December 1 , 2000
Heiligerlee, NL - The grinding stones and their associated mechanisms
Part III - Party time.
On Thursday November 31, 2000 Mr. Cornelis Molema celebrated his 65th birthday.
Early Friday afternoon December 1, 2000 (the day of Mr. Molema's formal retirement from the company and of his appointment as 'windmill construction consultancy expert' with the same company) the other two associates, Guus Zantinga and Eric Ufkes, were tranforming the workshop into a reception hall for a grand surprise-farewell party to Mr. Molema.
With the help of their spouses, their employees, a catering company, a band and a men's choir they went through a lot of preparations for an unforgettable evening-to-come for Mr. Molema.
Still, there was enough time 'left' for some real work, like finishing part of the internal gear for De Immigrant.
In the photograph below, Guus, Eric and four of their crew are posing behind the finished spur wheel. The spur wheel was sort of 'the center piece' of the exhibition that was put together highlighting 43 years of Cornelis Molema's accomplishments as a Mill Wright.
The spur wheel has a diameter that won't allow it to be brought into the existing mill in one piece. Therefor (like our readers will recognize from pictures of the first phase of the Fulton windmill project) all of the parts of the spur wheel are once more 'numbered'. You can see the number IIII carved into one of the beam parts. This will help 'putting the puzzle pieces together again' after the spur wheel parts have been shipped to Fulton early next year.
Another part that is already finished is the hoisting mechanism for the sacks of flour. In the picture below you can see a part of this mechanism.
Yet another part of the hoisting mechanism
And the same part from the opposite side.
In the background some of the panelling that was put up to hold photographs and newspaper clippings highlighting 43 years of Cornelis Molema as a mill builder.
Also practically completed is the casing for the grinding stones and the contraption to 'feed' the grain to the stones.
The exhibiton, the surprise reception, with hundreds of people attending including many parties the Molema's worked with or for in the Netherlands and Germany, representatives from Monument's Care and different Dutch Windmill organizations, the mayor of Scheemda, many volunteer millers from Groningen and Drenthe, and the dinner party afterwards were a huge success and a complete surprise for Mr. and Mrs. Molema.
In formalizing the position Mr. Molema already increasingly held over the last couple of years within the company of Molenmakersbedrijf Molema VOF (reviewing, sharing his knowledge, supervising and coaching), his extensive expertise won't be lost after the Fulton, IL project.
All of those attending during the festivities that started shortly after the above photographs were shot, feel fortunate that Mr. Molema decided to accept his new consultant's position, beacause this means that all of them will still be able to meet with him on a regular basis in the Molema workshop.
Hippo
WebDesign Last update: April 7,
2003
Building windmill De Immigrant
The photos - The complete diary