Kees Adema

Kees Adema is best known for writing five volumes describing the postal history of his home country Holland including the trilogy ‘Netherlands Mail in Times of Turmoil’ (1568 – 1839), for which he received the prestigious ‘Earl of Crawford’ medal in London. ‘The Paper Trail’, about World War II in Holland as seen through mail and documents, was written with co-author Jeffrey Groeneveld. It garnered a large gold award at a competition in Stockholm in 2019.

For his groundbreaking research published in his books and numerous papers, he received the Luff Award in the USA, the Costerus Medal in Holland and the Lindenberg Medal in Germany, those countries highest awards. In 2010 he was elected to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, the philatelic world’s highest honor.

Kees’ latest work ‘Pardon me, my Cat’s on Fire’ is quite a departure from those subjects, although fascinating in its own right. The famous Boulders Inn in Connecticut became a draw for celebrities during the time Kees and his wife Ulla owned it and a fertile source for hilarious and sometimes melancholy anecdotes. The couple purchased the inn after they decided to want to do something together after Kees’ lengthy career as a ship broker. It was voted one of the top ten inns in the country.

A few chapters relate to true events related to World War II when the Adema family lived in Holland. The author’s brother was born in the cellar of the house in Arnhem, during the fighting on the first day of Operation Market Garden of ‘A Bridge to Far’ fame. Other pieces have a connection to the years when Kees – then in his early 20’s – traveled the world as a purser on the Dutch passenger liner ‘Oranje’ and to unique travel experiences he and Ulla had during their almost 6 decades of marriage.

The poems are mostly silly, irreverent, hilarious and meant to be exactly that. They are intended to get the reader away from the worrisome political developments of the current age.