THE OILMAN
A few moments later, Oilwoman Henny entered our address for the first time in the Great Oilbook. In the thirteen years to come, at least three times a month we dialed the number of the Oilmen: Peter and Anton van der Zouwen.
No matter what the weather was like, even at ungodly hours you could count on father and son van der Zouwen. Once when son Peter was suffering from a serious case of flu, he refused to stay at home to recover properly. A customer who happened to be a doctor, examined and treated the chattering son on the tank truck driver's seat, while father Anton filled up the barrels. Reliablity is the motto of this extinct branch of family business.
After many detours, the company that started to sell petroleum in Schiedam on May 13, 1923, settled within the industrial zone 't Scheur in the city of Vlaardingen. Father Anton makes coffee in the office and offers a guided tour through the company's building: the gas depot, the fleet of trucks, the stockroom and the attic. Among the antique oil appliances it appeared for a moment that time was brought to a standstill. Between old jerrycans and dented receptacles I discovered a classical telephone with a dial. Could that be the device through which the foundation ordered its first delivery in the autumn of 1989?
Time doesn't pass over blocks of granite: father Anton reached the retirement age on August 11, 2000. On January 1st, Oil- and Gas Dealer Van der Zouwen merged with the company Hatek from the city of Wateringen. Since then, son Peter may call himself co-director of the association. He will shortly have to engage a truck driver and sign his first employment contract with someone from outside of the family circle. But for now, hierarchy is a dirty word in this house. The entire family is gathered around the boardroom's hardwooden desk to drink coffee. Orders trickle through on the cellular phone. The 6-Volt version of the local football team's anthem sounds regularly from the breast pocket of Anton's bright blue overall. He then jumps up and makes a few dance steps before switching to the talk-mode. His bass scrapes: "Van der Zouwen..." (two bars rest) "helps you heat throughout the winter!" Due to the cold north east wind, many customers were running out of oil early. He slowly dictates the orders to his wife Henny.
It's time to make the Family Portrait. Ill at ease, the Oilfamily takes position in front of the tank truck with the firm's logo. Oilwoman Henny steps out of line after only one photograph was taken to give her Oilmen full credit. I will name and celebrate the Family as Purveyor of foundation Kunst en Complex. As I pass the premises' threshold on my way out, I break into a bold variation on the Dutch National Anthem and sing 'Wilhelmus van der Zouwen' instead of 'Wilhelmus van Nassouwe'. I will call back soon.
Arnold Schalks, Rotterdam, March 2001.