| The family was growing. A
daughter was born and died in childbirth in March of
1897. Dena remembered the birth of the little baby sister
very well; A casket was made for the baby by Cena
Geurkink’s father, and was kept in the granary until
burial. It was very cold in the month of March, Dena, who
was only 3 years old, was carried to the granary to see
her little sister. It made quite an impression on her.
Another home was built in 1900.
Jan Somsen was a “klompenmaker” in Holland and
brought his tools along to America. He set up his
business on the farm and was known for miles around as
the best wooden shoe maker. He had a helper named Aaron
Jon Hinkamp who came to America with the Somsen family.
Hinkamp, who also lived in Aalten, was working for Great
Grandfather Rauwerdink making wooden shoes.
Hinkamp’s father had passed away. His mother
remarried and Hinkamp was not wanted, so he was
“adopted” by the Somsen family. He and Jan were
th e same age and they worked well together.
The wooden shoes were made from willow or bass wood. The
block of wood was first cut into a wedge (pie-shaped).
The long knife was used to cut this wedge, with the hook
on the end of the knife firmly fastened onto the table.
Just under the bark was a layer of “gum” that
the kids would chew. It was a sweet treat. Hinkamp would
scoop out the inside of the shoe with the many sized
“scoop” tools. The finishing was done by both
men and the completed shoes sold for 64 and 75 cents,
depending on the size. Maki ng shoes was the winter work.
Dena and Jennie said they all liked to tease Hinkamp, but
he was very good to them and took their teasing as fun.
He would teach the children the Psalms as he worked, one
verse at a time, all in Dutch, of course. The boys in the
family were the biggest teasers. Hinkamp was a very small
man, and when he was at the table, he would always stand
up and reach for what he wanted, instead of asking.
William was seated next to him, and one day, as Hinkamp
stood up, he pulled the chair away from the table, and H
inkamp, of course landed on the floor. William was
reminded by his father that would not be allowed again.
Hinkamp was also very “nosey”. He wanted to
listen to conversations from both the parlor and the
kitchen, so he would sit in the doorway so he could catch
all the talking, Jan and Hinkamp also died in the same
year. He also had a brother, Evert, living near Baldwin.
Hinkamp, his brother and his wife and daughter are all
buried in the Baldwin cemetery, but there are no markers
on their graves.
On December 1, 1902, Jan and Janna went back to the
Netherlands. Janna's father had died and it was necessary
for them to be in Aalten to claim their inheritance.
Henry was only a year old but there were enough brothers
and sisters to take care of him. Bernard John was put in
charge of the farm and Minnie and Annie were in charge of
the house and the care of the younger ones. BJ had a job
away from home at the Bart Heebink farm, but Bill took
over his job so he could be at home. In the mornings,
Minnie would try to get the family up early, but BJ would
say, "Let them sleep." Dena said that she
remembered how nice that was. Can you imagine cooking for
8 boys and 5 girls? Annie was very homesick for her
parents and said that she would walk to Holland if there
wasn't an ocean in between. They had a small organ,
called a melodeon, and Annie learned to play several
songs to help her forget her loneliness. Dena remembers
Home, Sweet Home especially. This was her surprise for
her parents when they arrived home. Janna wanted to bring
her mother, Harmina, back to America to live, but she
didn't want to come.
The only mode of transportation at that time was walking
or horse and buggy. The family attended Hopyard School,
which was 1-1/2 miles up the road. The boys were at a
disadvantage as they were needed on the farm in the
spring and fall. They only attended school about four
months out of the year. Albert said they also had to take
turns going to school. They would start in the fall after
the harvesting was done. The boys also had to make sure
that the winter supply of wood was hauled in and stacked.
They would attend school until spring seeding started. It
is no wonder it took them so long to complete their
education. Albert was 17 when he quit school and never
did graduate from the eighth grade. He said that the
teacher was the same age. Harry was the only one to go on
to high school. The girls in the family usually stayed
home in the winter months because of the snow and cold
weather, attending school in the spring and fall. It was
also noted that one of their teachers was Jessie Heebink
who later became their sister-in-law when she married
Edward. There were no grades to be progressed to each
year. The teacher just taught and the student stayed in
school as long as it took.
The family belonged to the Christian Reformed Church near
the farm, but were not happy with it. Janna usually
attended church alone with the children. Henry Wissink
asked Jan if they would like to join the First Reformed
Church just being built in Baldwin. Services were being
held at the Hall located where the Telephone Office is
now. Hank and Harry were baptized in this Hall. The rest
of the children had been baptized at the Christian
Reformed Church. The new First Reformed Church was built
in 1905.
Jan and Janna used their English names, John and Johanna,
after moving to this country. They spoke only in the
Dutch language. Dena said her mother never did speak much
English. They worried about that when she had to have an
operation in the city. Dena said it went alright and
their mother knew enough English to get by.
Hank, being the baby of the family, hated to go to
school. He would cry in the morning on the way to school
and then would cry all the way home. He was afraid that
his brothers and sisters would tell his folks, but they
never did. He was also very bashful. Dena remembers how
Hank could never say hello on the telephone first. He
would ask one of the girls to say hello for him and then
he could talk.
All of the clothes for the family were made by Johanna or
the older girls. Minnie was a very good seamstress. Dena
and Jennie made doll clothes and cut our their own
patterns. Jennie said that if the teacher had a pretty
dress on, they would come home and make a copy of it for
their dolls. While most of the family sat in the dining
room, the girls would stay in the kitchen and cut out
patterns for the dolls. It is no wonder that this early
experience in sewing probably led to their dressmaking
later on. Johanna also did spinning of wool and knit
stockings for the family. She also made suits and coats
for the children.
John (Jan) Somsen's sister, Hendrika, and her husband,
John Schepers, were the only children of Berend and
Hendrina to come to America. Their brothers and sisters
were Grada Pertronella, who married Hendrik Pennings;
Johanna Theodora, who married Berend Hendrik Westerveld;
Derk, who married Johanna Berendin Heersink and Gerrit
Willem, who also was married.
The Schepers had four children, but their son, Hank, died
at a very early age. The other three were named John,
Dena and Jennie. John died and Hendrika married Bernard
H. Fukkink. I found their marriage certificate in the
Hudson County Courthouse. Hendrika, the widow or John
Schepers, and Bernard were married on February 19, 1883.
It was interesting to note that Bernard had also been
born in Aalten, Netherlands. The translation of the name
Fukkink to English was not very nice, so Bernard (Ben)
changed his name to Fern. When Hendrika died, Ben married
his stepdaughter, Dena Schepers. This caused quite a
ruckus in the community and they were ousted from the
Christian Reformed Church. They moved to Whitby Island,
Washington, in 1902. Jennie Schepers married Ray Savage
from Hammond and they also moved out to Washington. John
Schepers never married and was killed on November 17,
1924, when some scaffolding broke while on his job. Dena
and Jennie Somsen went out to visit their cousins in
Washington in 1921, travelling by train.
Herman and Bill rented the farm from their parents in
1912 but, some time later, Bill decided to become a
buttermaker and went to work in the Creamery. Henry
decided that this was also what he would like to do. When
he got ready to leave the farm, he joined Bill at the
Creamery. Albert left the farm in 1911 to find work in
Baldwin. This left Herman, Harry and their father to run
the farm. In May of 1918, Herman was drafted for World
War I. Harry was now 18 years old and had to register for
the draft but John said that he could not get along with
two sons gone, so Louie Snoeyenbos got Harry out of the
draft and he and Hank were able to stay on the farm to
help their father. Hank, at this time, was only 16 years
old. Herman said that he was sent to Camp Hancock in
Georgia and then was sent to Germany and France. He spent
10 months in the Army.
Dena and Jennie had started a sewing business. They would
go to the homes and sew for the family, staying with the
family until all the sewing was completed. In the year of
1918, Jennie was sewing for Mrs. John Guerkink, mother of
Fred Guerkink, preparing for several days of dressmaking.
Jennie contracted the flu and was put to bed upstairs.
Meals were brought up to her and she was not to leave the
room. The flu was very contagious and many people died
that year. Her folks didn't want her to come home either,
as she would expose all of the children. Since she had so
much time on her hands, she started crocheting, She made
lace enough for two pairs of pillowcases and a strip long
enough for the top of a sheet. She gave these pieces to
Donnie's wife who sewed them onto a tablecloth.
On March 25, 1929, Dena and Jennie opened up their sewing
business in Baldwin. They rented the building where
Hannah Anderson's Hat Shop was. It was later known as the
Emil Martinson house. Jo Harrison had her beauty shop
upstairs and the girls rented the downstairs. Their rent
was $15.00 a month and they also lived there. It was so
nice to stay put and not have to go from house to house.
There was a lot of East light coming in through the large
windows, perfect for sewing. Dr. George B. Swenson had
his office to the East, but the he built a new building
which cut off most of the good light for the girls. They
then rented the small building between Stronk's Hardware
and Rosen's Store and were there for three years. Dena
thought that the rent for this building was $10.00 per
month. There was no room for sleeping quarters here, so
they drove back and forth. During the winter months, they
stayed at the home of Ed and Jessie and the children. On
October 1, 1931, they moved to the upstairs of the
Peterson Mea t Market (later, Martinson's Cafe). Charlie
Kimball owned this building and it was a very nice place
to have a dressmaking shop. They also trimmed hats. They
would buy the frame and sew the trimmings on. Dena said
that this was a lot of fun. Dena had learned to drive and
drove to the wholesale house in St. Paul about every
other week to order frames for hats and material for
dresses and the hats. The salesman decided that he would
come to Baldwin so Dena and Jennie didn't have to make
those trips anymore. He had a room at the Streeter Hotel
and would set up his display of hats. These were
completed hats and the girls would be able to pick out
the ones they wanted to sell in their shop. Dena still
had to go to the city for some of the materials. The
stores were open on Saturday nights and it was usually
midnight before they were able to start for home.
Dena and Jennie needed a car to get back and forth to
Baldwin. Harry and the girls bought a car together. It
was a Model T Ford sedan with ising glass windows. Dena
was not used to driving a car with windows in it. Every
time she wanted to look back, she would bang her head on
the window. Harry sold his share to Dena and Jennie and
he and Herman bought a Willis Knight. The girls bought a
Chevrolet coupe from Murphy in Woodville for $440 later
on. Jennie said she only drove the car once. That time,
she c ould not make the turn into the driveway, ran off
the road and into the cornfield. She never drove again.
Dena was taking driving instructions from Herman and was
doing fine until she got in front of the garage. Herman
had not told her how to stop the car and she ran into the
door and broke it. The next morning, her Mother wanted to
know what was wrong with Herman -- was he drink or
something? She could see the damage done to the garage
door. But she also quickly said, "Herman, don't
drink!" (in Dutch, of course).
1925 was also a very memorable year for the Somsen
household. Dena decided that it was time to have her long
hair cut off. Her brother, Ed, was a barber and certainly
knew how to bob a ladies hair. It was not the custom in
those days to have short hair and her Mother was a little
perterbed by this drastic action. The next year, Jennie
and Ella also had their hair bobbed and Dena got the
blame for it. Her Mother scolded her and said that Dena
always had to be the first to try something new. Each of
the g irls kept their long hair switch in a special box
in their dresser all their lives. In 1933, the Depression
came and the girls decided to move their sewing business
to their home on the farm. They sold their Chevrolet
coupe to Melvin Somsen. By removing a partition, the
first two rooms were made into a lovely sewing room which
had 2 doors and 2 nice windows. This remained their
sewing room until October 9, 1941, when they moved to
Baldwin.
John Somsen died on January 5, 1929, at the age of 78.
Herman, Harry, Jennie, Dena and Ella remained on the farm
with their Mother until their move to the house in
Baldwin. Gerrit and Minnie Somsen took over the farm.
Mother Johanna died on March 5, 1943, at the age of 86,
It is kind of ironic that the two remaining sisters,
Jennie and Dena, moved out of their house and into an
apartment in Baldwin on October 9, 1981, exactly 40 years
to the day of living in their Baldwin home.
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