Arie Evegroen - Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, NL - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

The open motor barge Twee Gebroeders was a sand barge owned by skipper Arie Evegroen (10 September 1905 – 4 May 1988) from Ouderkerk aan den IJssel. This ship saved the province of South Holland from disaster during the night of January 31 to February 1, 1953. He is an important person in Dutch history for the Netherlands.

That Saturday evening, the night of the Flood, it was as always busy in the Koos Honkoop café (now: Espérance). Mayor Vogelaar had called on all those present to go to the Groenendijk as a dike army, as Schielands Hoge Zeedijk is called locally. Skipper Arie Evegroen was also in the café. When assistant engineer Kleijbeuker sounded the alarm at half past six in the morning, because a piece of the dike had slid off next to his pumping station Esse, Gans and Blaardorp, Mayor Vogelaar tried to convince skipper Arie Evegroen to sail into the hole with his ship. But skipper Arie Evegroen refused at first. Then he mustered up all his courage. He took a rowing boat with him on his ship. “I thought if he plunges into the polder, then I shouldn't be on board.” He saw what happened to the sandbags that were thrown into the hole: “they were right in the polder with that stream.” He placed his eighteen meter ship with its head in the dike. He jumped into the rowboat and got away. Shortly afterwards he had to return to switch off the engine. They then managed to close the hole with sandbags. Evegroen was given the nickname: Savior of the province of South Holland.

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