I was born in 1940, so I have lived about half of the total history since the town of Borculo was established. When I look at the Charter Member of Borculo CRC, I do not know those individuals, but when I see the picture of the council members in office at the 50th Anniversary, I say, "I knew all those guys!" In fact, if you look closely at the picture, you would notice that Herm Stremler has only one arm showing...because he only had one arm. And one of the deacons, Johannes Schout, was my grandfather. Many of the people in the photo of the congregation at the 75th Anniversary were people I observed from the pew twice every Sunday for 18 years and many are identifiable in the pictures even some near the rear of the church.
My peer group friends were Bob Walters, Delores Weaver, Lucy Geurink, Rog Steigenga, Harve Meppelink, Dave Blauwkamp, Bill and Bob DeWys, and Bern Luurtsma, but cousins Warren, Jerry, Tom, Rick, Dave, and Nancy Koop, children of Gerrit and Mae Koop were like part of our family. I get teary now just remembering them and the good times we had.
I often walk through the Borculo cemetery on the top of the Borculo hill. I have parents and grandparents, uncles, aunts, and friends buried there, and as I pass their markers the memories flow. On the north border of the cemetery, where there is now a convenience store, used to be a small house in which lived a mother with her two 'old maid' daughters. I don't recall ever seeing them at church, but I had learned a little about them because they were distant relatives. The unusual thing about this family was that one of the daughters broke her leg and she spent the rest of her life sitting in a wooden arm chair and hopping around the house in that chair.
There was another elderly lady 1/2 mile north of the main intersection of Port Sheldon and 96th St. who was a bit scary to this young boy. Minnie was a recluse living in a dilapidated completely paint free and weathered black house. My mother felt sorry for her and would occasionally visit with some goodies. I was unwilling to accompany her. Minnie's picture can be seen on the "People" page and she looks normal albeit a bit stern.
I had to walk past her place when I would visit what began as a big hole out of which the county took sand for building roads. It then filled with water and was a great place for a swim until people began throwing their junk in the hole. On one of my 1/2 mile bike trips to the "dump", my Cocker Spaniel Sandy came along. I had my ball glove on the handlebars of my bike, but when I got back home, unknown to me, the ball glove was no longer on my handlebars, but I did know Sandy was no longer with me. It was supper time but as soon as we were done eating I retraced my trip. On the gravel street that Blair Street was at the time, I saw my ball glove lying. As I approached the glove, a growling Sandy emerged from the overgrown ditch to protect my glove. What a great dog he was!