SAN NICHOLAAS IN THE EARLY YEARS

For some reason, people who lived in Lago Colony did not refer to this town by its rightful name, San Nicholas, it them it was called "The Village".  The stores were varied, from low price items to very expensive items that came from all parts of the world.  Along the main street in San Nicholas there were a large number of bars that catered to the seaman off the numerous tankers that continually call at Lago and each bar had their prostitutes, girls that came primarily from the Dominican Republic and Columbia.  Some would say it was a wide open town but I always felt safe and San Nicholas and my mother, as did most of the woman from the Colony, went to San Nicholas almost weekly to shop.  Not so much for food, this they purchased from the Colony Commissary, but for household items not stocked at the Commissary and luxury items.

I believe this is the street that

Long before the internet this was the fast way to communicate.

When a cable was received at the cable office the delivery man would pedal off on his bike to deliver it.

I am assuming this is San Nicholaas, however it may be Oranjstead, if so will someone please let me know.

No date on this photograph, but I would guess early '30's.

This was the Aruba Trading Company before I knew it, when I knew the store, the late 1940's and '50's there was a addition on the right had side about as big as the original store.

This is more how I remember the Aruba Trading Company, the addition can just be seen on the right had side of the photograph.  My father purchased lacquer from Aruba Trading as well as Florsheim shoes, he wore Wingtips, and Arrow dress shirts.  When my mother needed a new washing machine, the wringer type, it came from Aruba Trading.  They also sold Parker Pens, lumber, galvanized roofing, men's suits, Irish Linen and many other dry goods, and often items that seems miss-matched, it was just a little bit of everything and never really what you wanted.

Just a great photograph of what was in San Nicholaas in the late 1020's.

Again, another great photograph of San Nicholas in the late 1920's.

This view of the outskirts of San Nicholas taken in 1942 by the National Geographic Magazine.

The above view of the outskirts of San Nicholas is almost the same as the color photograph.  This black and white is from the book "The Netherlands West Indies" The islands and their people, Photographed by Willem van de Poll.  This was published in 1951 so the photos are probably 1949/51.  The following black and white photos are from the same book.

The road into San Nicholas from the west.  Out here the houses are much newer and better built that those that sprang up around the Lago refinery.

A good close-up view of the wooden "shacks" that housed the mostly off-island workers at the Lago Refinery.  Note the dirt road.

The main shopping street in San Nicholas in 1950.  The building in front of the "woody" station wagon is Spitzer & Furman, the very up-scale jewelry story with a store in San Nicholas as well as Oranjstead.  This is looking east,   This street, Bernhardstraat, runs into and the Aruba Trading Company store at the head of the street.  Turn right in front of Aruba Trading and enter the Lago Refinery, turn left to follow the road around the Lago Concession and tank farm.

The same view of the main street in San Nicholaas as the one above, this one is from the Ken Brown Scrapbook and there are no cars on the street, it may have been taken on a Sunday.  Interesting that two people took the same photo from the same location.

If you turned left in front of the Aruba Trading Company off of Bernhardstraat street this is what you would see, the gate and entrance to the Lago refinery.

Workers leaving the refinery heading for San Nicholas and home.  This photo is taken just inside the Lago gate in San Nicholas, the photographer was probably on the roof of the building by the gate that housed the Lago Police Department.  The building with the L A G O sign in the photo above this one.

Same San Nicholas gate to Lago refinery in the early days of Lago, before the permanent concrete building was erected.

This is the water tower in San Nicholaas and is from the Ken Brown Scrapbook.  On the photo Ken identified it not as the water tower but the Aruba Tax Assessor's office.

Another view of the water tower or Tax Assessor's office.

A landmark in both San Nicholas and Oranjstead, the water tower, I do not know if this is the San Nicholas water tower or not, I feel it is the one in Oranjstead, they look alike except for the surroundings.  If some one knows for sure be sure to tell me.

RETURN TO PHOTOS FROM OUTSIDE LAGO COLONY