ROCKWOOD – For more than six decades, Sytske Drijber was an engaged member of the Rockwood community, a woman who became known for her efforts to make the community better.
She died last year at the age of 103, but the Rockmosa Older Adult Centre has been renamed the Sytske Drijber Room in honour of her contributions to the community and in the hopes she will not be forgotten.
“The plan is to try to make sure people in the future will still know who she is,” said Guelph/Eramosa Mayor Chris White.
He was on hand in August, along with Sytske’s son Rudy Drijber, to unveil a dedication plaque in her honour.
“This room has been dedicated in honour of Sytske Drijber, 1920-2023,” it reads, going on to provide brief biographical details, including that she moved to the village in 1954.
“A veteran of World War II, she was a teacher, reporter, photographer, activist and community influencer. She was a central figure in Rockwood on Remembrance Day and helped make the annual Remembrance Day service interactive for local school children,” it states.
“She made our community a better place.”
White, who had the privilege of living next door to “Mrs. Drijber,” as he called her, said she was a long-standing member of the community who was “always full of ideas” for community improvement.
“She was just a recognizable figure who in many ways represented Rockwood,” White said.
Her status as a veteran was well known, he said, noting the many Remembrance Day-related articles that have been written about her over the years.
Rudy Drijber, left, and Guelph/Eramosa Mayor Chris White unveil a plaque in honour of late Rockwood resident Sytske Drijber at the Rockmosa Older Adult Centre in Rockwood. The facility has been renamed the Sytske Drijber Room in honour of the veteran and community activist. Submitted photo
Previous stories in the Advertiser tell how Sytske, who was originally from Holland, left a teaching job in Canada to volunteer to support the Dutch forces during the Second World War.
She served as a Dutch Intelligence mapper, and was stationed in Australia and Indonesia, where she met her husband, Oscar Drijber, an officer with the Dutch military.
Sytske was a central figure in Rockwood’s Remembrance Day ceremonies and events, and in the photo on the plaque, she is shown wearing her military medals, with a poppy pinned to her left lapel.
Rudy, one of Sytske’s six children, admitted to not knowing as much as perhaps he should about his parents’ military service.
“That generation really never spoke of it,” he said.
But he said he regularly runs into people who knew his mother and will talk to him about what an asset she was to the community.
“I would call her the matriarch of Rockwood,” said Rudy.
“She’s always been involved in the community as far back as the ’50s and ’60s.”
He recalled that his mother “used to have a little Bible school she ran” out of her home, where neighbourhood children would come after school.
He suspects some parents may have been taking advantage of his mom for after-school care, but Rudy said she didn’t mind.
“She just enjoyed connecting with the children and sharing knowledge,” he said.
Sytske was also involved in the community as a Lioness, the women’s affiliate of the Lions Club, and volunteered to help out the seniors Squires Lodge, Rudy recalled.
“She was a good listener. She listened to everybody and she was not judgmental,” he said.
In her later years, Sytske became an advocate for accessibility in the community, noticing things like the absence of an automatic door at the local post office, and working to remedy the situation.
“Mom always seemed to have the ability to recognize the need that others may have,” Rudy said.
Living next door to the mayor was helpful, Rudy said, noting “she would always have his ear.”
White didn’t seem to mind, calling Sytske a woman who was “always full of ideas.”
White said Sytske was “active right up until the end,” and emphasized her positive outlook.
“I’ve very rarely seen someone that old who’s unhappy,” he said, suggesting her positivity may have been the secret to her longevity.
White said he believes people will appreciate her being recognized through the township’s dedication plaque. Rudy said he thinks his mother will appreciate the dedication, too.
“I don’t think she was a proud woman,” he said.
“But she appreciated the fact that people made her special.”
