RANDOLPH - Newton and Florence Vander Woude celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this summer, a relationship made possible by the bravery and sacrifice of Florence's family during World War II, with a little help from lazy sheep.

Almost seven decades ago, the Vander Woudes lived in Friesland - the northernmost province in the Netherlands. Newton had a sister and Florence had nine siblings.

"We knew each other ... I was friends with her brother," Newton said.

Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940 without any declaration of war, after it had taken Poland, Denmark and Norway. Newton said that after five days of bombing, it was over for the Netherlands and the Nazis occupied the country.

"We had to live under their rules," said Newton, who was 16 that year.

The Nazis needed more men to serve in its armies and to control the countries it occupied. Newton said that in July 1943, a police officer that knew his father well gave him a warning. The officer had a notice that Newton would be required to register with the Nazis.

Newton said the Dutch Underground worked to help young men trying to avoid being pressed into service with the Nazis, but there were so many that the Underground could not help everyone. He set out to hide himself, going first to his grandparents to see if he could stay with them. He stayed there for three weeks, helping work their farm. When the work was done, he traveled on a bike, looking for a job. He helped cut hay and stayed for a couple of weeks with an aunt and uncle.

"I felt like a deer in open season," Newton said.

Newton rode back to his parents' home on a bike over country roads.

"I met my friend ... it was your brother," Newton said to Florence. "I told him, ‘Tomorrow I am going to go register ... I don't want anyone in danger for hiding me.'"

Newton said that his friend came back and said, "My father wants to talk to you."

Newton went to speak to Mr. Bruinsma, who told him he should not go to work for the enemy.

"I told him, ‘You are not in my shoes,'" Newton said.

Mr. Bruinsma offered to let Newton stay with his family and hide. The Bruinsma family had 10 children.

Newton learned how to spin yarn on a spinning wheel to help the family. A hiding place was created in the home, under the floor near the front window. The entrance was disguised by the window sill. Straw and old blankets were used to make it more comfortable, and the hiding place could be locked from the inside.

"I had to face the Nazis," Florence said. "It was really awful."

Florence said that she was responsible for hiding a document that showed her parents' wedding date and listed the birthdays of her and her siblings.

"I always looked sick, so I played sick and had the book hidden on my chest," Florence said.

The Vander Woudes said there was a lot of danger, and that the Nazis were picking people up.

"A friend of mine got caught. They shot and killed him," Newton said. "It scared people terribly. Not long after that, they caught a school friend of mine and sent him to a concentration camp. He died."

Newton talked about leaving the sanctuary of the Bruinsma home one day to travel to his parents' house, but he couldn't remember why.

"It was your mother's birthday," Florence reminded him.

Newton avoided roads, going through fields. When he came close to his home, he came to a field with more than 30 sheep grazing in it and was struck by the tranquility of the scene and how peaceful the sheep looked in a time of war. Finally realizing that he had left himself exposed, Newton looked around and spotted Nazis on a bridge, scanning the countryside with binoculars. He fell flat on his face and began to pray.

"I didn't know if they saw me or not," Newton said. "I heard footsteps and turned my head."

The footsteps Newton heard were from a sheep, which laid down between him and the Nazis, blocking him from view. Newton made it safely to his parents' home, and then returned to Florence's house at night.

"A year later, in 1944, it was too dangerous to stay at your place," Newton said to Florence.

One of Florence's brothers went out with Newton, who returned to his parents' house. A secret passage was created. One day, Newton's sister saw about 30 Nazis at the corner near the house and warned Newton and his friend to get into hiding. The two had a close call, because Newton had a bad cold and had to avoid coughing or sneezing while about six Nazis searched.

"After I was soaking wet from sweat," Newton said.

Another time when there wasn't enough time to make it to the secret passage, Newton managed to avoid being caught by hiding behind a door as the Nazis searched. Another man his father took in wasn't so lucky.

"They got Pete," Newton said.

Newton said that after a while the camps were so full that the Nazis allowed Pete to go back to his own home, but that he needed to keep the Nazis informed of where he was.

The war really hit home for Newton's family in late February 1945. His father, who was close to 50, was picked up by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp. His mother was able to speak to her husband. He was housed in a school and had to dig trenches for the Nazis.

On April 9, 1945, the Vander Woude family saw an old man in rough condition go by their home. It was Newton's mother's birthday, and a neighbor boy came by. He asked her what she was going to get for her birthday.

"She did not want anything," Newton said.

The neighbor boy told her she would get her husband and that he was in the backyard.

The old man seen earlier was Newton's father. He hadn't eaten in a week and had blood in his shoes from the walk home.

Newton and Florence married in 1948 and emigrated to the United States in 1953. A cousin Newton had never met sponsored the Vander Woude family, which arrived in Hoboken, N.J., in July with three small children. Newton said it was difficult because they did not speak English, and they had a scare when their small son disappeared.

Newton went to search for his son and eventually found him outside. He was speaking to his son in Friesian and a couple approached him. It was his cousin. The Vander Woude family traveled to Randolph and has lived there ever since. Newton spent 19 years working in the electrical field.

The couple has five children, 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Newton said the couple never spoke to their five children about their experiences during the war, but that he was urged to write a letter about it for his church's newsletter. After that was published, the couple spoke publicly about their experiences. Florence said she is no longer comfortable talking about it, as it is so emotional for her.

"We realize how good we have it here," Newton said. "We have the freedom to talk about it."

"We appreciate this," Florence said.