Barteld Wassing's  biography

Barteld Wassing and Janna (baptized Johanna) Mulder

Dad was born on Dec. 30th. 1899, the second boy in the family. He had an older brother named Derk, a younger brother Stoffer and two sisters, Gezina and Martje. Very little is known of Dad's youth other than that he worked for our grandfather and had very little schooling,  he had to help Grandfather with his work. He learned more by reading a lot and just by observing, was very good with figures. Dad was called up for the army at the end of the first world war and came through that alright. He had learned his trade as gardener well and after he married our Mom, Johanna Mulder, started his own business in Leermens but we called it Schatsborg as we lived close by the farm with that name and a bridge we called by the same name. Leermens was our town and we lived on Godlinzerweg, in the county of t'Zandt. Dad loved to work with his trees and did some of his own grafting.

Married on the 6th of June 1924 in the Netherlands, Dad had a house build for him and his bride in the country, close to a crossing of four towns, (Schatsborg) together they build up a thriving vegetable and fruit business and were considered  middle class income people. This status did not come easy considering the recession and war years. In the early thirty's it was really bad. Dad often went out to work at different places to make a little extra money while Mom minded the home front. Together they had 13 children, Trijn, John, Mans, Arnold, Dirk, Henny, Jean, Pat, Steve, Rick, Marcia, Harko and Johan, the youngest boy, Johan,  only lived a few days. . Dad worked hard at his business and Mom worked right along beside him. When the first children were old enough they started helping Dad, and life for them became a little easier but then the 2nd. war years came and it became really tough on them. There was plenty of food for us except meat, sugar, flour and a lot of other things we now take for granted. Twice we were held at gunpoint by the German soldiers because they were looking for Dad. Things went missing and they would search the houses or look for wanted young men of the neighborhood. Both Mom and Dad loved music. Dad had an organ in the first years of their marriage, he could not read notes but played anything he heard. He even played the organ in church in the town he was born in, but because he could not read notes he could not become the church organist. Mom had a lovely voice and sang in choirs and often sung solo's, she even sung in a play performed right after the war in her home town. Mom taught us many songs and we sang together all the time. We had our own band and choir.Dad learned to read music later in life when he joined a brass band. He played a baritone and was good at it. At one time 7 members of our family were in the band, myself and sister Jean were marching drummers for a short while, four of us sang in a choir. As a family we were highly talented. All the children either sang or played an instrument or both. After 25 years of marriage,  they decided to immigrate to Canada, they knew that the kids would never advance in the Netherlands due to lack of funds and opportunity so they hoped to have a better chance in a new country.  What an accomplishment for them to have their own house, a business and feed and clothes all the children and then pay for all them that immigrated later to Canada. In May, 1951 the 3 oldest couples married on the same day, the oldest son, John and his new wife together with the rest of the family, except for Trijn and Mans, set off for Canada. 

Arnold had already been married a few years to Henny Vanderwal and with then 3 children also left for Canada a few months later. Mom and Dad were to work on a farm for 2 years in Dugald, Manitoba, so they went there, Arnold and his family went to Winnipeg  Manitoba for a year. Their life was not a bad there, as a family they worked for a farmer called "Bruce Edie" and they all loved it there, they stayed for 2 years but Dad wanted his own business again and decided to go to Ontario where the climate was better suited for his kind of work. He bought a farm but things did not work out. He became more and more homesick for the old country and moved back there 1962 and lived there until he died having his own business again, not the same place but in Eenum. Mom followed him after a time and died a year after he did. Neither one of them reached 65 years. We were never told they loved us but I have nothing but respect for my parents and the love they showed us, by providing for all of us. Dad died in his own home in 1964, Mom died in Trijn's  home in 1965 who lived in t'Zandt where Mom was born but was burried with Dad in Zeerijp where Dad was born.

"Footnote: I know now that as a family we were very close, what a gift God gave us in all of us".  In the pages above are some of the pictures that were taken in the course of our lives. If there is anything you as a family member, do not understand or disagree with, please get in contact with me. Henny