Photograph of John Stam and Gertie (de Haan) Stam. John was born on July 20, 1907 in the Netherlands and died February 21, 1986. Gertie was born on April 17, 1915 in the Netherlands and died April 13, 2003. They married May 4, 1935 in the Netherlands, immigrating to Canada in 1953 and then moving to the Holland Marsh area in 1954. John's occupations included river barge operator and contractor and Gertie's was as a RNA in a Bradford nursing home. The couple had 11 children.
The landing place for boats on the dyke near Peter Verkaik's house (in the background) during Hurricane Hazel. A boat delivers some marsh folks to dry land. In this picture, the person on the far right is Leon Radder, the person with the captain's cap is Auke Ellens , and the person standing behind him is Albert Van Dyke.
This photo is taken from west of Hwy. 400 after Hurricane Hazel (Oct. 15, 1954). Debris is shown piled up along Hwy. 400, which is on the far side of the hydro poles. The top of a long pile of bagged onions can be seen in the foreground. Note: onions were not used as sandbags.
