SUSANNE'S YOUTH IN HÚNS
There we were; the five of us in a Renault Dauphine from Haarlem to our holiday home in Friesland. Father and mother in the front. And me with my two big brothers in the back. When we approached the viaduct at Winsum, we always played the same game: Who will be the first to see the Húns mill?
WITHOUT SHOWER OR TOILET
Every summer we spent seven weeks in the small holiday home in Húns. Those weeks were more like camping than they are now. We had to cook and produce hot water with gas bottles. And there was no shower or toilet.
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The five of us shared a small chemical toilet that my father had to empty a few times a week at a dump in the village of Baard. The large pot full of feces was carefully placed in the old car and then my father very carefully chugged to Baard without spilling. That must have smelled so good in the car, especially on such a sultry summer day.
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Instead of a shower we had a tub. At the end of the day - when my brothers and I were dirty from playing - we were washed in a large tub.
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By the way, can you see me peeking behind the window in the photo?
HANDY DADDY
After a number of years my father decided to build a toilet in the old sheep barn. He dug a large pit in the backyard that neatly contained everything. The excess water then flowed into the ditch behind our house. My father was a bit unlucky. Because during the summer he wanted to dig the hole, it rained for weeks on end. He had put up a tent to work as dry as possible.
Only then came the stone extension. Which replaced a wooden utility room. My father made a real shower and a real toilet in the extension. That was a party! It took several years before central heating was installed.​
THE GRANDPARENTS
In 1973 Ruud and Chris Kamstra bought Húns 16. To enjoy it in the summer with their children Edo, Martin and Susanne. And to rent it out to families for the rest of the year. Ruud and Chris took care of the first modernization. Sewerage is being constructed, central heating and Ruud personally build a small extension with a shower and toilet.
BOAT
Sometimes we sailed to the viaduct under the Westergowei. Under the viaduct we lit a fire and roasted potatoes.
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My brothers and I often went swimming at Menaldum in the outdoor pool. If we wanted to be picked up, we always called our neighbor in Húns from the swimming pool. My parents didn't have a telephone connection yet. The neighbor then came to warn my parents that the children wanted to be picked up.
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THE FAIR
Every year there was a fair in the village. That was really something to look forward to. In the weeks before the fair we often did some chores for money. So that we had enough money to spend at the fair. The fair had a carousel that was transformed into a swing in the evening. There was also a shooting gallery and a rope pulling tent. Furthermore, there were always many games on the field. Such as kaatsen.
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The five of us often participated in the games during the fair. And because we immediately became a big team, we always won some prizes. Almost every year there was a wreath on the wall of the house for our winnings during kaatsen.
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Unfortunately, the fair is no longer as big as it used to be. The merry-go-round, shooting gallery and rope-pulling tent are no longer available. Instead, the villagers now have a large bouncy castle brought in every year for the village children to bounce on all day long.
THE NEXT GENERATION
My brothers and I usually slept in the large open attic. Often also with other children from the village. Sometimes I also slept in the box bed with a friend. That was super exciting. We first bought a lot of sweets in Winsum, which we then ate in the box bed. The next day we woke up surrounded by all kinds of magic balls.
When I had children myself, I also went to our holiday home in Friesland for weeks. Our children Mathijs and Rebecca, just like me, grew up spending holidays in Húns. And so the fun and adventures were repeated to the next generation.
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Would you also like a Friesland holiday?
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