Dutch and German Immigrants The Prins Family - Pier 21

A while after that, the Dutch government put a program in place to reschoolprospective emigrants. Farmers were always wanted and this iswhat we were taught to become. By that time I had decided that Iwanted to go to Canada, a bit closer to Europe and a more industrializedcountry. Peter Knorren went through the same experience as I, learninghow to become a farmer, except when he arrived in Canada, he never leftthe city of Edmonton anymore!Goodbye MEKOG and here I come Texel. In March 1954, I arrived on theisland accessible only by ferry. We stayed in a bunkhouse close to ayouth summer camp in the vicinity of The Cocksdorp and almost rightunder the northern lighthouse. We were with some thirty to thirty-fivebike ride; then ten hours of work and a half-hour ride back. It took me awhile to get used to the work and the long hours and then in the eveningwe still had courses to follow in agriculture and English.Every fourth week we had along weekend and could leave Friday evening,but had to be back with the first ferry or train from home on Mondaymorning.The farmer I worked for invited me to eat my lunch with the family in thekitchen, gave me coffee with my sandwiches; not everyone was so lucky.I got along fine with the two hired men, Clemens and his son Joe.Making long days in the field, they had a lot of stories to tell about theisland. Most memorable were the ones about the end of the war uprisingdidn’t succeed and the Russians suffered a lot of casualties. The farmwas situated behind the small local airport; this airport used only by themilitary. The airplanes used it to pick-up and drop decoys there used forfiring practices. The returning of dropped decoys in our field gave themen free plane rides, so they told me.In July, I was off work for two weeks because of an infection under mythumbnail caused by a non-removed sliver. I went to see the doctor inThe Cocksdorp to get it removed, which he did without freezing. Ipromptly fainted; the only thing he said "Nobody will every know whathappened here". Small comfort!Dini arrived at the came when I was laid-up and how lucky she was tomeet me there right off the boat. We spent a lot of time together andlater, during my long weekends, I went to Amersfoort to visit her andmeet the Hasken family. The first time I went there, I wanted to make agood impression so I bought flowers for her mother. I liked her motherright away, but the other members of the family took some getting usedto. I had a 'discussion' with her dad about Texel and he proceeded bytelling me how much better he knew Texel than I did while I didn’t thinkhe had ever been there. Herman, her oldest brother came in, saw the