Ajax delegation visits world's oldest on 114th birthday
30 June: Mrs Hendrikje (Hennie) Van Andel-Schipper was
a 10 year-old girl when Ajax was first founded, she
was 49 years old when World War Two broke
out and 73 when John F. Kennedy died. Since early
June she is also the oldest officially registered person in the
world. And: she is an Ajax fan. Obviously, a delegation of the
Amsterdam club had to be present when Mrs Van Andel-Schipper
celebrated her 114th birthday on 29 June.
Ms. Van
Andel-Schipper.
It must have been the busiest day ever in the
history of Westerkim rest home, in the eastern Dutch town of
Hoogeveen. There were numerous journalists, a TV crew
from Japan and civilians from all over the
country, who had come to
Hoogeveen especially for the 114
year-old 'birthday girl'. The mayor of
Hoogeveen, Willem Urlings, was there to tell her that a
Hoogeveen street has been named after her. The Commissioner of
the Queen for the province of Drenthe, Relus ter Beek, was
also in attendance. And, last but not least, PR managers
Simone Freling and Danny Hess were there on behalf of
Ajax, the club Mrs Van Andel first saw in action in 1921
and which has had her warm support ever since. Of course,
the delegation from Amsterdam had brought gifts: a red and
white flower bouquet, a 'Champions 2004' scarf and a
silver plate with the following inscription: 'Hendrikje Van
Andel-Schipper - oldest Ajacied in the world'.
Mrs Van Andel still follows Ajax closely. She even
sent a giant-size inflatable champagne bottle to the
Amsterdam ArenA when the team clinched the 2004
Eredivisie championship. The attached card read:
"Congratulations on your championship. Regards, Mrs Van
Andel, your oldest fan." Now she follows Euro 2004. She
knows most of the results: "I can't listen to the radio
anymore. I can no longer hear what they're saying. But I
want the people here to tell me all about it. Portugal
tomorrow, eh? Well, I'm not that fond of the Dutch team. And
those Portugese... they're a nasty lot."
Long-time followers of Ajax USA were introduced to
this remarkable fellow Ajax supporter on 21 February 2001. At
the time she was 'only' 110 years old and had just become the
oldest person in The Netherlands, as Mrs Catharina van
Dam-Groeneveld (113) had just passed away. Just over three
years later, on 31 May of this year, Mrs Van Andel officially
became the oldest person in the world, due to the death of Mrs
Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan from Puerto Rico, at age
114.
Her secret? "Just keep breathing," Mrs Van Andel said.
"And have a glass of fresh orange juice and a herring
every day, for vitamins." (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl
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