Mission Memories ~ Amsterdam Inspired

In March of 2018,  Shane went to Amsterdam on a business trip and asked Dad/Lamar if he had any addresses or memories from his mission time there. Here's Dad's answer ...

Hello Shane,

We got your letter from Amsterdam. You asked about the addresses of where I lived, and where our church in Amsterdam was located. I had to look up in my old Missionary Journal for some details. 

My mission actually started 20 Aug 1957, and we spent 8 days in the old mission home in Salt Lake City. My companion was Elder Ron Whiting, from Basalt, Idaho, also assigned to go to the Netherlands. We studied some Dutch language and missionary lessons.

Then we traveled via train to Chicago and New York and boarded the SS Maasdam for the trip to The Netherlands, 5-14 September. Newly arriving missionaries in The Netherlands usually went straight to The Hague (Den Haag), where the mission home was located, and where the missionary school was located, where we could get additional language and culture training. However, since we had only the two of us new missionaries, and they were expecting three more missionaries in three weeks, they decided to send us out with a missionary companion to bone us up on that kind of stuff. 

I was sent to Amsterdam, where my companion was Elder Robert J. DeBry, now the famous ambulance chaser. Elder DeBry was the District President in Amsterdam, and spoke very good Dutch. He was a good teacher. We lived above the church, which was then at Weteringschans 101. It was just one of the many buildings along the street. The church was on the main level, and there were four of us missionaries living on the upper floors. 

The church was near some famous buildings in Amsterdam. One of them was Het Rijks Museum, which had lots of art work by Rembrandt, especially his famous Night Watch. The other building was Het Concert Gebouw, translated to The Concert Building. That is still in operation today. I hear on the BBC about concerts coming from Het Concert Gebouw. We had a missionary choir, and sang in lots of places around the mission, and one of the places we sang was Het Concert Gebouw. I still have the programs for this concert in my missionary journal. (See London Temple Dedication for another choir experience). 

After that assignment in Amsterdam, I went to the missionary school in Den Haag to learn more Dutch. That was at the church there, Loosduinsekade 11. That was a regular church building, and is likely still there. 

After that, I had assignments in Arnhem, by the German border, and then back to Den Haag, and then to the town of Ijmuiden, which was in the Amsterdam district. It was a town of over 100,000 but hadn’t had missionaries in over 30 years. We organized our own meetings in Ijmuiden, above a bar. We had other meetings in the nearby city of Haarlem. 

Then I returned to Den Haag, now as the missionary teacher. After that I served in Zwolle, and then Rotterdam North. 

I never did get to serve in the northern provinces of The Netherlands, Friesland and Groningen. My grandfather (Ate Westra) was born in Friesland and my grandmother (Geeske Egberts de Haan) was born in Groningen. They married in Groningen in 1902 and came to Utah in 1907. My father (Joseph Ate Westra) was born in SLC in 1911. 

After my mission ended, in May 1960, I spent about three weeks in Friesland, doing some genealogical research. Then we traveled through Europe and took a ship home, the SS United States, four days. Two of the five missionaries traveling together had purchased Volkswagons, so we traveled in those, through Europe, and put them on the ship, and drove them to Utah. 

In 1960, near the end of my mission, they were preparing to make the first Stake in The Netherlands. It was actually the first non-English speaking stake in the world. I don’t know for sure if there are now more than one Stake in The Netherlands. You can use your Dutch and ask when you go to church there. There is now one temple in The Netherlands. One of the missionaries serving with me, Elder Springer, went back to the Netherlands to help build the Temple. He is a builder and used to live in our ward in Timmerman’s house. He recently died.

You mentioned you stayed away from the shady areas of Amsterdam. We would sometimes go down to the Red Light District and call the young women working there to repentance. One of my companions actually did talk to one of the girls. Many of them were just teenagers. They would sit in a showroom behind a big window, in their pretty formal dresses. Back then, you could tell the location of the Red Light District, by the big Catholic Church, with a huge red cross on top. I think maybe the popes have since then stopped that display of obvious connection between the Catholic Church and the Red Light District. 

I’m glad you know what unsafe areas to stay away from----visitors often don’t know that. Wendy didn’t know on her mission, and was in a bad part and the buses had quit for the night. A policeman stopped and told them they needed to get out of that dangerous area. They called their zone leaders to come get them. When Janika went to Atlanta this past summer to be an EFY counselor, she met some people that had known Wendy on her mission!

The churches in the northern part of Holland were mostly Dutch Reformed, John Calvin, and the churches in the southern provinces of Holland were mostly Catholic. 

Let me know more of how your church meetings went,

Dad

From Shane: Thanks for the info, Dad, that is really cool to hear!  Weteringschans 101 is very close by where I'm staying, so I'll pass by there to see what is is now. I went to the Van Gogh museum today, it is right in between the Rijks museum and the Concert building, and I walked around part of the Rijks museum afterwards -- its a really cool building. I might go into that museum tomorrow.  I looked it up, and the Den Haag Ward is still at that same address. There are currently 3 stakes in the Netherlands; Apeldoorn, Rotterdam, and The Hague (which includes Amsterdam).  Very cool to hear about your experiences, and to be where you were 59.5 years ago!

From Mom/Margie: Dad said Amsterdam is probably 4 or more times larger than Salt Lake City, which makes it even more amazing that Shane is staying close enough to walk to where Dad lived 60 years ago, out of the entire huge city.

Check out another one of Shane's trips to Holland a little later in 2018 where he visited the city of Groningen where Dad/Lamar's grandfather lived/married/worked and returned to for a mission after immigrating to the United States. Historic Homes in Holland ~ Shane's Trip.  Shane was able to locate a number of residences and church buildings from our family history!

Grandma Olive's Childhood Memories

There is a biography of Olive Laura Cushing Erskine here on the blog, based on a history written by her daughter Lucille (Grandma Lucille to the Westra siblings). Lucille also wrote up some of her memories of her mother (I Remember Mama) with reflections of their life and relationship. Sharon (Dad/Lamar's sister) wrote down some of the things Grandma Cushing had told her grandchildren about her childhood ... the document is saved in Family Search and in the Westra Dropbox, and transcribed for easier reading below.

Fun in the Good Old Days ~

 As Told To Me By My Grandmother Olive Laura Cushing Erskine

(by Sharon Westra)

We had bonfires in the fall and baked potatoes. We also had some corn husking parties. 

Around Halloween, the boys were very mischievous. We had water running down just about every street, and the boys would knock little bridges off. People had outside toilets, and they would be knocked over. Lots of gates would be taken off. People who remembered, would take their gates in until after Halloween was over. It was fun to walk around the next day and see all the damage. Baby buggies would be hanging up on light poles. Light butcher shop carts would be hanging up something, or be placed on sheds.

Thanksgiving was celebrated with the usual family dinners, and we planned it weeks ahead. We would fix baskets of fruit and nuts, bottled fruit and jams and take as a surprise package to the poor. 

In the winter we used to go sleigh riding on the hills. My brother made a schooner which could sit about half-dozen people. Or we would fasten two or three sleighs together. We would go ice skating on the lake. No shoe skates, just clamp on skates. There would be an orchestra right on the pond at Liberty Park, and we would skate to music. They had stoves in sheds around the lake to get us warm. We used to hang on wagons and cutters and bobsleighs with our skates on, or we would stand on the runners of the bobsleigh. We would also tie or sleighs on the back.

We would have taffy pulls, house games and surprise parties. We had lots of plays and programs, dramatics and concerts.

We had a piano and organ, and I would play while everybody stood around the piano and sang. We had contest programs, and I got second prize for playing America the best. We had a children's choir, which was conducted y Evan Stevens.

At Christmas time, we sang carols. We threaded cranberries and popcorn for decorations on our tree. We also made paper chains. We hung fancy cards on the tree, and burned little candles, which was quite dangerous. 

We didn’t have many toys. A doll and book for the girls, and marbles, tops and books for the boys. We were very fond of the Chatter Box Books and the Stereopticon for viewing pictures. When we were older, we had dance clubs, and had square dances, fox trots and waltzes. 

In May we would go up on the hills and gather wild flowers. We would always have a maypole and picnics.

We went bicycle riding in the summer. The boys would go fishing and hunting. The girls would play hopscotch games and jumping rope. The boys played marbles and spun tops. The mothers were always darning the boys stockings. The boys wore knee length pants and long stockings, and after a game of marbles there was darning to be done. The boys made sling shots and wooden guns. We would play hide and seek and kick the can.

In the summer we would have excursions and picnics to Great Salt Lake and to the Parks. We had all kinds of races and games with prizes to be won. The boys played baseball. We would carry our lunch in a large clothes basket. We had to take china dishes and glasses because we had no paper plates or cups.

All in all, those were wonderful days, and we had to make our own fun, and we appreciated the fun we had.

**************************************

I'll have to ask Sharon if these memories were ones she specifically asked Grandma Olive about and recorded from an interview, or things she remembers hearing her grandmother mention and then created a compilation afterward. 

If YOU were to interview YOUR grandmother about childhood memories, what questions would you ask? What things would you like to hear about? Whatever age you are ... what memories from your childhood do you think would be interesting to YOUR grandchildren?

This inspired Mom/Margie to write up some of her childhood memories ... check them out HERE.

Olive Laura Cushing Erskine

Olive Laura Erskine was Dad/Lamar's grandmother, Grandma Lucille's mother. On Family Search, she is listed as Olive Laura Hunt, but in life (and death, as seen in her obituary) Olive used the name "Cushing" instead of Hunt (ironically, Cushing was Laura's maiden name as well as her married name.) Olive's father was Samuel Hunt. Laura, Olive's mother, remarried after her first husband Henry Cushing passed away (they had three sons together). Sadly, Samuel left Laura, abandoning her and their unborn daughter Olive. Laura had Olive sealed to her first husband and raised her little family on her own.

Olive was born October 18, 1882. She lived her entire life in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her grandparents lived nearby (they passed away when she was a teenager) and her Uncle Arthur had a farm in Sandy. As she mentioned childhood memories to her children and grandchildren, it was noted that her brothers teased her, and she once had to have her long hair cut when some boys threw burrs in her hair. She reminisced on the fun of the holidays, Halloween/Thanksgiving and Christmas, and going sledding and skating. Taffy pulls, games, plays and programs, dramatics and concerts. The colorized picture in the collage above was from a school play where Olive played Queen Ester. They had a piano and organ in their home, which was unusual for the time. Friends would come and sing around the piano. Olive played (being taught by her mother) and she sang with the Tabernacle Choir. Olive worked at Rexmeyers Millinery, trimming beautiful hats. 

When Olive and Claude were courting, he would walk down to her home from 1st Avenue, and she would walk up to meet him. They were married June 12, 1907 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. The reception was in Laura's home, and Grandma Lucille mentioned having her mother's wedding dress in her cedar chest. Claude and Olive made their home at 836 Spruce Avenue, and there they stayed their entire married life (the location was later renamed 831 Harrison Ave). Olive's mother bought a home just through the block (837 Sherman Avenue) where she lived until she was 80, when she came to live with Olive until she passed away 10 years later. Claude and Olive talked about buying a new home, but just ended up making improvements to what they had - installing indoor plumbing, adding a sleeping porch, changing the stove from coal to gas, switching from heatrola to floor furnace, wood floors to carpeting, added a garage and patio, ice box to refrigerator.

Six children were born to this union. Five girls and one boy. The first child, Mildred only lived two days. Then came Ruth, Lucille, Maxine, Harold and Shirley. There were fun family home evenings, outings to Lagoon, Saltair, Liberty Park for skating and sleigh riding. In the nice weather, they would take hikes, picnic or camp in the canyons. They would play Croconole, Pit, Rook, Rummy. Claude would play the mouth organ while Olive played piano. Claude would bring a big bag of taffy home every Saturday. They bought their first car in 1925. Every summer they would attend an "Erskine Reunion" at Liberty Park with all the extended family.

During World War 1, they had a community garden for all the neighbors on Harrison and Browning Avenues. The children sold vegetables and bought thrift stamps. Armistice Day (November 11, 1918) was memorable with parades and celebrations (except that Maxine was sick with the flu). 

As the children grew up and got married, Claude and Olive took trips to California, the Northwest, Yellowstone, Fish Lake, Bear Lake, Glacier National Park, and all the canyons around Salt Lake, Provo, Logan and Ogden. They loved going to the Wilkes Theater to see plays and going to Saltair on picnics. They belonged to a dance club, which they enjoyed. There was a group of friends that would meet each Saturday night to play the game of "500"  ... they called this the "500 club" and met for over 40 years!

Olive was known as a peacemaker by her friends. She loved to write poems and she enjoyed performing with the Tabernacle Choir. She also sang in the ward choir, taught Sunday School and served as secretary of the Primary General Board.  Claude passed away February 14, 1953 ... Leukemia and complications from chicken pox. It was Valentine's Day, and he called the florist and ordered a bouquet for Olive before he died.  She stayed alone in the home for five years, before selling and moving in with Lucille in 1958. In August 1959, she had a heart attack, and passed away August 5th. Maxine was living in California, but Ruth and Doc, Lucille and Joe, and Shirley and LeGrande were at her bedside. Harold (living in Dayton, Ohio) arrived at the hospital just before she died. 

This history was compiled from documents found on Family Search. Originally, I couldn't find any written history for Olive, which I thought was unusual, because Lucille had been so complete with her own biography, and wrote up a history for her husband Joe, her father Claude, her grandmother Laura, as well as other memories. Looking on Family Search, there is a PDF history in Claude's Memories - 20 pages long, with only the first three pages actually being Claude's life story. There, I found Lucille's "Life of Olive Laura Cushing" as well as an "I Remember Mama" document with memories, and "Fun in the Good Old Days - As Told To Me By My Grandmother" written by Sharon. I've added these original documents to Family Search under Olive's name.  

Lamar's Missionary Memories ~ First Baptism

As Chris took slides and had them scanned to digital files, he's been attempting to label and place the pictures in the correct chronological placement in Dropbox and including the information for photos uploaded to Family Search. As part of the process, he would forward a photo to Dad and ask for his memories. For missionary photos, Dad would often turn to his mission journal. Here's his response ...

I found other photos in my missionary journal, with the same sister. On page 142-376. That means journal page number 142, and day 376 of my mission. The date was 30 Aug 1958. This was the first baptism I had on my mission. I had labored in The Hague, 26 May to August 11, when I was transferred to Ijmuiden. I was in the missionary choir, and we practiced in The Hague many Saturdays. I returned to The Hague for a missionary choir practice, and while there, we did the baptism. Here is the excerpt from my journal for that day: 

Saturday, We got up early and caught a train for Den Haag (The Hague) – arrived ½ hour late. We practiced (9:30-12:00), ate lunch together (hot dogs, lemonade) and practiced 1:30. Elder de Vries informed me that I was to baptize someone that afternoon and to be ready. The baptismal service was at 3:30, and four people were to be baptized. (Sister Touw; her son, Rien; a daughter of an American couple, a son of a member in Den Haag, Indonesian). I baptized Rien and Elder de Vries baptized Zr Touw, in very little, very warm, water. After we had changed clothes, we confirmed the new members. I confirmed Zr Touw, and E. de Vries confirmed Rien. The meeting was very nice and inspirational – 5 other investigators were present. Four of us Elders practiced a bit (quartet), E. Smith, E. Allen and I talked, rolled out our sleeping bags, and sacked out for the nite. 

The photo in my journal was that of Sister Touw and her three sons. 

She sent it to me, with a nice note on the back, all written in Dutch, of course.

Chris is working to take Dad/Lamar's entire missionary journal and retype it, taking it from handwritten to digital format. To look at more of Dad's missionary writings, check it out HERE. 

Lamar's Missionary Memories ~ London Temple Dedication

This picture was taken, 7 Sep 1958, in England. It was the dedication of the London Temple. For many of the missions in Europe, the missionaries were all invited to the dedication. We had a missionary choir, and our choir was invited to sing at one of the dedication ceremonies. President David O. McKay was there, and Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. I somehow made contact with some of my friends serving at the time in Europe. These two friends are: Jim Peterson, serving in Norway, and Tim Maxwell, on the right, serving in England. Here is some of the entry for that date from my missionary journal:

We had to be up at 7:00 for breakfast at the hotel. The Elders Choir had practice, 9:00-10:30. We all left on the buses, 11:00, for the temple. I met E. Jim Peterson, E. Knaphus at the hotel. We arrived at the temple about 12:30 and walked around and took pictures. I met Jim again, Tim Maxwell, Norm Egan, and others I knew from home. We went in the temple front door at 2:30 for the 2nd dedicatory session. It was a beautiful meeting and Apostle Brown, Apostle Moyle, and Pres. McKay spoke. Our choir wasn't able to sing. Pres. Jos. Fielding Smith led the Hosannah Shout. ..... The choir all left on one bus to travel to London to sing in the So. London Branch. We arrived about 7:15, fifteen minutes late, and marched in from the back door to sing two numbers, "O My Father" and "Come, Come, Ye Saints" which turned out "flat". Then we left, Hugh B. Brown shaking our hands.

Lamar's Mission Memories ~ Dutch Canals

Chris asked Dad about this picture ...

The photo of the big ship reminds me of times when we would be biking from one city to another, and we could see a huge ship up ahead, looking like it was moving through a Dutch meadow. The Dutch have built huge canals, from the North Sea, to the interior port of Amsterdam.

There are complicated locks that lower the ships, about 3 or four times, down to the level of Amsterdam, which is quite a bit below sea level. When we ride our bikes, and come to where the canal is located, the bike path, and the road, go way down and under the canal, and back up on the other side.

The Dutch have done the same thing with the Harbor at Rotterdam. There is a road and bike path that goes way, way down, and under the harbor, and back up on the other side. I always worried that a really big ship would slice into the tunnel when I was biking down there.

Dad (Joseph LaMar Westra)

Mission Memories - Dutch Costumes & the City of Urk

I was working in the town of Zwolle, with my companion, Elder Dalebout, and we rode our bikes to the city of Kampen, and from there, we took a bus to the little town of Urk. Here is the excerpt from my journal: 

Okt 15, 1959: We headed for Kampen on the fietzen (bicycles), tracting along the way. We took a bus from Kampen to the city of Urk. It used to be an island (in the middle of the Ijsselmeer, big inland lake in the Netherlands) but two dikes made a peninsula out of it. They build up the dijks, and pump the water out of it and call it a polder. (That is where they used a lot of the windmills, to pump the water out of one side of the Dijk, and move it to the other side). Holland's land area is growing polder by polder.  The polders are excellent farming country, very fertile and completely flat. We went to Urk to have some pictures taken of us in Dutch costumes. All the people of Urk wore a funny looking Dutch costume, and my companion and I dressed up in them and had our pictures taken. (Urk must have been a tourist town, with the picture taking). In other towns in the vicinity, the people wear the funny clothes all the time as a religious expression of their faith. In those towns, they don't cater to tourists, and if people try to take their pictures, they will hide their faces. They may even take you into custody and destroy your camera. But back to Urk, we walked around the quaint little fishing city and saw the people in their costumes. The streets were only about 10 feet wide and they went every which way. No cars were allowed in the city. We tracted one street and got in one house, lady all dressed up - 14 children, man and five sons, fishing. We caught the bus back to Kampen, tracted in Kampen, and and headed back home, against the wind, 14 km. It's possible we were the first missionaries to visit Kampen or Urk, probably forever.