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Anecdotes from the next of kin


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When Alfred was young and living in Czechoslovakia they often noticed that wood for their wood stove was stolen, but not for long. Alfred took two blocks and drilled holes in it. Then he filled it with carbide and made it eye shut. The result was well noticed as someone in the village had fireworks in his house. Nobody made a complaint but everyone knew the thief from that moment on.

Wilhelmina Jezelin, Alfred's daughter


Mother was extremely jealous. When a woman looked at him, he was blamed to have an affaire with her. Alfred, who was not afraid to pull somebody's leg, came back from the city and said: “I went to the whores and had a beautiful day.” With such type of jokes my mother went totally nuts.

Wilhelmina Jezelin, Alfred's daughter


On my eighteenth birthday my father gave me a car as a birthday present but I didn't knew why. Many years later when I met my aunt Elisabeth (my father's sister) again she told me the reason for that birthday present. At that time you could read in the newspapers and listen to the radio that princess Irene, queen Juliana's daughter in Holland got a car for her eighteenth birthday. “What?” said Alfred. “If the queen can do that, I can do that too.”

Wilhelmina Jezelin, Alfred's daughter


The woman living next to the glassworks was always keeping an eye on Alfred's doings and gave constantly her opinion. “Gosh, you were late at home tonight. Whaw,….” Alfred became nervous and said to her: “If you don't stop to ventilate your comments I will drop my pants and show you my ass.” Of course the neighbor didn't stop and Alfred showed her what he promised a few days earlier. She was so shocked that she couldn't speak anymore for a few days.

Wilhelmina Jezelin, Alfred's daughter


When Alfred went to visit his sister in the Netherlands, he often took a taxi from 'de smalle' (=nickname: the small one) in the Charlottalei (streetname). Of course, in those years a car in a village was a great attraction and everyone came out to admire the car. Just before entering the village he asked the taxidriver to stop and they exchanged places. Arriving at destination everybody was on street and the driver, in this case Alfred himself, stepped to the door of his sister's house and began banging on the door while shouting: “open the door you silly ugly woman”. Afterwards when they were gone, people told Alfred's sister that the driver of her well mannered brother was a rude and brutal man. Elisabeth didn't stop laughing with all the comments.

Wilhelmina Jezelin, Alfred's daughter


In order to pay the wages of his workmen he had to go to a post office of a bigger town as in Hemiksem they didn't had enough cash. Once he went to the main post office in Antwerpen on the 'Groenplaats' (name of the square). As he had no account in Antwerpen the employee had to phone to the post office in Hemiksem to have their permission. The man in Hemiksem simply asked his colleague in Antwerpen to describe the man who was asking for so much cash. “In fact, it is a strange man with a worn overall and a burnt cap. Should we give the money to him ?!?”. The answer was simple: “No problem, that's the right one, that's Alfred. Give him the money.”

Wilhelmina Jezelin, Alfred's daughter


One day Elisabeth was visiting Alfred in Hemiksem together with her husband Berthus. The women went shopping while the men stayed at home. Alfred and Berthus were chatting downstairs when Alfred said to Berthus: “Shall I have the police to drop by at our house?”. He took his revolver out of the closet behind him and shot two times through the ceiling. With the last shot, he suddenly realized that his father was sleeping on the first floor. He ran as fast as he could upstairs when he met his father halfway the stairs. His father, pale as a sheet said to him: “Alfred, Alfred, are you going nuts?”. He missed his father not more then 50 cm.

François Hallemans, Alfred's son in law


When I was little, I always covered my bed nicely when I came out of my bed. I thought then that the heat was stored that way.

Wilhelmina Jezelin, daughter of Alfred


As a child, I heard adults talking about whether or not to fall asleep and I didn't really understand that. I then stood at the foot end of my bed and dropped me on the bed. I couldn't fall asleep either. ^_^

Wilhelmina Jezelin, daughterochter van Alfred


“When was a doctor a good doctor for Alfred?” Simple, if the doctor gave him a disease that he liked, otherwise it was a bad doctor :-D

François Hallemans, Alfred's son in law


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