My Story: Jan Gies

CHAPTER 1 - Page 2

In 1918 (I was put in the birth year 1906 class because I was born in October of 05), I left primary school. I really was glad to be out of there, and really I didn’t want to return. The teachers taught me near to nothing in that heck of a place. Mum and Dad rented a new apartment at 14 Foucaultstraat (now demolished), the other side of the Amstel river. They paid 1 guilder 2 florins a week in rent; it was a 3-bed apartment. I now had my own room, when I started attending Stelle College.

The Stelle College was a highly modernized college designed to educate poor and working class students to become bright students – it really was a bonus to kids like myself in those days. When I grew up, the education standards were poor, so were living standards. The impoverization of South Amsterdam grew fewer and fewer, and slowly became extinct. At the college, we took our EHS exams (at age 16; last year of compulsory education) and we chose our subjects when we enrolled in the college so they could get started in teaching us our chosen ones.

Mum worked very very hard to get some extra income in for us, she was on a low salary but worked plenty of overtime at home. My dad was a postal clerk (I may have mentioned previously) and handled the mail at the post office – it was actually a skilled job with a good wage. I loved my mum and dad, they provided a good childhood for me and my sister.

In the winter every year, the Amstel river became a frozen ice rink. Me, my sister with my parents brought along our used pair of ice skates each and we used to skate across the ice, which was actually the Amstel river. It was really fun, and kept us entertained for hours. I was an okay ice skater, not the best but my sister was brilliant and she used to tease me for being a wimp. My dad had to yell to get me off the ice rink, cause I was having so much fun.

Over the years, my studying increased and my work levels increased. I began working part-time at a cafe as a waiter after-school from 4:30 to 7:30 and on Saturday from 10am to 4pm. It was fun earning my own money, and I did enjoy my waiting job. I took my EHS exams in May, June and July of 1922 and passed all my exam subjects, and continued my education further taking O Level Maths, Typing and Mediation. In July 1924, I finished secondary school.