The Schoonoord giants Ellert and Brammert have been busy lately. Father and son have kept quite a house in the open-air museum. It mainly concerns necessary maintenance.
For example, the toll booth at the entrance has a new thatched roof that will be impregnated in the near future. “All thatched roofs are impregnated by our thatcher,” says Saakje van Tellingen of the open-air museum. The gravel path has also been renewed. “It sags every year and then potholes and bumps appear. Not convenient for people in a wheelchair, so we actually update that every year.”
In addition, the sods on the houses have been renewed and one house has even been demolished and restored to its former glory. “Those walls had subsided and were all the way out,” explains van Tellingen. We chipped out all the bricks and rebuilt it again, using the same bricks.” Inside, you can clearly see that the house has been renovated. “We were just not ready in time for the opening, but we plan the work in such a way that the visitor has little of has.”
The museum reopened its doors on April 1. In the coming period, the volunteers will dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Paths are raked, gardens hoeed and some repairs here and there. Ellert and Brammert did not have to do the work alone. In mid-March they received a group of volunteers via NL Doet who rolled up their sleeves. “That was the first time we participated in this and a lot of people really came. They cleaned the houses and hung the curtains again in the windows. And the best thing is that part of that group also stays on as a volunteer .”
So in Schoonoord they are completely ready for the new season, from which much is expected. “I hear from campsites in the area that they are fully booked,” says van Tellingen. “Our volunteers have brought our leaflets everywhere, so we expect a lot from them.”