Thankfully, on May 5, 1945, victory was declared against Hitler and the family felt deep relief. But they were also looking toward their future. Desiring more freedom for his business, a departure from communism and socialism, and concerned about the waning attendance in Dutch churches, the fam- ily moved to the United States when the girls were in their early teens, traveling to stay with family in Munster, Indiana. “We were all happy to move,” Tini says. “We never looked back.” The United States was a culture shock for the sisters. “We landed in Hoboken, New Jersey,” Tini says, “and we moved on to New York, where we waited for a train to take us to Hammond, Indiana. We walked around the city for a bit, and I noticed the potatoes. We never saw potatoes that big!” Gerrie laughs, adding, “I remember
Gerrie Natelborg Park Place Resident
Tini DeBoer Park Place Resident
The girls were too shocked to speak at first. Finally, little Gerrie managed to say, “We don’t know.” Even- tually they listened as the boots tramped back down their stairs, then heard the soldiers searching the rest of the house and the greenhouse futilely, yelling, as the girls clung to each other with fear. “Papa had said, ‘They got me once, but they’ll never get me again.’” Tini remembers. “Mama was so brave.
“I remember getting my first stick of gum, Juicy Fruit in the yellow wrapper. We never had gum—we used to chew on grain ker- nels until they became gum!”
getting my first stick of gum, Juicy Fruit in the yellow wrapper. We never had gum—we used to chew on grain kernels until they became gum!” The family became members of First Reformed Church in Lansing (now known
as First PCA), and the sisters enrolled at Illiana Chris- tian High School, where they assimilated quickly, thanks to being fluent in both Dutch and English (as well as German and French). They soon married just five months apart, Tini at 19 and Gerrie at 20, to boys they met at church. They raised their families in Northwest Indiana, and now both reside at Park
She kept everything together, all of us, and never gave in to fear of those men.” They truly didn’t know exactly where their father was, but they knew he was likely nearby. His location was always kept secret from the sisters, and from most of the family (their grandpa lived across the street, and he didn’t even know).
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