Randall P. Vande Water - Holland

IMAGES
of Modern America

HOLLAND

Seen leaving Holland Harbor is the Pearl Mist, an excursion ship plying the Great Lakes. This is one of six trips the 355-foot-long cruise ship made to Holland during the 2014 season. The 187 passengers shopped in downtown Holland and visited Windmill Island Gardens and Nelis Dutch Village. The Big Red lighthouse is in the foreground, while Holland State Park at Ottawa Beach is in the background. (Courtesy of HawkEye Tours.)

ON THE FRONT COVER: Clockwise from top left, spring tulips blossom around the windmill De Zwaan (photograph by Alisa Crawford, courtesy of Windmill Island Gardens), Holland mayor Louis Hallacy II and his wife, Madeline, welcome Pres. Gerald Ford, wife Betty, and daughter Susan to the 1976 Tulip Time Festival (courtesy of the Louis Hallacy II collection), Eighth Street Market Place is located in downtown Holland (courtesy of the Holland Visitors Bureau), Big Red lighthouse, built in 1907 (courtesy of the Holland Sentinel), and Holland High School wooden-shoed band member performs a klompen kick during a Tulip Time Festival parade (courtesy of the Holland Visitors Bureau).

ON THE BACK COVER: From left to right, elementary school youngsters hold on to a decorated pole while marching in the 1961 Tulip Time Festival childrens parade (authors collection), an autumn aerial view of the Hope College campus (photograph by Tom Renner, courtesy of the Holland Visitors Bureau), Sinterklaas, and the benevolent St. Nicholas, arrives on a white horse (courtesy of the Holland Visitors Bureau).

IMAGES
of Modern America

HOLLAND

Randall P. and Mary E. Vande Water

Copyright 2015 by Randall P. and Mary E. Vande Water
ISBN 978-1-4671-1400-4
Ebook ISBN 9781439650820

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014955289

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With love, this book is dedicated to our children and grandchildren, whom we have tried to lead by example. Blessings to each of you: Dr. Kathryn and John Speeter, Nancy Ann and Eric Sivertson, Kenneth Stam and Michelle Diller, Jonathan Sivertson and Abbie Thomas Sivertson, Marissa Padding, Kristina Sivertson McMichael and Jeffrey McMichael, Sarah Sivertson, Alexandra Stam, and Nicole Stam. It is also dedicated to our late parents, who influenced our development through the good lives they led.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cooperation in preparing this book, to tell a portion of Hollands story over the last half-century, was unprecedented. Contributions were given willingly by various Holland venues and by spontaneously expressed comments and helpful hints about the community, as observed by people of different ages, backgrounds, and cultures.

Major image contributions were received from the City of Holland, the Holland Sentinel, the Holland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tulip Time Festival, Windmill Island Gardens, Downtown Holland, Joint Archives of Holland, Holland Museum, and HawkEye Tours, plus photographs taken by amateur and professional photographers, and information and pictures from colleges, schools, individuals, industries, and retailers.

Mentioning names is always difficult, and if we omit a name, we apologize for the oversight. Here, we wish to thank those we recognize for their help, their patience when production necessities caused interruptions, and understanding if particular images were not included.

Thank you Tom Renner, Matt Van Dyken, Louis Hallacy II, Peter Esser, Sarah Heth, Sarah Leach, Holli De Waard, Alisa Crawford, Chanda Slenk, Paula Fabiano, Paul Fabiano, Roger Mulder, Lynette M. Hummel, Timothy Breed, Carra Hood, Kara de Alare, Patrick A. Thompson, Lori B. Meidema, Tim Boeve, Candy Todd, Glenn Lowe, Geoffrey Reynolds, Karen Scholten, Dwight Quenga, Virginia Conklin, Julie Smith, James Bosch, Sally Gruppen, Mark Schurman, Ron Reeves, Mike Stuk, Julie Von Ins, Emily Haines, Tom Urbaniak, Susan Krieger, J.R. Valderas, William Freckman, Hubert Weller, Anthony Castillo, Jane Clark, Lorma Williams Freestone, Greg Holcombe, Kurt Dykstra, Maynard Schrotenboer, Sally Laukitis, Tom Page, Gwen Auwerda, Eddie Bullinger, Tom Murdoch, Catherine Jung, Taylor Wise-Harthorn, Debra L. Ortisi, Abe Lubetkin, Fraser Engerman, Greg Warsen, Elton J. Bruins, Rick Jenkins, Alan Babbitt, and Kenneth Stam.

INTRODUCTION

Bolstered by a trading area of 115,000 people from the adjacent townships growth in the last half century, the city of Holland, Michigan, with a population of 33,481, has become a major destination for any seeking life adventures in retailing, industry, tourism, and education. This Michigan west coast community, according to the West Coast Chamber of Commerce, is recognized across the country as one of the smartest, happiest and economically-dynamic regions in the nation.

Holland State Park at Ottawa Beach on Lake Michigan annually attracts more than 1.6 million people and is Michigans leader in state park attendance.

Crowning achievements in several categories in the 21st century honored Holland six times in 2014, including the prestigious America in Bloom (AIB) Floral Arrangement Award and the Five Bloom rating, the top spot for its population category from 24,001 to 50,000. In November, impulcity.com named Holland the second most beautiful small town in the United States.

The city also won a YouTube video challenge and will host the 2015 AIB symposium. In 2013, Holland won the Outstanding Achievement Award in America in Bloom competition, and the community was named the Tidiest in 2011.

In the August 17, 2014, Parade, Holland was voted ninth in the Best of the Rest category by magazine readers who selected Americas Best Main Street 2014. Parade wrote, Holland, population: 33,481. Residents say youd be hard pressed to find a more vibrant main drag than West Eighth Street, a four-block stretch ending near Lake Macatawa. A snow melting system allows for wintertime strolls and in the spring the town celebrates its Dutch heritage with the Tulip Time Festival.

Holland was ranked by Lonely Planet in the top 10 US Destinations to Visit in 2014. The Holland-Grand Haven area ranked first nationally in the 2014 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, including Best Physical Health, Basic Access to Necessities, and Perception of Safety. The area ranked third in residents overall satisfaction.

Farmers Insurance named the Holland-Grand Haven area the Most Secure Mid-Sized City in 2013. Also that year, Holland was the subject of six articles by James Fallows included in the American Futures series published by the Atlantic.

Also recognized as one of the Best Places to Retire in 2011 by Money magazine, Holland was listed 19th. In 2010, Holland was named as a Smartest City, ranked in the top fifth of the country for strongest collective brainpower by portfolio.com.

Other 2010 honors included Hollands selection as a Top Economic Development Performer by Site Selection, while Tulip Time was named in the Top 100 Events and Festivals in North America by the American Bus Association.

With photographs published during the last four decades of the 20th century and the 21st centurys first 15 years, this book captures Hollands flavor, as the community has moved from a century of Dutch tradition to a city and its environs representing changes in the cultural customs of the times.