Ida Magermans: social smoking

When I visited my grandparents bac in 2017, I spent a lot of time talking to them about current events as well as past events.

My opa (Jan Havenith) suffers from COPD from smoking when he was younger and from this he told me that oma (Ida Magermans) used to smoke in social situations. He mentioned that the height of her smoking was while they lived in the US, but that when the returned to the Netherlands, she eventually stopped.

I'm certainly glad that she did. It would be horrible if they both had to suffer this horrendous condition.

Ida Magermans: Workplace in Heerlen, Limburg

Prior to getting married, oma (Ida Magermans) worked in this building, which was a maternity hospital, opened in 1923 by Queen Wilhelmina. Oma worked in the lab doing blood work. She still has this photographed framed on the wall at their home. It must have meant a great deal to her. It was given to her by her colleagues as a leaving present.

At the time is was common for women getting married to leave their jobs and be financially supported by their husbands.

These days the building is a residential living community (Parc Imstenrade), but prior to this 80,000 babies were born here and it's now a national monument (no. 506441).  Here is a Google Streetview of the building and the address is Parc Imstenrade 3, 6418 PP Heerlen.

Friese staartklok

This clock is very important to me as it has been hanging on the wall of my grandparents houses my whole life. In fact, it has seen many generations and was bought by Johannes Saris (1873-1959) and then passed down to his eldest child, Hubertina Saris.

Surname: Bottomley

This is the birth surname of my grandmother, Rita Bottomley (1925-2002). It is a location/habitational name from a hamlet in Calderdale, Yorkshire, called Bottomley. It is derived from the Old English words of 'botm', which can mean broad valley, bottom, ground; and léah, meaning piece of ground or woodland clearing (1)(2).