A History Lover’s Story

            “If I could choose when I was born, it would have been to be young during World War II,” stated Marjorie (Hillegonds) DeVries.  Her passion for the WW II era stems from exploring her families history.  Both of her grandfathers served in WW II, as well as four uncles.
           Exploring history started when she was young.  “I remember being nine or ten and going through grave yards with my Mom, looking at the names and dates on the markers,” Marjorie said, “trying to learn about the early settlers to this (Munster, Indiana) area.”  She recalled a time after her grandfather died, when she was about 11 years old; she was sitting on her grandmother’s bed with her mother, when her grandmother pulled down an old roller skating box from the closet.  As they sat together on the bed she revealed the contents. The box was full of the letters she had so carefully stored away.
           Those letters were the correspondence between her grandmother, Alice Cooper, and the man she would marry, Christopher (Chris) Hillegonds.  The two had known one another from attending the same church and began writing to each other after he shipped overseas.  They began taking letters out of the box, in no particular order, and would read them out loud.  Marjorie would learn what vmails were, not to be confused with modern email; vmails were tiny sheets of paper that could be more easily transported to and from the battle front.  Some of the letters were in vmail form.
           She also learned about their way of life and what they did while waiting for the men to return.  The women didn’t know from day-to-day if their loved ones were sitting on a desolate beach by themselves writing letters home, or facing bombs and enemy bullets.  The women of that time had to compensate, due to the absence men; they were the ones who built the rifles, tanks, bullets and airplanes needed to win the wars in Europe and the Pacific.
            In-between building the war machinery, women would grow victory gardens (gardens in their yards to feed themselves because so much food was being shipped to the troops) while doing without basics, such as butter, sugar, gas and tires.  There were ration cards for each of those.  There was little cloth for dresses and no silk for stockings; make up was even in short supply.  Women of that time learned to do without or find ways to cope.
            Marjorie’s Grandfather, Chris Hillegonds, was stationed in the Pacific Theater.  He would suffer tropical diseases such as jaundice from lack of proper minerals and other maladies common to that particular part of the world; as well as bombs and bullets. In addition to her grandfather Chris Hillegonds, on her mother’s side of the family, Eenigenburg, five young men went off to war.  It was a time when entire families, churches, and communities were immersed in the war effort.  Almost all of the young men were in uniform, while all the young ladies supported the war effort in some way.
            It was a time in American history unlike any other; before or since.  America was united against a common enemy and the outcome would determine the look and shape of our future.  Throughout this time unrelenting sacrifice would be required, from the depression prior to the war, the war itself and the rebuilding afterward.  How the “Greatest Generation” stood up to this task determined what America looks like today.  It was quite a time in history.
             Marjorie’s early indoctrination into historical research was through her mother, Marie (Eenigenburg) Hillegonds; she led the way, by having completed research for the Munster Historical Society. This led Marjorie to do research for a novel that she was writing, set in the World War II era.  Marjorie decided to preserve most of the letters between her grandmother and grandfather, copying and storing them for future research.  She didn’t copy all of them, thinking that at a later time she would preserve the rest.  After her grandmother passed away, she asked her Aunt Marjorie, who had possession of the letters, if she could borrow them.  Aunt Marjorie, however, was unable to locate them.
            Marjorie felt that a small part of history was lost forever.  It wasn’t simply her family’s history; it was a mirror into the past, something that could not be regained.  Marjorie realized those who lived through that period of time were leaving us at an alarming rate, taking with them an intimate knowledge of that era.  She began collecting tid-bits of knowledge and filing them for future use.  But what good was that knowledge if no one else could see it?  To share a small part of that period’s history, as well as to honor those who lived through it, Marjorie began writing a column in the Shopper Newspaper, titled “Treasured Letters from the Past.”  The column led to some of her readers sharing their history with her, sending their family’s letters and stories and today she continues piecing together research, then sharing it with Generations the Magazine, as well as in her column.
            Being a lover of history is one thing, but most that enjoy so, do not actively include others with the fruits of their labor.  Research is a task that demands time and effort, something that most wouldn’t give and that sets her apart from others.  All of her work, writing and sharing of history is done voluntarily, with no compensation.
           All generations have their heroes, most of who won’t be recognized for their efforts until they have faded to a memory.  Marjorie proves that heroes are from all of the generations (she belongs to Generation X). 

For this Generations would like to recognize Marjorie for her efforts.