Page 58 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - Autumn 21

If you think back, almost every radio in those The Caterpillar repair company was on the
days with a wooden or Bakelite frame had the
radio station, Hilversum. Holland had four
stations in those years; and just down the road
from us on Leeuwenlaan, was the AVRO
studio, which I visited a couple of times.
AVRO was a public broadcasting station,
KRO was the Catholic station and NCRV,
Nederlands Christian Radio Organisation.
Decades later I worked for the NCRV Travel
organisation, guiding Dutch Christian groups
in Israel. None of the small circle of Dutch
speaking guides in Israel during the late
1900s had been on Hachshara.
I first worked in the
Hachshara’s huge
house’s vegetable
garden, tutored by
Mijnheer Mann a
local farmer. There
was a shaliach, Zeev,
Habonim in Holland who made us laugh, for
1950s when he spoke a single
sentence it could
contain words from four languages: German,
Dutch, Ivrit, or English. You never knew
what word would come next and often had to
guess the meaning.
As an aid to my training as a mechanic, I was
found a job in Amsterdam. I went to work for
a Caterpillar Tractor repair company called
Chee Ve Ke. Each day I hopped on a bicycle
and cycled from ‘S Graveland where we
lived, into the heart of Hilversum, to the
railway station.
Upon arriving in Mokum, I discovered that I
would have to leave the railway station by the
back door.
58
other side of the Ij, a remnant of the Rhine
Delta, today a bay in the Zuyderzee. Leaving
Habonim in Holland - 1950s
the station, I boarded the company launch to
the factory on the far side of the canal.
Nobody quite knew what to do with me, so I
was given to the travelling mechanic who
used me as his mate. We went out to farms,
where the tractors had broken down and I
assisted him with his repairs. I did not learn
much, but I did have some interesting Dutch
meals. In the early 50s not so long after the
notorious “Hunger Winter”, when many of
the population ate grass in lieu of greens, we
were invariably hosted with Aardappellen en
Jus - Potatoes and Gravy. It appeared daily,
no matter where we went.
The Hachshara differed from ours in the U.K.
In Holland, the chaverim mainly went home
for the weekend. I was often invited to the
homes of the parents of chaverim, which not
only improved my Dutch and knowledge of
the Nederlands but gave me the opportunity
to savour real Dutch cuisine.
I frequented Amsterdam, finding my way
around. The canals were fascinating, and I
frequently rewarded myself after the walks,