By Lori Ehdeand Jolene FarleyKurt and Lynette Elbers, Steen, are rocking their infant son, Sean, in a cradle that’s been in the family for five generations.Lynette’s grandfather, Steen native Andy Rozeboom, has been researching the history of the cradle, which arrived in the United States from Holland nearly 120 years ago.Andy’s grandparents, Charles and Tjasse Vander Ploeg took the cradle to the states when they moved here from Uithuisen, Netherlands in May 1881. Their daughter, Cena Vander Ploeg, was 2 at the time, but she remembers later rocking her brothers in it.When she married John D. Rozeboom, the cradle was given to her, and she rocked all 11 of her children in it, according to Andy.Two of Cena’s sons, Charles and Andy, used the cradle for their families. Charles rocked his children in it and passed it down to his younger brother Andy.Andy’s four children Andrew J., Melvin, Barbara and Erwin all spent time in it as babies. Barb took the cradle with her when she started a family with Willis Sandbulte, Steen. At that time, Andy refinished the piece, and found that it was made with three different types of wood.Barb’s daughter, Stacy (Mente), Luverne, used the cradle in recent years, and now has passed it down to her younger sister, Lynette (Elbers).Andy is still digging up family history on the cradle, but he suspects more than two dozen babies spent their infant months in the family heirloom.When she lays her son in the cradle, Lynette Elbers remembers the ancestors that used it before her, particularly her grandmother who is deceased. "Every time I use it, I think of her," she said. "It’s just neat to know my mom laid in it and we were in it. So many generations have been in there." He can’t confirm this, but Andy thinks the cradle was originally made in Holland by Grandpa Vander Ploeg, who was a carpenter and furniture maker by trade.(To pull, if needed):Cradle trail: from …oCena Rozeboom to …oAndy Rozeboom to …oBarb Sandbulte to …oLynette Elbers to …oBaby Sean Elbers