Pea factory De Klinge

The pea factory in the Bergstraat was originally founded by the Boerenbond in the twenties, for the processing of vegetables into preserves. The factory had a direct connection to the Mechelen-Terneuzen railway (MT) for the supply or removal of the products. It is the only building in the large Sint-Gillis-Waas that received permission for 4 floors above the factory hall. In 1939, armat from Luxembourg bought the building. According to some, war material was produced. During the war, the German soldiers also took up residence in this building. In 1968 "Libeer Brussels" buys the building. From 1973 the building was leased to Mr. Nelen who founded "Prefabel", it became a construction workshop for radiators. At the moment there is a casino in it.

But speaking of peas... two commissioners of the MT, Mr Seydlitz and Mr Vogelvangers, bought up many hectares of salt marshes here and there between De Klinge and Axel. They had sheep herds grazed on it and they sowed peas and beans in order to desalinate, the harvests were large. In the summer when it was rather quiet in the textile industry, the women from De Klinge came to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen to pick peas and beans. Around 21:00 a train of up to 60 cars left every day for 6 weeks to Boortmeerbeek between Mechelen and Leuven. From there, the canned peas and beans returned to Terneuzen, of course by MT, to be transported to England by liner.

drumont