Geography teacher Dennis Schmeier (44) from Schoonebeek makes social media videos about (special) place name signs. “The funniest are Doodstil, Elektra, Muggenbeet, ‘t Haantje and Sexbierum,” he says. Today the teacher is from Carmel College Emmen in Grolloo.
“Blues village Grolloo, a village full of history!” With a selfie stick in hand, Schmeier stands in front of the place name sign. This way he can film himself and explain in a few short takes how Grolloo got its name. “In the twelfth century, Grolloo was written differently.”
Schmeier has been making informative social media videos about place names in this way for some time now. “I am a teacher by profession, so I really enjoy telling stories and explaining things. Every place name has its own history, and I enjoyed finding out. So that’s when I started making these videos.”
They are a real hit. On Facebook alone he has almost 3,000 followers and his videos are viewed hundreds of thousands of times. “I really never expected that, but it’s a lot of fun.” He posts them on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, under the name Geotoday.
His students also see the videos. “They often respond immediately, and even children who have not had lessons from me now recognize me from the videos.” says Schmeier. “Then they shout a place name down the hall. Or they ask if I can’t find out where the name of their place of residence comes from. For example, there is a lot of demand for Emmer-Compascuum. Because where does the word Compascuum come from?”
Schmeier thinks Doodstil, Elektra, Muggenbeet, ‘t Haantje and Sexbierum are the funniest videos he has made. “Sexbierum is named after a pope named Sixtus. So it has a very different origin than students often think.” He laughs. “Or hope!”
In the near future he wants to post three videos a week. “If I don’t have much time, I choose a place nearby. And when I’m on holiday, I sometimes take the car to visit several places at the same time.” He doesn’t just stay in Drenthe for that. “I also visit Groningen, Friesland and Overijssel. And I am increasingly asked whether I will come to the south. Maybe I will.”
Schmeier continues his recording: “Grolloo comes from green and loo, which means green open forest on sandy soil. A grassy place where farmers grazed their cattle.” He wants to go back to the village for his last shots. There he takes another take at the statue of Harry Muskee. “Centuries later, this Drenthe village became famous because of Harry Muskee and his blues band Cuby + Blizzards!”
What will be the next video? “Bucket-Compascuum of course!”
