer rooms (under the roof) were for the girls. The boys slept in the middle. The roof was so bad, that in some winters, they would wake up with snow on their beds. All the boys slept in the same bed as well!

The oldest girl, Ria, never married. She had a congenital heart problem and was always very weak and sickly. However, she was a force to reckon with. She worked at the Red Cross, she accompanied sick people to Lourdes. She was a saint herself. She died when she was only 50 years old.

Ria was an artist too. She could draw gorgeous pictures of flowers, birds and butterflies. She had this huge box of color pencils. In my child's eye it seemed like there were hundreds of different colors in that box. She also collected post cards. After she died all that stuff disappeared. Something that really upset me, as I would have loved to have been able to look at all those pictures. She also had quite a collection of art books, some of which she wouldn't let me look at, probably too racy with nudes (ohmygosh!) and promised I could see them when I grew up.
Unfortunately she was gone by the time I turned 18, and the books also disappeared.

The next sibling was Karel. He was a jolly fellow with a big ole family. A really boisterous bunch. Loud, busy, fun. His wife Nellie was a very quiet and meek woman, he was a concierge/caretaker at a lyceum/college in town. They lived in a wonderful ancient little house connected to the school. His children were wonderful. We always had great fun when we were all visiting Opa's house, playing in the attic, running around downstairs where the horse and cart were. Playing on the small back patio where chickens and rabbits were being raised.

My aunt Karel and aunt Nellie passed away, and I have not had any contact with the cousins since I moved to the USA, except one. Story on that later.


The next son was Koos number two, als know as Jack. He married way out of his culture, to a lady from Wassenaar, once and still a rather posh area of The Hague with beautiful mansions and forests. She was a seamstress at a haute couture store.

An odd pair, but nevertheless a pair made in heaven. The moved to Canada with the promise of the good life in the 1950s. They worked their butts off in the first ten years. Life in Canada was not as rosy as his in-laws promised. It must have been quite the culture shock for both of them, but mostly for my aunt.

They finally settled in Banff, Alberta, where they built their own house. My aunt Mieke worked as the head of the linen room in the local hospital, and my uncle worked for the a large hotel there, and later also for the hospital as a civil engineer. They both passed away a decade ago, Quietly. My aunt had a sister there in Canada, and my parents tried to stay close. We were all together for the last time in 1983 in Washington, when Bugs was born, when my parents came to visit us, and my aunt and uncle drove down from Alberta as well. Their passing almost went unnoticed, due to lack of communication from the in laws. So sad!

Then there is my father....you know his story...:>)

And my artsy fartsy aunt Annie. She married out of her culture too...:>)
She married a soldier who was stationed in Indonesia (which they still call Indië)
They were pen pals for about 3 years. When he came home they were engaged. Married four years later.
They have two children, Marcel and Wilma.
My uncle worked for a bank all his life, worked himself up the ladder and they were the only ones in our family who were able to BUY a house, BUY a car, way back when only the very well to do were able to.

I still communicate with them, and even managed to visit them when I was in Holland in February. It was so good to see them again.

So there you have it, a sketch, if you will, of my father's family.

I am sure the stories will follow, as I delve into thoughts about these folks.
Hey! Perhaps one of my Blok cousins will pop up, like my cousin from OZ did! :>)

One thing I can say. My mother's family was a few notches up the ladder culture wise, from my father's family.

Strange, but true. The remnants of those cultures still surface sometimes.

And now I am going to try and do a few things around the house before Boo-boo wakes up.

OH!

Newsflash!

Yesterday she worked on standing up all by herself, not hanging on to anything. She was sitting on the floor, tried and tried, and then....she stood...She did it about five times.
We all YEAHHH!!!-ed and clapped our hands...

and then.....she took 5 little steps!!!

Wheelie laughed, I cried...

We didn't tell Bugs, as we want her to have that particular experience herself.

Low and behold, she told us this morning that Boo-boo now stands up all by her self!

WOW!

:>)



SGMKJ!