_FA1:
DATE 12 AUG 1942
PLAC Barber, Wilhelmina his sister, held her reception at his salon
_FA3:
PLAC Stayed with sister in Geldermalsen in postwar time to recover from liver ailment,
PLAC died of liver cancer
_FA4:
PLAC Was Art. 31 member, (Cdn Ref)
_FA5:
PLAC Buried at Oud Eik en Duinen
718. Wilhelmina Johanna DE KONING
_FA1:
PLAC Families she worked for as domestic were
_FA3:
PLAC Koedewijn, Jan Westra, Kroll, Ketel
Mom, or Miep as she was known, was the middle surviving child.
Her mother Trijntje Blonk was a fun loving young woman who loved jokes, was very outgoing and had a wonderful relationship with her sisters and brother. How she met her husband is not clear.
Mom grew up as a typical young girl, went to school, was rather shy. Her mother Trijntje died when Mom was a young girl.
After finishing grade 6, she went to junior high and then to a home economics school for at least two years. Sometime after age 14 she went to work as a daytime household domestic. Dutch law at that time allowed girls who were 14 to become day time domestic servants but they could not be day and night domestics until they were 18. The pay for young domestics was about 4 guilders per week for 6 days of work.
During the years of domestic work, she did have times off for vacation and statutory holidays. Often she would bike to the Blonk cousins or friends and go out with them.
Mom often spoke of the wonderful times she had with her friends and relatives, going on these biking outings, taking part in young women's(age 20-30) church activities, retreats and excursions. She loved to sing and was a member of the young Christian women's choir in several of the communities where she worked.
She met Dad at her home church, when he was invited to her parents place. They dated from 1939-42.
After Mom and Dad were married they first lived in a house on Burgomeester Verweylaan, then they moved to Murman's estate and then to a house on the Tielseweg.
Every Sunday we would go to the Grand parents Zondag at Lingedijk 44 in Geldermalsen.
She used to read a lot and had many Christian books. She liked to listen to hymn music and prized her record player. Mom was a church person, to her the worst thing would have been to have been cut off from church. She understood some of the church issues better than Dad did. She was grateful that we all married in the church & that we married people from Christian homes. Non church attendance would be incomprehensible to her. It was impossible to serve the Lord without going to church unless you were ill.
Composed by eldest son Jack Zondag, May 1997
_FA1:
DATE 27 MAY 1951
PLAC Landed immigrant at Halifax N.S. Aboard S.S. Georgic from Southampton England
_FA3:
DATE 1 JUN 1951
PLAC Began work for Valentine Becker, a German Lutheran farmer and implement dealer in Dashwood Ont. CDA
DATE 1 MAR 1952
PLAC Began work for Edgar Cudmore on chicken farm
_FA4:
DATE 1 APR 1954
PLAC Began sharecropping at George Link's farm
_FA5:
DATE 1960
PLAC Purchased the William Ratz estate on the 15th concession of Stephen Township. Owned it till he died, sold in 1988.
He was born in the house at Lingedijk 44, a tight 2 storey house. On the one side of the house was the house of his great grand father and on the other side was the house of his grand father. At age 4 he went to live almost permanently with his grandmother Hendrieka Zondag-van Mourik in the house directly next door and his uncle Adrianus (Janus) because there was no room for him at home. One of his daily chores was to turn the straw mattress in her bed. This bed was really a cupboard built into the wall and had 2 short doors about 30" above the floor that could be closed for privacy.
He attended the Christian school in Geldermalsen which was noted for its strictness.
As a young man Dad was a member of the local church choir, and a member of the young men's society. He always enjoyed good clothes and these organizations gave him a good rationale to buy good clothing.
At age 12, Dad went to work for Goos Murman, the mayor of Geldermalsen for 0.10 per day, by 1940 that was f 1.00 per day. He worked as errand boy, gardener, later as chauffeur and fishing and hunting companion in charge of rowing or carrying guns. Murman had the house built right around 1900 AD, and in order to give it some prominance, Mr. Murman employed some workers to dig sand out of the adjacent field to create a slope from the ground up to the first floor since the basement was built above the ground. The workers found a buried collection of Roman artifacts dating to about the year 20 -10 BC. The artifacts are now in a museum.
In 1950, Uncle Gerrit sold his grocery store in the Hague and moved to the Bayfield Ontario area.
In 1951 Dad put the business up for sale. Finally, in mid May, we were packed and ready to leave. Two days later we left Holland, broke except for the clothes and furniture we could take along. Dad's brother Bert also decided to come with us and immigrate to Canada.
Once it was decided that we would leave, a decision had to be made as to what to take. Everything that we took had to be packed by government licensed inpectors into a "Kist" or big wooden box. This box was then shipped by freight boat to Canada and arrived about 5-6 weeks after we did.
Before we left Holland, Dad commissioned Ryer to paint a view of Geldermalsen from the Lingedijk looking east at the Reformed church. I currently have that painting. Ryer also painted a picture of little Saskia and I have that picture too. She now lives in the USA.
On the trip to Canada, Dad had to sleep in a room with Uncle Bert and other men because women and children got the cabins. He was sea sick the whole trip as were Co and I, but not Mom. In Halifax we disembarked at Pier 21, were inspected on Sunday, and boarded the CNR for Toronto. Inspection meant standing in a lineup all day while people around you spoke words we could not understand. Mom was very nervous about the whole business but late in the afternoon we were cleared and became landed immigrants.
There was one washroom for men and one for the women in the whole place for the more than 2200 people that had to be processed that day. What an uncomfortable day. At one point, almost a hundred men lined up along the edge of the pier to urinate because there was no room for them inside. One of the officials came running outside shouting something but no one could understand him so they ignored him. In August 1993, Mynie and I visited Halifax and toured the building. The place was huge and run down now, but there was still only one washroom for men and one for women.
We had to board a CNR train which was parked right outside the processing center. In 1993, I picked up a rail spike from this place where the Railroad line began, and I still have it. I refer to it as the first spike. The train was an old WWII troop carrier. The seats were made of horizontal wooden slats and could be pulled down to form a platform to sleep on. Overhead was another bunk, used for luggage during the day and for sleeping at night, and everytime you stood up, you hit your head against this bunk.
We followed the route to Moncton , Bathurst, Riviere de Loup and on to the St. Lawrence River, crossing it at Montreal. Then it was on to Toronto Union Station. When Mom and Dad saw the poor and bleak conditions in N.B. and Que. they were discouraged about their future but once in Ontario, things immediately appeared more prosperous. In Toronto we had to switch trains to go to Clinton. While waiting at Union Stn, a newspaperman took a picture of Co and myself but we never saw it. If it was published it would have been during the last few days of May 1951.
Dad helped to start the Exeter CRC in 1951. Our family along with the Henk Beimers, Cor Van Daalen, Dirk Van Wieren, 3 Dam families( Sietse, Doeke, Louis),Henk Syrier, Bert Gorter, Mr. Van Lochem plus others began services on August 12,1951 in the Exeter Cavan Presbyterian Church. Dad was the second person to read a service( Henk Beimers was the first) but noone could understand his Geldersche accent,plus he could not really read all that well. By common consent he did not read again.
In April 1954, we moved to the 15th Concession of Stephen township to work about 25 acres of land for George & Susie Link. Dad sharecropped for George, Dad 2 parts, George 1 part. We stayed there for 6 years and they were good to us, in fact they became our adopted grandparents since they were childless. Susie basically raised Nelly as Mom worked in the field with dad. We grew lettuce & potatoes on the muck, sugar beets and turnips and pickles on the rest. It was heavy work.
Dad was content with life, not desiring a lot of worldly wealth. The essentials in his life were, a good roof, a good meal, a comfortable chair and a warm stove. He had seen Murman always preoccupied with his wealth and always worried
about his investments. That convinced Dad that worldly wealth was not a blessing but often a burden. You needed a certain amount to stay alive, but beyond that , too much money was a problem. He had seen enough problems with money during and after WWII.
Dad died of a heart attack. It was Friday, September 13, 1985. The funeral was held on Monday, September 16th. Both Mom and Dad are buried in the Exeter public cemetary.
Dad enjoyed a good cigar every Sunday and on special occassions. He used to smoke a pipe and in his youth used to roll his own cigarrettes. He enjoyed Dutch gin or a glass of brandy on a daily basis every evening. His main love was fruit and fruit trees, a real Zondag family trait.
He saw a common faith in all Christian denominations. He had a low opinion of ministers who were mainly interested in ediface building. Politicians were not trustworthy since they were self-serving, not public servants. Rich politicians would send poor boys into battle in the name of patriotism but in reality it was to protect their own wealth. He was fiercely loyal to family. He was a genius about vegetables, fruit, sprays, bugs, blight and pruning. Dad was proud of his independence and a good name built on honesty, integrity, and hard work. He loved to be around people & talked easily with anyone since he was not awed by wealth or station in life.
He reminded me often that The Lord had been good to him & us even in our poorest days since we were always able to hope and pray for a better tomorrow. Dad fervantly hoped and prayed that his children would always be active church participants and committed Christians. He firmly believed that there was no salvation apart from God's people.
He disliked many Germans since they were bossy and the cause of WWII. Material possessions were not that important and keeping up with the Jones's was a waste of time. He was generous with the little that he had, especially towards family. he believed that long term grudges were deadly for faith, health and decision making. Things that could not be understood were vexatious and could cause anger. Written by Jack Zondag, May 1997
He was killed in a car-train accident.
_FA1:
PLAC Lives in Krimpen aan den IJssel
tot datum overlijden
_FA1:
PLAC Lives in Nieuwkoop
bij overlijden