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FREDERICK JOHN JACOB VLASKAMP  
                     

My father, Frederick John Jacob Vlaskamp, was born October 5, 1901 in Muncie, Indiana.  His family consisted of his father, Michael Arend Vlaskamp, and mother, Susan Otilia Ferreria Vlaskamp, a maiden aunt( sister of his mother) and 3 brothers, Arend, Stephen and Anthony Vlaskamp.  His brothers were born in South Africa before his family was deported to Holland by the British during the Boer War.  The family went to Holland and then decided to move to Muncie, Indiana, where previous family members had settled.  My father became the only family member to be American-born.  Unfortunately, his father, then his mother, then his maiden aunt died within a few years of each other.  By the time my father was about 13 or 14, he and his brothers were orphans.

The family, members of the Friend Society, which is close to the Quaker religion, had a strong faith and a strong work ethic.  Somehow, the boys were able to take care of themselves, probably helped by the fact that they had Vlaskamp relatives living nearby.  My father never discussed with me any of the ramifications of his being orphaned, or how he and his brothers got along. 
 

One story, however, he did tell me and it was a story that affected me deeply and one which I have never forgotten.  The story is very short, but its consequences are long and, like the rings from a pebble thrown into the ocean, never ending…
 

My father was riding a bus one day in Muncie.  He was seated next to a gentleman who noticed that my father was not wearing shoes.  The gentleman asked my father why he wasn’t wearing any shoes and my father replied “because I don’t have any.”  The gentleman then reached into his pocket, took out some money, gave it to my father and told him to buy a pair of shoes.  My father was taken aback and said “How will I be able to repay you?”  At that point, the gentleman replied, “Pass it on.” 
 

I don’t know how the rest of the conversation went; I only know that this act of generosity by a stranger affected my father for the rest of his life.  In fact, this act of generosity not only affected my father, but it has affected me and my family, also.
 

Marilyn Vlaskamp Weems