My fathers name plate 1938 - on my desk 2011
This enamel name plate is about 73 years old. When my father married my mother in 1938, it was normal custom for everyone to have a name plate on their door, so everyone in Holland had a name plate on their door.
The first house my parents lived in was Oos-Indiske Kade, 30, Wormerveer, they took it with them to their second house in Delistraat, 45, Wormerveer. The reason was so the postie did not mix up the letters. The sign was Jb Poulain, Jb stands for Jacob. The women's mail would always be addressed to their christian, maiden and then married names e.g. my mother would be Mrs Aaltje van den Berg - Poulain.
My brother Louie who was not married continued to live in the house after my father died. Louie was visiting New Zealand when he died in 1986, he was buried in Hastings. How the name-plate came into my possession, is because a neighbour took care of the house, and took the name-plate of the door and put it in a box with other bits 'n pieces. When my sister Hilda went back to visit Holland she was given the box and brought it back to New Zealand she gave the plate to me because I have the same name. It is now proudly displayed and fixed to my desk, it will be passed onto my daughter Jacoby who has the female version of the name Jacob. Several of my Dutch grandfathers are called Jacob, and my Dutch grandmother was Jacobtje, the more modern version was Jacoba, but my wife Keriana liked Jacoby. In Holland we are not allowed new names, but in New Zealand you can have any name you like, so I agreed, but found it most unusual, everyone in New Zealand loved the name Jacoby.
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