Q: In 1955 you got another promotion didn’t you?

A: In June 1955 I became headclerk-A which means of course a higher salary too. And then in July 1955 Clasien visited us. It was great to see her again and we had a wonderful time together.

Q: Can you tell us something more now about "De Contactcommissie" you promised us before?

A: Alright. Every province in Holland had his own Contactcommissie so there were 11 different ones. We organized every year an International Contactday for the workers of every provincial authority. We played, for example, a footballgame against each other, there were some excursions and every day ended with a dinner and a special evening. The head organizer was every year another province. In 1955 we went to Limburg to Maastricht. I was the treasurer of De Contactcommissie.

Q: And in 1958 the day was held in Zuid-Holland so you must have been very busy that day?

A: I was. We started already with the organization in May 1957. Asking people for money and so on. The day was held on August 29, 1958 and ended in De Houtrusthallen in Den Haag. Just 11 days after my daughter Jenneke JR. was born. Normally my wife went with me during such a day, but now she stayed at home of course. Everybody congratulated me with her birth.

Q: What would have happen if Jenneke JR’s birth came later and took place exactly on August 29th?

A: Then they should have missed me on the International Contactday. I wouldn’t have missed my daughter’s birth in a million years.

Q: In January 1958 there was another promotion for you?

A: Yeah, over the years I studied a lot in my free time and in January I became "refrendaris". How you called that in English, I have no idea.

Q: I also heard you received some prizes over the years with photos you sent in for the photocompetions of De Contactcommissie?

A: One of my major hobbies was making photos of all kind of things and during all of kinds of occasions. In 1957 I won a second prize in the category "Vacation" and in the category "Abstract" and a honorable mention in the category "Portraitphotos". In 1958 I got the first prize in the category "Adults" and a honorable mention in the category "Adults-dias".

In 1959 I received a honorable mention in group 3a "Free Composition" and in group 3b with the subject "Traffic". Then I tried it again in 1960 with a second prize in category 2 "Photos" and a honorable mention in category 2 "Dias". The last time was in 1962 when I became the first prize winner in group 2 "Photos".

Q: These prizes were for amateurphotographers?

A: Yeah.

Q: It looks to me that you were a real professional with winning all these prizes over the years!

A: Thank you, but no I did it all for fun. After my daughter was born, I took a lot of photos of her, but most of them I only used for private occasions. I had my own doka at home and there I enlarged photos and that were the ones I sent in for all the photocompetitions over the years.

Q: I guess, you influenced her with this hobby when she got older?

Q: And in 1959 they start with the building of a new "Provinciehuis"?

A: The old one became too small, but at the time the new building was ready, it was, strictly, too small again, but anyway everything was ready around 1963.

Q: Do you have some pictures of that building. I guess, you made some yourself?

A: It’s better to give you some (original) photos of the building and the maquette.

Q: If you say so. And one of your other hobbies was playing piano? Did you still do that over the years?

A: Indeed. One of the wonderful moments was, when there was a St. Nicholas festivity at work. It was 1964 and my daughter was 6 at the time and went with me. I played the piano and practiced the songs at home behind the piano with my daughter singing all the songs. I guess, she was the only one who recognized the intros of the songs. And I also played on some occasions at work when one of my colleagues said goodbye.

Q: And of course, Jenneke JR. played the piano as well?

A: Unfortunately not. Her hands are too small to play the piano the way I did, but she played (block)recorder when she was at school and played on the piano sometimes, with one hand, the songs she learned to play.

Q: Did you also make some (short) trips with her over the years?

A: First of all we did some small trips in Holland. We visited "Madurodam" here in Den Haag and went to Amsterdam in 1966.

Q: I read in the "Vigilate" that there was another Interprovincial Contact Day in Den Haag again in 1969. I even saw some photos of Jenneke JR. there. Or was that another girl on those pictures?

A: No, that was she. I guess she has been the only child over the years that have been able to visit such a day.

Q: Wow, that must have been a real experience for her and for you and your wife as well.

Q: I will. Lets’s move on to another subject: on October 16, 1969 you celebrated your 40th jubilee at work? Can you describe how that day was?

A: Oh boy. It was a marvelous day. On that day I became "Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau" (Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau). They didn’t tell me anything. Everything was a big secret. I really had no idea that would happen. My wife knew it, but didn’t tell me anything either. You can only become such a honor if you’re doing things beside your work. I think that’s not fair. People, who are working so hard at work and have no time to do something besides that in their private time, should have been decorated as well. It seems to me, that "only working" is not enough, but they forget that work can be even harder then doing things in your private time.

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