“A mill without blades, that’s not possible,” thought six-year-old Stan Baltus when he walked past the dilapidated mill in Limmen with his grandmother during one of the walks. Now, more than ten years later, Stan not only owns De Mol, he has also almost completely renovated it. To make the blades turn again, he is looking for helpful donors. “Another three thousand euros is needed,” he says on NH Radio.
At 17 years old, Stan Baltus from Limmen is perhaps the youngest miller in North Holland. His love for windmills developed at a young age, he says Lunchroom on NH Radio.
The neglected mill on the Kapelweg in Limmen was therefore always a thorn in the side of little Stan. “I later visited the owners, but they told me that it was not possible to refurbish the mill. It’s a shame, a piece of Dutch history would be lost.”
That answer was hard for him to swallow. So when both owners passed away, he contacted the next of kin. “I wanted to know what would happen to the mill,” he explains.
present
During a visit to the family, a box of mill equipment is pressed into his hands. And he receives a very special gift: “I thanked them and wanted to run away, but then they shouted: you also get the key to the mill!” And so Stan, barely twelve years old, the proud owner of mill de Mol.
Last spring NH visited Stan and his windmill in Limmen. View the report here:
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The original mill was destroyed by fire in 1916. This replica was built in 1987, with a scale of 1 to 3. To save the mill from destruction, Stan puts all his free time into the renovation for four years. “We hoisted it out of there and put it at my father’s workshop. He works in interior construction, so we also have the right machines for that in house.”
Dependent on donations
Stan’s mill has been in a new location since last year and all renovations are almost over. When the mill is finished, spices will be ground in it. But to get the job done, the young miller is completely dependent on donations. “There are still sails needed for the blades, I still have to do a lot of finishing and everything has to be made ready for use. Fortunately, I am being sponsored a little bit left and right, but it really takes some work to finish it off completely.”