A word of thanks therefore goes to all those who have spent some or their invaluable time writing down their recollections from the wonderful years in Lago Heights and to those who have given constructive criticism with regard to this website.
Lago Heights, a unique community.
Whose former residents are scattered all over the globe.
And still it is remembered with warm affection by those who left many years ago. Perhaps idealized, but nonetheless, a place where many grew up and where some lasting friendships were formed.
Lago Heights was built at the end of the 1930s (see also: A little history) by a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso), Lago Oil & Transport Co., Ltd., at the time the largest refinery in the world. The name Lago comes from the Spanish for "lake" and refers to the Lake of Maracaibo across the straits in Venezuela where most of the crude, to be processed by the Lago refinery, came from.
The first few houses (1026 - 1040) were built using steel molds. The remainder, except the so-called intermediate houses (nos. 640 - 652 and 740 - 752), had wooden molds. One could see where steel was used (smooth walls) and where wood (wood grain marks prominent on the walls).
The walls of all of these houses were of reinforced concrete, able to withstand any tropical hurricane. The "intermediate houses", on the other hand, were built from wood and were placed on square pillars, about two feet from the ground, with open space underneath the houses. These bungalows had walls made of "chalk board".
In total, one hundred and fifty bungalows were built.
The Fence, which ran along the north side of the 1000 Road, separated Lago Heights from Yuana Morto (Dead Iguana). There were three gates for vehicular traffic and two for pedestrians.
A club house with a movie theater and adjacent tennis courts and ball field was also built. And there was a post office across from bungalow no. 1000, where Mr. Romney was the postmaster.
There were also Bachelors' Quarters. And at the foot of the hill Watchman Rustveld was in charge of the gate...
Those first members of that community had in common that Lago was the employer for the breadwinner(s) in the family. And they came from a myriad of places; from the British, Dutch and French Caribbean islands, from Venezuela, British Guyana and Surinam, and some from even further afield.
There were even some Arubans among them....
The consequence of the influx from the various countries was that in many households English was spoken, but with the particular flavor from back 'ome, not quite "pidgin":
I can still recall Mrs. Brook (818) telling me that there is no such thing as "onliest" (only "only" is correct) and that it isn't "Tank you" but "Thank you", properly pronouncing the "tee-aitch". Her attempts to instill that standard of English in me still stands me in good stead, occasionally. But, I enjoy being able to forego all that to chat with me own people at times.
In other homes Dutch was used, as many parents from Surinam did not want their offspring stigmatized by speaking the - in their eyes - lower-class "Taki Taki". But, to no avail, because most of those kids had a good grasp of the language. (Later Srnan Tongo, as it is properly called, justifiably saw a revival in Surinam).
Spanish and French were also spoken, while in a few houses you could hear the native lingua mixta, Papiamento. And every language peppered with words of another.
However, there were those who could not or would not attempt speaking or learning Papiamento, for a variety of reasons. Some considered themselves too elevated to stoop down to the level of the locals. You could spot the former easily, as they tended to walk around with their noses slightly higher than the rest. The funny part, though, is that when you hear what their background was in their own country, you can't help but wonder about their new-found attitude.
Some had little or no contact with the locals, and yet others just did not have any talent to pick up another language. So whether it was ignorance, a dire lack of interest, intelligence or common sense, or just plain laziness, they never got to learn Papiamento.
Some examples that typify the mixture and usage of languages can be read in the Recollections of Rita, Roy, Rudy and Ozzie.
Every time we Lago Heights-ians get together, wherever in the world, the anecdotes abound. And each story triggers another. And the various age groups, too, all have their own specific (tall?) tales to tell. Of course, these stories are better related in person by the ones involved.
In order that these stories and anecdotes are not lost forever, I've decided to start collecting and recording them. If I amass enough of these, I could even attempt publishing them for posterity.....
So, if you have any anecdotes or stories, especially pertaining to the life in Lago Heights, and if you happen to know the present whereabouts of our friends or yesteryear, click here to forward this information to me.
Who does not remember Lago Heights Club? With its excellent movie theater. Going to matinee (more matinee anecdotes . . . . .). Also, where many suffered pains of Hades, having to listen to contestants in song festivals?
And the ball field, where baseball was played in the weekends. The outdoor dance patio, the tennis courts. Outdoor bingo was played on one-inch thick grey tiles placed on the court surface. Later the venue became the theater, and bigger prizes could be won, such as refrigerators, stoves and the like.
My brother's bike was one such prize won by my Dad. The original club itself is not there anymore, burnt down to the ground. Another building has been erected in its place. But the ball field is still being used.
Anybody remember "The Four Diamonds (Gilbert D'Mattos (615), Rudy MacDonald (927), Fred Dirksz (1038) and Wichie de Palm, from Bernhardstraat in front of the old boxing hall), singing barbershop quartet tunes of the Four Aces, the Ames Brothers, etc.?
I know of at least 6 people who recall them singing; the four themselves, Mario Bislick, who accompanied them on the piano, and myself...
They (The 4 D's) are planning a come-back after 40 (!!) years . . . . .and even a CD is a possibility if Gil and Rudy can be prompted to make another trip to the island! The original name (The 4 D's, the name taken from the first letter of the members' surname, quickly was renamed The Four Diamonds, when I suggested what else the "D" could stand for!!!)
Whenever I hear big-band music like Tommy Dorsey's, Benny Goodman's or Glenn Miller's, my mind wanders back to the time when I was a toddler and I imagine the music wafting over our houses from the club once more.
Ever romped about in the playground between the 600 and 700 streets? Or the caliche pit on the way to Grape field? (Many parents forbade their children to play there, because of the dangerous pools after a tropical downpour). The pit does not exist anymore, having been filled in with toxic waste from the refinery.
Remember the "Black Road"? The path leading from in front of Werleman (841) to join up again with the 800 Road in front of Adolphus? (831). There's a map included among these webpages to aid your memory.
The gangs of youths at year's end, creating havoc with firecrackers, chased by the watchmen on scooters. Some parents were definitely not amused..... (Read about the year's end incident involving firecrackers . . . . .).
The "De Vuyst" airfield close by, and the reverberating sounds of the skeet range on Sunday mornings. It was the home base of several small Cessna and Piper Club planes, among others those with the registration: PJ-BAC, PJ-BAG and PJ-WLE.
In the aeronautical and radio spelling alphabet these were officially referred to as:
Papa Juliet - Bravo Alpha Charlie, Papa Juliet - Bravo Alpha Golf, and Papa Juliet - Whiskey Lima Echo, but we didn't care for that nonsense.
We knew them as Pooch Back, Pooch Bag and Pooch Willy.
Check out the story about the airplane that was forced to land here during the war-years . . . . .
On the way to Grape Field, just past the Caliche Pit, I, for one, can remember being able to see the airstrip from the road. Now the area in between has risen such that seeing the strip is no longer possible. What could be the cause of this? (Any geologist among you?) Some attribute it to my all too vivid imagination . . . . .
Grape Field. For camping and what have you . . . . .
Now spoiled with a monstrosity of a penitentiary on the cliff. (Lest I be indicted for inciting destruction of public property, I, and with me several others, would welcome someone putting dynamite under that eyesore and blowing it to kingdom come!!)
Most of the sea-grape trees are gone, and very few nowadays know of the pleasures of savoring the ripe, dark-purple berries . . . . . When the berries were ripe, Grape Field would be invaded by kids, some all the way from "The Village", with buckets, tin cans, and brown paper bags. In order to be able to take home as many of the "grapes" as possible.
No matter how hard you brushed your teeth, the telltale marks of the purple berries remained for days . . . . .
Remember "Adam" and "Eve"? These were the two changing booths on the way to the beach. Some years back, the pitch area was cleaned by Esso, but they neglected to plant shrubs in that area to prevent the white sand from blowing away........
While we did not realize it at the time, in the 50's and 60's we were enjoying a higher standard of living than West-Europeans, who were rebuilding their countries after the war.
And then the schools we went to.
Abraham de Veer, Pieter de Boer, Prins Bernhard - later Graf von Zinzendorff, John Wesley, boys to St. Augustinus College, Don Bosco and Benilde School and girls to Theresia School and Filomena College.
Some of the older generation even went all the way to Oranjestad to attend Juliana School, La Salle, Dominicus and Maria College. Afterwards to Colegio Arubano or the A.T.S. (J.F. Kennedy). A few went to Dr. Brown's School, with the inimitable Miss Blaire.
A great many of those who completed their secondary school education ventured abroad to pursue their studies. The vast majority went to Holland and the U.S., A few stayed closer by: Venezuela, Trinidad and Puerto Rico. Some chose England, Germany, and even Belgium as their destination.
Graduates of the Technical School in Oranjestad were offered employment by Lago after taking some specific courses at the Lago Vocational School.
(Mr. Max Jessurun (612) and Mr. Fabian Francis (705) were two of the instructors).
What has become of the Lago Heights youth of yesteryear? Did they find the fame and fortune they sought? Where have they made their home? And how many of them are still living in Lago Heights? Or for that matter on Aruba?
Some have decided to return to spend their retirement there (or are intending to: Oswald Kadim (925)), or elsewhere on the island, while others have such deep roots in those countries they have made their home that they only visit on holiday, once in a while...
For those who have been away that long, here are the new names of them roads in Lago Heights as well as the original ones. (By the way, how many of you know that Lago Heights was officially called "Donkey Hill" before Lago started building the bungalows?). An apt description, seeing how many donkeys there were about . . . . . there are even stories about these four-legged creatures . . . . .
East-West, the streets were numbered, starting from the south side nearest to Lago:
| 600 Road | - | Fortheuvel Straat |
| 700 Road | - | Paradijsheuvel Straat and Koolbaaiberg Straat in the "intermediate" block |
| 800 Road | - | Quill Straat (Part of this is the "Black Road"); |
| 900 Road | - | Mt. Scenery Straat, and |
| 1000 Road | - | Lago Heights Straat, aptly named (Guess where I lived?); |
The north-south traverses, were, starting on the west side of the Caliche Pit (Barranca Hundu):
| 1st Avenue | - | Mont Pelee Straat (west of the Lago Heights Club ball field) |
| 2nd Avenue | - | Soufriere Straat, and finally, |
| 3rd Avenue | - | St. Catherine Straat (east of the Bachelor Quarters). |
There are a lot of stories out there still with: