Page 25 - MIN SJA 8 SEPT 2015
P. 25
LOCAL A15
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Granddaughter of Former Public Works Department
Director Seeks Her Roots in Aruba
ORANJESTAD – Lieke Ras- nor’s house has recently KLM crew members, nev- ecdotes about flying, scary If anyone reading this ar-
peis the granddaughter been renovated with a er together and only for experiences and places ticle remembers Martha
of Lijkele de Hoop who completely new design. overnight stays. They are in visited. But every time we de Hoop as a child, please
was the director of the The building now houses love with the Renaissance wound up talking again contact me at: clyde-
Public Works Department the government’s Ac- Island and the center of about our island. harms@yahoo.com.q
from 1944 to 1949. The de countants Service. Lieke, a Oranjestad. Sunday, over
Hoop family was our neigh- stewardess with KLM, is cur- a long breakfast at the
bor in the building on the rently vacationing with her Matthews restaurant, I had
Lagoen Weg (now Caya husband Cees, a retired to answer many questions
Mario Harms) across the KLM B747-400 pilot. While about Aruba, its history, its
lagoon where the gover- in Aruba, at the request tourism and about people
of her mother Martha, she and places whose names
would look for information Martha had written down.
about her Mom’s one-time As when I met a former
stomping grounds. neighbor last year after 70
At the library, the first place years, Sunday morning’s
where she went for infor- meeting evoked beautiful
mation, as soon as she memories that had been
mentioned that her fam- buried in the deepest of
ily had lived in the Lagoen my consciousness.
area, the attendant told As I too have done a lot of
her about me and the traveling by plane, I was
book (“Stories by the kid happy to get Cees to ex-
from Lagoen”) that I had plain in detail many techni-
written about my youth in calities and policies of the
that area. This is how we airline industry that have
got connected. fascinated me. Of course
Lieke and Cees are fasci- all three of us had many
nated by our island. They stories to tell, and we spent
had been here before, as much time exchanging an-
