Municipal monument

The Vrieshuisje is of importance as a special expression of the socio-economic development of Son at the end of the 1950s when households did not yet have their own freezer and had to rely on a communal supply. Starting in the middle of that decade, cooperatives were formed in various places in the Netherlands with the aim of building freezer houses in which individuals could freeze their food. A freezer house or deep freeze house is a small building, equipped with a mechanical refrigerator, or deep freeze safe, intended for communal use. By becoming a member of the operating association, families, for whom the purchase of a chest freezer at home was often still too expensive, could rent a freezer compartment or drawer. The freezer house on the Driehoek was built in 1959 by the Coöperatieve Vereniging tot Exploitatie van Diepvrieskluizen Son G.A. on the initiative of the Farmers' Union trade associations. The construction cost of the cottage was estimated at 6200 guilders. The application was approved on June 17, 1959. From the end of the 1970s, more and more Son families bought their own freezers and cancelled their membership. As other members took up the vacant drawers, there was initially no reason to disband. Eventually, declining membership led to closure in Son as well. In 2004 the cottage, by now owned by the municipality, was refurbished on private initiative with the help of volunteers and sponsors. The neighborhood association Kanaalstraat took care of the vacant building. By doing so, the local residents hope to preserve the building with its special cultural history for future generations.