My grandmother, Johanna Pleiter, was born in Wapenueld, Gelderland, The Netherlands, on February 22, 1900. She was the oldest of several children, who were born to a farming couple in a rural area. Being the oldest, she was aware that that meant the responsibility of rearing all of her younger siblings. She learned to sew and cook wonderful things, as she was given special training at a large "manor" house nearby. However, this was not the way she wanted to spend the rest of her life, and especially since World War I had put Western Europe in great turmoil. A large encampment of German soldiers spent a large part of World War I just down the road from her parents' home. Hence, she was anxious to come to America as soon as the war was over.
She obtained financial help to come to American from her uncle in Nederland, so she boarded a ship in 1920 and came alone to Nederland. She met my grandfather soon afterward, and they were married. My uncle, Johannes Geisbertus Van Oostrom, was born on November 27, 1921, and my father, Albert William Van Oostrom was born February 10, 1925. They were born in houses my grandfather built on what is now Twin City Highway, near the railroad tracks, between Highway 365 and Nederland Avenue.
Aangemaakt op 2-1-2024 14:58:03