d.i.s. magazine - a quarterly publication of the Dutch International Society

d.i.s. magazine

a quarterly publication of the Dutch International Society Volume 47, NO. 4 March 2016

d.i.s. magazine

VOLUME 47, NO. 4 MARCH 2016

Windmill Island Gardens Builds on 50 Years of Success .................... 4

The Belgian Afscheiding .................................................................. 6 The Curious Case of the Complicated Border: The Story of Baarle ..11 Book Review: Blue Skies, Orange Wings ...................................... 17 News In Brief: Special Bicycle Edition ........................................... 18 News In Brief ................................................................................. 19 Blogs to Watch ............................................................................. 22

Call for Wicher Sponsored Immigrants ........................................ . 22

Upcoming Events ............................................................................ 23

DIS Board Members

Lucas De Vries, Hendrika Rosema, Doug Vander Velde, Fred Vedders

Visit us on the Web and Facebook for the latest DIS News. www.dutchinternationalsociety.org www.facebook.com/dutchinternationalsociety Membership Form

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Published quarterly by The Dutch International Society 2340 Woodcliff Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 Tel. (616) 949-7872 Office Email: ldevries@calvin.edu ALL CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THE D.I.S. Magazine: For action by the Editor: Dr. Arend Vander Pols 1742 Cambridge DR SE Grand Rapids, MI 49506-4424 Email: editor@dutchinternationalsociety.org For information on advertising & for membership dues and information: Dutch International Society 2340 Woodcliff Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 Periodical postage paid at Grand Rapids, Michigan (USPS #103690) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: D.I.S. Magazine c/o 2340 Woodcliff Ave SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 Dues for the Dutch International Society are $10.00 per year. This includes the $5.00 annual subscription price of the D.I.S. Magazine. Š The Dutch International Society 2016.

Opinions expressed in the articles appearing in the magazine are not to be construed as an endorsement by the Board of the D.I.S. Printed in the United States of America.

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The Curious Case of the Complicated Border: The Story of Baarle See page 11

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Windmill Island Gardens Builds on 50 Years of Success

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by Matt Helmus

hat is the best way of avoiding a postcelebration letdown? By staying busy, of course! 2015 was a year of celebration as the community commemorated the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Holland’s hometown windmill - de Zwaan. Gardens were planted with a golden theme in celebration. In addition, a Donor Memorial Garden was planted in the new Windmill Oasis area to show appreciation for project donors to the restoration of the windmill. In 2016, another full year of activities is planned for Windmill Island Gardens.

Recently, a monthly series of Koffie Kletz events was launched. In these Saturday morning events community members are invited to learn about and discuss areas of Dutch culture, Holland-area interest and Windmill Island Gardens topics. To join the conversation, please register for these FREE events on Eventbrite.com or by calling the Windmill Island Gardens office at 616-355-1030. Monthly topics and dates can be found at the ‘Koffie Kletz at Windmill Island Gardens’ Facebook page and on the Island’s website: www.windmillisland.org.

The first Koffie Kletz focused on the refurbishment of the Island’s Dutch heritage artifacts (the windmill, Amsterdam street organ and children’s carousel from

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Groningen.) Part of the street organ, de Vier Kolommen, is being repaired in England. The work is scheduled to be completed by spring to allow the organ to be in full voice for Tulip Time and beyond.

The organ’s façade will also be repainted in a historically accurate manner with ‘wings’ which have gone missing over the decades being rebuilt.

Additionally, the circa 1908 children’s carousel is being refurbished animal-by-animal by local artists.

The transformation is amazing! These projects are part of the ongoing fundraising effort known as the Windmill Island Gardens Future Fund in conjunction with the Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland.

This year, the garden theme will be the Year of the Butterfly. The horticulture staff planted and enhanced monarch butterfly habitat plants resulting in Windmill Islands Gardens certification as a Monarch Way Station. A new ‘Vlinder Veld’ was developed which contains several varieties of butterfly attractors, nectar plants and host plants. In addition to this area, several annual beds will be planted with annuals whose colors simulate various native butterflies and enhanced with educational signage about the species. The butterfly theme will be incorporated into programming and events throughout 2016.

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Another focus is the expansion Friends of Windmill Island Gardens program. Joining the Friends group is a great way to support Dutch heritage and beautiful gardens. Members receive free entry to Windmill Island Gardens (including Tulip Time) and over 300 other public gardens in the American Horticultural Society. They also receive a seasonal newsletter and a 10% discount in the gift shop at Windmill Island Gardens. For more information, please visit www.windmillisland.org.

The attractions at Windmill Island Gardens reopen this spring on April 16 and are open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM. Special events planned for 2016 include: April 16: Run of the Mill 5k

April 30 – May 1: ‘More than Tulips’ spring preview

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May 7-14: Tulip Time

May 7-8: Historic Dutch Trade Fair

June 11-12: Vlinder Veld Grand Opening July 9: Project Clarity Water Festival July 24-30: Garden Week

September 17: Elfstedenfietstocht Bike Event with Tulip Time - Matt Helmus is the new Windmill Island Gardens Development Manager (and a DIS member!) He looks forward to continuing the development of the Island as a center of Dutch heritage in West Michigan and welcomes folks to stop in and say ‘hallo’ when visiting the Island.

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The Belgian Afscheiding

by Gerlof D. Homan

The Dutch word afscheiding or separation rings familiar with those who are of Dutch Reformed and Christian Reformed persuasion. In the 1830s a number of individuals separated from the official Dutch Reformed Church and eventually formed the Gereformeerde Kerk or the Christian Reformed Church. In the 1840s many of these dissenters emigrated to the United States. At about the same time a much more important afscheiding occurred when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands.

Belgium and the Netherlands are two small West European nations that share much common history

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and some values but as, we will see, they were also very different. At one time they were referred to as the Northern and Southern Netherlands. The word Belgium was introduced in the nineteenth century. It comes from the Latin name of the inhabitants of the area , the Belgiae. In order to avoid confusion we will use the term Belgium.

At one time the two were part of large European Empires. In the 16th century they were part of the Habsburg Empire of Charles V (1516-1556). During that time Belgium had a very prosperous cotton industry and a vibrant culture. When that empire was divided in 1556 Belgium and the Netherlands became part of the Spanish empire. However, the Netherlands revolted against harsh Catholic rule and after a very long war became an independent state in 1648 known as the Dutch Republic or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces. It was destined to play a very important role in 17th century European diplomatic, economic and cultural history. Belgium had very different experiences and would not emerge as a nation until the 1830s. In 1714 it became part of the Austrian empire and in 1795 part of France.

At the end of the Napoleonic era in 1815 the major European powers decided to merge the Netherlands and Belgium to form the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was to be a barrier against future French aggression and ruled by members of the Orange窶年assau family who for a few centuries had served as elected stadholders or chief executives of the Dutch Republic. They would now reign as monarchs. The first king would be Willem I.

Of course two or more areas sharing some values or history do not necessarily make a nation. Norway and Sweden shared much but separated in 1905. We may remember how Yugoslavia imploded in the

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Above: Map of the United Kingdom of Netherlands in 1815.

Image previous page: The Prince of Orange leading the Dutch army in the Battle of Ravels on 3 August 1831. Litho 1831, Collectie Regionaal Archief Tilburg.

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1990s. And how difficult it has been to reunite West and East Germany!

Many if not most Belgians did not feel too comfortable in the union. Their dissatisfaction brought about the revolution of 1830. What were some of their grievances that became the underlying causes of that event? Most Belgians were Roman Catholic while the Netherlands was predominantly Protestant although it did have a large Catholic minority. The Netherlands had had a long history of religious toleration and freedom while many Belgians did not feel comfortable with a Protestant king. At one time

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On the evening of 25 August 1830, the ThÊâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, performs La Muette de Portici . The opera by Auber tells of an uprising Neapolitans against their oppressor.

The public, enthusiastic, takes up the refrain: " Sacred love of country, give us the courage and pride". Image of a trading card from http:// chromohistory.com/

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the king tried to change the education or training of priests but relented when he encountered too much opposition.

The country was also divided linguistically. Dutch was spoken in the Netherlands and in northern Belgium called Flanders. But French was the prevailing language in the south and among the more educated. At one time King Willem I tried to make Dutch the official language in Flanders but encountered so much opposition that he relented.

However, that very complex language question would continue to plague Belgium after independence and almost caused its demise as a nation in recent decades.

Belgium and the Netherlands also had different economies. The Netherlands relied very heavily on trade and commerce and low tariffs while Belgium had by 1830 well established iron, steel, cotton and coal industries demanding high protective tariffs.

Ironically, King Willem I had done much to promote Belgian industry.

Belgians also complained about the constitutional system of 1815 that united the two countries That constitution gave almost unlimited power to the king who was very autocratic. Many middle class Belgians had been influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution and demanded a liberal constitution and greater freedom of the press. Belgians also complained about the unfair representation in the lower house of parliament where the Netherlands, with a population of two million, had the same number of members as Belgium which had three-and one half million inhabitants.

There was also an important psychological factor: The Netherlands had enjoyed more than two hundred years of independence and developed a national identity. Because of the Netherlands’ long experience

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as an independent and successful nation many Belgians might have felt their country was conquered territory or another Dutch colony. The Dutch might also have felt a bit superior. These and other issues all contributed to the outbreak of revolution of 1830.

It was the performance of an opera in Brussels that provided the spark. On August 25 1830, a number of people rioted after performance of the popular opera “La Muette de Portici,� The Dumb Girl of Portici. It was the story of the uprising of the people of Naples against Spanish rule in 1647 and had patriotic overtones. In those days it had become very common for the audience to interact with the story on the stage. In this case many who did so also rioted afterwards and resorted to acts of violence.

However, much of this violence might have been preplanned. This event occurred at a time when there was much unemployment and hunger. Willem I reacted to this disturbance by sending his oldest son, Prince Willem, to Brussels to try to calm the situation and his second son, Frederick, to head up a large army to be used if necessary. The Prince failed in his mission when he became more or less a prisoner of a Brussels mob. Thereupon, the army was dispatched to the city where it engaged in bitter street fighting between September 23 and 26 in which hundreds of citizens and soldiers were killed. Subsequently, on October 4 a provisional government declared the independence of Belgium. That same month an elected national congress met to draw up a constitution and to elect a new monarch. They chose Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg to be king of the Belgians.

Meanwhile, the major powers met in London where they decided to separate the two areas. King Willem was very unhappy over these events and decided in 1831 to send a large army against the rebellious Belgians. This event became known as the

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Belgian rebels on the barricade of the Place Royale facing the Parc de Bruxelles in Brussels (1830).

Tiendaagse Veldtocht , Ten-Day Campaign. Initially, Dutch troops were successful but withdrew when France dispatched an army into Belgium.

Although an armistice ended the war the King did not recognize the independence of Belgium until 1839.

By this same treaty Belgium ceded part of the province of Limburg to the Netherlands and allowed Willem 1 to continue to reign over part of Luxemburg.

Finally, the major powers recognized the permanent neutrality of Belgium. Germany would violate that treaty in August 1914.

In the years following Belgium would become one of the more industrialized European nations and even acquired a large colony in Africa then known as the Belgian Congo.

It would suffer through two German occupations during the world wars and struggled to solve the

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complex language problem made more complicated when German was also made an official language because of some annexed German territory. It tried to solve that language issue in the 1990s by making Belgium a federal state.

Dr. Gerlof D. Homan is a regular contributor to dis magazine. He taught European and Peace History at Illinois State University and has published articles and books on French, Dutch, American Mennonite and Peace History. He retired in 1994.

All images wikimedia.com and public domain unless otherwise noted.

d.i.s. Magazine

The Curious Case of the Complicated Border: The Story of Baarle

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by Barry Smith (with thanks to K. A. H. W. Leenders and Brendan Whyte)

istory has left a territory composed of two municipalities, whose shape is unique, belonging partly to the Netherlands and partly to Belgium. Earlier both parts belonged to the former Duchy of Brabant, a territory that is now split up into the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant (including Baarle-Nassau) and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (which includes Baarle-Hertog), Vlaams Brabant, Brussels and Brabant-Wallon. People are quite comfortable with this situation, even though it raises so many complicated and difficult problems that even the most brilliant jurists are puzzled. BaarleHertog is called on older Belgian maps Barle-Duc (Hertog = Duke, fr: duc) and must not be confused with the prefectoral town of Bar-le-Duc, Meuse, France.

Origin of the situation The year of Baarle's founding is not known precisely. The name appears for the first time in 992, in a "false charter", when Countess Hilsondis, the wife

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of Ansfried, donates her properties, including Baarle, to the abbey of Thorn in the Dutch province of Limburg.

At the end of the 12th century, Godfried of Schoten, the Lord (Sieur, Seigneur) of Breda, owned Breda Castle and the territory around the castle extending to the east and north. His ancestors had bought the territory (as a perpetual and free land ownership) from the ancestors of Hendrik I, the Duke of Brabant. In those days, however, many a dispute concerning the ownership of the land divided the Duke of Brabant and Dirk VII, the Count of Holland.

Probably in response to threats, Godfried gave the territory to the Duke by grace of the Charter of 1190.

Nevertheless Duke Henry immediately gave the territory back to Godfried, but in the form of a loan.

Godfried thereby acknowledged the Duke as the proprietor, and this caused the Count of Holland to declare in 1203 that he renounced his rights on the territory. To express his gratefulness towards

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shows the importance the acquisition of the support of Breda had for the Count of Louvain in his confrontation with Holland. Other local and regional lords in that part of the region called "Brabant" from 1203 were afterwards swallowed up by Brabant without such compensation. Only after 1235 does the Count of Louvain/Brabant present himself as Duke of Brabant.

Godfried, the Duke of Brabant added large sections of forest and tourbières (dried swamp with a deposit you can burn) to the property he had on loan, territory previously not belonging to Godfried.

Nowadays we see this period in another light. In the 12th century Baarle is located in a rather peripheral region in which none of the regional counts (of Holland, Louvain/Brabant, Gelre) or bishops (Utrecht, Liège) enjoys a firm grip on the surrounding territory. A number of local lords owned their own village and some of them succeeded in becoming a regional lord, like the Lord of Breda. In the period 1190 - 1235 the Count of Louvain/Brabant expanded his power from the south over a large part of this region, while the Count of Holland expands from the Northwest. A big clash occurred in 1203, from which time both regions of influence were more or less clearly demarcated. In the years before 1203 the lord of Breda took sides with Louvain/Brabant while the Lord of Strijen elected for Holland. Indeed the Count of Louvain gave up all his claims in the north west and gave them in fief to the lord of Breda. Those documents are now dated "ca. 1198" (One can find in older literature: 1169, 1190, 1196, ca. 1200.) This

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Baarle was at this time not the only collection of enclaves and the enclaves were not the only inhabited parcels. The count of Louvain kept his personal feudal link with the people in the region that already before 1198 had sided with him. These persons and their houses and fields in various places like Heerle, Roosendaal, Nispen, Sprundel, Hage, Zundert, Wernhout and in Baarle, came to fall under the jurisdiction of Zandhoven, a countal court east of Antwerp. In the medieval sources you can find "Hage-Hertog", "Zundert-Hertog" and so on, and not only "Baarle-Hertog". In fact Baarle-Hertog consists completely of ducal fiefs and fiefs of rented out parcels of those fiefs.

Dating from that moment, a difference was born between those parts of Baarle under the Duke of Brabant, and those parts of Baarle (and Heerle, Wernhout, etc.) under the Lordship of Breda. The presuppositions for the existence of BAARLENASSAU were thus created around 1198, but it is only from 1404, when the Counts of Nassau in Germany became also Lord of Breda, that the name "Baarle-Nassau" can be found.

Attempts to resolve the enclaves What is remarkable is that the partition of the territory did not change across all succeeding historical events. Many opportunities presented themselves to eliminate the Baarle enclaves over the course of the last 800 years, but none succeeded.

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In 1327 - 1339 there was no Lord of Breda. The Land of Breda belonged directly to the ducal domains. The fiefs held from the Lord of Breda were now held from the Duke in Brussels. We can still see the mix up with "real"ducal fiefs like those of BaarleHertog in the registers in Brussels. In 1334 a number of villages, including Baarle-Breda, were pawned to Van Liedekerke. During the short period 1327 1334 it would have been easy to erase the enclaves in all those villages, but it did not happen.

In around 1388 the Duchess of Brabant was in need of money to wage war. To raise these funds she sold or pawned a number of ducal domains. In 1388 her jurisdiction over the enclaves in the Land of Breda was pawned to the Lord of Breda. The pawn was never redeemed. However, the jurisdiction over Baarle belonged since 1356 to her sister Maria of Brabant (Land of Turnhout) and was therefore not a part of this transaction. Thus while most enclaves disappeared already in 1388, those in Baarle escaped.

Historical intermezzo From around 1500 the Kings of Spain were Lord over the 17 Provinces in the Low Countries previously ruled by Burgundy. The 80 Years War split these 17 Provinces into the Republic of the 7 United Provinces and the rest, known as the "Southern Netherlands". The northern part of the old Duchy of Brabant was annexed by the Republic which acquired the status of occupied territories under the name "Staats Brabant". In 1648 Spain and other countries officially recognized the Republic. As far as Baarle is concerned, Henry III was followed as Count of Nassau and Lord of Breda by RenĂŠ of Chalons, Prince of Orange (in France) and then by William of Orange, the central figure in the Dutch revolt against Spain. From there the line runs down to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in our own day.

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The border between Belgium and the Netherlands at Baarle-Nassau.

In the North the Republic of the 7 United Provinces survived up to 1795. Then from 1795 to 1806 these provinces form the so-called "Batavian Republic" with "Bataafs Brabant" (the former "StaatsBrabant") as a normal province. From 1806 to 1810 they form the Kingdom of Holland; from 1810 they are part of the French Empire until they are liberated at the end of 1813 with William of Orange as sovereign.

In the South the rule of the Spanish King gives way to that of the Austrian emperor. Then in 1793 comes annexation by France, first as part of the Republic and then of the Empire, with liberation at the end of 1813, when the Congress of Vienna decides that the North and South shall be united under King

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William of Orange I as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In 1830 the two are split again: in the South we have the Kingdom of Belgium; in the North the Kingdom of the Netherlands. One half-province (the eastern part of greater Luxemburg) becomes a separate Grand Duchy initially under William I but from 1890 under its own Grand Dukes.

1648: With the Peace of Munster of 1648, one of the treaties of Westphalia putting an end to the 30 Years War and also to the 80-Year-War of the Netherlands against Spain, it was decided that the portion of Baarle under the Count of Nassau should be added to the "Generaliteitslanden" (The United Provinces), because this part belonged to the Baronie de Breda; and that the portion of Baarle belonging to the Land of Turnhout should be added to the Spanish Southern Netherlands (the present Belgium). In this way the enclaves survived the Peace of Munster.

In the Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1785, between the Dutch Republic and Emperor Joseph II, a committee was ordered to make proposals for the exchange of territories so that the enclaves would disappear. Protests from Baarle-Hertog delayed the work of the committee so much that nothing happened before the annexation of the Southern Netherlands by France.

Between 1810 - 1832 the whole of the Netherlands (North and South) was measured and mapped for the land taxes imposed by the French Empire and later the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. Each "village" became a cadastral municipality. It was then thought wise to make one cadastral municipality "Baarle" and the maps and registers were made on that basis. But Baarle-Hertog was part of the province of Antwerp and BaarleNassau was part of Noord-Brabant. So a formal provincial border correction was needed. Everything

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was prepared and agreed upon informally. The provincial government of Noord-Brabant agreed to the proposals on July 5th and the Antwerp provincial government planned to do so in September 1830.

In the summer of 1830, however, there occurred the Belgian Revolution. So the unified cadastral municipality had to be split up once again. This was done by colouring the Belgian parcels on the cadastral maps. But some parcels were forgotten in this process, and some could not be dealt with so easily since they were partly Belgian and partly Dutch: these had been thrown together into single parcels because the mapmakers had assumed that the partition of the village would shortly disappear.

The Treaty of Maastricht of 1843 delimited the boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium, but even then it was found impossible to compromise on the territory of Baarle. It was instead decided to leave things as they stood, for it was impossible to define the boundary between boundary poles 214 and 215 (about 50 km).

Instead of defining a boundary, it was accepted that the nationality of 5732 parcels be established one by one (the colouring on the cadastral maps). A part of these parcels constitute the (at least) twenty Belgian enclaves, presently Baarle Hertog, which are situated either within the territory of the Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau or, in the case of the agrarian region of Zondereigen, in the surrounding land.

Most of them lie about five km beyond the Belgian border, but there is also a small enclave of BaarleNassau inside Belgium and even a Belgian parcel within a Dutch parcel within a Belgian enclave surrounded by Dutch territory. This bizarre situation has obviously led to a number of difficulties – hence the repeated attempts at normalization.

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rather impossible. Both the Dutch and the Belgian parliaments voted against the disappearance of the municipalities of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog.

So they still exist although they are in population terms among the smallest municipalities of both countries.

Problems or opportunities?

Living in a extremely enclavated village such as Baarle brings its own problems but also unique opportunities.

A new committee, set up by Belgium, began its exploration of the possibilities for an exchange of territories in 1875. Only in 1892 was a draft agreement between the both countries ready, but it was not accepted by both parliaments.

In 1996 plans were made to form bigger municipalities in the Netherlands and in Belgium. So Baarle-Hertog would become a part of Turnhout and Baarle-Nassau would form together with Alphen and Chaam a new entity (the "ABC-municipality"). This implied that the distance between the two centres of municipal government, now about 200 meters, would increase to 15 kilometres. This would make the longexisting strong contacts between both municipalities

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As each house is deemed to pay taxes in the country where its front door is located, it is an old tradition in Baarle to move the front door some meters if that is profitable for the taxes, especially for shops. This is part of making the best out of a strange situation. In 1995 a remeasurement of all the borders of enclaves according to modern exact standards was completed. This gave rise to some problems of this kind. In at least one case a house would have had to move from Belgium to the Netherlands. The inhabitants did not want that to happen, but the solution was simple: they moved the front door of their house. One formerly Dutch meadow (with one cow grazing there) "moved" in 1995 from the Netherlands to Belgium, as it was recognised that it had to be a Belgian parcel.

Also in the open countryside the border situation brings problems and opportunities. The valley of the river Merkske is divided between both villages/ kingdoms. This made it impossible for the reallotment and land-improvement people to do there a lot of harm, as happened elsewhere. So this is now one of the ecologically richest areas in the whole region.

The village Baarle attracts a lot of touristic traffic.

For many years the shops in Belgium were open on Sundays, those in the Netherlands not – with the exception of those in Baarle. Taxes in Belgium and The Netherlands differed sometimes a lot, so one

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of this region the extensive use of the heather played an important role. The common parish and heather made Baarle for the local people a single community.

Only the external lords, dukes and kings made the problems with taxes compounded later by the increasingly separate developments of the two modern societies of the Netherlands and Belgium.

The splitting up of the parish and the efforts to create bigger municipalities are examples thereof.

could go shopping between two tax-regimes in one single street. And don't forget the Belgian chocolate, you could not find that quality in the Netherlands.

With the coming of the European Union some of those differences disappeared. To make the enclaves visible for the visitor, the little plates with the house numbers are made to look different: ovals with the Belgian colours and rectangles with Dutch colours.

Officially a letter goes by post from Hertog over Turnhout to Brussels and than by air to Amsterdam, and for the last part of the journey over Tilburg to Nassau. But if you use the letterbox in the next street, the letter doesn't leave Baarle at all!

For the understanding of the good relationships between the people of both Baarles it is important to know that they formed up to 1860 one Catholic parish. Only then did the Bishop of Breda find it unacceptable that some of "his" souls would go to a church in a "foreign" country, and so he created a separate parish for Baarle-Nassau. Another important relation between both communities was the common use of the heathlands, as is documented since 1479.

In the medieval agricultural system on the sandy soils

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Even now some think the situation in Baarle is something to be regretted. The inhabitants of Baarle think otherwise. They do not want to lose their special ambiance and they want to keep Baarle as it is now: Baarle-Nassau and -Hertog, a historically, geographically and politically peculiar village. Not only in Europe, but – with the exception of the exclaves in Cooch-Behar – in the whole world, Baarle is a historical-juridical monument of world class.

Dr. Barry Smith is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Julian Park Chair at the State University of New York, Buffalo.

Image page 12 mumbairock.com Image page 13 wikimedia.com Image page 15 discoveringbelgium.com Image page 16 rz-home.de

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Book Review Blue Skies, Orange Wings: The Global Reach of Dutch Aviation in War and Peace, 1914-1945 by Ryan Noppen. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (September 8, 2015).

Reviewed by Maynard J. Flikkema, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Having taken a number of CALL classes at Calvin College on World War 1 and World War 2 with Ryan Noppen, I wasted no time purchasing his recently issued book Blue Skies, Orange Wings (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016).

This book is a treasure trove of amazingly detailed information, rich illustrations, and numerous vignettes of personal interest stories from war times and peace in the twentieth century.

a new engine arrived at the site and was installed on the spot so that the flight could continue successfully.

Readers will learn that one of KLM’s first and best pilots was a Russian fighter ace during World War 1, and he served until 1950.

This book is a “must read” for aviation buffs. They will be enthralled by the numerous photos of aircraft and historical aviation events.

In his entertaining style, Noppen weaves an easyto-read narrative of the history and development of Fokker aircraft, the emergence of KLM airlines, the involvement of aircraft in World War 1 and World War 2 and the technical improvements of aviation during the years 1914-1945.

One particular vignette of interest for me was the story of a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Batavia in the East Indies. The plane experienced engine failure over Bulgaria. With the use of a cart drawn by oxen,

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News In Brief

Special Bicycle Edition

Printer for Bicycles The “Arc Bicycle” is the world’s first 3D-printed steel bicycle. It was designed by a student team at TU Delft (Delft University of Technology) and printed by a printer with robotic arms that can print and weld metal and resins in mid-air. MX3D, the design studio that owns the printer plans to use the same technique to create a one-piece canal bridge.

Wood for Wheels A new material called biocomposite is being used to renovate a bicycle path in Emmen. It will be the first wooden bicycle path in the world. A two-hundred meter portion of the path between Klazienaveen and Weiteveen will be a testing ground for the material that is made of wood chips and resin. The wood tiles are extremely durable and resistant to tampering. If the test is successful a factory to manufacture them will be located in Emmen, providing 75 jobs. The project is a joint venture between the Netherlands and Germany.

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Thieves Go Bike Shopping The most likely time to get your bicycle stolen in the Netherlands is while you are out shopping. The most popular spots for thieves to bike shop are rail stations, residential areas, and entertainment centers. Only about half of people who report their bicycles stolen know the make, or that many new bikes contain an identification chip. The Dutch paper the Telegraaf reported in February that most stolen bikes end up in Belgium, Germany, and Spain. The police are experimenting with decoy bikes fitted with tracking devices in order to catch thieves.

Sun for Bicycles The world’s first solar bike called “Bike 4 All” was unveiled early this year at TU Delft. It was invented by Marc Peters, founder of the Solar Application Lab in 's-Hertogenbosch. The bike can be recharged even on a rainy day, claims Peters. Peters and his team intend on marketing the bicycle, along with the smart light harvesting technology that powers it. The power technology can be applied to many other products, according to Peters.

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News In Brief

Baby Boomer Vroom Vroom That new BMW R1200GS you hear in the Netherlands just might belong to your older cousin who just retired. New motorcycle sales there have risen in recent years, and most of the buyers are from the over 50 crowd. 11,000 new bikes were sold last year according to Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. The Bureau reports that there is one motorbike for every 20 adults in the Netherlands and that 47% of all motorbikes are owned by adults over 50. The number of bikes owned by adults over 65 has doubled since 2008. The aforementioned BMW model has been the best seller for the past two years and is a touring bike suited for long distance driving.

No Photo Available The Dutch privacy watchdog agency Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens has issued warnings to sauna companies throughout the Netherlands that they should not be using security cameras in areas where clients walk around naked. The agency can impose fines of over 800,000 euros on companies found to violate the guidelines, even if it is done for security reasons.

March 2016

Amsterdam Ring 10 Most Dangerous Ride The most dangerous highway in the Netherlands saw more than 900 accidents last year, 29 accidents for every kilometer stretch. The Dutch traffic information service Verkeers Informatie Dienst cited the sheer volume of traffic and large number of off and on ramps as causes. Speed limits on the Ring 10 are 80 km/h (50 mph). The Ring is the loop around the city of Amsterdam.

Thieves Go Cheese Shopping Last year 850,000 kilos of cheese, valued at 90,000 euros, was stolen from farms in the Netherlands. Three farms were in Brabant and another in Gelderland. Cheese traders have been alerted to watch out for the stolen cheese - each wheel is stamped with a serial number.

The cheese may have gone to the Russian market, speculates Irene van de Voort, chairman of the farm dairy board. The boycott prohibits the export of cheese there, making it even more valuable. The Netherlands

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is not the only country targeted by cheese thieves.

Parmesan cheese worth a million euros was stolen in Italy last year, and 400,000 euros worth of Comte cheese was stolen in France.

Water Wishes A petition calling for all restaurants in the Netherlands to place a bottle of tap water on a customer’s table without asking has garnered 100,000 signatures.

75% of restaurant goers have been refused tap water according to findings by the market research firm TNS Nipo.

Emigration Expo Draws Thousands An emigration fair held every year in the Netherlands continues to draw large crowds of Dutch, German and Belgian people wanting to learn about living elsewhere.

This year the EmigratieBeurs, held at the exhibition hall Houten in Utrecht, drew over 11,000. The fair brings together exhibitors and organizations eager to provide information and help to those seeking life abroad. The organizers estimate 148,000 people emigrate from the Netherlands per year. According to a study done by the Emigration Fair, most attendees are looking for more space, quiet, and a natural environment in which to raise a family. Some cited bad attitudes in the Netherlands as a reason to move, and some leave for new jobs or to enjoy retirement. About 13% of those polled said the

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refugee crisis was a reason to move. Over 150 national and international exhibitors attended this year’s fair.

DutchNews.NL Celebrates 10 Years The online news magazine DutchNews.NL is celebrating ten years online. The site offers daily news and essays about life in the Netherlands in English. The service was founded by Robin Pascoe, who first came to the Netherlands as an au pair in 1981. She later married a Dutchman and has been in the Netherlands for 30 years. In January she became the subject of the DutchNews.NL 10 Questions, in which immigrants to the Netherlands answer a set of standard questions about their experience.

Omapost A new service called Omapost sends physical postcards to older family members who are not on social media such as Facebook or Instagram. “In the Netherlands there are many lonely elderly and with Omapost we want to do something about it!” is a statement from Omapost.nl. For 2,50 euro per card, Omapost sends an offline (read paper) card once a month to your oma with a photo and space for a personal message and your phone number. The photo is chosen automatically from a social media feed but you have final approval of what is sent. If you don’t have an oma, you can set up the service to send cards to your opa, father, mother, great uncle, or sugar tante. And with the adopt-an-oma option, the service will match you up with a new oma.

The service is the brainchild of Wilbert van de Kamp, Elke Uijtewaal en Lian van Leeuwen.

d.i.s. Magazine

TIMOTHY L. ZYLSTRA, CPCU President

DAVE ZYLSTRA AGENCY, INC.

P.O. Box 141517 4201 Richmond, N.W., Grand Rapids, MI 49514-1517

If it’s worth insuring we insure it!

Call (616) 791-4200

That’s 30K Per Squirrel A special bridge that crosses the N44 motorway by the Benoordenhoutseweg has been used five times since it was built in 2012. It cost 150,000 euros to build and was meant to provide safe passage for endangered red squirrels to cross from the Haagse Bos and Clingedaal parks. According to Hennie Greven of the Dierenbescherming (Animal Protection Agency), too many of the rodents were being run over and the population was in decline, but it will take the squirrels awhile to figure out how to use the bridge. Squirrel traffic on the bridge is monitored by close circuit television cameras.

Frisian Added to Google Translate Through the efforts of a retired dictionary writer and hundreds of hours put in by volunteers, Frisian has been added to the Google Translate online service. Ann Dykstra began the initiative and said “This means we are digitally present, and that is very important for a language. If I translated something, I would always do it into Dutch. Now I will, without a doubt, translate into Frisian.” Last September volunteers participated in translation marathons organized by the University of Groningen. Also involved in the effort were primary and secondary schools.

March 2016

ZAAGMAN MEMORIAL CHAPEL, INC. ZAAGMAN MEMORIAL CHAPEL Since 1890 James E. Koops-Manager 2800 Burton St. SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546 Phone: (616) 940-3022 Email: office@zaagman.com Web site: www.zaagman.com

Established 1890

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blog /bläg/

noun 1. a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. verb 1. add new material to or regularly update a blog. "it's about a week since I last blogged"

Blogs to Watch

Dutch Moms Around the World Annemarie Verweij, a Dutch native now living in Chicago, has been writing a series of interviews of Dutch mothers living around the world. The mothers answer ten questions, share pictures, and offer advice to others seeking life in another country. You can read her blog “Dutch Alien Lands in the U.S.” at http:// www.chicagonow.com/dutch-alien-lands-in-us Six Dutch Places You Won’t Find in Holland Melissa Adams, a Los Angeles native now living in Amsterdam, mentions Holland Michigan in her post about Netherlands by the Numbers. Adams blogs about life in the Netherlands through an American’s eyes at “Unclogged in Amsterdam” http://uncloggedblog.com Stuff Dutch People Like Celebrate Dutchness! This blog celebrates with a sense of satirical humor Dutch culture and things others might find strange. Content from the blog has already been published as a book and now there is merchandise also available. http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com

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Call for Wicher Sponsored Immigrants

Alisa Crawford, De Zwaan’s miller— and the only Dutch certified miller in the United States— is working on an application for getting historic status for the mill. De Zwaan is located on Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan.

One of the areas she is highlighting is the work of Bill Wichers on the post-war immigration. Ms. Miller is attempting to find some of the immigrants (or their children) who came due to the 1953 flood or as a result of Wichers’ work.

Mr. Willard Wichers worked as the Director of the Midwest Division of the Netherlands Information Service. He and his wife sponsored hundreds of Dutch immigrants during the summer of 1956 while they were in The Netherlands. The Refugee Relief Act allowed for an additional 17,000 Dutch to emigrate beyond the normal US immigration quota, and was due to expire in 1956.

Not all of the immigrants who Mr. Wichers and his wife sponsored came to West Michigan, but it is believed that a good portion did. Therefore it is very likely that there are families in this region who came by way of the RRA and the Wichers’ sponsorship through the Dutch Pioneer and Historical Foundation (NPHF).

If you can trace their immigration story to this please contact Ms. Crawford by email at a.crawford@cityofholland.com or by phone at (616) 928-0585.

d.i.s. Magazine

DIS EVENTS

Upcoming Events

ANNUAL DUTCH FEST – LANDDAG SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER, 10, 2016 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM HUDSONVILLE FAIR GROUNDS 5235 Park Street – Hudsonville Michigan 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM. Grand Rapids Accordion Ensemble 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM Crawfish Pie Jazz Band The Michigan Interscholastic High School Association. will be holding their Equestrian meets at the outdoor horse arena and can be watched all day.

March 2016

MOVIE “HOLLAND – NATUUR IN DE DELTA” FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2016 – 7:30 pm WOODLAWN CRC MINISTRY CENTER 3190 BURTON ST SE – GRAND RAPIDS MICH (Across from the Calvin College entrance OVERFLOW PARKING at Calvin’s parking lot across the street). Coffee and cookies will be served.

This is another nature film about the Netherlands.

Produced by the same company that made the movie “De Nieuwe Wildernis” which we showed in October 2014. The narration of the movie is in the DUTCH LANGUAGE.

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