Every Senior has a Story: Hendricka Maria Branderhorst Plate

Hendricka Branderhorst came to the United States from North Brabant, Holland, where she was born in 1928. In the middle of a pack of six boys and six girls (seven of whom are still living), her parents did not see how their sons could all make a living farming in Holland, and so, sponsored by her father's brother, the family sailed for 13 days on the Edam, a converted freighter, to New York.

Hendricka was 20, with an eighth grade education. ("They over-do things now," she says. "All these parties! When we left school, they said 'Good-bye!'") Each child carried a small suitcase with all their belongings. They were hungry when they arrived, and Hendricka recalls being the one sent out to find - chocolate bars! Her father had a college education in Holland, and was the only one who spoke English. "He should have been the one to get the chocolate," Hendricka said under her breath.

They took a train cross country to Pella, and lived on a farm near Prairie City. Her mother was in her sixties then. "It was especially difficult for her, leaving family and friends in Holland," Hendricka said. "If someone knocked at the door, she would hide in the closet because she couldn't speak any English." Hendricka was the seamstress for the children, in charge of patching all the clothes.

The family wanted to raise more than soybeans and corn, and after four years her parents and 10 of the 12 children moved to Exeter, Canada, where there was a significant Dutch community. Her mother felt more at home there, and they stayed.

"It was a good life in Canada," she said, "but I did not want to go." She had met a farmer in Prairie City, Ed Plate, one day near the post office, and even though they did not speak the same language, it was love at first sight for both of them. Ed went home that night and told his mother "I just met the girl I'm going to marry."

"I'm glad I stayed here," she said.

Plate was drafted and while he served two years, Hendricka lived with Nick Branderhorst, and did housework in Pella. "I learned English really fast," she said, "because I wrote to him every day." They had a simple wedding in Canada when he returned in 1953, when she was 24 years old. It was the best day of her life.

They continued living in Prairie City. "I've been very happy here," she said. The couple had five children, all still in the area. "They are beautiful, good kids," she says.

Asked if she learned to drive, she said "No. Into the gate. Into the fence. Into the house. I never learned to drive but I always got where I wanted to go!"

Her life has not been easy. When she was 32, mother to four small children, she woke up one morning and "Nothing worked. I couldn't open my mouth. I couldn't get out of bed. Nothing would move."

And so, literally overnight, began the next 50 years of her life as a severe arthritic. She has been in many hospitals. She has had 22 surgeries. She has had all her major joints replaced. "I'm like the bionic woman," she jokes. "You just learn to live with it. My husband has always been there for me. He says 'Mom, it's forever. We said till death do us part."

Four months ago she fell, hitting her head. When she regained consciousness almost a week later, she was a resident at the Pella Regional Health Center Long Term Care Unit. "My husband has a bad back," she said, "and he just can't take care of me anymore." No longer able to walk, even with a walker, she is permanently in a wheelchair. Ed comes every day, and spends the afternoon and evening with her. She would dearly like to go home, but knows she cannot until his back is better. He says "It's not easy going home to an empty home every night."

Henricka spoke of visiting her family in Canada every year, in the years she was able. Twice, the couple went back to Holland. "Everything was too little there to suit him [Ed]," she said. But she also says she's never had a day when she was homesick for Holland. "We've had a nice, good life," she says.

"I've been in a lot of hospitals," she says. "This one has 'em all beat. We get good care, and the food is very good. I like the activities. I go just to pass the time, and visit with those who can."

Hendricka is among the fortunate residents. She loves her husband and children dearly, and seldom a day goes by that she doesn't have visitors. "Some here, though, never get visitors. You come here, and you say good-bye. Then it's a lonely place."

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