Figure 1.-- Here I am with the younger of my to sister. She was the closest in age to me. This photograph was taken in 1939. I would have been 3 years old and my sister was 6 years old. I am wearing long white stickings with a kind of tunic.

Our father was a medical doctor who directed a hospital for the Swiss Military who had become ill with tuberculosis. My father was of Dutch ancestry, but was born in Germany and raised and educated in Switzerland. We were German-speaking but lived in the French speaking part of Switzerland. I was born in 1936 at the small village of Montana. I was the youngest of five children, the baby of the family. I had two older brothers and two older sisters. My brothers were a good bit older than me, but one of my sisters was about my age. She was 3 years older. That's quite a difference when you are young, but my other brothers and sister were even older. My oldest sister who is 10 years older then I was a surrogate mother to me. My mother was very involved with occupational rehabilitation at the Sanatorium and also ran a social hall for refugees who were interned during the World War II near us. Her time to give us much attention was thus limited. She was also busy with all the chores in the house and it was not just us, but we had always a few needy kids staying with us, who were recovering form some illness. My brothers included me in their games, or perhaps tolerated me, but it was difficult to participate fully because of the age differences. My oldest brother and the next one were 8 and 7 years older then I. Yes, we played together, but their interests focused toward teen activities and they too, like I, left home at the age of 12 to got to secondary schools away from home. So, it was my sister who is 3 years older then me and I who played a lot together. There were also the other kids from the school and the kids who boarded at our home.

Father

Our father Hans Voûte was a medical doctor who directed a hospital for the Swiss Military who had become ill with tuberculosis. My father was of Dutch ancestry, but was born in Germany and raised and educated in Switzerland. Working at the sanatorium, he became very interested in the problems of handicapped children. He also became interested in Scouting believing it to a very beneficial activity for us children.

Mother

My mother was very involved with occupational rehabilitation at the Sanatorium and also ran a social hall for refugees who were interned during the World War II near us. Her time to give us much attention was thus limited. She was also busy with all the chores in the house and it was not just us, but we had always a few needy kids staying with us, who were recovering form some illness. Mother was very artistic. She was creative and especially interested in weaving.

Us Children

We were German-speaking but lived in the French speaking part of Switzerland. I was born in 1936 at the small village of Montana. I was the youngest of five children, the baby of the family. I had two older brothers and two older sisters. My brothers were a good bit older than me, but one of my sisters was about my age. She was 3 years older. That's quite a difference when you are young, but my other brothers and sister were even older. My oldest sister who is 10 years older then I was a surrogate mother to me. My brothers included me in their games, or perhaps tolerated me, but it was difficult to participate fully because of the age differences. My oldest brother and the next one were 8 and 7 years older then I. Yes, we played together, but their interests focused toward teen activities and they too, like I, left home at the age of 12 to got to secondary schools away from home. So, it was my sister who is 3 years older then me and I who played a lot together. There were also the other kids from the school and the kids who boarded at our home.

Sources

Voûte, Tom. E-mail message, May 16, 2006.

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Created: 1:28 AM 5/25/2006
Last updated: 6:02 AM 8/9/2007