“There was just dirt”: Memories from Elim Village’s first residents

Every community has its beginnings. For Elim Village, it started with a vision—and the courage of its first residents to step into something new. In 2001, a small group made the decision to move to Elim, laying the foundation of a connected, faith-based community that would grow extensively over the next 25 years.

On April 7, 2001 Onne and Frances Storteboom became Elim’s first residents, moving into a newly constructed duplex. Over the next weeks and months, other residents followed. The memories of some of those first residents to move in who still live at Elim today reveal the challenges and joys of starting life in a brand-new community.

“We moved in and there we sat in a duplex with no grass, just dirt in the front yard and construction all around us,” Jane Drost remembers.

She first heard about Elim and the vision for the seniors community where spouses could age together through her Bible study group.

“We thought we’re not ready to retire, we still have kids living at home,” she recalls. “There’s no way I thought we would ever be part of it. At that stage, we weren’t thinking about retiring or living in a retirement community.”

However, circumstances changed, and so did Jane’s perspective. “My husband was diagnosed with a very serious condition and then of course you start thinking about it a little bit more,” Jane says.

On May 28, 2001, Jane and her husband moved into a North Duplex.

“I did not want to. I was 55. I wasn’t ready to move into a senior facility. But I guess somebody else was ready for it, and we moved in.”

Peter Brouwer, who was involved in the founding committee that helped Elim get started, moved a month earlier, on April 28, 2001.

“Everybody had to register and then they put their numbers in a hat, and then they picked out the ones that could pick the units first… So, it turned out that we could move in North Duplex number seven. Our unit wasn’t quite finished yet, but we could move in, and we loved it from the day we came here.”

That summer, The Bowron was completed and Gerda VanderWoude was among the first residents to call the new apartment building home. Like many of her neighbours, Gerda first heard of Elim at church.

“I just took it for information, not thinking one day I’m going to live there,” she says. But after touring the community with her sister, she was convinced. “My apartment was not finished, but you could see how it was going to be.”

Life in a new community had its challenges. “We put up with a lot when we first moved in, a lot of construction noise,” Gerda recalls.

But it also came with a sense of community. Jane fondly recalls traditions in the North Duplexes: “Every year we would have a barbecue, and we would have such a good time… Christmas, we would always get together. There was a real camaraderie.”

Gerda echoes that sentiment. “We all got together very soon. I invited my floor ladies to a tea or coffee in the morning, and we all got acquainted. There was no one else around, just our building and the North Duplexes, so strong community was important.”

In those early years, residents took it on themselves to organize events in their buildings—from a knitting group, to a book club, to a choir.

Gerda remembers one winter in particular, when heavy snow made it impossible to leave the site for church. Instead, residents organized their own service in The Bowron.

“We had several retired pastors in our building and also one in the duplexes. They all got together and decided how to run a service,” she says. “They brought in chairs from people’s houses—one old lady was even brought in with her enormous wooden chair—and we had a proper church service, which everyone enjoyed.”

For Peter, that sense of community has endured over the 25 years he’s lived at Elim. “It’s a really awesome community,” he says. “I know a lot of people here. I go to The Oasis three times a week for coffee, and I meet a lot of people there. I wouldn’t move anywhere else.”

None of these residents imagined the scale Elim Village would reach, 25 years later.

“I don’t know what my vision was. It certainly wasn’t this big,” Jane says. Gerda adds, “Everything keeps getting bigger… Sometimes you just can’t get your head around it.”

Their advice to those considering making the move to Elim today? “Don’t wait until you’re 80,” Peter says. “When we moved in here, I was only 71. I said to my wife, it would be nice if we could be here for 10 years. She almost made it to 20 years, and I’m close to 25 now.”

Looking back, it is clear that what began with dirt, construction, and hopeful anticipation grew into something far more significant: a thriving, connected community built on friendship and faith.