Not young people who want to fill their sticker album with football pictures, but older people who are ‘hunting’ for pictures for the album ‘Historisch Heusden’. “It is unimaginable what is happening here”, says Bart Beard of the local history circle Onsenoort, who, together with the jubilee municipality of Heusden, compiled the album ‘Gemeente Heusden, more than 25 years of history’. Collecting pictures is a real hype in Heusden.
Jet is still missing a whole bunch of pictures: “Who can help me with number 223, I have doubles to exchange.” After a number of trading rounds on Facebook, Peter reports that only numbers 81 and 188 are still missing from his album. He is also bursting with duplicates, so who wants to trade?
“Collecting the 264 historical pictures of the municipality of Heusden is very popular among seniors,” says Ria de Folter of the local senior council. “Everyone is talking about it and wants to trade to get their album full. Exchange places spontaneously arise in community centers, at catering companies and even at people’s homes, Facebook is full of calls to exchange.”
“At first it was ‘I don’t need that'”
6,500 copies of the free popular compilation album were printed, which were available for free in local supermarkets from the beginning of September. “Everything is gone, there is no longer a compilation album available,” says Beard of the local history circle. “First it was”I don’t need that and now there is nowhere to be found.”
The historic Heusden pictures will be collected up to and including the beginning of November in the usual way: with ten euros worth of groceries you get a bag with four pictures. “That was a problem for quite a lot of elderly people,” says Ria de Folter. “Because they come to the supermarket every day to buy something and that way they did not get the ten euros, but fortunately there is a huge barter trade throughout the municipality.”
“I’m going to continue pasting now, because I’m behind.”
Collector Adri (69) has already completed his album with 264 pictures. “Thanks to a friend who saved very fanatically. I really like the album. The municipality and the local community have dealt with it professionally. I see old buildings that have disappeared, such as the picture of the old Boerenleenbank in Drunen. All pictures also have a short description. But I’m going to continue gluing in now, because I’m behind.”
In Vlijmen at the catering company ‘IJs en Taartmoment’, collectors are ‘walking through the doors’, says owner Bastiaan Overdijkink. He invited people to come and trade with him. “They now come to our shop to exchange pictures, leave duplicates or bring pictures if they don’t collect them themselves. It is a popular activity among the elderly.”
“We at the KBO would like to see the pictures that people have left.”
The collection of the coveted pictures will continue until November 4, after that date there will also be a major official exchange moment on November 8 in the three libraries in the municipality.
At the KBO in Elshout they are still betting on their own exchange afternoon. “In order to give all seniors from our village the opportunity to complete their book, we would like the pictures that people have left from the KBO. Then we organize an afternoon where we will exchange in d’n Elshof”, reports the elderly organization.
