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100th Anniversary of the Church Building New Holland (SD) Christian Reformed Church Celebration – September 8, 2019
In the early 1880’s this region was known as Dakota Territory. A group from northwest Iowa came to settle in western Douglas County. They met in each other’s homes for worship for 3 years. On May 3, 1883 a group of 22 families and 8 singles organized as a church, known today as the New Holland Christian Reformed Church (CRC). 6 days later they decided to build a church building. It was 32 x 32 feet. One year later a 21-foot addition was built. In the 1890’s crops were poor and the shallow wells went dry. Some who had loaned money to the church asked to be repaid. The church was also paying 24% interest on a loan from Home Missions. A member of the church sold his farm for $600, went to the consistory (council), and gave it to them to use as they wanted. $600 was exactly what the church owed. After a number of years of the Lord’s blessings, in 1918 discussions were held to build a larger church building. Mr. Peter Kuipers from Detroit, Michigan was hired to build the church. He was a brother-in-law to the pastor at that time, Rev. John Bylevelt. It was patterned after a church building in Grand Rapids, then known as the Franklin Street CRC. A church near Manhattan, Montana (First CRC) is like ours as well. Men from the church donated most of the work, getting materials to the job site. Stones were hauled from farms; as well as sand from local sandpits. Most of the materials were hauled by horse and wagon; although John De Lange used a hard-tire Bethlehem truck. Lumber was hauled from Plankinton, where it had been delivered by railroad. Cement was hauled from Corsica in the same way. Henry Van Der Pol, Sr. hoisted the five great arches into place, using cables and timbers. These arches support the roof spanning 56 feet. Those hired were paid 60 cents an hour at first and later 75 cents an hour. The total cost was about $43,000. The church building was dedicated on August 26, 1920. The attic space above the ceiling is quite large. Cable rods held the sides in place, which needed to be tightened every year. The roof had wood shingles on it. It had been said that most of the wood was in in the roof of the church. The only steps up to the pulpit at first were the small ones from both sides. The furnace vent was in the floor in front of the pulpit. A large chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. Smaller chandeliers were in the corners. Screen doors replaced the wood double doors in the summer to allow for air movement. In the summer, windows were also opened, as well as the vent at the top of the ceiling. An added benefit included aromas from the local farms. The kitchen was located where the old library in the basement was recently. The dining area was where the old nursery was recently in the basement. People traveling from a distance would take their noon meal along, to eat as they waited for the afternoon service to start. At first there were no bathrooms in the church building or basement; outdoor toilets were available for personal use. Water was drawn from underground by a windmill and directed to a holding tank. This tank was about 20 feet high and kept in a redwood building. The extra water was sent to a large cistern across the street, in the ground below where the current utility shed is. This water was available for any fires that might happen. During the worship services, horses would be held in the horse barn, located south of where the current parsonage is. Electricity came from batteries owned and maintained by Pete Lieuwen of the local blacksmith shop. He provided electricity for all of New Holland. The batteries were recharged by a wind generator. In later years a gas generator was also used, as the worship services drained the batteries quickly. A coal furnace heated the sanctuary with a large vent in the floor in front of the podium. The coal bin was in the basement, which eventually became the kitchen. The custodian had to get up at 4:00 on a winter morning to stoke the furnace in order to have it warm enough for the worship service. A two-pedal Skennir organ had been installed. Two men behind the organ would handpump the bellows. Many changes have taken place over the years. We are grateful for God’s blessing to provide a place in which we can worship and fellowship with Christian joy.
Written by Pastor John Gorter in August 2019 for the 100th anniversary of the New Holland Christian Reformed Church being built. Corrections and additional information are appreciated.
Resources: 1. Much of this was taken from “New Holland Church History” by Jack Jongejeugd, written in 1998. 2. Some material was gleaned from the book, “On the Reservation Border: Hollanders in Douglas and Charles Mix Counties” by Henry Van Der Pol, Sr. (Argus Printers; Stickney, SD; 1989), pages 218-222. 3. Also, notes were taken on interviews with Jack Jongejeugd, William & Albertha (Beltman) Vreugdenhil, and Gary Vander Pol in August 2019.
Memories of the New Holland CRC building Celebrating 100 years (1919-2019)
Harvey Hofstee Age: 67 In 1995 or 96 I was doing some wiring to upgrade the PA system in church and needed to get a cable from one side of the pulpit to the other. I took one of the return air registers off the face of the pulpit area and decided I would never fit through that small hole. I decided the only way I could get that cable across was if I could find a little person that would fit through the opening and carry it to the other side. School was in session so I went over there and asked the administrator if I could borrow one of his smaller boys to crawl under the pulpit to string the cable across. He said sure and you would never guess by looking at him today but Brett Feenstra wasn't always king sized and very easily fit through that small opening!
William Vreugdenhil 87 years old I helped shingle the roof of the church and shingled both steeples. I also built the steps around the pulpit. I worked on the windows (took them out and put them back in) when the stained glass windows were repaired. I changed the steps in the balcony area. I helped Uncle Teunis Vreugdenhil repair the organ, so they could use it again. I've helped with a lot of the maintenance on the building.
Darcy J 54 y/o I remember as a kid in the summer time sitting there in the heat with the windows open, the large corner fans roaring away, the flies buzzing around and trying to catch them without making my parents mad. All the while, Rev. Botting preaching in a full suit, sweating and wondering why he had his own fan blowing on him.
JoEllen Niewenhuis Dykstra 53 y/o I started playing organ in church when I was a jr in high school. There was a period where the pipe organ was no longer used and an electric organ was played instead. It sat to the south of the pulpit, where the grand piano sits now. After the pipe organ was rebuilt, the memory I first remember is that the keys are tan/brown rather than black/white. I will add that before the church was air conditioned, it had to be a sweaty site as the temp always seemed 10 degrees hotter up by the organ than down in the pew.
Justin Kok 38 y/o I'm always amassed how they could build this building without modern machines and technology. I also get. A kick out of my niece McKennawhen she gets to `go to church in the castle`, an exciting time for her.
Sharon Hofstee 69 y/o The balcony isn`t used much these days, but it is always a draw for the grandkids when they come to visit. So I have made at least four trips up the stairs when they were old enough to see our beautiful sanctuary from a bird`s eye view -- even while waving at Grandpa. This is certainly a memory although the lift was not an original part of the building. We were so thankful for the lift so we didn't have to carry our son Hans up the stairs every week. And although some were reluctant to use it at first, it's good to see it used by those who need it.
Brad Vreugdenhil 55 y/o I remember coming to church on Sunday's and seeing the scaffolding by the steeple when my dad and his uncles were shingling the bell tower/steeple. I also remember helping dad make the steps on the front of the pulpit. There are good memories of taking out stained glass windows that had to be repaired and then putting them back in. The congregation and I forget how beautiful they really are.
Elsie Veurink 83 y/o Ralph Veurink`s dad, Gerrit John Veurink was on the building committee along with other members of the church when the church building was originally built. Gerrit and Ruby V had 9 children, 8 of those remained living in this area. They and their families worshipped in this building for a lifetime along with their spouses and families. Faith of our Fathers!
Evelyn (VanderTuin) Niewenhuis 87 y/o I remember when the mortgage papers were officially burned in 1943. I was 12 years old and was concerned that the church would start of fire. My dad Bonne VanderTuin painted the exterior of the church using ladders (no scaffolding). This was before he got married, sometime before 1927. The floors used to be varnished wood and the isles were covered with a rubber-type runner. When we married in 1950, we had a white cloth rolled down the isle to keep my wedding dress from getting black on it. Also at our wedding we stood in front of the pulpit, as the steps weren't there. The register for the coal furnace was in the floor where we stood. We had to be extra careful not to drop the wedding rings thru the registrer down to the furnace.
Eugene Niewenhuis 93 y/o Insurance said the balcony railing was not high enough. I built and assembled, with the help of John Vreugdenhil, the spindles that are present today. Evelyn Niewenhuis and Lorena Vreugdenhil stained and varnished the new rail after it was in place.
Anna Mae Veurink 92 y/o Marion and I were the first to use the church basement for a wedding reception in 1947. Also in 1947, a storm blew off the tall chimney and it crashed the the corner of church. The balcony used to have 3 rows of seats. It cold seat 90 people. Later a row was removed. Originally there was no electricity except for the lights which had power from Lieuwens. The bathrooms were outside (privy) on the NW side. Later the pews were spaced further apart with some being removed and sold. This was done so a casket could be brought to the front of church. Before fans and air conditioning, the janitors would open the windows Saturday evening If rain occurred, they would get up in the middle of the night to close them. Sunday morning the doors would be opened to cool the sanctuary. This led to occasional birds, bats and 1 time even a dog in the church. The bell--- Elmer Schipper was called to get his team of horses to get the bell pulled up to the bell tower. It was rung every Sunday morning at 8 am, 70 times. Then 10 mins before church, 7 times. New Years Eve it was rung 70-100 times to ring in the New Year. There was a special rope to pull to make the bell ring as a casket left the church, at funerals. There was a 2x4 attached to make the ring a dull and somber sound. Jennie VanDriesen requested the normal bell be rung at her funeral...her wanted her entrance into heaven to have a celebration sound.
Doug Dykstra 53 y/o My memories of the church building would be
the remodeling we did on the interior in the 90’s. We took the pews completely
out in order to paint and install carpet. We especially had a lot of help when
we lifted the pews over the edge from the balcony.
Marjo (Feenstra) Baan Hofman 63 y/o I remember that when I was a girl sometimes Grandpa & Grandma (Will & Ann Niewenhuis) would stay at church & have a dinner of sandwiches that Grandma had packed when there was 2:00 afternoon service. One memory I have of that is going in the little haukie (room) off the balcony & Grandpa lifting me up on his shoulders so I could look in the attic. I was AMAZED at how big it was!! I’ve never seen it again, but I still remember how it looked!
Bonnie (DeBoer) VanderLey 61 y/o 1- I was told by a Sunday school teacher of mine, Mr John (Alice Sluiter) DeBoer, born 1906 and her family lived near Joubert. She told me her father had donated extra money when they were building the church to help purchase a larger bell so they could hear it on their farm. I'm thankful for his contribution and miss hearing the bell on Sunday mornings at 8am when we were outside doing chores. 2- I remember one of our previous pastors doing a sermon series on the symbols in the stained glass windows (crown, lilies and the anchor) plus the `fish` design that was around the top of the sanctuary walls. That design was covered up when they painted the wall blocks for an update. 3- The stained glass windows are so beautiful but in the summer with the sun shining through in the morning the sanctuary got quite warm quickly. The ceiling fans and the four large pedestal fans at each corner of the room moved the air around but there was still a lot of bulletin fanning. If you happened to be sitting in a `still` area and added a child on your lap it wasn't long before you could feel the drops of sweat trickling down your back. But it was better on the main floor than if you were late and had to sit in the balcony. The heat rising made it a few degrees warmer up there and the breeze from the oscillating fan didn't seem to make it to the other end. I guess we were a lot softer than our ancestors but what a blessing it was when the air conditioning was installed.
Larry VanderLey 64 y/o When the bathrooms were added in the basements the size must have seemed totally adequate compared to the original outdoor toilets. But those planners didn't anticipate the number of young men in the 1960s who would gather in there and sometimes even spill out into the hallway after a service to smoke. It was very intimidating for young boys who actually needed to use the bathroom for what it was intended for.
Evelyn (Feenstra) Munneke 82 y/o I remember when I was a child, our church was always full. We kids liked to go to church later so we could sit in the balcony. Those days the balcony was used most Sundays.
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Contact
hhofstee@midstatesd.net
for information or comments about the church.
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