The Big Adventure
It is September 1944. The Allies drive the Germans back to their country and Second World War is approaching its end in South Limburg. Bombs and grenades fly over the village of Vijlen, the city of Aachen is nearby. Two lads from that village experience it all . They unexpectedly walk through a minefield to welcome their liberators. That same day a niece and nephew are killed by a grenade. But there is also a future. The boys develop a passion: they bring home stones and fossils. The schoolmaster and the pastor encourage them to exhibit their findings. Stones hunters Werner and Sjeuf Felder are becoming more and more famous in the region.
Earth and Evolution
But, being occupied with stones and fossils did raise many eyebrows at that time. Church and school taught the religious story of creation, and those who did not believe so certainly would end up in hell. Yet the boys continued with their big hobby, geology, the science of earth . Unfortunately, college and university could not be paid for. They went to work for a farmer, as was common at the time. They did take some courses, read books and contacted people from the field. Together they scoured the whole region (South Limburg) and the neighboring part of Belgium. Soon they were considered experts. When the Limburg Department of the still very young Dutch Geological Society was established in 1948, they were among the first members.Werner was then 18 and Sjeuf 20 years old.
In The Coal Mine
Both Werner and Sjeuf are going to work in the coal mines. That not only made a good living, but there, deep in the earth, you could do geology. And the boys did. Their sparkling passion and enormous practical knowledge does not go unnoticed. Their directors invite the two miners to do courses to be geological assistants. At the time, such an opportunity was unusual for working-class people.
The Mines Close
The mines closed from the 1960s. In the meanwhile, the brothers are renowned for their publications, in particular about the geological Cretaceous era. Outcrops of this era are abundantly available in South Limburg in the form of limestone quarries. Fortunately, their enormous knowledge continues to be requested for. Sjeuf will be organizing exhibitions on the geology of Limburg in the Natural History Museum in Maastricht. Werner will be making geological maps for the Geological Office in Heerlen. The large scale raw materials industry in Limburg find the two brothers when it comes to professional knowledge. In exchange, they are allowed to organize excursions and collect fossils in many quarries.
Unprecedented Eagerness
In addition to their unusually high motivation and interest, the boys are known for their perceptiveness, analytical skills, ambition, perseverance and indomitable work ethic. The publications list by both Felders is impressive. They write about everything related to Limburg geology, including in scientific journals. The development of the human species in this region also has their attention. In 1968 they start, with a working group, to dig up the prehistoric flint mines of Rijckholt. The brothers gain world fame.
The Phenomenon Felder
Geology in Limburg means Felder. Werner and Sjeuf have put the geology of South Limburg on the world map, starting being ‘amateurs’. Sometimes disagreeing in scientific matters, but in fraternal understanding in the end.
In 2008 it was Wiel Schins, president of the Dutch Geological Society Limburg Department, who got the idea to write down the life story of the Felder brothers. Their unique life adventure had to be preserved. The book, entitled (in dutch) Het Fenomeen Felder, describes youth, development, activities and publications of the two “self-made men” and is illustrated by many historical pictures.A congress is organized in order to honour the brothers. It is December 12, 2008. But Werner is dying and cannot be present. Brother Sjeuf, gasping for air due to silicosis, does the honours. He tells a moving story and the room lives through the emotion. The governor of Limburg appoints both brothers ‘Limburgers van Verdienste’ (Honorary Members of Limburg society). Three days later Werner dies. Half a year later, his brother Sjeuf also leaves his beloved Earth.