Back in Time

In this video, you can hear one of the first residents of the Transvaalhof speak. He is emphasizing the feeling of community among the residents of the hof at that time. With their chairs in the sun and a cup of tea or glass of lemonade in hand, the neighbors would meet daily; ‘it was all very lovely’. When the weather allowed it, the women, who worked in the cannery nearby, would do their chores out in the open. The chairs would be placed outside and they would talk on and on while shelling the beans or cleaning the cauliflowers and carrots. When you listen to this story, it is easy to imagine the scene and the sounds from that time.

On the 2nd of July 1952, the Leidse Courant described the same feeling: “In these burning hot summer days, the canneries in Leiden are running at full speed. Everyone in Leiden who is not completely oblivious can confirm this when he looks around the streets surrounding the canneries and sees how entire families have passionately dedicated themselves to shelling large beans. Yesterday in the Lopsenstreet, we encountered the following group: a father, a mother and all their children at work to prepare the beans! To protect themselves from the harsh sun, they fabricated a tent from old clothes, which they put on the sidewalk against the fence of the train tracks. And then the shelling begins, filling one bag after the other! With pulleys and strollers the beans of the factory are brought and carried off. A view typical of Leiden!” (Fig. 1) What remains of this nowadays? Who are the current residents of the Transvaalhof?