Ralph and Betty

I could start the tale by saying “here’s my story sad but true, about a girl that I once knew”. But that would be ridiculous. Ridiculous because the girl I knew is my wife and has been for 39 years and counting. Before I get into a little history about us I should like to preface my remarks by saying that all that has happened in our lives, whether it was having children, or business (s) or political involvement or even the homes in which we lived, the illness we have endured and the health we have enjoyed, all was carefully planned by Our Father in heaven who in His mercy has allowed us to live at the foot of the cross of Jesus. Without His Spirit we would not be able to appreciate our past and His goodness. So that said we boast only in His great majesty and not of ourselves.

Betty was born in Lethbridge AB and I was born in Zwolle, The Netherlands. We were married on Sept. 11, 1971. It took 2 pastors to get that job done; Oom Arend Roukema and Rev. Vandooren. Oom Arend, affectionately known now as Uncle Arnie, was at that time a pastor in Grand Rapids and wasn’t able to perform the actual marriage as prescribed by the province so Rev Vandooren did that part and Uncle Arnie preached the gospel. Kind of a tag team as it were.

We moved to London ON where we lived for about 9 months. I worked in Mt.Bridges for Hollandia Bakeries and Betty worked at the Bank of Montreal. Neither one of us was particularly happy in London and decided to come back to the Burlington/Waterdown area. We purchased our first home, a townhouse on Meadowbrook Rd in Burlington. We loved it. We had just moved in when Janice was born on Dec. 10, 1972. It didn’t change our love for the place but we did come to the conclusion that this townhouse wasn’t going to be big enough for all the children we were going to have. Just to prove a point Peter was on the way and he was born on April 2, 1974. Joy oh joy, a townhouse came on the market two doors down from us and it was a lot larger. Perfect. We could have more children and they could all fit and still have room to spare. Not that we were planning kids, they just showed up.

Before I get to far ahead of myself I should like to back up a little to tell you that with the birth of the children Betty became a full time mom and I went to work for W&H Voortman now known simply as Voortman Cookies. I loved my job and did it well, at least by definition of Opa. He said to me once if you’re putting bread on the table for your wife and children you’re doing a good job. Speaking of Opa, he always wanted me to start my own bakery. I worked for Voortmans for about a year when we started our own bakery. I bought some old but okay equipment from a bakery that had closed in Creemore and trucked it down to Eastway Plaza in Burlington. There we set up shop. We had good times and bad. Added a delicatessen but that didn’t do us much good. After a few years we had the opportunity to move to a different location on the plaza. Wow that made all the difference. Ever hear about location, location, location? It’s true. For a number of years we did very well and were very busy.

Back at the home front things were growing as well. Jack needed a home when he showed up on Oct 15, 1975. Now things were starting to look tight even in our new townhouse. So as we were pondering this children thing, and how many more there would be coming, we get news that Lib was on the way. I’ll never forget the day Betty told me. I can recall saying, “You’re kidding right?” No joking with my Queen about that stuff. Anyway off to work I go, and I knew why I was going too!

One day shortly after digesting this news of one more kid in the townhouse, the land lord from the plaza where we had the bakery came in. We chat about the family and he tells me about this farm up on Hwy 5, a place with 40 acres, a good barn and a house. Partnered with a church brother, we ended up owning the buildings and 10 acres. Along came Lib and we all lived happily ever after. We have been here for over 33 years and the rest is history.

Well not quite, at 28 years old I was diagnosed with cancer; testicular cancer to be precise. I wouldn’t tell you that, except that it put an end to all those children we were going to have. It also had a profound impact on the way we thought about things. We became very aware of how the Lord was involved in our lives in ways we didn’t expect. We look back on those days with thankfulness, for His love was on full display.

Now, back to the bakery business; the retail bake shop was going well, but we started making a high fiber cookie that caught the eye of a chap who decided he could sell that cookie to different stores. We sold the retail bakery and opened a cookie bakery on Harvester Rd. We bought the equipment in Holland and made cookies, thousands of cookies! It was during that time, with time on my hands, that we tried politics.

It was 1988 and we decided to run for city and regional council, ward 3. We started preparing for this early in ‘88 and were successful in obtaining that seat in the Nov. election of that year. Notice I use the word ‘we’. Just so you know it takes a lot of hard work and a willing wife to help make that happen. We stayed in politics for nine rewarding years.

About five years after starting the cookie bakery we sold it and had become involved with Manchester Products which was being managed by Anko. I won’t go into all the details of how we became partners but I will say that Anko and I have been together at MP for about 26 years. You hear a lot of stories about partnerships and how they don’t work, this partnership works and has worked for a long time and going strong. We have a sales manager who says he works for two guys, the one charges ridiculously high prices and the other won’t give any discounts. Anyway the business has grown nicely and we presently work out of a 70,000 sq ft building that can house up to 6,500 pallets. It’s a big warehouse. We reflect on the Lord’s goodness many times. The other thing that Anko and I say to one another is often is “what would Dad think about this?”

So, back to the family, Janice married Mark in 1998 and they have four children and are expecting another in October. Peter moved out to Vancouver and married Martina in 1999. They have three children. Jack married Lee Anne in 2003 and they have two children and are expecting a new arrival in December. Elisabeth married Harry in 2001 and they have four children. Remember how we wanted all those children? Grand kids are even better!

In 2000 we had another shocker. I started having chest pains and had angioplasty to remedy the problem. Six weeks later we were told the stents didn’t work. The day before Lib’s wedding we were told I would need a double bi-pass. Aug 28 of 2000 was a very emotional day for us. So here we were, our youngest daughter marrying the love of her life, and Betty and I trying our best to be happy for her. At the end of November, I had the bi-pass. Today, ten years later, we thank and praise our Father for the gift of life that He grants us every day. Having heart challenges isn’t only my concern. Betty was told two years ago she suffers from a heart disease called HCM. I won’t try to explain what it is but it is presently under control with medication. Once again we had a reminder that God and He alone is in control of every heart beat. Did I say every heart beat?

Lastly, we need to say that having lived on the “farm” for more then 33 years Betty and I are saying good bye to the home where we raised our kids. Lots of memories here and who knows maybe one day I’ll write a book about life at our place. We are moving to Waterdown, to a home in a subdivision with neighbors. We’ve already met most of them and they seem very friendly. Having open space behind us will certainly help. Anyone who has ever been here will understand why we are sorry to leave. It’s a nice spot for sure. But the main reason we’re sorry to leave is that the grand kids only know that when they’re at Opa and Oma’s house they have space to run and play. That’s about to change, but even that we and they will over come. So there you have it, a short story about us. As we look back on our lives we see the guiding hand of our Father in heaven at every turn, and as we go forward I will quote Joshua. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15b).