GEERTRUI Kersten was the daughter of father Pieter and mother Klaartje. She lived in Loenen on the Veluwe, near Eerbeek, in the heart of the Netherlands. Became a maid. She didn’t like it one bit. The Kersten family were Mennonites, and they regularly traveled back and forth to Germany to support fellow believers. That was not for Trui.
She married a pastor and took him with her to America. Three children: Klaas, Els, and Gerrit. Klaas fell in love with Wilhelmina de Wees from Leeuwarden. He made paper and in his spare time preached the Word like his dad, and together with Willemien in America he produced a whole bunch of children.
Long story short: at some point, through granddaughter Roosje, the family got a new last name, Pollock. Pollock? That’s a name from a horror novel, said descendant Donald. King, is what he came up with when he joined the Navy around age 20 and they asked him about his last name.
And so when Stephen was born, and he had to register the baby’s name, Donald again said King. Stephen King.
That was in Maine. Stephen lives in Bangor. Knows all about words and paper. Wrote 65 books, 200 short stories, and the script for several movies and TV series. Three hundred million books sold. One of the world’s most beloved writers. He lives in a big house with a fence made of cast-iron cobwebs and bats.
Not bad for a kid from the Veluwe.
