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LOCAL Tuesday 1 OcTOber 2024
Adriaan Laclé

One of Aruba’s richest men in the twentieth century

good condition and can be
found in the back streets of
main street Oranjestad.
Regarding his personal life,
it has been said that he was
married twice during his life-
time. He had his first daugh-
ter during his first marriage
but lost his wife soon after
her birth. During his second
marriage, he fathered 16
children. However, it has
been said that only 11 of
those 17 made it past 18
years of age. Perhaps two of
(Oranjestad)—The name any of his earlier business or- his most well-known daugh-
Adriaan Laclé may ring a deals, but during his hay day ters are Maria Monica Laclé
bell to locals as one of the he often helped people get and Maria Veneranda Laclé,
bigger roads on the island, loans, was a well-established who went on to marry suc-
but about a century ago, trader, and owned several cessful brothers Eloy Arends
Adriaan Laclé was a rich plots of land. In fact, he com- and Maximilian Arends, re-
businessman, well-known missioned the construction of spectively. Their houses are
for his generosity, wealth, the famous La Quinta Car- still standing; Eloy and Maria
and taste. men manor—now a restau- Monica’s mansion functions
rant. Though he himself never as a townhall, used to host
Adriaan was born in 1866 and lived in the beautiful manor, civil marriages, while Maximil- though currently under Source: De Kolibrie op
was the eldest of six children. his own house also reflected ian and Maria Veneranda’s renovation after years left de Rots (en meer over de
Not much is known about his success and good taste. house stands on the opposite in ruin.q geschiedenis van Aruba) by
his childhood upbringing or Today his house still stands in side of the road to them— Evert Bongers.

Another Treasure of Aruba’s Beaches: Sea Glass!

NOORD - It is hard to imagine this The ruby red glass stones are typi-
happening today, but years ago cally from old car tail-lights.
people dumped all kinds of refuse
straight into the ocean, including Then, the sapphire rocks are the
old cars, and their household gar- remnants of broken apothecary
bage, which of course included bottles. The most common and the
lots of glass. Over the next 30 years easiest to find are the brown (Ams-
the pounding waves cleaned the tel & Polar beer), green (Heineken
beach, by breaking down every- & Balashi beer) and clear glass
thing but glass and pottery. The of sea glass. The sea glass that was which are the soft much loved
pounding waves washed the trash created is the product of a very “soft drink” bottles.
up and down, back and forth. Tons long and interesting process. It can
of polished, broken glass pieces take anywhere from 10 to 30 years If you like to see the sea glass for
were created by the pounding surf. to make sea glass. The name for yourself, and be in awe of the
These smoothened, colored glass any piece of glass that finds its way power of nature, rent a car or
particles then settled along the sea to the ocean and tumbles around jeep and go explore our deserted
shore in millions, and that is why in the water long enough is “Sea beaches on the north side of the
you can find these beautiful and glass. island. Make it a fun family day!
colorful pieces on the north shore Even if we didn’t mean to pollute
beaches of Aruba. The colorful pieces of glass are the Beaches how we did, it is inspir-
being used for decoration, hand- ing to see just how the earth can
Especially on the strip on white crafts and jewelry! correct our mistakes.
sand between the famous Natural Once glass makes its way into the The waves and weather condi-
Bridge” and the huge red anchor ocean, the glass is broken up into tions wore down the overwhelm- Funny, how trash can change into
close to “Grapefield” beach you shards and is tumbled around in ing amount of garbage in the wa- treasures!
will be able to find your own pieces the water, where sand and other ter, creating millions of beautiful
rocks act like sandpaper to smooth smooth rocks. Everybody knows that you are not
out its rough edges. Sometimes as allowed to take local shells home,
the sea glass is passed through fire, It’s hard to believe the short- but the people working at the air-
it becomes fire glass, the rarest of sighted mistakes we were making port have no problem you taking
sea glass with certain inclusions, that could have potentially ru- sea glass home. A few of those
just like precious gems. ined these beautiful beaches. But pieces make great souvenirs. You
thanks to natural processes, the can place them in a wine glass or
For years, the water beat against ocean transformed the trash into large bottle for decoration and ev-
the different kinds of trash being the sea glass. ery time you look at it a smile will
dumped. Glass, household ap- Each colored gem on the beach light up your face thinking back of
pliances and even motor parts has its own story. your unforgettable Aruba vaca-
were discarded on the beach. tion! q