Page 69 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

Five of the children became sick at the same time, with the measles,
followed by scarlet fever. Perhaps this is what caused Engelina to die so
young.

When Willem was a small boy, his father brought home a beautiful black
and white spaniel dog for a pet. It was only a small pup, but Willem was
afraid of it and climbed onto the dining room table for safety! It worked
out for the best though, and the spaniel became his close companion
and protector. When Willem changed to a school in a neighboring
village, the spaniel would follow as far as the bridge on the east side of
Oude Leije. There he would watch as the children continued to school.
However, Wednesday and Saturday were only half-day sessions, and the
spaniel would follow all the way to school and wait for them there. As
Willem said later, "He was a great watchdog six days a week, but on
Sunday he was on his best behavior. No one dared spank us in the
presence of the dog!"

Another family pet was a large goat. Willem was quite impressed with
his goat and wagon, but it did not work out so well for his father. One
day Willem was riding in the wagon, proudly holding the lines. His father
walked just ahead, dressed in ministerial dignity, including a silk hat on
his head. Suddenly and without warning, the goat lowered his head and
butted the dignified father into a ditch along side the road! Willem's
father was not injured, only his dignity. His father never did make
friends with the goat and eventually they disposed of it.

The canal that flowed beside the village was a prominent feature. It was
used to ship crops, dairy products, and to receive supplies. The steep
uneven banks on each side of the canal were covered with grass and an
occasional shrub. One day, while Willem and his father were out for a
ride, they received word that one of his sisters had fallen into the canal.

In Willem's words, "She and an older sister were going to visit a family in
a nearby village. The mishap and near tragedy was occasioned by her
placing a nut on a board that lay across a ditch that drained into the
canal. When she stomped on the nut to crack it, she slipped and fell into
the water. Her voluminous skirts kept her afloat to the opposite shore
where her dress caught on a bush branch. The older sister ran to a
nearby house and got help. A man there went with her, and took the
plank and used it to cross the canal and effect a rescue."

In the winter, the canals could freeze, and the canal boats could no
longer travel. As compensation, people would pursue the national
pastime of ice-skating. The Dutch did not invent ice-skating but were the
first to use iron blades (ca 1250 AD) and later steel blades (ca 1400 AD).
Skating was so popular, that when the ice became hard, schools in
Friesland sometimes closed to give the children a skating holiday. In

- Childhood - page 3 -