A Tale of Two Villages:Broekhuizen en Broekhuizenvorst
The First Half of the 20th Century
In the municipality of Broekhuizen the transition from the 19th to the 20th century passed smoothly. The farmers worked the land and tended the cattle whereas the women remained responsible for the household and the children.As their parents before them, most of the children went to school. Since 1874 child labour had been forbidden for children under 12, but compulsory education was not introduced until 1900. We can only guess what the turn-of-the-century local village school in Broekhuizenvorst may have looked like. From the little information that was handed down we know that classes were large. The teachers were poorly paid and often needed at least one additional job to make a living. In the 1860s teacher Mr. Van het Groenewolt had a class of 120(!) children for more than six months. The municipality paid him $20 extra for this extraordinary achievement.
Progress did not leave the villages unaffected: in the mid 1920s the communities got electricity, after the Second World War to be followed by water supply and a limited sewer system.
Social life in the village became increasingly important. After the foundation of the brass band in 1879, the local football club followed in 1916.
However, the past and its traditions were not forgotten. Still today the annual burning of a straw effigy reminds us of the pagan winter festival.
Until the outbreak of the Second World War agriculture was the main means of subsistence: approximately 60% of the working population were farmers who made a living out of a small plot of land combined with a few head of cattle, keeping poultry and growing vegetables.