A constant in the Krakeels'

lives has been camping. Many weekends the family would

load up their belongings and head for the lake to camp.

They didn't have a boat or any of the things many

consider standard now.

However, one summer a few

years after the family settled in the United States, Jack

and his brother had an exceptional grass-cutting season.

and determined they would buy a boat for the family to

use on their camping trips.

After discussing the

purchase with their parents, they bought an old boat with

a motor. Unfortunately, when there was a problem with the

sheer pin of the motor and it constantly had to be

replaced. The new pin cost about a dollar, a substantial

amount forty years ago.

Finally their father said

enough, they would have to do without a motor and row.

Seeing the boys dismay, he found a one-penny nail in a

tree, modified it to fit and per Jack, "To the best

of my knowledge we never had to replace the sheer pin

again."

Forty years later, the boat

sits next to Jack's house and is in the process of being

refinished. The boat has been passed from brother to

brother through the years, although Jack notes,

"Somewhere along the line the motor was

replaced."

Jack intends to clean it up

once again and pass it on to his son.

For many years Jan made all

of the children's toys for Christmas. One tale told by

both Catrina and Jack is of the trains he made.

He would build the trains

of sheet metal. Once built, he would sit on them. If they

couldn't withstand his weight, he knew they wouldn't hold

up under the abuse the boys would give them so he'd start

over.

A Trip to the beach

During the earlier years in

Holland, the family regularly trekked to the beach. Bikes

were the primary mode of transportation.

As there were five

children, four too young to ride their own bike, Jan

built a small cart which he pulled behind his bicycle.

Jack, Catrina and Jan would also load up the cart with

food, a tent and extra clothes for the day. The tent was

to change clothes in. Jack remembers changing clothes 3

and 4 times on occasion as the water was extremely cold.