Scrubbing Day in s'Graveland

“It is Saturday  --  scrubbing day. [. . . ] Wooden-shod servants are splashing and mopping and soaking and rubbing every exterior surface, horizontal and perpendicular,” wrote John Higinbotham in the 1910 edition of Three Weeks in Holland and Belgium. The scene must have seemed quaint and picturesque to the foreign tourist upon his arrival in Rotterdam a hundred years ago. He continues, “Thrift, cleanliness and a high average of comfort seem to abound.”

The casual tourist taking notes for a travel book probably did not stop to ponder what lay behind the stereotypical image he painted of cleanliness, comfort and thrift. But if one knew where to look and what questions to ask, a more discerning traveler may have looked behind the scenes to discover what (or who) made this picture look so pleasant.

Hendrina and Elizabeth Daams ca. 1900

In fact, both of my grandparents and their families were members of the working class in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Netherlands, and their efforts, along with those of their siblings and acquaintances, helped contribute to the pleasant picture of comfort and cleanliness. In an earlier post, we learned how Grandma Elizabeth Daams and her sister Hendrina left school and went out to work as domestic servants in Loosdrecht after their father died. Elizabeth worked for several wealthy families for a period of ten years before being able to save enough money to emigrate to the United States when she and Barend Vanden Bergh married.

In the nearby town of s’Graveland, Grandpa Vanden Bergh’s brother Jacob worked in one of the many laundries or bleaching establishments, as well as at least one relative of Grandma Elizabeth’s, known as Tante Ger (“Aunt Gertie”). According to an undated booklet that my mother received from a cousin in the Netherlands (“Bleek, Bleeker, Bleekst,” by J.A. Hendriks, Jr.), as early as 1831 there were as many as 42 laundries in s’Graveland.

The name “s’Graveland” can be translated as “the Count’s Land,” and indeed in those early days, the social system resembled a feudal system. The village consisted of about ten large estates owned by members of the ruling class from Amsterdam, the “regenten.” This system was already in place in the seventeenth century, and continued until the 1920’s.

Living conditions of the working people were very difficult a hundred years ago. As noted by Mom’s cousin Jasper in the notebook he sent her, “Tante Ger” recounted how she had to work from five o'clock in the morning until ten or eleven o"clock at night, especially in the summer.

Country estate in s'Graveland ca. 1910

Another Vanden Bergh ancestor (my great-grandfather) worked as a gardener on one of the estates owned by the feudal gentry. There were at least twelve employees in the mansion and garden. In the summer, he also worked from 6:00 AM until 9:00 or sometimes 11:00 in the evening. The only time he had to cultivate his own garden, where the family grew potatoes and vegetables, was between 4:00 and 6:00 AM. Sometimes to earn a few extra cents, he would take over night watch duties from other people.

Of course, much has changed since those early days, with the mechanization of the laundry business as well as other labor-saving devices and improved working conditions due to the labor movement. Nowadays, most of us can pursue leisure activities while machines wash and dry our clothes.

"Three Weeks in Holland and Belgium"

"Three Weeks" book with tulips

I came across an interesting old book on a bookshelf in my sister's house recently. The book, entitled Three Weeks in Holland and Belgium, belonged to my mother. It was published in 1910 (first edition 1908), one of a series of travel books written by John U. Higinbotham, with the mission, stated in the Preface, of "act[ing] as a spokesman for the humble and despised class grouped in travel books under the name 'tourist' "; and "furnish[ing] to its readers the one thing needful in many cases to make them globetrotters, viz., a little courage."

The book recounts the author's arrival in Rotterdam, and travels in The Hague, Amsterdam, Leiden, Delft, Haarlem, Zaandam, among other towns, villages, and cities in both the Netherlands and Belgium. Written in a sometimes tongue-in-cheek tone in elegant Edwardian English, the book has a particular interest for me in that it paints a picture of pre-World War I life in the Netherlands, the era in which my grandparents lived shortly before their departure for the United States.

Upon  arrival in Rotterdam aboard the Statendam, Higinbotham's first impressions portray the typical Dutch stereotypes of cleanliness and orderliness, and the ubiquity of bicycles:

"The first impression of Holland is pleasing, and this impression is deepened with every day of our stay. Thrift, cleanliness and a high average of comfort seem to abound. (page 13)

"It is Saturday -- scrubbing day. [. . .] Wooden-shod servants are splashing and mopping and soaking and rubbing every exterior surface, horizontal and perpendicular. (page 11)

"Bicycles are as much in evidence all around us as they were in America fifteen years ago." (page 15) (This last comment may imply that motor-cars were already becoming more evident in the thoroughfares in the U.S.)

Of Delft, which I visited a hundred years after Higinbotham, he writes:

"Delft is a city of misfortune. In the middle of the sixteenth century she was destroyed by fire. In 1584 she was the scene of the assassination of William the Silent. In 1654 a powerful explosion ruined more than five hundred houses. In 1742 a similar catastrophe occurred. Do you wonder that Delft china was blue, amid such jarring surroundings, and that its manufacture has ceased with the exception of one factory?" (pages 24-25)

I also visited this factory in 2011, and it is still the only one functioning, De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles, founded in 1653. 

Delft - Nieuwe Kerk 2011

Higinbotham describes the square with the Stadhuis (City Hall) at one end and the Nieuwe Kerke (New Church) at the other, where I also took photos during my visit to the city, and continues on to the Prinsenhof, the scene of William's assassination:

"We went first to the dining room where William the Silent ate his last meal. His wife had forebodings, and did not like the appearance of the messenger, Gerards, who had arrived that day, but William did not share her fears. He had escaped assassination so often [. . .] that he had reason to believe in a certain degree of immunity. So, surrounded by his family, he stepped from the dining-room into the hall. Behind the column where we stood crouched Gerards, and, as William reached the first step, two poisoned bullets were discharged, passing through his body and burying themselves in the wall a short distance above the steps. Draperies probably helped conceal the assassin, but with that exception everything is as it was on July 10, 1584, the day of the crime." (pp. 28-29)

Higinbotham continues on to Utrecht:

"Utrecht is the capital of Utrecht province. It is a city of 108,000 people. It was the ford of the Rhine for ancient Rome. The Rhine here splits into the Old Rhine, which we saw at Leiden, and the Vecht, which empties into the Zuider Zee near Muiden. [. . .] We drive along the Oude Gracht (Old Canal) and feast our eyes on enchanting scenes along the canal. The town is one or two stories above the water, and people live under the pavements and their doors open on the canal. (pp. 127-128)

Utrecht - Church Tower (Domtoren) 2011

"The Cathedral was once one of the finest and largest churches in Holland, but the nave blew down in 1674 and was never rebuilt, consequently our carriage is standing on ground that was once occupied by worshippers, while the choir and tower now stand as two distinct and widely separated buildings." (pp. 128-129)

"Utrecht has a one-horse tram system that permeates the entire city. Its cars seat eight persons. Think of that in a city of over 100,000 inhabitants. The cars are never crowded, and it is a pleasure to ride in them through the clean old burg." (pp. 130-131)

I also visited Utrecht in 2011 and saw much the same scenes in the old section of the city as did the traveler a century before me. But the city's population has tripled since Higinbotham's day, and of course it has all the modern infrastructure expected in today's digital age.

Another city which Higinbotham visited, and I did as well, is Zaandam, where I stayed for a week at my cousin's house. One of the points of interest in that city is the house where Russian czar Peter the Great lived for a short time in 1697. Higinbotham describes his visit to the house:

Zaandam - Czar Peter House 2011

". . . we struck out on foot for the house of Peter the Great. A long walk brought us to our destination. The house was occupied by him in 1697 for a short time. It is now the property of the Russian government and has been enclosed by another building, and not any too soon. The high water caused by the breaking of a dike almost carried it off in 1825. Since then it has been well taken care of. This is the birthplace of the Russian navy [. . .] The house [. . .] was a hundred years old when Peter moved in. Many memorials adorn the walls. The original bed and table are preserved. [. . .] Sight-seers can thank Anna Paulowna for much of the preservation of this interesting house. She was a Russian princess, a descendant of Peter, and married William II of Holland." (pp. 83-85)

I also went on foot to visit the Czar Peter House and saw the same bed and table. It was difficult to picture the tall czar sleeping in the tiny cupboard bed with any degree of comfort.

Higinbotham spent three weeks in 1908 touring the Netherlands and Belgium; like many Americans, he has conflated the provinces of North and South Holland with the country as a whole, which is of course the Netherlands. At last, as his touring comes to an end, he boards the steamer for the United States:

"It is raining hard up to the moment that we leave. Except for the returning tourists, an American-bound liner carries no holiday crowd. The Hollanders on board are, as a rule, homeseekers and not sightseers. Until their fortunes are made, they will not see the canals and meadows of their kindly but strict old fatherland. The longshoremen march away with the big gangplanks on wheels between them. There is an imperceptible tremor as our ship wakes to life, we swing slowly into midstream, the band plays, the handkerchiefs wave and we are off." (pp. 273-274)

Higinbotham's description of his departure from the Netherlands is very different from my return trip on a jet airplane. But it gives me an idea of how the scene of my grandparents' departure from the shore may have looked. And for that I am grateful for having found this little old book.

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A digital version of Higinbotham's book is available through the University of California Digital Library at: https://archive.org/stream/threeweeksinholl00higiiala#page/n0/mode/2up

Read more about my own excursions to the locations described above at the following blog posts:

- Planning my trip: Voyage of (Re-)Discovery

- Arrival in the Netherlands: Ik ga naar Nederland

- Excursion to Delft

- Excursion to Utrecht

- Zaandam