Sloots Potze finds it important that you get to know people in the village. Obviously, this is no longer the case after a certain age. “When I had the children in primary school, you did that on the schoolyard. But if the children go alone on their bikes, then that is gone.”
She continues: “When the village shop left the village, you no longer had a reason to come to the village. Precisely because the Women of Now is not political, everyone comes here.”
There are 52 branches of the Women of Now in Drenthe, with more than 3,000 members. “Almost every village in the area has its own department,” says Sloots Potze. “We are in Gieterveen, Gieten has its own department, Eext, Gasselte, Gasselternijveen and Drouwen also still exist. That is really typical of the village.”
Fifty years ago, the demand for a committee for single women increased. When that committee was set up, ninety women quickly signed up, Slomp remembers. Her husband died more than twenty years ago. She listened to some advice from her friend: make friends. She became active in the committee and eventually even became chairman.
She takes the photos together with fellow board member Emmy Slagter. Many women in the photos still recognize them. Some have already died. Yet it is mainly the happy memories that come to mind: the bike rides, the holidays together. The ladies talk endlessly.
A lot has happened in 95 years. The courses and knitting have made way for speakers and fun.
“The Women of Now has a bit of naivety that a village simply needs,” says Sloots Potze. “It brings liveliness and contact between, in this case, women.”
Meinds also thinks so, who in turn urges people to visit the association. “Don’t be quick to judge, just come and see for yourself,” she says.
The members hope that the Women of Now will continue to exist for a long time, although Slomp sees that a new generation of women is busier with their careers, children and sports. “I think that is why it will be a club for women aged sixty to ninety. That is a very nice group of women who really don’t have to stand on the sidelines. They also find a lot of recognition here.”