In the drawing, my grandfather stands in front of his barn holding a Bat 2850 hurricane lantern. His name was Frens Luten. He lived in Ruinen with my grandmother, Annie Luten–Verhagen, and passed away in 2007 at 87. He ran a small riding stable with a few horses, ponies, and pony carriages, and I spent several weeks of my summer holidays there as a kid, helping out in the stables and fields.
I'd wanted for a long time to combine my hobby with my family history in some lasting way. My uncle Robert Leerentveld agreed to turn that into a drawing.
The result is exactly what I'd hoped for: my grandfather in front of his barn, cap on, suspenders, big hands, a hand-rolled cigarette in the corner of his mouth as always. He worked the fields until he was 82, looked after the horses and ponies, and carried heavy milk churns full of water out to the pastures.
He wasn't a talker. Just a hard worker who never complained. I have a lot of respect for him, and I'm glad this drawing exists to remember him by.
