The difference being that I write on the people of the Dutch province of Zeeland who emigrated throughout the centuries to America and Harvard scolar Henry Louis Gates, jr. focusses on the ancestors of famous Americans. And of course, he gets a lot more audience than I do, but oh well that’s a minor detail :-P. A lot of people nowadays want to know who they are and where they came from. It is so fascinating!

Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t allow me to embed the video here on this blog, unless I pay a lot of money, but here’s the link to the homepage of Faces of America, which gives you access to all the episodes that have been broadcasted so far.

Goose Creek and Middleburg, VA

There was no way I could get this this picture any sharper, but this is a detail of an old map of Loudoun County in Virgina and on this map I found two interesting names: Middleburg and Goose Creek.  Of course there is no evidence but it did make me wonder: Goose Creek, does that refer to my hometown Goes, in Dutch almost pronounced as Goos? The owner of the B&B in Catskill Mountains, NY, where we found this map said his family is from Virginia and their farm was in the neighbourhood of Middleburg. However, he couldn’t tell whether there were people with Dutch/Zeeland ancestry in the area, as his family is originally from England. But who knows?

So, the appartment. I promised to tell about my experience and I might as well do it now. This could be an awesome place to stay, were it not that a lot of things are not as you would expect them to be. First all, though I have to admit that the room is small, but comfortable enough, with plenty of daylight, a large shared living room/kitchen and a good internet connection. However, getting into the appartment is quite a challenge as I am having problems opening the frontdoor every night. There are not enough pots, pans or knives to cook.  Both dryer and dishwasher have not been working at all, ever since the very first day I arrived. Only one of the two remote controlls of the tv effectively works.

And then there was yesterday night. I saw two flatshaped, red bugs walking over the bed. I killed them instantly and understood now very clearly why I had so many red, itchy spots on my skin: bedbugs! Never had I seen them before, but I guess there’s always a first time for everything.  So today, while I was writing an article, my room was being disinfected and cleaned. All my clothes have been washed or drycleaned by the laundromat across the street.

I do not know what to think of all this. I think it will depend on how the owner will make up for all this during the rest of my stay. I will keep you posted!

Lunchroom Danku

The last time I was in the United States, there was not much time left for sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends or relaxing. There was work to be done, as I had to make sure my mobile office was working, the e-mails kept on piling up and I had to write stories for both my weblog and the newspaper. I was my own personal driver, navigator (no GPS, just RandMcNally), camera woman and travel agency.

This time, everything is so much more relaxing. There was some hassle with internet connection and laptop, but everything seems to be resolved. However, I have not been sitting doing nothing. I reported on the Four Freedoms Award in Waldorf Astoria (unfortunately, I have not translated any of this into English, but here’s the link if you want to have a peek at the pictures of Hillary Clinton, Anna Roosevelt, Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Máxima ), ate herring in The Dutch Village near Bowling Green Park, rode on an orange bike over the Brooklyn Bridge, watched Ellen ten Damme perform at the New Island Festival on Governor’s Island, found Theodore Roosevelt’s grave and home at Sagamore Hill on Long Island and ate chicken satay with goreng noodles at an American / Dutch / Indonesian lunch bar in midtown. 

 It is somewhat alienating to find so many Dutch oddities in  buzzing, busy New York City. During an entire week, from 6 to September 13, New Yorkers and tourists in downtown Manhattan could have a closer look at the typical Dutch cuisine and customs. You could find an organist playing tradional songs from the Netherlands, eat raw herring “fresh from the knife” or  smell the freshly baked syrup waffles (stroopwafels). Especially the poffertjes (small pancakes) were a big success, but the best attraction were the Dutch orange free rental bikes. The ride on the recently paved biking paths through downtown Manhattan, were certainly worth the long wait in line. It was so refreshing to explore the city this way. 

 The New Island Festival on Governor’s Island also attracted large crowds. Apparently, some local bloggers covered the unusual

Ellen ten Damme

event and convinced more and more people to wait in line for the boat to bring them to the renovated Governor’s Island. The New Island Festival is a combination of two Dutch street festivals, Oerol and The Parade. Pity the soda fountain, the selfservice poffertjes bakery and cocktailbar big wheel were missing.  But  the Amstel Beer cargo bike, the Dutch pot served on the long long wooden table and the tents with music, theater and cabaret made up for all that. We witnessed performances of The Living Jukebox, Conny Danst, Boom Chicago and Ellen ten Damme, which were all great. The art that was displayed in the colonial buildings was a bit too experimental to my taste.

Strolling through midtown Manhattan one day, we discovered lunchroom Danku where, much to our surprise, Dutch-Indonesian food is being served (Indonesia is a former Dutch colony). I knew of its existence, but had not been actively looking for the place yet. Danku is not your typically Dutch brown cafe but is specifically designed to please the discerning New Yorker who is looking for healthy food. The result is a menu with an odd combination of American, Indonesian and Dutch elements. Typical Dutch croquettes fries with mayo, chicken satay with goreng noodles and syrup waffles are being offered together with untypical American root beer, smoothies and healthy salads (with Belgian endive).

Interior of Danku

Of course, we tested some of The Dutch delicacies offered. The chicken curry croquettes (not so traditional as they should be with beef but oh well we could consider them somehow Dutch) were delicious and the French fries were crisp and golden colored as they should be. The chicken satay with noodles were slightly dissappointing as I am pretty sure that I can make it much better at home. As desert we chose syrup waffles (stroopwafels), which were great. The only complaint was maybe the price of about $ 1 each.

The enchanted forest near Theodore Roosevelt's grave

Last Friday we paid a visit to Sagamore Hill on Long Island. At approximately one hours driving from New York City, you enter an entirely different world with rolling hills and enchanting forests. Theodore Roosevelt, whose ancestors were from Zeeland, lived here. The house at Sagamore Hill is now a museum, and I will explain more about this daytrip in a feature article in Spectrum.

At the moment I am preparing for a long weekend upstate New York. We stay in Jeri Becker’s B&B, which is by now ready for guests, and a guesthouse at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, at 2.5 hours driving from New York City.

Manhattan

Saturday morning, train station of  Goes. A suitcase, a weekendbag, a laptop bag, handluggage and a cup of coffee without a lid. No elevators, just staircases.

Says one lady to the other, just in hearing distance: “She is carrying a lot of luggage.” The other one: “Do you think she’s going on a trip around the world?” The first lady again: “You would think so.”

They do not lift a finger. Of course, the coffee spills on the luggage and I stumble into the train.

Several hours later, West 116th street, New York. My boyfriend comes to pick me up, so the struggle with the suitcases is over and when we are searching for the right appartment, a guy on the street points it out to us. We do not even have to ask! Now, this may sound normal to most Americans, it is not to me. Where I live, people leave you alone on the streets because they think it is impolite to interfere in somebody else’s life.

During my trips to the States I have experienced Americans a a social people. It is this kind of hospitality that got me hooked to America. So, New York is homecoming to me. I get to talk to strange people again, which doesn’t happen very much in  The Netherlands, and I think that widens my horizon.

The room in the appartment, by the way, is excellent albeit small. With the natural daylight, the communal kitchen I share with just a few people and amenities like a washing machine and dryer, I think I am far better off than in L-Hostels (which was not bad at all, let me asure you).

I’ll be here for almost a month and this time, not just for work. The past couple of days, we have been doing fun things. We’ve been riding on the free orange  bikes that can be obtained for a couple of hours in the Dutch Village near Bowling Green Park, we ate herring and poffertjes, strolled through Central Park and went to Mr Lee Lee’s bakery for breakfast.

On Wednesday, I went to the hairdresser, which was a treat in itself because I haven’t cut my hair for months. This was quite an experience. I was being referred to the fancy Bumble and Bumble by several Newyorkers, so off I went. It is a huge salon, with lots of people, and there is a dressing room and even a cafe.

Tomorrow, there’s work to be done. I am going to Waldorf Astoria, where there is going to be a NY400 meeting with officials from The Netherlands. Of course, I’ll be concentrating on the people  from Zeeland, amongst whom the commissioner to the queen Karla Peijs. I keep you posted.

Two years after the arrival of Willem Fokker or William Tucker from Burgh (Zeeland) to West Sayville, his brother Nicolaas arrived in West Sayville (NY), which by then was still called Tuckertown. Later brother Jan, sister Maria and their mother Barbara Melieste came to America, too. A trip of 60 days. They all accepted the name of Tucker.

Jan, who calls himself John, marries  Jannetje de Koning from Bruinisse, who lives with her parents in West Sayville and changes her name into Jane King.  Nicolaas was already married in Burgh with Johanna van Westervoort and their daughter Maria marries in West Sayville with James Wenham.

The Tuckers were a family of standing in the little community of West Sayville. They became postmaster, police chief and foreman of the local fire company.  They were also involved in the founding of the first (Dutch) church in West Sayville. The decision to build was made during a meeting on 19 December 1866 in the house of Nicolaas Fokker (Tucker). Until that time, services were held in the local school. The first reverend is Ds. Jongeneel, who came to West Sayville in 1860.

William Tucker’s daughter Isabelle Wilhelmina was the first to be baptized in the new church community, that existed until 1951. Services on Sunday afternoons were held in Dutch until 19 August 1919. After that date, English became the official language.

It weren’t just Zeeuwen who went to West Sayville, there were also immigrants from the Dutch isle of Texel who lived from the oyster industry. There were also people who made money in housing industry in New York City, so it wasn’t just oysters.

Willem Fokker (Tucker) died on 10 December 1909 in West Sayville. Like his fellow citizens Willem kept chicken on his farm and when he wanted to catch one, he was picked. The wound infection caused him to die.

Thanks to your publication, he finally receives the fame he deserves: being known as the founder of West Sayville.

With kind regards.

Tucker’s name has been Americanized, his original name lost for future generations, or at least that’s what I thought when writing the article.  Thanks to some attentive readers who commented on the publication, we could retrieve it. His name: Willem Fokker, married with Maria den Boer, also from Burgh, in 1854. They emigrated to New York the very same year they were married.

Dies Martens from Oudenbosch is one of these readers. “This must be the same guy”, he wrote. “Even back in those days, the word fokker must have sounded as a scabrous expression. I can imagine him changing his name for a good reason. In 1963, I was living in Wiltshire for half a year, when I met a taxidriver who had fought in the war in The Netherlands. He just loved our Dutch word for bedstead: ledikant (pronounced as ‘ladycoant’, LD). Those  Dutchmen were sleeping in it! Back in school, I never learned four letter words, but there I learned them very quickly!”

This should be a more relaxed visit than when I was here late winter, when I had two months to travel almost 3400 miles, while in the meantime researching for and write stories, keep on blogging, making appointments, et cetera. This is going to be a vacation, or at least, sort of. I still need to do some research in the NYC-area, write my book and of course I want to attend a couple of NY400 activities, like De Parade/Oerol Festival on Governor’s Island and the arrival of the Dutch naval fleet. I might ran into our Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander and his wife princess Máxima, because they are coming too! One Dutch Day at Columbia University (September, 12th) looks quite interesting, so I might go there. There’ll be a presentation of a new book about the influences of the Dutch on the American English language. Think: stoop (stoep), coleslaw (koolsla) en cookies (koekjes).

Most likely I will try to find Paeregat Bay on Long Island (NY). One of our PZC-readers pointed me out to the spot. ‘There must a link with Zeeland there’, he wrote. And I agree, there’s only one people in the world that names a place Paeregat, in our dialect literally meaning ‘hole for horses’. I will also visit Flushing, which was named after the town of Vlissingen in my little province of Zeeland and go to Sagamore Hill, home of Theodore Roosevelt.