Opportunity 1850
Netherlanders go to America
by
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No one had much to say. The dreaded time had come and everything had been said. Nothing was said about the knitted blankets each brother packed, or the good things made ready for them. The four boys were choked up and quiet. It seemed to Jakob and the girls, the quiet in the Stollzoen house was scary; ominous. After Papa sweetened the porridge with honey, added milk and tasted it, he scooped into the pot with the family ladel, filled the ladel and, one at a time, emptied it into each wooden bowl that Mama put out for this special time. While standing, the men of the family ate the usual oats porridge for breakfast. No one said a word. When Papa finished, Mama took the cereal pot from the table to the milk room. The pot was shaking and Mama was restless, fidgeting and said, "It’s so quiet in the milk room, but, then, it’s quiet in the whole house." Myntje broke the tension and in a strained, forced voice, yelled, "Jakob, why don’t you go, too?" and burst out crying. "Myntje, stop your bawling! do you want your brothers to remember you bawling like a hurting cow? I want to go too, but they think I’m a kid, well -" Jakob was shouting and obviously unable to finish because of his own grief. Collecting himself, he said, "I’m already lonesome," and then he cried so hard, Myntje stared at him and caught her breath, "I’m sorry, Jakob." This caused him to renew his crying jag. He looked at Mama and Andina. They were sad. He ran to the door leaving his unfinished meal, and yelled, "I can’t stand this. I can’t help it. Why do they have to go?" Papa followed Jakob outside. After waiting a while, Mama guessed, "Jakob and Papa must be doing the necessary chores." The rest of the family finished their meal. Mama and the girls helped the brothers finish packing. No one talked; it was a sad, happy day. The sun was shining; a nice day. Everything was ready. The whole family was waiting. Papa had something he wanted to say before they left the homestead, and added, "Always remember what Dominee said, ‘But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you are called when you make your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.’" Papa’s heart was full. He choked up and stopped a couple times as he recited the verses, but finished with a firm order, "Don’t forget, this is your commission." Mama wanted to say something, too, "Sons, we love you too much to let you go -," She had more to say but couldn’t finish. With that the four brothers picked up their sacks, swung them over their shoulders, and the family was out of the door. Suddenly, Klaas shouted, Wait!" The family thought it urgent. He told Jakob before he left for the animal barn, "I have to say good bye to Tibbje-James." "He knows the whole story," Jakob responded, "I told him everything, Klaas." Ignoring everyone, Klaas dropped his sack, and said, "I’ll be right back." The family waited. Klaas returned with tears running down his cheeks. "It’s too sad, Jakob, take good care of Tibbje." "I will." The family was now on their way. There was no conversation Quiet - that silence - just the shuffling of wooden shoes on the icy trail. Mama wanted Reintjes to notice, "The world is warm, happy. God is pleased with what we’re doing." "Mama, you’re so wise. I want to think like you do." "Reintjes, take care of Klaas for me. He’s so young to leave." "We have to learn from Cornelis. He knows what to do. Mama, don’t worry, it’s going to be all right." The family reached the top of a small hill just outside of Oude Pekela. Jakob was standing with Papa, and Papa told the family, "We better let you go. It’s better here than in the village. There isn’t much more to say, just "good bye." The brothers dropped their backpacks, and looked at the family members they were leaving. Mama and the girls were crying too much to say anything.
The brothers shook Mama’s hand and patted Myntje and Andina on their shoulders. Jakob grabbed Klaas and gave him a big hug. "I’ll miss you, Klaas. I’m lonesome already." Papa stood there, looking at each one. The brothers, according to their ages, walked up to Papa. Papa shook each son’s hand, showing love in his eyes, looked long into their faces and touched the shoulder of each one and said, "Good bye, my son. Cornelis; "Good bye, my son Hero; "Good bye, my son Reintjes; "Good bye, my son Klaas." The whole family felt drained, weak. Papa took some time, as all eyes were on him, regaining strength and in calmness, told Mama, "Let’s go home." The four brothers continued down the trail, and stopped a few minutes later, turned around and saw the family standing there. The brothers dropped their packs and waved. They saw every family member on the hill waving to them. Papa and Mama kept waving again and again. "We have to go," Cornelis said, finally. They went a short distance, and Klaas exclaimed as he turned around, "They’re gone." Cornelis reminded him, "That’s what we wanted, isn’t it?" "Yes, I guess so, I don’t know."
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About the Book
An optimistic saga of setbacks, humor, success and their goal - the American dream. Four farm brothers wanted to escape a hopeless future. Papa seriously considered the "What Ifs," then reluctantly said, "There's no future in our homeland." The brothers with backpacks, little money, and high hopes; slept in barns and vacant buildings, until they were hired on a packet ship going to America. They looked after steerage passengers who existed under horrible conditions. Every day, stew was made from 60 killed rats to supply 1/3rd of a meal. In New York, the brothers were convinced they'd become rich in California. Working for the same packet ship, they experienced a near shipwreck and mutiny, before they reached San Francisco. They learned how to mine gold on the streets, and bought a claim. Time passed before they found gold. Soon, they were robbed of their gold. Disappointed, the brothers were ready to forget mining gold and find jobs in Sacramento. Saving, to send money home, they lived frugally. After 13 years, Papa and Mama came to visit. Together again, the whole family knew the right decisions had been made and were happy to make America their home.
About the Author
Fannie (Hanenburg) Smith was born, March 21, 1922, and was raised in a Protestant farm family near Milaca (Pease), Minnesota. She attended a private school. She married Maynard J. Smith from the same area; had two sons: Stefan and Mikell; and has two grand children, Brandon and Alicia. She worked in the Milaca (Pease) area, helping those relatives and family friends in their need because of sickness or emergencies. In the fall of a few of those years, she harvested onions and potatoes. In 1938, she left home for domestic work in Minneapolis. During part of WWII she first worked in a brass factory, and then a defense factory, sewing parachutes. Before 1944, she attended night school, where she acquired the basic skills in typing and Gregg shorthand. Being left-handed and a female, she was refused enrollment in Gregg College of Chicago. She made a search for an alternative method of shorthand, and found machine shorthand, a new innovation. She attended the Stenotype School of Chicago during the day and after school worked in layaway for Carson Pierre Scott Department store. Soon she was hired into the office of the school. During this school time she lived in the YWCA, moving from a shared apartment with three other girls. When she completed tests for 150 words a minute and necessary typing speed, she took full time work as a legal secretary, and finished the court reporters course in night school four evenings a week. She transcribed reporters’ notes in a free lance agency some evenings. Soon she was offered work with that agency. Her career as a court reporter began in the Sales Tax Division of Illinois. Here, she had the opportunity to attend the University of Chicago taking some special courses: English, grammar, spelling, etc. She changed work to a free lance firm, that had court reporting contracts; among them: the City of Chicago, County of Cook and State of Illinois. In September, 1947 she purchased a public stenographic service in the Rand Tower (now Dain Tower) Minneapolis, nearer her roots and close to the courthouse. She had a small staff of stenographers who did office services for the public and for a number of sub-tenants. During the following years, her free lance court reporting business grew, working as a substitute reporter in the court systems on an emergency basis, acquiring a few contracts with government agencies, and covering most of the national and state conventions in the metropolitan areas of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This work was credited with a listing in the "Who's Who" publication for Minnesota's 100th anniversary, 1958. She also became the first woman member of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. In 1967, the attitude about working women and machine shorthand changed enough to afford her an appointment as an official court reporter for the First Judicial District of Minnesota, - including seven, then rural, counties circling the south and west Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. She worked for Judge Robert J. Breunig, who chambered in Hastings, Minnesota. Much of this district became urban, and grew from four judges and their court reporters to 26 at the time she retired in 1985, totaling a career of 40 years plus, of court reporting. During and since her retirement, she's been writing family histories, the Pease, Minnesota, 100 years. She was an active member of the committee for The Mille Lacs County, Minnesota Heritage Book, 150 years, and wrote and published a book, The Record Never Forgets: History of Court Reporting and Shorthand, (400 pages) published October, 1998. Her first historical fiction; is Opportunity, 1850, Netherlanders go to Amerika; her present project: She’s thinking about writing a series on historical fiction, i.e. Opportunity - 18--, 19--. AND is working on How it was: My Grandma; My Uncle Ben, Mama; etc. When she’s ready, she plans to write a book, 40 Years and 40 Days A court reporter.