This committee held a meeting on the 8th of August and elected Isaac Overkamp as
president and J. Hospers as secretary. By motion it was decided to hold the
celebration on the 28th day of August, commencing at 9:00 A. M., and that the day
would be inaugurated by holding a religious service in the new church. Isaac
Overkamp, Jacob van de Roovaart and August Wigny were appointed as the committee to
arrange the program for this meeting. The committee to arrange for the celebration
proper was composed of: P. H. Bousquet, H. P. Scholte, Jr., E. F. Grafe, J.
Muntingh and A. Van Stigt.

At a meeting held August 15th, the following men were chosen to act as officers of
the day:

P. H. Bousquet, president 
J. F. Le Cocq, Sr.
J. Roziersz 
D. van der Wilt
K. van Zee
J. Roelofsz
E. F. Grafe
J. A. Toom
Cs. Welle 
F. 't Lam 
P. J. Koelman

The heavy rainfall of the evening of August 27th and also during the day of the
28th threatened to spoil the celebration; but notwithstanding this unfavorable
condition, when the time arrived for the opening services, a vast throng filled the
large audience room of the new First Reformed Church, and after an earnest prayer
had been offered by Rev. H. G. Klyn, the audience listened to eloquent addresses by
Rev. A. J. Betten, Rev. W. van der Klei, Rev. E. Winter and Rev. K. Weyland.
Between the speaking there was congregational singing, in which the vast audience
expressed their gratitude to the God of their fathers, who had so signally blessed
them in the land of their adoption.

After the services the people were invited to the old church building, one block
west, on the corner later occupied by the William Langerak residence. Here four
large tables fairly groaned under their load of good things to eat and drink. After
doing full justice to this part of the day's proceedings, the participants repaired
to the Scholte grove, where the old settlers had charge of a program fitting to the
occasion. Here they were entertained with music and listened to a number of short
but eloquent speeches. Major H. Post, son of Rev. Mozes Post, was one of the
speakers who addressed the audience in the Holland language. Although he was a
native American, he had attended school under James Muntingh, and to the end of his
life he took great pride in his complete mastery of the Dutch language.

THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION IN 1897

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the first three days of September, 1897, the
city of Pella celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its settlement by the
Hollanders. Former residents of the city came from all parts of the state and some
from St. Louis, Chicago, and even New York. Henry Hospers, founder of the Holland
colony in Sioux county, Iowa, and a former mayor of Pella, came down from Orange
City with about three hundred others on a single excursion train. Many came by
wagon, one hundred and fifty conveyances, all loaded to their fun capacity, coming
from Mahaska county. By 9 o'clock Wednesday morning it was estimated that two
thousand wagons and carriages had been driven into the city. Wednesday's feature
was a grand procession, which formed at the east square and paraded through the
principal streets led by Henry Cox's band of forty-four