The Vandenbergs
Dear Ann,
It was so many moons ago when Judy & Frank Vandenberg came into our lives: too many to remember. I don’t even recall how we got to know this great couple, but we recruited Judy into Tupperware. She worked diligently until she became a Manager of her own group of Tupperware Dealers.
This couple are rather unique in the fact that what Judy got involved on, Frank would give his utmost support to & vice versa. They are such a positive couple who would make things happen & not afraid to make an adventure out of life.
Judy proved to be a very successful manager &, as sometimes it happens in Tupperware, they also became lifelong friends. One would have to say that they were special people.
Their lot in life was not always what you would want it to be, but they had a wonderful family of four whom we got to know extremely well. They would attend our private family gatherings as we did theirs. Their youngest son, Frankie, suffered with ‘Down Syndrome’ but he is adorable.
Frank was born in Holland, came out to Australia with his family when very young & no one could find a more dinky di Aussie than what Frank turned out to be. He was as Australian as they come & certainly learnt our Aussie slang.
Towards the end of our own Tupperware career Judy & Frank had decided to return to Holland to live there for two years for various reasons. Soon after that Max & I announced our own retirement from Tupperware & departed in November 1982 to spend Christmas in Denmark with friends.
Knowing this, Judy & Frank made us promise we would go & stay with them in Holland after our time in Denmark.
Frank and Judy Vandenburg, Dawn and Max Hodgetts in Holland 1983.
Never will I forget our arrival in Amsterdam & the welcome we had from the Vandy’s. They had their whole family with them & lived in a house the quarter of the size of the average Australian home.
However, they had a bedroom all ready for us. I am speaking the truth as I tell you &, as the saying goes, you couldn’t swing a cat in it. As a matter of fact you could hardly turn around in it, but what a welcome: a  rug depicting the Australian flag draped on the bed & a vase of tulips on a little bedside table.
The Vandys could adapt themselves to anything. For as long as I knew Frank he was a drummer in a band, or he could get a job driving a truck in a mine. He never lacked work & if he didn’t know how to do a job he soon mastered it.
When we arrived he was firmly ensconced in working in the tulip fields. Judy kept us in stitches telling us how the sticky beaks knew everything that went on in Holland. It  was protocol to never to pull your curtains across the windows so that all & sundry could see inside!
We had the most amazing two weeks with them in Holland. It was fun from start to finish & a never to be forgotten time. If I set my mind to it I could write a whole book on our experiences just with them for that fortnight in Holland.
I learnt so much from Judy & Frank. They are the most positive couple I have ever known. They treat life as one big adventure to be enjoyed no matter what. I have never ever seen them down hearted. They are always smiling no matter what setbacks they may have.
I often think of Frank when I am driving, as he said one day in true Aussie style how he never lets the ‘buggars’ driving behind rattle him when he was driving his car & they could deal with the problem. I often think of this when I am driving.
I have known their son, Frankie, since he was a teenager. Even with Downs he went out to work earning money in what we call ‘sheltered workshops’ doing something that he could handle.
Then one year I started making Christmas Puddings & Frankie got to taste them. To say he loves them is an understatement! Right from the very beginning I always made a special pudding just for Frankie. It is a ritual & if I don’t see the Vandy’s all through the year it is a promise that I will see them at Christmas so they can collect Frankie’s pudding.
A couple of years ago I made a phone call to their home & Judy & Frank were not there so Frankie answered the call. He asked who was calling so I said “Dawn,’ which I could tell meant nothing to him. Then I said “You know me Frankie, it’s Dawn the pudding lady.” Frankie was not slow on the uptake replying very excitedly by saying “Can I have two this year”? I think I gave him half a dozen little ones that year!
So this year was no exception. Just recently Judy & Frank arrived on my doorstep with a lovely bottle of white wine for me, plus a whole ham. I was overwhelmed, but that’s the kind of wonderful people they are.
Nor will I ever forget the card I received from them just after our huge robbery when my beautiful jewellery was taken which devastated me. It said “You might have lost all your jewels Dawn, but you are a beautiful gem yourself for what you do for Frankie”.
So what does a little old lady do with a whole ham? The whole family made good use of it as I gave it to David to care for, so he carved enough for me to have for about three weeks. Some went up to Medowie for Christmas lunch and David & family have fed off it for most of January. I have a huge ham bone in the feezer now waiting until Philip & Greg to come for their next visit because we all love Pea & Ham soup.
You can see now much I love this wonderful couple. Even with Judy suffering from Parkinson’s disease now, it never deters them from being the happiest couple you could meet.
The nicest thing that happened after their visit with the ham is a definite promise that we will meet for coffee in the New Year, as none of us are getting any younger.
Love to you always. Dawn X O X O