Lincoln Exhibit in Pella

Believe it or not, there is still more to blog about from my trip to Pella a couple weeks ago. In the last mention of Pella, we had toured the Town Square Park and were headed toward the

Scholte House Museum----pictured below-----and named for its original owner Dominie Hendrik Scholte, the Dutch immigrant founder of Pella, Iowa:

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Instead of the house furnishings, I will first take you through the special Lincoln exhibit, currently on display, and which I was kindly allowed to view two days early----on Saturday, September 20! In last Sunday's Des Moines Register, there was an excellent article about this Lincoln exhibit in Pella. It explains in detail the amazing story behind Iowa native, Prof. Ronald Reitveld, and his Lincoln memorabilia collection. If you are interested in Lincoln history, you might enjoy the article.

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Here is a cast of Abraham Lincoln's head. He sat while a mold was made of his head and face; sounds like great fun, doesn't it!! But, it should provide an authentic example of his appearance.

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The more things change.......the more they stay the same! Here are political cartoons from Lincoln's day:

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An ad for Our American Cousin, playing at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C........what happened there?

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Newspaper headlines following Lincoln's assassination:

You can click on any photos to enlarge them!

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Ronald Reitveld----at age 14!----happened upon the lost photo of Lincoln in his casket. Rietveld had accompanied a Lincoln scholar to Springfield, Illinois, and was allowed to peruse boxes of Lincoln documents, which led to his discovery. Lincoln's family had ordered all death photos of Lincoln to be destroyed, but Edwin Stanton had hidden one away in the papers of Lincoln's personal secretaries, John Hay and John Nicolay, where it was discovered by Ronald Reitveld many years later!

The famous photo shows Lincoln lying in state in New York City.

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The exhibit included a case full of small relics associated with Abraham Lincoln. These items were given to Ronald Reitveld over the years by Lincoln scholars and buffs.

Hardtack from the Civil War!

Click on photos to enlarge and read easier.
Abraham Lincoln's parents, Thomas and Nancy (Hanks) were married in the home of someone named Richard Berry, in Kentucky. Many years later, in New Salem, Illinois, Abe Lincoln's business partner was a William Berry. I have the Berry name in my family tree, and some of our genealogical information states that my great-great-greatgrandfather came from the same Berry clan as this William. I have no idea if that is true. Possibly, it would be a dubious distinction, anyhow, as Lincoln's store partner was allegedly a drunk!
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Below is the last photo of Abraham Lincoln before his death. It was taken on March 6, 1865, two days after his second inauguration.

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It was moving to see this cast model of Abraham Lincoln's hands!

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The founder of Pella, Dominie Scholte, developed a friendship with Abraham Lincoln; they exchanged letters and Scholte was personally invited by Lincoln to attend the first inauguration.

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It is said that Dominie Scholte fell into a dead faint when he received the news that Lincoln had been shot.

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If you enjoy Lincoln history and live within driving distance of Pella, Iowa----though I dislike telling people what to do---- you really should hie thyself to Scholte House to view this exhibit before it closes on November 22!

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Central College Chapel

In keeping with the previous week's posts from Pella.........this one will feature the chapel on the Central College campus in Pella. This school is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.

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The skylight windows in the chapel's ceiling form a Cross:

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You can see how the the roof tapers up to form a narrow cross-shape:

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The only stained-glass window to be found was above one of the doorways. I Googled Eendracht Maakt Macht, to find that it means "Union is Strength". Here's a coat of arms which is somewhat similar to the one(s) depicted on the window.

[Update several hours after this post was published: I clicked on this window photo to enlarge it and I see there are more words at the top.......Nisi Dominus Frustra. A quick Google of that phrase led to this blogpost by a Presbyterian pastor named Mark Roberts, which explains the meaning of those words. They are from Psalm 107:1.]

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The organ pipes:

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And, in conclusion.......the quiet, unassuming altar:

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Perhaps you will have a quiet, unassuming day of rest today!!

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(While you're resting, if you're in the mood for a fascinating read.......go here:

"Sabbath vs Sunday: The Rest of the Story". Its on a site called WorldNetDaily, which I'm not necessarily advocating.......but, the article is full of interesting info about the early Church and other things, such as the days of the week, which we never give a second thought to!)

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Walkin' In Pella

Now its time to marcheren across Franklin Street and lopen around in the Pella Town Square Park. Right in the corner is this information center built in the windmill style, of course!

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Centered along the south side of the park is this towering tribute to "Tulip Time", which refers to the famous Tulip Festival held every year in May.........at "tulip time", of course! Below this Tulip Tower is a stage surrounded by a circular area of seating. The coat of arms at the top presumably represents Holland/The Netherlands.

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In the center of the town square park is this sundial:

Click the photo to enlarge it and read how the sundial works:

Throughout the park were gorgeous flower beds! Perhaps someone can enlighten me as to the name of the plant above, with its showy orange blooms and unique variegated leaves.
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From the vantage point of the park, the buildings along Franklin Street look thus:

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Ah, yes.......at last, I spy the Jaarsma Bakery! Before leaving Pella, a stop there is essential!

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And, to be fair........there is another bakery in town.......Vander Ploeg's. I once perused a Pella phone book. It is filled with names beginning with Van or Vander, along with many ending in --sma. Either of those prefixes or the suffix could be added to my last name----or YOUR last name----and our names would sound authentically Dutch! Especially, too, if we slipped our feet into some clompen......wooden shoes!

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Actually, I think I can safely claim a tiny bit of Dutch ancestry, for in my family tree is the name Van Amburg! Hooray! But, even if not..........do you know that song, "Walkin' in Memphis"? Here's one of the verses:

"Now Muriel plays piano

Every Friday at the Hollywood

And they brought me down to see her

And asked me if I would

Do a little number

And I sang with all my might

And she said

"Tell me......are you a Christian, child?"

And I said...... "Ma'am, I am tonight!"

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Yup........I was Dutch that day........"Walkin' in Pella"!!

Or lopen in Pella......or marcheren in Pella!!

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In the background of this post's final photo is the Scholte House Museum, with its brand-new Lincoln exhibit. We'll be headed there next time........

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To the Klokkenspel

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Here we are........back in Pella, Iowa........having made our way down Franklin Street after leaving the Vermeer Windmill corner:

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This tall, square brick building is the Pella Opera House. I especially liked the round window designs.

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Now we're gazing up at the Klokkenspel.

Notice the row of bells on top:

I believe the bells chimed every quarter-hour. At the top of each hour, music box songs would play, heralding the appearance of four important figures in Pella's history........this one happens to be a Dutch lady. (Read the paragraph below to find out who this lady is and why she is crying.)

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HERE IS AN EXPLANATION OF THE FOUR PELLA HISTORICAL FIGURES DEPICTED IN THE KLOKKENSPEL WINDOWS (found on this iExplore travel webpage):

"Klokkenspel: Anticipation mounted in our small group of onlookers in front of the brick facade and decorated neck gables of the Pella klokkenspel. Some had seen it before and assured those who hadn’t that the figures would first emerge from behind the curtained glass on the north side. Sure enough, at 1pm sharp, the Dominee (pronounced DOE-muh-nay) Scholte (the sch pronounced with one of those impossible Dutch guttural G’s that sound like you’re clearing you’re throat), Separatist founder of Pella, reverent in glasses and wisp of a smile, baptizes an infant in a long trailing Christening gown. Act two in the window to the right: dark-haired Dominee’s wife Mareah breaks down in eternal tears, grieving the loss of her fine Delft blue china broken in transit from the Netherlands. She holds a broken piece of Delft in her left hand. Luckily the hanky she holds in her right hand is a large one. After Mareah’s tears have been spent, a youthful blacksmith pounds forever on his anvil, representing the work ethic of this community. Shades of the Wild West! – it’s Wyatt Earp – this famous lawman spent some of his boyhood in Pella. He’s cleaning his Winchester rifle in the last window of the north-facing klokkenspel."

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These archways below the Klokkenspel lead into a lovely courtyard beyond:

Beautiful scenes made of Dutch tiles adorned one side of the courtyard. Notice the S-shaped bench........like the Dutch letter pastries! (The "S" stands for Sinterklaas......the Dutch Santa Claus.)

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On the opposite side of the courtyard was this shop window displaying Dutch souvenirs.

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Where are we headed after this?

Find out next time!!

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Pella Historical Village

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A fitting place to begin a tour of Pella.........at the landmark Vermeer Windmill one block east of the town square. It was around 1 p.m. last Saturday when I took these photos; obviously,the sun was bright, and high in the sky. Temperatures were in the 70's.......it was an absolutely perfect day!

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This replica windmill was erected about five years ago, around the time my daughter graduated from Central College here in Pella.

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I chose not to tour the windmill since time was at a premium, but it was fun to take photos from various angles.
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The windmill anchors the Pella Historical Village Museum. Click the photos to enlarge, so you can read the signs.

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Wyatt Earp's family once lived in this house below:

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Beautiful flower beds adorned the area between the sidewalk and the street. During the famous Tulip Festival in May each year, these same flower beds are filled with bright, eye-catching tulips!

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Anchoring this corner is the Scholte Church, named for Dominie Henry Scholte, founder of Pella.

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This next photo was taken from the alley running behind the village. If you click the photo you will see the pretzel-shaped "Bakkerii" sign on the right. No Dutch village would be complete without a bakery!

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Another view from the alley, looking into the area behind the windmill building:

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I thought I was alone in the alley, but as I crouched awkwardly to take this next photo, a man suddenly spoke up behind me: "Hi, I'm the miller. I used to think that one had to have a good camera in order to take a good picture, but I now know that one needs a good picture in order to take a good picture." I knew what he meant, and there's probably some truth in what he said.

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Soon I had completed the historical village circle and was back at the windmill, with its attached Dutch-style town buildings.

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Next time, we'll clompen up the street to the Klokkenspel and the town square. Clompen means "walk" in Dutch! [I'm in error about the meaning of the Dutch word, clompen. A commenter (dairymary) pointed this out. Clompen means "shoe". "Walk" in Dutch is marcheren, tippelen, or lopen. Thus, we'll continue to do one of those around Pella! Thanks, dairymary!]

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