Willem van der Zande (81) from Oeteldonk has been a carnival celebrant from the very beginning. Since the release of the first official emblem of the Oeteldonksche Club, he has not missed a single one. “It is nice to decorate the keel, otherwise it is just a boring and dead event.”
A farmer’s smock used to be the clothing of farmers in and around Den Bosch. “Those keels are a bit boring in themselves. That’s how they came up with the idea of making those emblems. Then you can decorate the farmer’s smocks and everyone will look different,” Willem explains.
“I’m proud of my keel.”
There is almost no room left on Willem’s keel. Everywhere you look you see decals. “If you collect them, you have to have them all. I have them all, even the original from 1963. Since then, one has been added every year. I am proud of my keel.”
The decals are all little reminders. “The one from 1965 will always stay with me, because that’s when my wife and I got married,” says Willem proudly. But the emblem of 2023 also remains with him. It says: Oeteldonk omèrrumt oe. “That is exactly how carnival should be celebrated, together!”
In the early years, the Oeteldonksche Club asked someone to design an emblem, but today it is a true competition. “There have been years when there were around 170 entries.”
The emblem is different every year. It is often made in honor of an anniversary. “The 1994 emblem had two sides, because there were two anniversaries. People often bought that emblem twice, so that you could show both sides.”
“The keel hangs outside for a few weeks after carnival.”
With so many memories on one keel, it is not surprising that he is careful with them. “If you wash them, all the decals fade and the paint comes off. I often hang my smock outside for a few weeks after the carnival. Then the air is removed and it can be put back in the garment bag until it is needed again.”
“Although the keel has since been replaced once,” says Willem. “The old ones had burn holes and cracks in them. Then you need a new one. I then had to remove all the decals from the keel. That was not a nice job. My wife then sewed them onto the new one.”
The resident of Den Bosch has already been able to obtain this year’s emblem, although it has not yet been sewn onto the keel by his wife. “There is almost no room left. Maybe I should stop celebrating Carnival or have a piece made under the keel. Then more can be added.”
