Dutch and German Immigrants The Prins Family - Pier 21

(Prins) house to ask if I could come over to see my mother. It was alwaysallowed, however without enthusiasm. When the war started, our townpretty soon became a restricted area because it was situated on thecoast. Only people who lived there and had a valid reason were allowedto be there. My mother’s visits stopped then. When I think abouteverything now, I am sorry athat I didn’t visit my grandpareants Sohlmore often, I practically went by their house every day when I went toelementary school; this must have hurt them. The first time I met myfirst mother again was after the war in 1947.Before the Germans occupied IJmuiden the Dutch army was stationed inour town. Aunt Nel Prins met her future husband at that time as he wasin the army, stationed in IJmuiden; after the war was over they did getmarried.I want to add a bit more about my grandfather and mother Prins. OpaPrins was born in Egmond and left school after finishing grade six.Egmond is a coastal town and fishing was the main source of income. Asa boy of twelve years old, he got a job on a fishing boat and became asuccessful Master of a trawler before he was twenty-three. There was noharbour in Egmond, the trawlers used the harbour in IJmuiden andpeople from Egmond walked the distance between the two towns alongthe beach and this would take them 3 – 4 hours carrying their pack andsome fish. Later he became a partner in the deep-sea fishing companyHolland - Praxis. When he marrie dGrietje Zwart they settled inIJmuiden where my father was born on March 31, 1900. 11 morechildren were born to them (two died in infancy) and Oma was alwaysbusy to keep the household going. I can still remember how she slicedbread for the whole family, holding the loaf vertically against her chestand the knife horizontally, producing neat slices.Monday was washing day and a big wash it was for a family of more thanten people! No automatic washing machine or dryer yet. When theweather co-operated the clothes were hung to dry on clothes-lines strungup in the narrow lane (poort) beside the house and coming home withyour bike you had to find your way to the court-yard through the dryingwash. In the winter, the wash had to be dried indoors and the 'office'was used for that purpose; coal stove burning and the window open. Atother times I often played in this room and I especially remember ajigsaw-puzzle that I must have made a hundred times. Four separateunits made up the complete puzzle which had as subject the firstairplane flight delivering mail from Amsterdam to Batavia (now Djakarta,Indonesia). This room was also used by me to set up and play with myelectric Trix train which my dad brought along on one of his trips toGermany.