Tulips and Happy Easter With the Family Tree in the Ozarks

Butterflies love our tulip tree

I need to plant tulips in our new yard next fall — note to self — realizing this spring our yard is tulip-less with the exception of a tulip tree. We've moved.
I plant tulips because I'm descended from the land of tulips and I love their waxy petals and vibrant colors, which I see as nature's reward for enduring the dreary rains of March.

I've always been wistful about seeing the tulip fields in Holland. Tulips in Arkansas are quite the opposite because it would take an earth mover to plant a field of bulbs. Official planting instructions for tulips suggest you dig a hole for the bulb, six to ten inches deep. However, in Arkansas, we say, "Plant six inches deep or until you hit the first rock."

Anticipating Easter and all the joys it brings with the celebration of God's resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, and all the promises of new beginnings and eternity the resurrection brings, I paged through our Easter album from 2012, and thought you might like to glimpse our celebration.

Chocolate covered strawberries and Easter cake pops by Amy & Gwen

We're big on desserts. Wendy reserves a table for desserts, served with dessert coffees, chilled drinks, and coffee frappé; and places the traditional lamb cake in the center. Along with chocolate-covered strawberries, cake pops, and lamb cake, there were pies and cookies and more chocolate.
Wendy and Greg hosted Easter. They go all out, planting spring flowers, decorating, and cooking. Greg is a grill master, and the men prepare the meats. This year the menu included prime rib (thanks, Jeff and Lisa) and grilled chicken (thanks, Greg and Wendy).

Everyone arrives in church clothes but moments later, they jump into jeans and shorts, ready for fun.

There's cousin time for visiting ....

After much preparation, dinner is served!

Everyone dives in, children first.

Easter dinner is in full swing. The children eat picnic style in the tree house or on the deck or trampoline ... escorted by Copper.

 

The Easter Egg Hunt follows quickly!

  

 Drew plots his strategy, should he go right or left, wondering, Are there any eggs left to find? Afterwards, it's to the trampoline again to open the eggs and share their stash.

 

Lastly, we veg out, visit, play games, and count our blessings!

Grandma Minnie, and How I Was Christened Patricia Ann

Grandma Minnie, Dad and me

Me at six months

As a child I let it be known to my mother that I thought my name was rather plain and I didn’t like it. I was always called “Pat” and not “Patricia” or "Trish" or "Trisha." Why wasn’t I one of those lucky girls with a pretty name?

Mom was always great at handling my complaints. She told me how lucky I was to have my name. As she explained it to me, Dad was overseas in the Army and Grandma Minnie was at her bedside when I was born. Mom described Minnie as very persuasive, which I knew to be true.

Minnie was insisting that Mom name me in part for the Queen of Holland (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria, Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1890-1948) and wanted me named “Wilhelmina Henrietta Braaksma.”

Mom said that “Patricia Ann” was the first name that popped into her mind and at that critical moment, she said to Minnie, “I’m calling her “Patricia Ann.” End of story.

“Now aren’t you glad,” Mom said to me, sure she had done the right thing. However, after hearing that story, I was always wistful of the name that might have been, “Wilhelmina Henrietta Braaksma."

Mom, Dad and me, Madison, Wis.

Grandpa Dewey, Dad (John Dewey) and me, Madison, Wis.

Dime Store photo of mom and dad, dad on furlough and mom pregnant with me.

Family Lore: I learned to walk in Minnie and Dewey’s tavern, thanks to the floor-level stainless coolers. I would walk, grabbing the handles as I pulled myself along, handle to handle, starstruck by my reflection in the stainless doors.

Minnie and Dewey were amazing grandparents, but they fell short in the eyes of the Dutch Anglican church when they bought a tavern and were excommunicated from the church.

I was Minnie's second granddaughter and the daughter of John Dewey Braaksma Sr., Minnie's oldest son. The first granddaughter was Alice Faye, daughter of Sam and Ann (Braaksma) Meekma. Alice Faye, according to Mom’s Family Lore, was named after movie legend Alice Faye.

Alice Faye Meekma

Alice Faye was a year older than me and of course, I loved being her playmate. Alice was the cousin I spent the most time with because when I visited Uncle Sam and Aunt Ann summers on their farm in Randolph, WI, Aunt Ann gave Alice watch over me. I tagged along on her many farm chores – calling the cows, feeding the chickens, slopping the hogs, playing in the barn, milking the cows, shucking corn – oh, those were the days.

I love this photo of Alice wearing her gold locket and bracelet. Mom noted on this photo that Alice Faye was wearing my blue jumper, but I remember all of the dresses Aunt Ann had sewn for Alice and how I got to wear those dresses when I went to church with the Meekma's.
It's apparent as you look into her eyes that Alice Faye's confident nature made her a great playmate. She was brave and adventurous. She had piano lessons, played trumpet in the high school band.
She went on to graduate from college, married a wonderful man, raised a beautiful, young family and then suddenly, she had an aneurysm and was gone.  She died on my birthday in 1984. Just thinking back on that dreadful day when we heard the news, I was at a loss then and am at a loss now, sure we were meant to grow old together and missing my friend.

Minnie and Dewey

Dewey Braaksma, 1917, wedding photo

Minerva Vander Wal Braaksma, 1917, wedding photo

Looking back, it seems like yesterday that I was a little girl visiting my grandparents, Dewey and Minnie Braaksma, in Randolph, Wisconsin. Now I have only cherished memories that bring a smile whenever I think back. Thus this Blog for my aunts and uncles, cousins, and family as we celebrate the fun we had growing up with amazing grandparents!


It all began with great-grandparents John and Anna Braaksma who sailed from Holland on the "Rijndam" the morning of April 10, 1909. The ship's manifest lists John (age 43) and Anna (38) as man and wife and able to read and write. With them were their eight children, Dewey (17), John (15), twins Jesse and Ray (11), Jennie (9), Peter (6), Frank (2), and baby Albert (1). 
The ship's manifest documented the family's final destination, Cambria, Wis., a farming community. A family friend, Jesse Wiersma of Cambria, Wis., paid $244 for the family's passage from Holland.

Grandpa Dewey (Doeke) was the oldest of the children. As a teenager, he was already working as a farmer in Holland and was listed with the occupation "farmer" on the manifest. He was described with brown hair and gray eyes, the same as his father. His mother, Anna, was described with brown hair and blue eyes.

Dewey was born, March 3, 1892, in Morra, Oostdongeradeel, Netherlands.

"Minnie," Minerva Vander Wal, was born May 6, 1899, in Hilversem, in South Holland, the Netherlands. She immigrated to the United States in 1906. Her father was Henry Vander Wal (1864-1946) and her mother was Dena Reise (1867-1910).

Minnie had a sister, Anna, who came to America as well, who was married to Alvin, a farmer. I don't know Anna's married name. We just always referred to them as "Aunt Anna" and "Uncle Alvin." I remember outings with Grandma Minnie to their farm. Anna kept the cleanest house in all of Wisconsin, and watching Aunt Anna and Minnie sit around the kitchen table and jabber away was a delight for me, even as a child.


Minnie and Dewey were married, March 7, 1917, in Friesland, Wis., which is when the adventure began. I wish I knew how it started - how they met. How they fell in love. And what it was like for these two immigrants from Holland, who raised a family of ten children, John Dewey, Walter, Ann, Harold, Dena, Raymond, Betty Jane, Peter Gene, Marvin,and Donald Wayne.

Minnie died on September 29, 1982, at 83 in Randolph, Wisconsin.Both Minnie and Dewey are buried in Randolph, along with their eldest son, John Dewey Braaksma Sr.

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Thanks to family historian and second cousin Doug Braaksma we have the Dewey Braaksma family heritage of Great Grandparents John and Anna Braaksma. Doug, a grandson of Ray Braaksma, compiled the family genealogy in 2002 after extensive research, a genealogy program, and two trips to the Netherlands.
Information on the Minnie-Dewey genealogy was provided by Mrs. Sam (Ann Braaksma) Meekma and Mrs. Mervin (Dena Braaksma) Olson, the two eldest daughters of Minnie and Dewey.
Contributions from Sandie Wilhelm, daughter of Ann and Sam Meekma and granddaughter to Minnie and Dewey.
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Click to see the front side of the manifest listing the John and Anna Braaksma family
Click to see the back side of the manifest listing the John and Anna Braaksma family