Still dancing after 60 years
A CHANCE meeting at a dance in Holland proved to be love at first sight for Aad van Leeuwen and Truus van LeeuwenRoos, who are happily celebrating their 60th wedding celebration at their Alexandra home today.
Looking back, Mr van Leeuwen describes their meeting in 1957 as ‘‘most peculiar’’.
‘‘It was instant, whatever you call it.’’
Mr van Leeuwen was born on the family dairy farm in Holland, but at age 24 he set off by bicycle to see the world. After about 10 days, he arrived in Nymegan, about 200km away.
He decided to go to a dance, and recalled the moment he was sitting at a table with a group of strangers when he saw his future wife.
‘‘I just happened to look up and there she was dancing in front of me. I thought, ‘Oh hang on a minute’.
‘‘Sixty years later we’re still dancing.’’
As for Mrs van LeeuwenRoos, she said she always knew he was going to ask her to dance, and told her sister she expected to be approached.
‘‘I looked up straight into his eyes . . . so I winked to my sister.’’
There was just one problem. Truus Roos was 17, she had lied about her age to get into the dance, and kept up the pretence until the following birthday.
The couple married on April 10, 1958, and lived in Nymegan before moving back to the family farm.
But Mr van Leeuwen had approached the immigration office, as he felt there was no future for young men from the country at that time.
Although most people he knew moved to either Canada or Australia, it was suggested he move to New Zealand instead, where his farming background would prove useful.
Mrs van LeeuwenRoos said she liked to think her husband’s plans to emigrate were what prompted him to marry her first.
‘‘He said, ‘If I go, will you follow me?’ I said ‘No problem’.’’
What she meant was it was no problem to move to Zeeland, a Dutch province much closer to home.
Mr van Leeuwen jokes the couple were on the boat for about four weeks before his wife starting wondering why they had not yet arrived, a story she disputes.
After a six week voyage they briefly lived in Christchurch before moving to Central Otago.
Their first impression of Alexandra was the main street resembled something of a Wild West film.
They did not speak English and barely knew anyone.
He said the transition was ‘‘very, very difficult’’.
He soon got a job working on council park reserves and the couple moved to a peaceful property in Galloway, where they still live today.
They went on to grow an orchard and also became heavily involved in the restoration of the Galloway Hall and other projects in the area.
Their family has expanded, with seven children, and now grandchildren too, and they describe their home as ‘‘heaven’’.
One of the most important factors in a good marriage was sorting out an argument before going to bed, he said.
‘‘When I think back 60 years, it’s difficult to get my mind around it. It feels like a fortnight . . .We had not one moment where we thought we did the wrong thing.’’ Mrs van LeeuwenRoos agrees. ‘‘I’ve always thought it was more give than take, both ways.
‘‘I couldn’t imagine being without him.’’