Greetings from Edam

Edam

This is the first photo J.M. Stinis-van Straten made with her own camera of Edam

 

by Jenneke JR.

 Logo Keizer en van Straten Click on the logo of "Keizer en Van Straten" to enter the official (Dutch) site of this printshop!

 A trip back to the past

"A trip back to the past". That’s exactly the description for our trip to Edam my mother and I made on September 27, 1994. For my mother, she was reunited with the place she was born. For me, it was something different. The last time I visited Edam I was five or six years old and I couldn’t remember much of it anymore. The only thing I remembered over the years was that there were very big trees (no wonder if you’re little every tree looks big in your eyes) and that there was a "Speeltoren" in the place. How the place looked like, I had no idea. When I became older, my mother told me stories about her life in Edam, but we never expected that it would be possible to visit Edam again after all these years. And then it happened……

My mother took a subscription on a magazine here in Holland and found an advertisement in it of a firm who was situated in Edam. She wrote that firm a note and searched through the phonebook or "maybe" the printshop of her father (Jacob Hendrik van Straten) still existed. And indeed! The firm "Keizer & van Straten" was still operational in Edam, so she wrote them a letter as well explaining who she was etc.

After a couple of days we received a phonecall of the owner of the printshop. He was delighted to hear from my mother and from the past of the printshop as well. He invited us to visit Edam and we really look forward to it, but it wasn’t before September 27, 1994, that it took place.

Our trip

That day the weather wasn’t so good, but it wasn’t raining. At least, not yet. We woke up very early and called for a cab which brought us to the train station. That wasn’t so easy, because they broke up most of the streets around the station. We crossed through streets in the "Schilderswijk" we didn’t know about, but finally we reached the station. Luckily we left our home early, otherwise we had certainly missed our train.

Unfortunately, the train was an old one. The new trains have a lower entrance as the old ones, so it was a bit difficult for my mother to get inside, but with a little help she succeeded. There was plenty of room to sit down. Then we drove to "Amsterdam Sloterdijk" where we left the train and drank some cafe. We overlooked the area before the station where a man was loading some flowers out of a big truck. After our cafe, we went to another platform for the train to "Purmerend Overwhere". It was very windy there. It looked like there was much more wind then in Den Haag. We had to be careful that our belongings wouldn’t blow away and we were carrying so many things!

Then we got a surprise. This one was a train with a low entrance and my mother was very pleased about that. During our trip we saw some cows and cheeps. Before we knew it, the train stopped and we went out. Would it be easy to recognize the owner of Keizer & van Straten? We had never seen him and he had no idea how we looked like. But that wasn’t a problem. There were not many people leaving the train and certainly not a mother with her daughter. After we shaked hands, we walked to the parking where he had parked his car. During our drive to Edam, he asked my mother a lot of things. Especially about Keizer & van Straten. Of course, I couldn’t answer these questions. Most of the information my mother gave him, was new for me as well. Then he suggested to drive through Edam first so we could an impression how it looked like these days and to give us some suggestions what to visit later that day.

Most of the buildings were a "déja vu" for my mother and she even knew exactly who lived in which house! Unbelievable. We drove along the "Damhotel" and to the "Spuistraat" where the old Keizer & van Straten was situated in the past. We got the opportunity to visit these buildings later. After our short "sightseeing" trip we went to the new building of the printshop, a little outside Edam. The first thing we saw, when we left the car, was the name of the printshop on the building: "Keizer & van Straten". But what a small one! We are used to very big advertisements-boards here in Den Haag. Big and colorful, but nothing of that here. Simplicity after all.

Keizer

The printshop

Inside the printshop we got to know a lot of the workers. In 1994 there worked 14 people. A better business as in the years my grandfather had to sell the firm because there wasn’t enough work anymore. For all the employees we had a box "Haagsche Hopjes" with us. Our specialty of the city Den Haag. In the past, one of the employees worked in the "Spuistraat" so we had a long conversation with her and I heard names of people where my mother had told me about the last couple of months, but I never had a clue where to place them exactly. Now all the pieces of the crossword felt on his place. My mother had an old photo of my grandfather for the owner and he was very pleased with it. After some more talks we got a tour upstairs at the printshop. They were working on a brochure for Hotel Spaander in Volendam at the time. These days, they are working with computers. Sounded familiar to me since I’m also making the newsletter of The Dutch Don Johnson Fan Club on the computer. But it’s something different as the equipment my grandfather used to make his books and so on.

After this tour, there was some bread for us. Unbelievable what they organized for us. After our lunch, we got another tour. This time downstairs. While my mother was talking to some people, I made some photos and a videomovie. It sounded to me or I was "breaking in" in the secrets of the firm. That’s the reason you won’t find any photos of inside the printshop here on our site. My mother was very impressed about everything. She helped my grandfather out when she was little, with putting all the little letters back in their boxes so they could use them again the second time. Every book and so on had to compiled letter by letter before they were able to print it. And then they had to start the whole process all over again if they need more copies later. No wonder, books where only printed most of the time, in a limited edition. That’s something else then just type something in a computer and then with one push on a button you can make hundreds of copies of it. And just use the concept again if you need more copies later.

Edam

After our tour through the printshop, one of the employees drove us to Edam. She dropped us by the postoffice and said that when we want to go back to Den Haag, we just had to phone her and she would drive us to station Purmerend Overwhere.

My mother and I were talking all of the time while we walked to the "Spuistraat". My mother told me that they asphalted the street, but obvious the citizens of Edam didn’t liked it years later, because they brought the street back in their original form again.

Edam

The photo we found in the book we bought of Edam. And surprise: my grandfather is staying on it!

I found the streets very small. Cars are not permitted to park in the Spuistraat, which is a very strange experience for a girl of "the city’ who’s used to a lot of cars parked in every street and that you have to, almost, jump over them to get to the other side.

We stayed awhile for the building of the "old" printshop Keizer & van Straten. There was another store situated now by the name of "De Librije". A very familiar name for my mother, because my grandfather published a lot of small books under the name of "De Klyne Librye". We walked inside and took some photos.

De Klyne Librye

De Klyne Librye

De Klyne Librye

Unfortunately, inside the store the owner had no clue of the history and she was very surprised to hear the story my mother told her. She advised us to buy a book with some photos of Edam.

After our visit to this store, we crossed the street and looked at the house where my mother lived when she was a child. Of course, we also took some photos here.

The House

The House

The house where my mother lived

 

Except for the "Spuistraat" (where my mother met the son of an old neighbor!) we also crossed some other streets of Edam. The photo below is taken because my mother played here during her childhood. Speaking about living in the past!

Street in Edam

Of course, we also wanted to buy some cards to send away to our family and friends. We also bought three cheeses of Edam. One for our neighbors and two for Bobbie Eakes and Jeff Trachta. Two stars of the series "The Bold and the Beautiful". I supposed to meet them a week later. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to their concerts, so we eated the cheeses ourselves.

After this, we payed the "Speeltoren" a visit which is still standing a little bit out of his context. Years ago, they broke the "Uloschool" down which was staying next to it. They never realized that that could be wrong and that they were even afraid that the "Speeltoren" felt apart as well! I guess, when they had that plan now, to bring the school down, that they had never realized it, but these days people didn’t had the equipment to search for the consequences first.

De Speeltoren in Edam

De Speeltoren

No, I haven’t seen the high trees on the "Jan v.Wallendalplein", I talked about earlier, during this trip. Maybe some other time?

Our plan was to get some refreshments in the "Damhotel", but when we entered the Hotel, there were some people, obvious they had drink to much, playing at a billiard-table so we left the Hotel immediately and went back to the postoffice to write our cards. After posting them, I phoned the owner of Keizer & van Straten and he picked us up and brought us back to the station. Meanwhile, it started to rain. Not some drizzle, no real rain. Thank god, they waited upstairs till we were back in the car!

We thanked him for the wonderful day and he invited to come over for a second visit in the near future.

Then we went home. First by train to "Amsterdam Sloterdijk". We were very hungry and thirsty and we eat a little sandwich and drunk some chocolate. It was still raining when we arrived here in Den Haag.

Tired but totally happened we entered our house around 5:30 p.m. We are still talking about this wonderful trip and we really planned to go back someday during the last years, but unfortunately that didn’t happen so far. There was still something else that forced us to stay home. This is a trip that you have to plan at least two or three weeks before and now I have my doubts or I’ll ever be able to make this second trip together with my mother. We heard Keizer & van Straten has a new owner again since last year. "Maybe" I can make the trip alone again in the future, but it wouldn’t be the same as the first time. That’s for sure!

J. van Wallendalplein in Edam

J. van Wallendalplein

Click here to see more photos and pictures of Edam.

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