My Brother Turns 50 Today !!!

My brother Richard turns 50 years old today.

The photo above was taken just before he was born. It shows me sitting on my father's workbench, with my very pregnant mother off to one side. (Richard is hiding in there somewhere).




When you're young an age difference of 2 years between siblings is tremendous. Although Richard and I would often hang out and do stuff together, the usual routine was for each of us to do things with neighbour kids closer to our respective ages.

Of course, the one good thing about being Canadian and having a younger brother at that age was that you were always guaranteed to have a goalie for road hockey games. (Even if he didn't want to play, you knew that as his older brother you could always talk, threaten or bribe him into playing net anyway).




As kids our respective personalities could not have been more different. I was always seen as "the serious one", while Richard was adored for his laughter and light-heartedness. In the summertime I was often outside building things like forts out of scraps of wood. Richard, on the other hand, loved books and reading - especially about anything related to history and war. On that note it's little wonder that each of us has ended up on our respective career paths, with Richard going on to earn a Phd. in History at Georgetown.

Along the way Richard adopted an almost nomadic approach to life. Since his late teens I don't think he's ever lived more than 3 consecutive years in any one place. As a result: over the past 30 years he has been a constant traveller - in many cases journeying around the world, often on a diplomatic passport. He has lived and worked in many interesting far flung places, many of which I'll probably never get to see.

Yet, when we get together on holidays I sometimes wonder if he envies a bit of the life I have, with the routine and "stability" of being rooted in one place with my family and work. While that may be true in terms of what he feels, I have to admit there are also days when the grind and responsibility of running a small business has me wishing for a bit of Richard's joie de vivre approach to life.




And, so, to my brother Richard I wish you a Happy 50th Birthday !!!

Although we have already been in touch with one another a couple times today, I can honestly say that at this moment I do not know where, exactly, you are on this planet right now. Yes, my nomadic brother is on the move once again.

That said, it goes without saying that even on this day he is being true to the spirit of who he is, and that is exactly as it should be.

Enjoy your day, Richard !

Love, your brother John.

(P.S. Did you want to play road hockey later? We need a goalie.)

The Journey Begins (Pt. 1)

To understand the history of furniture making in the Wiggers' family it is important to understand the broader historical context of our ancestry.




Our family's roots can be traced back to the small village of Groenlo, Holland which is located in the eastern part of the Netherlands - close to the German border.

Groen translates as green, and Lo means forest, so Groenlo actually means "green forest".

Centuries ago this village was a fortressed settlement known as Grolle, or Grol. The family name Wiggers is indigenous to the area, and it loosely translates as "one who battles".






Perhaps the most recognized product coming out of Groenlo is the world famous Grolsch beer - which is renouned for its traditional swing-top bottle. The Grolsch brewery was founded in 1615, and was located alongside my grandfather Jan's original workshop.

The photo to the right shows my grandfather's workshop, which has since been designated a protected historical site. He made both furniture and wooden shoes out of this location.

During the Second World War my grandfather was also involved with the Dutch Underground, and amongst other things his shop was used as a secret way station to help smuggle shot down allied pilots and navigators back to England.

Wooden shoe making was originally done by hand. However, in the 1920s with the introduction of electricity to the area, my grandfather played an innovative role in helping invent the first machine to automate the wooden shoe making process. The original machine is shown in the photo to the right.

After the war there was a tremendous period of growth and rebuilding, which fueled demand for furniture. My grandfather then went into partnership to form a furniture company known as Thesseling-Wiggers-Groenlo. By the 1950s he closed this facility to move his family overseas to better opportunities in North America.

The photo shown here is of my father Johan at the age of 19, bearing little more than a suitcase and $40. Being the eldest son, and already trained as a cabinet-maker, he was the first to emigrate to Canada.

His first job was in the crating department of a company making equipment for radar and other microwave communications. In his spare time he made furniture in his basement workshop.

The photo shown here was taken in 1961, and it shows me at the age of 2, as I begin my informal apprenticeship with my father.

This photo shows me with my mother Ann, and my soon-to-be-born brother Richard. (As I notice all the sharp tools around me in the photo I can understand why Fisher-Price came out with their line of toy tools some years later).