From the shed next to her house, Lenie Hugtenburg has been serving many Haarlem skating enthusiasts for almost 50 years. A hobby that got a bit out of hand, but never feels like work for her. Certainly not at retirement age.
Lenie Hugtenburg is sure: she really doesn’t want to mention her age. “People will soon think I’m old.” In the meantime, the proud stories about her graduated grandson and her granddaughter’s work provide a small glimpse of the veil.
Not long ago, her daughter secretly sold Lenie’s skates. She didn’t want her mother to fall on the ice and break something. Lenie still has a large stock of skates in the shed on the Liewegje in Haarlem, but she is happy that they are only intended for the customers of her shop.
How it started
Almost fifty years ago, Lenie started her ‘skating exchange fair’ in that same shed. “It was a cold winter. There were still many ditches around us at the time. I wanted to go on the ice with my daughter, but her skates had become too small. She was in the second year of grammar school and still in the middle of growing up. “
“I decided to organize a swap meet, to my surprise my shed was full”
“New skates were expensive and I imagined that other parents had to deal with that too. I decided to organize a swap meet the next evening. To my surprise, more than thirty people showed up and my shed was full.”
Lenie continued to work as a podiatrist, but a new, second career was born. Every year she attends the exchange fair from mid-September to early April. Initially only skates were exchanged, after a few years Lenie also started selling skates from well-known brands.
Special police
“I quickly built up a large customer base. The other skate sellers in the city also noticed this. They then sent the special police after me. They didn’t have a leg to stand on. I was trained as a podiatrist, so I was good at give advice. And I was properly registered with the Chamber of Commerce.”
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Skate sharpening was added as an extra service. Lenie was able to cope with the hustle and bustle thanks to the help of her husband, until he passed away in 2004. In recent years, Lenie’s daughter has helped out. “Then she says: I’ll come and help for an hour. But in the end she’ll be here all afternoon.”
Help is also needed this weekend. Behind the counter are about ten pairs of skates that were brought in the past few days. Next to it is a serious grinding machine. “The skates will be picked up on Saturday, so I want to have them sharpened early this weekend.”
Sweatpants on the couch
The phone rings for the umpteenth time: “No, it is not necessary to make an appointment. You are very welcome. We are open from half past one.” Her family has been saying more and more lately that maybe she should stop. Lenie doesn’t want to think about it. “Then I sit on the couch in sweatpants. This way I have something to do.”