D'n Teugelder

In 1982, Pieter Rooijakkers took over the chairmanship of the Teugelders van Ganzendonck Foundation. He had been prince the previous year and had apparently acquired a taste for carnival. One of his first acts was to place a statue of D'n Teugelder near the town hall. It was made to a design by Liesbeth Koppens. The foundation donated this statue to the municipality as a thank you for the support received from the municipality both in deeds and financially. At the time of the gift, all kinds of conditions were formulated in a carnivalesque manner, such as 'that the base (on which the statue was to stand) will only serve as its resting place and will not be used as the well-known ... pole'. The municipal council held a serious meeting about it on 4 March 1982. Councillor Van den Eijnde, who incidentally noted that the statue was already there, wanted to remind the council that there were also less attractive sides to the profession of bugler. In those days, it was not very highly regarded. For him, as a left-wing politician, the statue had a deeper meaning. It brings something of the ordinary people of Beek and Donken to the fore, something that the official historiography would always have had trouble dealing with. For instance, a square was named after an industrialist, while the founders of the trade union movement were hushed up. Be that as it may, the statue was accepted with thanks. One last time, the statue of the recluse had to be taken down from its pedestal, because the town hall was being demolished to make way for a new town hall. The statue now stands across the street in the Muziektuin.