Willy van der Most
"My first impression of Oostelijk Flevoland was: 'what gorgeous countryside'! If I could start there and go on to become a farmer, well... We talked to one of the first tenants, and he said, "You have to start from the ground up and show us what you're worth." It was only a small group of people that would be chosen as farmers. In 1961 I chanced it and went. I was no stranger to work and long hours. There were boys from farming families, sons of farmers, all waiting to become farmers themselves. If you could prove that you had in in you, you got the change to move up the ladder. I was one of the chosen. I did a course for foremen and then took up the reigns for myself. My boss always said, 'Don't forget, land is a miracle, and the land here is sacred. Cultivate it well and you'll be assured a god harvest."
(Source: Batavialand, Oral History project, Interview Evert Boerhave (b. 1936), son of a farmer with his own farm in Dronten since 1969).