A Wonderful Adventure on Willowdell Farm

By Jeremia Venter

Summer vacation is approaching, and the deBoer siblings, Daniel, Maria, and Elise, want to have an exciting adventure. Visiting Oupa and Ouma on Willowdell farm in central Pennsylvania is not what they have in mind! Oupa and Ouma need help and ask for an extended visit. The farm vacation takes many unexpected and exciting turns. Oupa shares his stories and delights the siblings. Under the happy surface lurks a serious problem. Daniel discovers that intruders visit the farm at night in search of a treasure. Who are they, and for what are they looking? The entire family soon find themselves in a race to find the valuable treasure and to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Oupa delightfully draws on everyone’s strengths and eccentricities. Will they win with whit and cunning? The vacation turns into just the fast-paced adventure Daniel wanted, and it far exceeds his wildest expectations!

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663219886

Jeremia Venter

Jeremia Venter was born to Afrikaans (Dutch) parents in South Africa. His best adventures occurred while growing up on Mashutti farm, perched on the steep slopes of the mountains surrounding his home town, Tzaneen. He learned Sotho from the tribal people on the farm and English in elementary school. On this lush and sprawling avocado farm, Jeremia contentedly tinkered with old farm equipment and energetically chased monkeys away from the fruit trees. Sometimes, the monkeys chased him instead! After completing his Chemical Engineering degree at Potchefstroom University in South Africa, he moved to The Pennsylvania State University in 1984 to complete a PhD (ChE). He joined Rohm and Haas Company in 1988 and worked in the Chemical Industry for 31 years. He travelled extensively visiting approximately 40 coutries on five continents. Jeremia married Kathleen McClure and had three children: Daniel, Maria, and Nancy Elise. Jeremia enjoyed telling stories to his children over many years, and was encouraged to document some of the old and some new stories. All these stories are dedicated to his wife, children and family.

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Copyright © 2021 Jeremia Venter.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-1979-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-1988-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021905600

iUniverse rev. date: 04/09/2021

To Ouma and

Oupa; my wife, Kathleen; and

our three children, Daniel, Maria, and Elise.

Contents

Chapter 1   Can Anticipation Kill?

Chapter 2   The Wonderful Dawn of Vacation

Chapter 3   The Grand Reunion

Chapter 4   Oupa and Ouma Entertain the Family

Chapter 5   Oupa’s Story of Geoff and Hill

Chapter 6   Something Is Wrong on the Farm!

Chapter 7   The Crazy People in Town

Chapter 8   A Painful Fight: Pete and Sue Cannot Agree

Chapter 9   Unwanted Guests Arrive

Chapter 10   The Treasure Is Missing!

Chapter 11   The Desperate Treasure Hunt

Chapter 12   A Major Diversion

Chapter 13   A Very Scary Place

Chapter 14   Destroying the Old Station Wagon

Chapter 15   An Exciting Ride Down Main Street

Chapter 16   The Inevitable and Sad Ending

About the Author

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1

Can Anticipation Kill?

Summer vacation is right around the corner, and we still do not have any plans! Daniel thought anxiously. Only a few more days, and this wonderful time will be upon us! We must make some plans for what to do, and I have to push that along!

Daniel was sitting at the kitchen table trying to pay attention to his schoolwork. Every day, this got harder—not just for him but also for Maria and Elise, his two sisters. The looming summer vacation was taking its toll and squeezing out of them the last remaining ounces of motivation for doing their schoolwork. Every day now felt longer than the previous day, and every minute longer than the minute before. It seemed to Daniel that the weekend was now further away than it was the previous day, if that were at all possible.

At twelve years old, Daniel was on the verge of becoming a teenager. His thick, messy, light brown hair covered his forehead, tanned from spending many hours outside in the sun. At just around five feet, Daniel was tall for his age, and the growth spurt he was in seemed to make it even more difficult for his lanky body to sit still. His dark brown and inquisitive eyes took in all there was to see around the kitchen table where he and his sisters were doing their schoolwork.

Maria was diligently working on her tasks. Though she was two years younger than Daniel, she more easily focused on her work when she was able to not get lost in her imagination and a world of pretend with her dolls and whoever wanted to participate. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through her blonde hair and tugged at her ponytails. Her fair skin and high cheekbones accentuated her bright green eyes that were staring at a worksheet. Her slight frame was bent over the table as she clutched her pencil in her left hand and swung her feet.

Elise, at six years old, was also doing her coloring work at the table. Colored pencils were strewn in front of her, and she grabbed the brightest ones to fill in the empty places on her sheet. Her short blonde hair swayed to her vigorous coloring, and her intense blue eyes followed her hands moving back and forth. The coloring was soothing, and she thought of all the fun she had the previous day playing in the mud, climbing trees with Daniel, and, at the end of the day, coming in with her entire muscular body covered in dirt. Perhaps later today, I can do it all over again, she thought with delight as a smile settled on her lips.

Both girls were articulate and determined and held their own very well, honed by many interactions with their assertive and strong-willed brother. Their fair skin, light hair, bright eyes, and high cheekbones came from Papa’s side of the family, from the Dutch.

Distractions can be so hard to fight, and on this day, it was especially difficult for Daniel. Daniel decided to give in to his temptation to daydream, to drift away from his current task and away to the joy-filled world of dreams and happy memories. He tried to remember all his previous eleven summer vacations. Of course, his first few were impossible to remember, even for someone with an excellent memory like Daniel. I was only a baby then. How can I possibly remember those vacations? he thought.

Last year, the family headed to the beach to stay in a rental home on the waterfront. That was so much fun! Daniel thought. The waves were such a challenge to ride! For hours, the family competed to see who could ride farthest out onto the sand. Then the debates followed about who won. Yes, that was a great deal of fun! Daniel almost said aloud. Sunbathing and then burning was not as enjoyable, but that was part of a beach vacation. Once properly tanned, the sun seemed to lose its desire to burn, and the weather became more forgiving. I wish we were going to the beach again! he thought. Daniel already knew that was not going to happen. Papa was always careful to plan beach vacations a year in advance, and there had been no talk at dinner about a trip to the ocean.

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Then there was the trip to South Africa the year before. Papa had relatives and cousins in that remote part of the world. Visiting their farm was a regular on the vacation schedule. The extended family still lived on the family farm. Every few years, the family packed their bags and took the long flight to Africa to see the relatives on the southernmost country in that continent. Everything is different and unfamiliar there, Daniel thought. The food was unlike most of what they ate at home in America. Who thought the tongue or the tail of an ox was something good to eat? Over the years, Daniel grew to enjoy those unusual meals.

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Sleeping on this distant family farm was just as unusual and was drenched in foreign sounds. The closest neighbors were a few miles away, and there were precious few human sounds. The surrounding avocado and blue gum trees soaked up the noises to leave only silence. At night, this quiet amplified all the animal noises when the armies of crickets and frogs bellowed their songs! In the mornings, they were often woken up by the thundering sound of monkeys racing over the tin roof.

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There were many fun activities on the farm. Riding on the back of the farm trucks through the avocado orchards, ducking and weaving to avoid nasty bumps on their heads, was a favorite pastime. They would all learn to drive on these mountains in the stick shift trucks, navigating narrow roads, snaking their way down the hills and across the earthen walls of the local dams. Just thinking about driving there made the hair on the back of Daniel’s neck stand up! I love being in that remote area, with the fresh air and views from the top of the mountain! Daniel thought. He could imagine the small town of Tzaneen nestled in the valley below between the surrounding mountains. That is so much fun, and I look forward to going back again! he thought. This is not going to be the year though. Planning those trips take a lot of time, and Papa has not said a word about it. We are not going to South Africa, Daniel concluded.

I hope we are not going out west again, Daniel thought. He and his siblings enjoyed being in Pennsylvania, in Doylestown. It was a wonderful and beautiful area, particularly in the summer. Daniel and his sisters loved swimming in the pool at their house, flying on the tall swings, climbing onto the tree platform and reading, and climbing the trees. Yes, Daniel loved it there, and so did Maria and Elise. The campfires in the backyard, where they often roasted marshmallows and made chocolate cookie sandwiches, were a highlight every year. Maria loved to take her time with making her sandwich, since she was always neat and did not like to get stickiness on her fingers; that was something no self-respecting ten-year-old girl enjoyed! Elise, on the other hand, did not mind getting chocolate, crumbs, and stickiness all over herself. She just took a bath afterward to solve the problem—a very practical solution for a six-year-old girl!

Summers at the Doylestown house were fun and allowed time for friends and many games. Staying here is much better than sitting in a car driving from state to state under the red-hot sun in the western United States! Everything is so far apart, and Mama tries to make those trips lessons in geography. Only Elise enjoyed that part, and how she memorized the states so quickly is still surprising to me. The last trip was more fun than I expected, and eating out and exploring hotel rooms made every day a little better. I don’t know if I can sit in the car for that long again, cooped up with Maria and Elise! Daniel thought.

Thankfully, Daniel realized that Papa had not said anything about going out west either, and he felt relief washing over him like a wave. I won’t ask Papa about going out west, for sure!

Daniel fondly recalled the vacation to Florida, where they stayed in a beach hotel and where Maria learned to swim. She dove into the water and swam to the side many times over for hours at a time. I never knew how determined Maria can be! Daniel thought. I am glad Mama stepped in sometimes to tell her to rest. She never stopped on her own. It is a good thing that we had other activities planned, or else Maria would have stayed in the pool the entire vacation! There had been no talk of packing light for the airplane flights. One suitcase per person, except for Mama! Daniel recalled Papa saying, and no such conversation had happened yet. No, there was not going to be a flight to Florida.

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Daniel looked at the clock; five minutes had passed since he looked last. He stared intensely at the second hand on the clock to see if perhaps it was ticking backward. No, it was moving forward as usual, just much more slowly than he expected. I can’t believe I reviewed all those vacations, and it took only five minutes! he thought. If I can cover all that ground in just five minutes, imagine all the ground I can cover through an entire summer!

Daniel was an energetic young man, itching to do something special with his summer. He was hoping for an adventure, filled with something useful to do. I hope I can do something meaningful! I hope I can rescue someone, help someone, or teach Maria and Elise something helpful. That would make this summer one to remember, he thought.

Daniel, how is your homework going? Mama asked.

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The deBoers were homeschooling, and the kitchen table was where they did their work. Mama was the school principal, nurse, teacher, and custodian—all in one. Nothing escaped her keen and wise eyes. Mama had been at this for six years and was very good at motivating and understanding her students and their traits. She knew she needed to keep a close eye on Daniel, especially when there were distractions. Daniel tended to drift off and not pay enough attention to his schoolwork, like most young boys his age.

Are you done with your first homework problem? Mama asked again.

Daniel looked down at his worksheet; it was still completely blank. Almost, he said. I just need a few more minutes.

When Daniel and his sisters applied themselves, they got through their work very quickly. They all took after their mother that way; no problem was too hard for them to solve. In fact, the harder the problem, the more curious they became and the more determined they were to solve it. That must be the German in us, Daniel thought, since Mama always said she was from German descent. Daniel now applied himself and quickly worked his way through the first ten problems on his worksheet.

Daniel looked at Maria; she was hard at work on her math. I wonder how Maria manages to be so diligent every day, Daniel thought.

It looks like Maria has recovered from our long walk through the house this morning, Daniel thought. The redness was now gone from Maria’s cheeks.

During the pledge of allegiance at the table, Elise grabbed the flag and started marching in a loop through the house—from the kitchen to the dining room, down the hallway, and back into the kitchen. Daniel, Maria, and Mama joined her and followed her for two hours until finally Mama suggested they move on to the next task of the day. Elise was not going to stop by herself!

Yes, Maria looks better now, Daniel observed. Elise’s blue eyes were sparking. I can’t believe that she looks so perky still, as if she wants to start her next march right now! Daniel thought.

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Mama glanced in Daniel’s direction to measure progress and noticed with satisfaction that he was now working on the twelfth math problem. The day was progressing well so far, she thought, including the exercise they all got in the morning. I need to keep a steady eye on these children, she thought. They are all engaged and attentive and try to make the best of every opportunity. She recalled the shopping trip the previous day when Elise got her hands on a candy bar and broke it, necessitating an unintended purchase. I wonder how Elise got her hands on that