Click this link for Part I
Click this link for Part II
Click this link for Part III
Click this link for Part IV
Part V
I remember my grandmother telling me about Grandpa’s father, my great-grandfather, Adriaan Zuijdweg. She said he worked all day at the store without a day off, and during the day he wouldn’t eat. He would go hungry for hours and then come home and eat a steak the size of a dinner plate. Not much else. But a giant steak.I can’t remember for sure if he put horseradish or hot mustard on it, but I’ll bet he did. Grandpa always liked to add the hot stuff to his meats, and I think he probably learned it from his dad.
Adriaan Zuijdweg with son Adrian Zuidweg
Grandpa brings up his father at this point in his story:
The story continues that, in 1929, Grandpa’s father died, at age 58, of kidney failure. Grandma thought maybe that eating pattern contributed to or caused his death. I do wonder how they knew it was his kidneys or if they would have done an autopsy.
The rest of the information in this passage was new to me. I didn’t realize when Adriaan became ill, the family had to sell their store. Nor did I know that he went back to school to become an accountant. This kind of blew my mind for a couple of reasons. First, I didn’t realize that the idea of re-educating oneself at midlife was considered an option in those days! My goodness, that is something to consider . . . . I’m proud of him for taking that step. I wonder where he went to school.
Second, I love that he went to become an accountant because it shows that Grandpa also got his love of accounting and finance from his father (or was it the other way around?!). My Uncle Don then followed in their footsteps by going into the field.
I was sorry to see that Grandpa had to quit school because of his father’s poor health. Although I knew he left school early, I thought it was because his blind eye made studying difficult. But from reading this story it’s become clear that his eyesight didn’t affect his school work in that way. Knowing he quit for financial reasons made me more sad for him.
I’m glad he was still able to have a good time as a teen. The mention of playing pool was astounding as my grandfather was not a party type at all, and I think of The Music Man:
Oh, we got trouble
Right here in River City
Right here in River City
With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P'
And that stands for 'pool'
That stands for pool
Imagining Grandpa at the poolhall . . . . 😉
It’s much easier to imagine him fishing with his grandfather. I’ve already posted two photos of Grandpa with a fishing pole and one of his grandfather, Richard DeKorn, fishing. Here they are in a slide show.
The Family Kalamazoo 
All very interesting. I think the kidney failure would have been diagnosed before your g-grandfather died. There would have been well known symptoms (inability to urinate, swelling, confusion, etc.), the sort that now lead to dialysis. Kidney failure can be due to diabetes, high blood pressure, injury to the kidneys, blood loss, sepsis, poisons, certain medications in excess, kidney stones, tumors, heart failure, etc. However, when I learned that my great-grandmother died of stomach cancer, I wondered, “How did they know that?” I guess it was obvious. The doctors operated but she died. I wonder if it was inevitable.
All the photos are great, especially your grandfather as a little boy with his catch. And also the photo of the father with his child in a “stroller.” It has runners, like a sled. I loved that! We need that in Kalamazoo County.
I wonder why your grandfather eschewed everything but steak. That kind of diet could lead to all kinds of problems. But maybe he ate that meal due to some digestive ailment he already had; i.e., he was self medicating. Or maybe he thought that after a hard day of work he deserved the best, and for him, steak was the best.
I suppose (she wrote reluctantly). But even today I find that doctors can be wrong a little too often.
That sled is really fabulous!
I’m not sure, but I bet he hated fish from owning the fish market!
Luanne, I think you got it right that your Great Grandfather’s eating habits had something to do with his failing health. He ate too much, too late in the day and did not have sufficient activity to help him digest. I don’t know why he didn’t eat or drink fluids during the day but perhaps running the store was a source of stress for him.
How many helpers did he have? Perhaps supervising them proved to be a source of irritation. Sometimes he may have had to do it all himself.
My Grandpa Al Terry (Great Grandpa Francesco Torregrossa’s son) used to tell me that when one owns a business it’s all that occupies the mind every waking minute and sometimes in dreams, too. Perhaps your Great Grandfather had a lot to think about and it just took away his appetite during business hours.
EmilyAnn, I don’t know if he had fluids during the day or not. I do wonder. But what a terrible eating pattern he had. I think it was mainly family and probably a young man or two who helped out. One thing I noticed from the photos is that the fish market looked like a lot of work–much of it manual labor–whereas he looked so much more content and snazzier standing in his candy and soda shop, which would have been less physical labor. I think your grandpa was right!!
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