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Bernardus Johannes Antonius NIJHUIS                                                                         

Maria Anna PERIK

Bernardus (Bernard) was born as the fourth child of Hendrikus Nijhuis and Maria Schoenmaker in the hospital in Enschede. The prematurely born Bernardus was an incubator baby.

Bernardus spent his childhood in and around the family home that stood in the Grotestraat in Borne, opposite butchery Kuipers. His early school years were in the elementary school situated on “De Brink”. At that stage it was a "Protestant-Catholic" school. Later when a Catholic school was built in "De Nes" (now St. Jacobusschool), he went there. During his primary school years Bernardus wasn’t always present at school. He skipped school every now and then. When his teacher informed his parents, they went looking for him. They always found him at a butcher in the neighbourhood where he stood watching the animals being slaughtered. This was the first clear indication towards his future profession.

After primary school he attended tertiary education in Borne. Thereafter he became a butcher. His first boss was Leushuis, a butcher's shop on De Brink. After some years he became employed by a German butcher in Oldenzaal. In between jobs, he  also worked for  butcher Huiskes in Rijssen. Because butcher Morshuis ("De Plaat") had to contend with staff shortages in Borne, he approached Bernardus who then became employed at “De Plaat”

At that time (1928) his father had a new house built in the Oude Hengelosestraat Borne. Even before the family could move into the new home, his mother died.

When Bernardus reached military age, he became a cook in the Army.  After his military service he decided to settle in Borne itself as an independent butcher. To achieve this goal, the front room of the new house was converted into a butcher shop in the years '31 -'32.  About two years later, a slaughterhouse was added behind the house, so that Bernardus could also slaughter his own cows. It was during these years that he met his future wife Marie Anna Perik.

When the war broke out in The Netherlands in 1940, Bernardus was "arrested" and sent to Germany for approximately a month. He was placed in "Camp Luckenwalde." During this same period Steven Hoogma from Steenwijk, father of Bernardus's future son in law, Frans Hoogma was also in the camp. In these difficult weeks that he was away, his future wife Marie Perik looked after the butchers shop with the help of his father, Hendrikus.

After returning home, Bernardus led the meat distribution in Hengelo-Borne region. Moreover, he was placed in charge of emergency slaughter; something he also did for years after the war.

After the war, Bernardus and Marie were married on July 1, 1946.

During the following years, the butchery grew more and more. Bernardus bought the cattle from farmers in the region and also slaughtered them himself.

Besides his work Bernardus also had a hobby, singing. He was a member of the Gregorian church choir and also the Small Choir.

The butchery was always known for its good quality (especially the homemade fresh sausages) and had a loyal business clientele. Even hotels like “Het Schip” and Restaurant Platenkamp were loyal customers. Bernardus was in the best sense of the word, a butcher from the "old school". He always worked very hard. He always made his “Rollades" (rolled up pork/mutton) by hand, which cost him many a night's sleep around Christmas and New Year. Despite his traditions he did go with the times and adapted to new trends and technologies.. The meat orders were successively delivered, first by bicycle - in harsh winters, even by sled, then by moped and later by car. To stay even more with the times he completely remodelled and modernized the business in 1967.

In February '74 he sold the business and went to live in Delden with his wife, in De Sanderij nr 13. Since he couldn’t cope with being inactive, he worked for several years at butcher Leo Lammertink in Hengelo.

During his final years he lived in a retirement home with his wife in the Ranninkstraat 42 in Delden. He lived there with great pleasure and in the neighbourhood, together with his little dog, he was known as a very amicable and friendly person. He would chat with everyone.

He contracted leukaemia and after a short stay in hospital, died two days after his 79th birthday on February 26th 1990 in Hengelo.

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His wife Maria Anna Perik remained alone after his passing. She lived for several years in the Ranninkstraat, but after some time her memory began  to deteriorate and was diagnosed with dementia She found it increasingly difficult to manage on her own.

In 1992, she moved to a retirement home, St. Joseph, also in Delden. She remained there for several years in reasonable health.

After a brief illness (pneumonia) she passed away on January 19, 1998.

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Bernardus (Bernard) and Maria Anna Perik were both incredibly social and lovely people. They were always ready to help others. In 1969 they were prepared, without reservation, to welcome their nephew Berardus Wilhelmus Hendrikus and niece Angela Johanna Wilhelmina Maria into their home. Both,    children of Bernards' brother Johnnes Frederikus Antonius, came from Australia but were included into the family as if they were their own children.

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