With surprising vitality, Toon Hendriks from Overloon throws open the door to the barn of his farm. Racks full of clothes, a whole closet full of dolls, scales, dough mills and even the complete furniture from the local parsonage are in the shed, there are things everywhere you look. Not to mention the farm where he lives. Yet all these things have something in common: everything has a story. And now Toon is moving, so all the stuff has to go.
“We once had a clothing rental company, my wife and I. When we stopped doing that, we were left with the clothing,” says Toon as he walks to one of the clothing racks. Before he even finishes his story, he walks to the next random object in space and rattles off a new story. “I still have the storage racks from primary school here.”
“My wife passed away just before our 50th anniversary.”
You don’t have to walk with Toon through his shed for long to understand his point: everything has a story. In fact, he remembers how he got it and what it is for every thing in his shed. He has been through enough himself. He walks past a wall with countless dolls. From baby dolls with closed eyes to little girl dolls in a wooden rocking chair. “My wife Maria always made dolls. She passed away just before we could celebrate our 50th anniversary.”
But now all the stuff has to go. Toon is moving to a smaller house in Overloon. And he is not going alone, but together with his new wife Netty. And just like with all his stuff, the meeting between the two also has a nice story.
On a Sunday evening Toon went dancing in Deurne. He did this in a dance hall where widows and widowers regularly dance their hips together. There Toon met his old neighbor who was sitting at the table with a woman from Veghel: Netty. As Overlooners among themselves, the two decided to dance. “We weren’t even on the dance floor when he was already standing on my feet with his big feet,” Netty laughs. “It immediately felt good together. It was just perfect,” Toon beams.
“I still enjoy the stuff every day.”
Toon and Netty have known each other for two years now and are married. Netty now also lives on Toon’s farm, where she was shocked by all the stuff. “I was used to living with very little stuff,” says Netty. Now the two want to live smaller in Overloon. So Toon has to say goodbye to his farm full of things. That’s why he’s holding a clearance sale on March 2 and 3.
“I would prefer to say: just leave it as it is. I still enjoy the things every day,” says Toon as he walks into another part of the shed filled with things. “But yes, we are moving and we can’t take all the stuff with us. It has to be empty here in May.”
On Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 March you can visit Toon in Overloon to buy things. This can be done between 11:00 and 17:00 at Loonse Hei 1 in Overloon.
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Omroep Brabant visited earlier to look at Toon’s large pumpkins