Page 71 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

extra cold winters, an ice-skating race called the Elfstedentocht (ehlf-
STEHD-uhn-tahkt) would be held on the waterways of Friesland. This 124-
mile course connects 11 cities of the province. The latter part of the
race passes through Oude Leije, then Finkum, on its way to the finish line
in Leeuwarden. Huge crowds of people from throughout the country
gather to watch this major event.

In the towns and villages, booths were set up on the ice where hot
chocolate and cookies could be bought for a few cents. There were ice
sweepers to keep the ice on the canals smooth and clean. These men
with brooms expected to receive tips of a half cent or more from each
skater. Any skater too cheap to tip was rewarded with a broom thrown
into his path, often tripping the skater. Many people skated to church on
Sundays.

Willem and his siblings enjoyed watching the children skate from their
living room window. They were disappointed because they were not
permitted to ice skate. It had been determined that this was for
commoners and was beneath persons of their social standing. However,
they were able to sneak a few glorious moments on the ice on their way
to school. This was accomplished by removing their shoes. They had
heavy home-knit socks over their regular stockings. When they
scampered onto the canal, a nice crust of ice soon formed on their
socks. This allowed them to make fun sport over the ice. Their
understanding nurse watched, but kept their secret.

In the Netherlands, children are required to start school by the age of
five. There was a public school in the village only half a block away from
home. The school teacher lived next door. Willem could vividly recall his
first day at school: "My mother stood on the walk in front of the house. I
walked backwards all the way to school. It was a most terrifying
experience."

The first day at school is usually difficult for children, and there were
factors that probably made it worse for Willem. The public school had
children from the village and the surrounding farms that were of various
social classes, including many that he was not permitted to associate
with. Although the school would be taught in Dutch, many children
spoke Frisian, a similar, yet different language. It would be like an upper
class child in New York going to a school that included ghetto children
speaking in a dialect. Such children would probably be stronger and
rougher from the manual chores they had to do.

Willem suffered his first significant physical injury at this public school.
The pupils were looking at pictures on the teacher's desk. After his turn,
he stepped backwards and tripped over the edge of a recitation seat.

- Childhood - page 4 -