A damning collection of words: ‘of very humble origins’, very underlined. It puts an end to the ambitions of municipal secretary Waterbolk. The document was viewed by State Archivist Marieke Doezé before it became public. “That origin mattered in 1923. That origin makes people think that he cannot cope with the peasantry and cannot speak to the ‘difficult unemployed’.”
In 1923, the municipality of Havelte is looking for a new mayor. A committee interviews the candidates and prepares a report. That report disappeared in a drawer more than a hundred years ago and eventually ended up in the basement of the Drenthe Archives. The considerations of that committee are clearly stated in it. “Besides, his wife was known to come from a bad family.”
It is clear that the ‘excellent’ functioning municipal secretary did not become mayor. In addition to these types of documents, numerous documents became public in the new year. The frequently requested notary documents have been digitized and can be viewed online. You still have to stop by to see the multi-colored route map of the dairy factory in Rogat.
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