Sepia Saturday 238: Signs, big signs, small signs, men with their hands in their pockets

Sepia Saturday 238: Signs, big signs, small signs, men with their hands in their pockets

I had quite a few ways to go with this one, but decided to go with a few from my husband’s family.  His genealogy nearly all traces back to the Netherlands, so there are some really neat photos from his family that I absolutely love, with a great history and tons of stories from living descendants.

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First up, a photo of my husband’s paternal grandfather, Doede “Douglas” Jaarsma (b. 22 Apr 1911 Tjerkgaast, Friesland, Netherlands, d. 12 Feb 1995, Haledon, Passaic, New Jersey, USA) in front of the shop where he worked after arriving in the USA.  They arrived by boat in 1951 with their three children, including my husband’s father.  From the sign, I think “Aukema” is  Art Aukema  who is related through Douglas’ sister, Grace (Getje) who married an Aukema.  I’m pretty sure the building for “Sussex Welding” doesn’t exist anymore since that’s the area I grew up in and I can’t remember seeing it ever.  The photo was probably taken about 1953 or thereabouts.

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Another one from my husband’s family, continuing in that vein.  These are three unknown girls in front of a sign that says “An De Weg” – “Aan den weg” in Dutch, so google tells me, translates to “On The Way, so a slight misspelling, but it might be a regional dialect sort of thing.  I haven’t been able to turn up where this was taken or who is in the photo, but you can tell from the back it was taken in July of 1930 (or 1938?) in “Lunters” which I’m assuming is Lunteren, a small town in Gelderland.  The taller woman in the back almost looks like my husband’s paternal grandmother, but it’s hard to make out if that’s really her in the photo.  I did a quick search to see if the place still existed but came up with nothing for the sign and no photos that looked like that via google image search.  If you know where this was taken, please leave a comment!

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10 Comments

    1. Sheetar

      Thanks! I’m pretty sure that particular building was swallowed up by another family member’s business that has since expanded. I really need to check with my father-in-law to be 100% sure.

  1. Isn’t it frustrating when the photograph is just not quite clear enough to identify the people in it? I have so many photos like that.

    I love those lace valances in the window of An-De-Weg!

  2. Karen S.

    It will be interesting to see if anyone does know more about the last photo. Our family has some unknowns too, and we’ll probably never be able to find out who or where the photo was taken. Good luck, it’s a nice photo.

  3. Patricia A. Dickson

    I believe the first picture is of my dad, Art Aukema’s welding shop. He was in business with a partner. I do not know the partner’s name. He left New a jersey in the early 50’s and settled in Florida where he established a dairy farm. He passed away in 2011.

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