Fieny Van Den Boom is a chatter box. She loves to engage in lively discussion with what seems to be a permanent smile on her face. As a youngster, she was quite the social butterfly and could often be found talking whether in or out of school. “All the teachers knew me even if I wasn’t in their classes. I had quite the reputation for the gift of the gab,” she laughed.

She was born and grew up in Bergen op Zoom, a city in the south of the Netherlands that is steeped in history. It was incorporated as a city almost 750 years ago and Fieny’s home was over 400 years old. The architecture is historical and stunning while the countryside is picturesque. “We even have a Canadian war cemetery,” she noted.

The youngest of three children, Fieny was active in school, taking part in numerous sporting activities including tennis and field hockey. She recalls a happy childhood, filled with constant adventures. “We always enjoyed going on vacation each year. We’d regularly go to the south of Germany and I can remember my brother and I being up to our knees in muck taking out the cows,” she said flamboyantly, lowering her hands to show me how high the muck had really been. She was an outdoorsy kid who didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. Fieny was also a kid who grew up believing that everything is possible, a belief that was obviously fostered at home.

Her mother was a homemaker while her father worked equally hard outside the home to provide financial stability for the family. “Dad ended up as vice-president of a concrete company. We were quite close given that we had the same sort of character. Dad was an emotional guy and a very warm person. He wasn’t afraid to cry, he was compassionate and was always ready to give you a hug if that’s what you needed,” she said with obvious pride and admiration for her father. He succumbed to cancer at the age of 54 and this proved to be quite hard on Fieny. “He was still young. It would have been really nice to get to know him better as an adult. I didn’t get that chance and that’s too bad,” she said.

Fieny met her husband, Jos, when she was just 14 years old. The couple met at a carnival and they became fast friends. Their friendship blossomed and they began dating a year later. Eventually that led to a wedding and the subsequent birth of three children.

Fieny loved the theatre and was quite often found on-stage performing during Bergen op Zoom’s many theatre productions. “I had numerous roles but the one that was most memorable was when I played a witch. It was great. I don’t have time for that right now but I hope to get back on the stage in the future,” she enthused.

Jos worked hard at the family owned and operated gas station while Fieny stayed home with the children but handled all the administrative duties for the business. In 1997, Jos’ brother immigrated to Canada, prompting a visit from Fieny, Jos and the boys a year later. “We fell in love with the place. It was so clean and so vast. We decided that we might like to make the move too,” she said.

The Van Den Boom connection with Canada actually began in 1944. After the city was liberated by Canadian soldiers, the Royal English Marines were sent in to provide clean-up after the liberation. One of the marines asked Jos’ father, who was only 16 at the time, if his mother would do his laundry. As payment, she would receive bars of soap. “This was a big deal because back then no one had any soap. Eventually that marine immigrated to Canada but the families remained friends. That’s where the link with Canada started,” she smiled. That marine recently celebrated 60 years of friendship with the Van Den Boom family, a friendship that was celebrated with a huge gathering on the Sunshine Coast.

By the millennium year, Jos and Fieny had determined that they were going to apply to immigrate and traveled to Canada to check out the school system and other such necessities. They now needed to decide what they were going to do when they got here. “We knew that we didn’t want to own a gas station,” she laughed. With Jos’ brother already living in Langley, they found out that Mail Boxes Etc. was looking to open up a franchise in Chilliwack. “Chilliwack was close enough to family but far enough away that we could start our own adventure. We enquired about the franchise opportunity and ended up buying it.” Mail Boxes Etc. eventually evolved into the UPS Store. The couple is busy and there isn’t a whole lot of down time. Even so, Fieny is wild with anticipation over Christmas this year. “I’m so excited that I’m getting goose bumps! Jos’ dad is celebrating his 80th birthday this year and the whole family is coming over from Holland for Christmas. We’ve rented the Fraser River Lodge and there’ll be 26 of us there. I can’t wait,” she said with delighted anticipation.

While Fieny misses Dutch culture, she’s quite content in her adopted country. “I have a positive attitude. I am where I am for a reason and I don’t need a whole lot. Sitting on my deck, surrounded by flowers with a glass of wine and a good book in my hand is all I need,” she laughed.