Page 72 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

This sent him falling into the heating stove where he broke a bone near
his right eye. He had a scar there for the remainder of his life.

He recalled a humorous incident at this school that sent him running
home in a flash:
"A chimney fire was the cause of considerable commotion. School was
dismissed and some kid told me that there was a bear in school. The
imaginary bear never reached me as I was home by several jumps ahead
of the bear. I knew that I was safe in my mother's arms."
It made no difference that there were no bears living wild in the
Netherlands!

About 2 1/2 years later, the children transferred to a Christian day
school in a nearby village, probably Finkum or Hijum. Old records
suggest that Finkum and Oude Leije jointly operated a school. This was 1
to 1 1/2 miles away. They were accompanied by their nurse maid for
safety. About 1/2 block from home was a bridge to cross the canal.
They passed fields and grazing cows, and followed the canal partway on
a narrow path. About midway, there was a medium sized windmill with a
40-foot span that pumped water into the canal.

At this school they learned to make toast by placing bread on top of a
hot stove. One of the children was a dwarf not more than 36 inches tall.
He had blond curly hair. The larger boys constantly teased him. Willem's
sense of justice was delighted at times when the canal ice was thin. The
dwarf could escape the larger boys by skating freely on thin ice that the
others dared not step upon.

When Willem was about eight years old, he was sent to evening school
twice a week to learn French and later German. Middle and upper class
Dutch were expected to learn a second language and sometimes a third.
At that time, French was the most common, with German and English tied
for second and third. Today English is the leading second language, and
is often better spoken than by many Englishmen or Americans.

Unlike modern schools, children attended school six days a week, with
half-day sessions on Wednesday and Saturday. Holidays were few and
far between, and their vacations were a brief two weeks. Christmas and
Easter were the main Christian holidays, and those days were strictly
religious observances. Church services were held on two successive
days. On December 6 was St. Nicholas day. St. Nicholas was portrayed
as a bishop on a white horse who would ride across the country throwing
gifts down the chimneys. This day was observed like Christmas in
America, with the exchange of presents and was principally for children.
The ride of St. Nicholas is still reenacted each year. The Dutch claim
credit for bringing the concept behind Santa Claus to America.

- Childhood - page 5 -