Dutch American Entrepreneurs

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DUTCH AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS----

THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN

SOCIETY , CULTURE AND THE

ECONOMY

C. CARL PEGELS, PROFESSOR EMERITUS,

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT,

UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO,

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

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FOREWORD

The story of the Dutch American entrepreneurs described herein is essentially acompilation of material gathered by the author from a variety of sources. Not much iswritten about the individuals covered in this book in previous book publications with afew exceptions. There is, however, a fair amount of coverage of the individuals, who

make up this story, on the world wide web. And it is safe to stay that without the webbased information it would have been difficult to compile the material and to write thisbook.

One of the problems with web based material is the degree of authenticity of each source.Some of the material originates directly from the individual or from organizations withwhom the individual is involved. In other words there is bound to be some bias in someof the sources. But this book is not intended to be an exact historic representation of theindividuals and their accomplishments, but rather the story of what they achieved. Thisdoes not imply that I have not been careful to ensure the validity and accuracy of what isdescribed in the book.

The book is intended to look at the positive aspects of the individuals, and theirrespective accomplishments. Some of the criticisms that one can dig up on nearly anyhistoric figure is omitted or only mentioned in a cursory form.

Each chapter covers a specific group of commercial activities or related firms. At the endof each chapter is a reference to brief biographical profiles of the individuals whoappeared in the descriptions of their respective activities. In some of the cases there willbe some overlap of the material covered in the chapter and in the biographical profiles.Duplication is difficult to avoid, because shortening a biographical profile too much takesaway from the message about the individual.

The 50+individuals covered in the book and their life stories cover a period of about 400years. The first individual covered is the captain of the ship that arrived with the firstsettlers for New Amsterdam in 1624. His name was Cornelis Jacobszoon Mey, stillremembered until today by New Jerseys Cape May, named after him. More recentmembers are the two musical rock stars, Eddie Van Halen and Bruce Springsteen, whowere still actively touring the country with their respective rock bands in early 2008. Sonearly a 400 year period is covered in the book.

Although the time span of the book covers 400 years, most of the individualentrepreneurs became successful and lived during the twentieth century, with a sprinklingliving during the nineteenth century. But then one could argue that the real opportunitiesfor becoming a successful entrepreneur did not really arrive until the nineteenth century.

In conclusion the book should be considered a chronicle of the accomplishments of theentrepreneurs covered in the book. The material is not based on primary sources, unlessone considers some of the web based material a primary source, which it seldom is. Thebook is about the admirable accomplishments of what members of a group of ambitiousDutch Americans were able to accomplish in the land of opportunity, the United States ofAmerica.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

[The names listed under each chapter consist of the main personalities covered in each

chapter. Click CHAPTER N to view your selection.]

CHAPTER 1. Introduction

CHAPTER 2. Overview of Book

THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

CHAPTER 3. New Netherland and Its Directors

Cornelis Jacobszoon MeyWillem Verhulst

Peter Minuit

Wouter Van TwillerWillem Kieft

Petrus Stuyvesant

CHAPTER 4. Rensselaerswyck and New Netherland

Killian Van Rensselaer

Stephen Van Rensselaer III

CHAPTER 5. Colonial EraThe Van Cortlandts

Oloff Stevense Van Cortlandt

Stephanus Van Cortlandt

Jacobus Van CortlandtPierre Van Cortlandt

Philip Van Cortlandt
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CHAPTER 6. Construction of the Erie Canal

DeWitt Clinton

Gouverneur MorrisSimeon De Witt


CHAPTER 7. Water and Rail TransportationThe Vanderbilts

Cornelius Vanderbilt

William Henry Vanderbilt

CHAPTER 8. Freight Transportation and Logistics---The Bekins and Jansen Families

Martin BekinsHenry Jansen

CHAPTER 9. Air Transportation Developers---Fokker and Neeleman

Anthony FokkerDavid Neeleman

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 10. Successful Entrepreneurs---The Koch Brothers

Frederick Koch, Sr.Charles Koch

David Koch

William KochFrederick Koch, Jr.

CHAPTER 11. Three Midwest Manufacturing Families

Peter and Lucille KuyperGary Vermeer

Edgar Prince

TRANSPORTATION PIONEERS
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INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELPOPMENT

CHAPTER 12. Infrastructure Construction---The Kiewit Family

Peter Kiewit, Jr.

Peter Kiewit, Sr.

MERCHANDISING AND SERVICE DELIVERY

CHAPTER 13. Two Michigan Merchandising Firms

Hendrick Meijer, Sr.

Frederick MeijerHendrick Meijer, Jr.

Doug MeijerRichard DeVos, Sr.

Doug DeVos

Richard [Dick] DeVos, Jr.Jay Van Andel

Steve Van Andel

CHAPTER 14. Merchandising, Entertainment, Real Estate and Services

Wayne Huizenga

John Jacob Astor IV

INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 15. Consumer Related Commercial Innovators

Gilbert C. Van Camp

John Scheepers

Alfred Peet

CHAPTER 16. Innovators and Developers---Electric and Electronic Technology

Thomas Alva Edison

Lee De Forest
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CHAPTER 17. Contemporary Innovators and Developers

Willem Johan Kolff

Ray Noorda

Hubert J. P. Schoemaker

ARTS, CULTURE AND EDUCATION

CHAPTER 18.Directors and Producers---Movie Industry

Cecil B. De Mille

Daryl F. ZanuckClint Eastwood

Paul Verhoeven

CHAPTER 19. Modern Music Producers and Performers---The Bands

Eddie L. Van HalenAlex Van Halen

Bruce F. J. Springsteen

CHAPTER 20. Religious Book Publishers

Peter Zondervan

Bernard ZondervanWilliam B. Eerdmans

Herman Baker

Louis and Robert Kregel

CHAPTER 21. Higher Education Promoters

Henry Rutgers


Cornelius VanderbiltWilliam Hofstra
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DUTCH AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION--- CONTRIBUTIONS BY DUTCH AMERICANS TO THE

AMERICAN ECONOMY

This book intends to give the reader an understanding and appreciation of thecontributions by Dutch Americans for:

1. The founding of New Netherland, part of which eventually became the core of NewYork State,

2. The establishment of settlements in New Netherland, and especially along the HudsonRiver, during the seventeenth century, and

3. The development and growth of the American economy from the seventeenth centuryuntil the present time.

BACKGROUND

The 2000 Federal Census showed that about 4.5 million Americans have Dutch socialcharacteristics, and as a result can be classified as Dutch Americans. To be sure thenumber of 4.5 million self-reported Dutch Americans only amounts to less than twopercent of the American population. The figure of 4.5 million is difficult to verifybecause the interest and study of ones genealogy has only became fashionable during thepast few decades. And I suspect that many Americans with Dutch backgrounds have noidea that they have those backgrounds, and can be viewed as, and considered to be, DutchAmericans.

As a result of the above, the 4.5 million Dutch Americans reported in the 2000 Census isprobably significantly understated. More recent Federal Census estimates seem to verifythe above to some extent. The 2006 Census estimate of the number of Americans withDutch social characteristics has increased to 5.2 million. The number still seems to beunderstated, if we consider that Sarah Rapalje, the first woman of European origin bornin New Netherland, has produced descendants estimated to number at least one million.There is some indication that others also question the Federal Census estimates. TheDutch Embassy in Washington, D. C. reports that eight million Americans are of Dutchorigin.

The Dutch are easily and quickly merged into the American culture. If there is onenational group that fits the notion of the melting pot, the Dutch fit it to a tee. As a result it


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may only take one generation for the notion of being a Dutch American to fade away. Incontrast some other national groups such as the Italians, the Greeks, the Irish, the Polish,the Germans and others have strong attachments to their nationality groups. And theyalso frequently support strong local and national associations and festivals celebratingtheir national culture. The only exception to the above for the Dutch Americans is the

custom of holding annual Dutch cultural festivals, usually associated with the tulipseason, in some communities which have high concentrations of Dutch Americans.Examples of this are Holland, Michigan, Pella, Iowa, and Lynden, Washington, amongothers.

The one strong association with a Dutch background is ones family name, if the name istruly of a pure Dutch origin. But that only applies to patrilineal names, and they onlycomprise, at best, half the population of Dutch Americans. The Netherlands has been ahaven for refugees as far back as the sixteenth century. As a result there are many non-Dutch sounding names, whose bearers are also of Dutch background, because theirancestors may have lived in the Netherlands for a century or more. Also many Dutch

names may be very similar to German names, and even to some English names. The onlyDutch name that is virtually guaranteed to be Dutch is the name that is preceded by thethree letter prefix,van. And there are many of those.

So when the census taker, or census form, poses the question: What nationality, otherthan American, do you associate yourself with?, the answer will typically be a guess bymost people who have no strong interest, identification or association with their ancestralbackground. The other problem is of course the mixture of many nationalities amongones ancestors. If your ancestors go back six or more generations since they came to theUnited States, your ancestral background may contain many different nationalities. Thisis especially true nowadays. In the distant past there was a tendency for people to marrymore within their own national, ethnic or community groups. So if you know that thereare three nationalities in your background, you can identify yourself as being associatedwith each one of the three nationalities.

With the growing interest in genealogy, one would assume that there also would be anincreasing interest in becoming identified or associated with ones national backgroundor backgrounds. This book is intended to provide those of Dutch American ancestry withinformation about the history of at least some of the more prominent Dutch Americans.These Dutch Americans may, in some cases, be their ancestors or distant relatives. Andspecifically the book will enable the reader to become familiar with what their prominentancestors and contemporaries have accomplished over the years.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE DUTCH IN AMERICA

Except for the Native Americans, all Americans, or at least their ancestors, came from adifferent country, or geographic region. As a result, nearly all of us are hyphenatedAmericans. That is we all have some identification with another country or geographicregion. For many of us that may mean that we can be identified by more than one countryor geographic region.


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The Dutch in America came over in two waves. The first wave consisted of the originalsettlers who came over during the seventeenth century and settled in what was thennamed New Netherland. New Netherland consisted of what now constitutes most ofEastern New York State and parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware

and Maryland.

The first wave of these Dutch settlers is generally referred to as the old Dutch. Theycame over in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. For some of the early settlers that isnearly 400 years ago. The Dutch during that period generally maintained their Dutchassociation and identity, and variations of their Dutch culture, for more than two hundredyears. In addition they also continued to speak their Dutch language. This was especiallyso in the smaller rural communities of New Netherland. Dutch was spoken until the late1800s. President Martin Van Buren still spoke Dutch when he became the eighth UnitedStates president in 1837. To be sure, his day to day language was English, but he wasbrought up in a Dutch language home environment, and we can be sure that Dutch was

spoken during family gatherings.

The second wave of Dutch settlers came over in the nineteenth century, about 200 yearsfollowing the first wave of immigration in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Thisnew wave of Dutch immigrants decided to settle largely in western Michigan, aroundGrand Rapids and Holland, Michigan, and in various parts of Iowa and Wisconsin. Thiswave of immigration produced what is commonly referred to as the new Dutch. As amatter of fact, all Dutch immigrants since that time are referred to as the new Dutch, tocontrast them with the old Dutch.

The two groups had several things in common, although their arrival on the Americanscene was separated for some by as much as several hundred years. Both groups, at leastin the early years of each wave, had strong interests in agriculture, largely because,during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, agriculture was the maineconomic activity. The members of the two groups, at least up until about 100 years ago,were virtually all members of the Dutch protestant church, the Dutch Reformed Church,or of some offshoot of the Dutch Reformed Church. The only exception was a group ofearly settlers in Wisconsin who were Roman Catholics. During the early years of colonialsettlement, the Dutch Reformed Church in The Netherlands actually controlled theAmerican Reformed Church. But that changed quickly as more people settled, and theAmerican Reformed Church became independent from the control of the home church inThe Netherlands.

EARLY EXPLORATIONS IN NEW NETHERLAND

As was made clear above, Dutch nationals, and Dutch residents who had fled fromreligious persecution elsewhere, made up most of the original settlers of what was oncewidely known as New Netherland. New Netherland, as was stated above, comprised most


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of the lands of what is currently New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and parts ofthe states of Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland.

The Dutch explored and traded in the Hudson River valley, and especially in the estuaryof the Hudson River, during the early 1600s, and perhaps as early as the late 1590s.

They had become attracted to the area because of the availability of beaver pelts theycould buy from the Indians, and then resell them on the prospering Dutch and Europeanmarkets for considerable profits. So the original purpose for travel to the New World wasmotivated by trade and exploration and not by settlement.

All of the above occurred several years before the pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts in1620. As a matter of fact the pilgrims probably went to Massachusetts because the Dutchhad explored and mapped most of the land of what is currently considered to be NewEngland. Since the pilgrims left from Delfshaven, one of the Rotterdam, The Netherlandsports, and many had lived in The Netherlands for several years, they probably were wellaware of the opportunities available in the new world.

While the Dutch were involved in a profitable trade for beaver pelts with the Indians,they had become fascinated with the Hudson River. The Hudson River is quiteimpressive in terms of size and water flow at what today is New York City. And based onthe reports that the fur traders had brought back to the Netherlands, the governmentauthorized trading agency, the Dutch East India Company, with the approval of the Dutchgovernment, had become interested in exploring the Hudson River.

The Dutch East India Company [DEIC] had been interested in finding a shorter way totheir distant spice colony, the Dutch East Indies. The voyage by sailing ship from TheNetherlands to the Dutch East Indies had to cover an enormous distance around thesouthern tip of Africa, and then east to the East Indies. So the DEIC had sponsoredexploration of a northern route in a western direction by way of Hudson Bay. As thename implies Captain Henry Hudson was the captain of the ship that explored thatnorthern route in 1607. Hudson ran into ice and he and his crew were fortunate to escapebefore becoming stuck in the ice.

Two years later, in 1609, the DEIC decided to explore the northern route in an easterlydirection. The Halve Maen, under the command of Captain Henry Hudson travelled northaround the northern land reaches of Norway, and eventually arrived at the island of NovaZembla. Ice proved again to be a serious problem as it had been during the exploration ofthe Hudson Bay route. So Captain Hudson decided to turn around and head west. He andhis crew were fortunate again to escape from the ice around Nova Zembla.

Instead of returning to his home port in the Netherlands, Captain Henry Hudson decidedto cross the Atlantic Ocean, and explore a route to the Dutch East Indies in the westerlydirection. He eventually arrived at the mouth to the Hudson River and decided to explorethe Hudson River to see if it provided a shortcut to the East Indies. The Halve Maen,under the command of Captain Henry Hudson, reached what is currently Albany, NewYork in the late summer of 1609. Not far north of Albany the ship ran into shallow water,


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and Hudson decided to not go any farther. The shallow waters clearly indicated that thenotion of a short cut to the Dutch East Indies was not going to be found by way of theHudson River.

There may also have been other motivations to explore the Hudson River. Only two years

before 1609, in 1607, the British established their first colony at Jamestown. SinceJamestown was located in what is now Virginia, it was quite a distance south of theHudson River Valley. So the Dutch probably had plans to lay claim to the northerlylands, before the British did. Also exploring the northerly part of the Hudson River gavethe Dutch a measure of control over the Hudson River, the source of their beaver furtrading activities.

OTHER COLONISTS DURING THE HUDSON RIVER EXPLORATION

Why did it take so long for the Dutch to explore the Hudson River? After all they hadbeen trading with the local Indians for years for beaver pelts along the shores of the lowerHudson River. Economic considerations probably explain the answer. The motivation fortraveling across the Atlantic Ocean was essentially profit oriented. In the case of theHudson River visits by the Dutch, those visits were all for trade, and only to a lesserextent for exploration. And traders are not necessarily interested in land settlement unlessthere is a profit motive.

Sea farers along the eastern seaboard of what would become the United States werenearly all trade oriented. And the trade had been going on for years. The earliersettlement at Jamestown, begun in 1607, was established by a British company, theVirginia Company, to find gold and silver, which the principal financiers of the VirginiaCompany expected to find in Virginia. Needless to say they were disappointed when nogold or silver was ever found there.

The reason the Virginia Company had expected to find gold and silver in Virginia wasbecause the Spanish, in 1570, had established a settlement near the location that wouldbecome Jamestown to search for gold and silver. That Spanish settlement was wiped outby the Indian natives, possibly because they knew of the bad experiences their fellowIndians had had in Middle and South America under the Spanish. The Virginia Companyfinanciers mistakenly assumed that the Spanish knew that there was gold and silver in thearea of Jamestown, Virginia. And that most likely was the reason for their sponsorship ofthe Jamestown venture.

There was also an earlier settlement on Roanoke Island, 110 miles south of Jamestown byBritish settlers in 1580, ten years following the annihilation of the Spanish settlers in1570. But the British settlers did not fare much better than the Spanish settlers. Theywere wiped out by diseases, and possibly also by Indian raids. So when the VirginiaCompany-sponsored settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607, they must have beenconcerned for their own safety.


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The Jamestown settlement in 1607 turned out to be almost just as disastrous as the earlierSpanish and Roanoke Island settlements. The 1607 Jamestown settlers arrived in May1607. By September of that year, only about four months later, over half of the colonistshad died from diseases or possibly starvation. And by the following year, in January

1608, only 38 of the original 104 colonists were still alive.

The Virginia Company did not give up. Apparently enough capital had been raised tocontinue the project of searching for gold and silver in Virginia. New recruits arrivedduring 1608, and by the end of 1608, the population in Jamestown had increased to about200 souls. During the following year, in 1609, another 600 people were sent over butmany did not survive a hurricane that the convoy, which brought them over, encountered.By the spring of the following year, in 1610, the survivors at Jamestown numbered about60 people. All the others had not been able to survive the diseases and the apparentdeplorable conditions at Jamestown.

Based on the above, one can understand why there was not much interest to settle on thelands of what would eventually become North America. The first Dutch settlement tookplace in the area near what is now New York City, in 1613. Captain Adriaen Block hadbeen exploring the area for the Dutch East India Company. During their exploratorywork, their ship named Tijger caught fire in the Hudson River, and had to beabandoned by its crew. The crew established a camp on shore and even built a number ofdwellings to live in. They decided to wait for the next Dutch explorer or fur trader toarrive, and one did. Within a year, another Dutch ship came up the Hudson River, pickedthem up and returned them home to the Netherlands. As a result that first settlement hadbeen rather brief, but it established the date of the first Dutch settlement, in what wouldbecome New Netherland, as 1613.

The next settlement was the establishment of Fort Nassau on Castle Island, an island inthe Hudson River near Albany. It was built in 1614, and would become the official firstDutch establishment in New Netherland. In that same year, 1614, the Dutch had claimedthe territory of New Netherland for the Republic of the United Provinces, the officialname then of what would become the Netherlands. The Dutch claim of the NewNetherland territories was then internationally recognized. It required, however, that theclaimer settle the lands. And that requirement mandated that the Dutch government beginto organize and to encourage settlement. But it would take another ten years before actualsettlement took place as discussed below.

The lands around what is now Albany, New York would not be settled until 1624, whenFort Orange was established. Initially Fort Orange did not have any settlers, only militarypersonnel. In 1624, the ship Eendracht, brought over the first small group of settlers,sponsored by the Dutch West India Company [DWIC]. The DWIC was a tradingcompany set up for trade in the West Indies and in North America, and the approvedcontractor for the Dutch government to develop, settle and manage the New Netherlandcolony.


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THE PILGRIMS ARRIVAL IN MASSACHUSETS

Eleven years following Henry Hudsons exploration of the upper Hudson River, thePilgrims arrived in Massachusetts in 1620. The captain of the ship, the Mayflower,which brought them over from the Netherlands, was familiar with the area along CapeCod and the Massachusetts coast. He had travelled there before, during earlier trips to theAmerican east coast. The first landing of the Pilgrims occurred at what is nowProvincetown on Cape Cod in late November 1620. The weather had already turnedwintry and the settlers decided that the Provincetown location would not suit them. Thesandy conditions of Cape Cod probably also did not make a good impression on them,because you can not grow much in sand.

The settlers re-embarked the Mayflower, and then voyaged to what would become

Plymouth, Massachusetts, were they disembarked. The soil was obviously of betterquality, and they could visualize raising a crop there during the following year. It wasalready December 21, 1620, when they arrived at Plymouth, so the winter had set in, andsurviving their first winter must have been quite a challenge. As opposed to the 1607Jamestown settlers, the Pilgrims did not have to deal with the numerous diseasesencountered at Jamestown, and the natives were apparently much friendlier.

THE DUTCH SETTLERS ARRIVED IN NEW NETHERLAND

The first official Dutch settlers would not arrive in New Netherland for another four yearsfollowing the Pilgrims arrival. In the first half of 1624, the DWIC sent two shiploads ofimmigrants, or rather settlers, to various locations in what it claimed to be its territory,and in what it had named New Netherland. More immigrants arrived in the followingyear, in 1625. The New Netherland settlers were let off at several locations. Most were letoff on Noten Eylant, currently Governors Island, just south of Manhattan, part of NewAmsterdam, what is currently New York City. A small number were apparently alsodropped off at Fort Orange, in what is now Albany, New York, and at locations in what isnow Connecticut. There is some controversy as to whether the 1624 group settled onNoten Eylant in its entirety or whether some were dropped off elsewhere. What isdefinitely clear is the fact that some were dropped off at Fort Orange and locations inConnecticut during the 1624-1625 time period.

So who were those settlers? What motivated them to come to a country that providednone of the comforts that were then available in the old country? In addition, many ofthe settlers had to leave their families and loved ones behind. Many of the settlers wereapparently the adventurous types, but many others were also apparently destitute. So ifyou are hungry and have no resources, the opportunity to go to a new country, at no cost


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to you, is an attractive alternative. But even with those incentives, there were not manywho were willing to go.

Many of the early settlers were people who had escaped to the Netherlands because of

persecution, usually religious, in their home land. If you review the passenger lists of thefirst voyages, you will find that there were quite a number of Walloons, from Belgium,Huguenots from France and Norwegians. Some of the Walloons and the Norwegians hadapparently come to the Netherlands for better opportunities, and as such were alreadymigrants when they left Amsterdam for their trip to the new world.

The early days of the new colony of settlers in the new world were difficult. The smallgroup at Fort Orange in Albany had at least the protection of the fort, and many peoplechose to live within the walls of the fort or at least in close proximity, so they could fleeto the fort in case of danger. Although the fur traders had been trading with the Indiansfor a number of years, and the Indians were familiar with the new settlers, there always

was a possibility of attack by the Indians.

The group of settlers in the New Amsterdam area, although larger, did not have thebenefit of protection by the military, at least not in the early days. The first group ofsettlers in 1624, which landed on Noten Eylant, now Governors Island, was provided atleast a modicum of protection from the unpredictable American Indians by being locatedon an island. The first group of new settlers also came over without animals, and farmingwithout animals is difficult to do. This was corrected, however, in the following year, in1625, when the DWIC sent over several boatloads with more settlers and animals for useby the new settlers.

In any event life was hard and difficult for the early settlers. The news apparently gotback to the home country how difficult it was to make a living in the new country, andthat news made it even more difficult to attract new settlers. The DWIC decided to studythe problem of attracting settlers to their new lands in New Netherland. The DWIC knewthat it had to establish settlements, because it was the only way to establish ownership ofthe lands through occupation of the lands, and presence of the settlers.

THE LATER OR NEW DUTCH IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The history of the new Dutch is not nearly as rustic as the history of the early Dutchsettlements in the seventeenth century. Because of very poor economic conditions in thehome country in the early 1840s some individual families had begun to migrate to theUnited States. Van Raalte was the organizer of one of the first groups of Dutchimmigrants who decided to migrate to America. They arrived in the United States in1846, more than two hundred years following the arrival of the first settlers on NotenEylant. The sea voyage of the Van Raalte group was probably not any more pleasant than


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that of the 1624 settlers. Both the 1624 group and the 1846 group of Dutch settlers cameover on a sailing ship, and the speed of travel was probably as slow in 1846 as it had beenin 1624. To be sure, in 1846 there was an alternative to sailing ship travel. The steamboathad been invented, and it provided much faster travel than the old technology sailingvessel. But time was money, even then, and virtually none of the early settlers had the

financial resources to afford to travel by steamship.

So on October 2, 1846, Van Raalte, accompanied by 53 others, including his own family,departed from Rotterdam on a ship named the Southerner. The Southerner was headedfor New York City where they arrived on November 17, 1846, 46 days after theirdeparture from Rotterdam. Travelling the north Atlantic at that time of year seldomprovides a tranquil voyage, and I am sure the Southerners voyage in the late fall of 1846was no exception.

Upon their arrival in New York City, the group of Dutch immigrants was warmlywelcomed by two ministers of the Reformed Church in America consisting of Reverend

Thomas De Witt of New York City and Reverend Isaac Wyckoff of Albany, New York.Having a welcoming party upon their arrival must have been a comforting feeling to thegroup of new immigrants, especially following a harrowing voyage across the woollyNorth Atlantic. From New York City the group travelled to Albany, probably by riverboat. Their welcoming party urged them to stay in the Albany area during the upcomingwinter, before proceeding to Wisconsin, their chosen destination.

After enduring the long and arduous voyage, the group had become impatient, and hadlittle interest in delaying their departure to their chosen destination much longer. So as agroup they decided to move on immediately. One can imagine how frustrating that musthave been to their advisors, who were well aware of the American winter weather, andthe folly of trying to travel as far as Wisconsin during the late fall and early winter. Butthey persisted to move on.

From Albany the group travelled by way of the newly completed Erie Canal to Buffalo,New York. From Buffalo they were able to book on a passenger steamer to Detroit. Butby that time it was getting quite late in the season, and they were probably lucky to makeit all the way to Detroit in late 1647. But as they arrived in Detroit, it became clear tothem, probably by the weather conditions, that Detroit was as far as they would go, atleast until the spring arrived.

While the group stayed in Detroit during the long winter, they had plenty of time toreassess their plans. The Detroit area was then still largely a rural area, and the area musthave impressed them. It was located on the Detroit River, and in many respects may havereminded them of their native land with plenty of rivers and canals. It was also flat landand had many opportunities for agricultural development. So after considerablediscussion and evaluation, the group under the leadership of Van Raalte decided to stayin Michigan, but not in the Detroit area. The Detroit area was then already fairly welldeveloped in terms of agriculture and land costs were probably prohibitive. So the group


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decided to settle in western Michigan instead. Western Michigan was only lightlydeveloped and land costs were considerably lower than in the Detroit area.

The group of immigrants travelled to the area in western Michigan which is now centeredby Holland, Michigan and decided to settle there. Once the Holland colony was

established it became a magnet for attracting other Dutch settlers. Within three years ofthe arrival of the first group in the spring of 1847, the Dutch population in westernMichigan had exploded to 5000 people. Just in 1847 alone, 2600 people left theNetherlands to join the initial 53 people who had settled in and around Holland, Michiganin the spring of 1847.

Van Raalte remained the leader of the new colony in Holland, Michigan. Van Raaltebecame the founder of churches, schools, and even a college and seminary which becamepresent day Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Van Raalte was also involved innumerous other enterprises. He established several Dutch newspapers such as, DeHollander, De Hoop, and Holland City News. Van Raalte also authored a number of

Dutch language books, presumably for consumption by his fellow settlers. To this day,the area around Holland and Grand Rapids, Michigan has retained a high concentration ofDutch Americans.

THE OTHER TWO DUTCH NEW IMMIGRANT GROUPS

The other famous leader of Dutch immigration to the American Midwest is HendrikScholte. He and his followers followed the Van Raalte group a year later, in 1847.Scholtes group decided not to compete with Van Raalte, and he took his followers tocentral Iowa, where they settled in a town which they named Pella. Scholte was also aminister in the Dutch Reformed Church, as was Van Raalte, and that probably explainedwhy Reverend Scholte preferred to strike out on his own. Scholte also had a lot morefinancial resources at his disposal. He had inherited a small fortune from the sale of hisfamilys manufacturing business, and was able to move to a more established area.

Whereas the members of the Scholte group were probably financially not much better offthan the members of the Van Raalte group, Scholte personally had enough financialresources to not only live well himself but also to provide aid to his followers, at least tosome degree. Scholte did not accompany his group during their Atlantic crossing in asailing ship. He travelled in style with his family on a steam ship named Caledonia.Scholtes Atlantic voyage took only 13 days. The sailing voyage of the Scholte groupmembers took over 60 days. During their spring voyage the four sailing ships theytravelled on encountered a violent Atlantic storm, which fortunately all four shipssurvived. The four ships were named, Nagasaki, Pieter Floris, Catherina Jackson,and Maasstroom. The Scholte group was also much larger than Van Raaltes group,numbering 850 immigrants.

Upon the Scholte groups arrival in Baltimore, Maryland in late May and early June,1847, they travelled by road, railway, and Ohio River steamer to St. Louis, Missouri,


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where they settled temporarily. The leaders of the group, led by Scholte, then travelled tocentral Iowa, where they purchased 18,000 acres of land for $1.25 per acre, and thencontracted with a contractor to have log cabins built on the purchased land for the settlers.

The entire group of 850 souls arrived in what is now Pella, Iowa, at the end of August

1847, and found that the log cabins had not been built. So the settlers dug holes in theground and built temporary shelters from whatever materials they could find. So the firstwinter for the Iowa settlers must not have been a pleasant one. But the group survivedand the log cabins were eventually built, and the group prospered, after the initial difficultyears.

Scholte, with his financial resources, was able to purchase an existing log cabin upon hisarrival. Scholtes family lived in the log cabin until their house was built, a house whichapparently was substantial. The house has remained until this day, and is currently amonument to the original settlement in Pella, Iowa.

THE WISCONSIN GROUP OF DUTCH IMMIGRANTS

The third of the 1840s Dutch immigration leaders was Reverend Theodore Van DenBroek, a Roman Catholic priest. He was the leader of a group of Dutch settlers to theUnited States in 1848. Reverend Van Den Broek had arrived in the United States in 1833,when he was sent over to be a missionary. Initially he was assigned to churches inKentucky and Ohio. But he apparently did not like the challenge of being a missionary indeveloped communities, and asked to be transferred to a more remote location so hecould minister to the American Indians. He got his wish and was transferred to the areaaround Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1834, apparently only one year following his arrival inthe United States. Initially, he served the small church in Green Bay, Wisconsin, wherehe also was able to minister to the local Indians.

In 1836, he was transferred to Little Chute, Wisconsin where he was able to serve theIndians not only in terms of spiritual help but also in terms of education. Within twoyears of his arrival, he built a log cabin church for church services as well as for schoolclasses. For the next several years he continued his missionary services in Wisconsin,serving several communities in Fort Winnebago, Fond Du Lac, Prairie Du Chien, andCalumet, among others.

During the late 1840s, economic conditions in Van Den Broeks native country hadworsened. The economic depression was taking its toll. In 1847, he was able to find apriest to take his position in his parishes, and he traveled back to his home land. While inthe Netherlands he advertised for people willing to immigrate to Wisconsin under hisleadership. There apparently was considerable demand, and in 1848, he was able to returnto his adopted land with three shiploads of Dutch settlers. The entire group of immigrantssettled in the areas around the communities of Little Chute, Holland Town, and GreenBay and other locales in Wisconsin. To this day, the people living in the areas aroundthose three communities are known for their strong Dutch American ties.


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Reverend Van Den Broek, as did his counter parts, Reverend Van Raalte and ReverendScholte, provided enormous assistance, both in terms of social and spiritual support, forthe new immigrants. To this day the three pioneer founders of the respective communitiesin Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin are still revered for what they were able to do for the

ancestors of the present day population of these three Dutch American communities.

The two waves of immigration from the Netherlands during the last four centuries hasgenerated a Dutch American population now numbering at least 5.5 million and perhapscloser to 10 million members. The strongest association with the Dutch nationality isprobably held by the Michigan Dutch centered in Holland, Michigan and in GrandRapids, Michigan, and by the Iowa Dutch centered in Pella, Iowa and Sioux Center,Iowa. But among the old Dutch there is still a fairly strong association with the Dutchnationality as shown by the several Dutch American associations still active today.

There also is a strong presence of Dutch Americans in the greater Los Angeles,

California, area, made up largely of first generation Dutch immigrants. Then there areconcentrations of Dutch Americans in a number of communities across the country. Oneof the stronger communities is probably Lynden, Washington. But then there is alsoClymer, New York, the Wisconsin communities discussed above, and the DutchAmericans of Chicago, consisting of quite a large number. If there are others Ioverlooked, please accept my apologies.

REFERENCES

References for the above material will follow in the subsequent chapters


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DUTCH AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS

CHAPTER 2

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK

The book covers contributions by Dutch Americans to a variety of economic relatedactivities and organizations and therefore considerable thought went into the organizationof the material. The order of presentation the author arrived at may not necessarily be theoptimal one, but it provides a reasonable coherent organization of the material. As aresult the book is organized in a variety of themes that provides a reasonable flow toguide the reader through the book. The theme grouping also allows the reader to jumpfrom one theme to another without missing the overall gist of the book. In other words

the book does not need to be read in sequential chapter order. It can be enjoyed byreading it in any order the reader decides.

The material covered in the seven themes will be summarized below. But first the orderof the themes will be presented. They are:

I. The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

II. Transportation Pioneers

III. Industrial Development

IV. Infrastructure Development

V. Merchandising and Service Delivery

VI. Innovation and Development

VII. Culture and Education

The summaries of the seven themes follow below.

THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

The three chapters under this theme describe New Netherland which officially was aprovince of the Netherlands from about 1624 until the British took it over in 1664. At thattime New Netherland included most of eastern New York State and parts ofPennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Delaware. The period duringwhich a part of North America was officially and legally a Dutch province was rather


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brief, lasting only for a brief period of 40 years. But during this 40 year period thegeographic area that now comprises New York City, including its surroundings, and thelands along the Hudson River to Albany, New York, as well as the rural areas around thepresent Albany, were developed and populated by European settlers. When the Britishtook control of this area, in 1664, the designation of the area as New Netherland did not

disappear. It remained New Netherland, initially in the eyes of the local citizens, but laterthe area was officially designated as New Netherland, a fact that not many members ofthe current population are aware of.

New Netherland, as a province of the Netherlands, had as many as six directors, and threeinterim directors, who only served as temporary replacements. The term director-generalis also used to designate the title of the directors. In this book the term director will beused. During the first few years of the New Netherland colony, most of the governingactivities in the new province were located in New Amsterdam. But even there thegoverning activities were minimal.

The first directors of New Netherland, appointed by the Dutch West India Company[DWIC], and approved by the States General in the Netherlands, were not of high status,or were given the job in addition to other responsibilities. As a matter of fact, the firstdirector was Cornelis Mey, whose primary job was serving as a captain of an explorationship. It was Captain Mey who did exploration work along the New Jersey coast, and as aresult of his explorations, Cape May was named after him. As a director of the NewNetherland province, Mey only served for one year, from 1624 to 1625.

Willem Verhulst took over as director of New Netherland in 1625, but his performancewas apparently deemed unsatisfactory. He was replaced in 1626, after only one year inthe job, by Peter Minuit. Peter Minuit became famous for buying the island of Manhattanfrom the Indians for about $24. But Minuits performance as a director apparently wasalso superior to his predecessors, and he remained a director of the new colony for sixyears until 1632.

In 1633, after one year under the direction of an interim director, the new director,Wouter Van Twiller, arrived in New Amsterdam to take over command of the NewNetherland province. Van Twiller remained the director of the colony until 1638. Heserved for a period of five years. Director Willem Kieft arrived in 1638, but because ofhis inability to get along with the Indians was sacked in 1647. The last and sixth director,and also the more famous of all six directors, was Director Petrus Stuyvesant, also knownas Peter Stuyvesant. He served as director of the province from 1647 until 1664, when theBritish took over.

The next chapter under this theme is Rensselaerswyck and New Netherland.Rensselaerswyck was a large estate comprising all or part of three counties adjacent towhat is currently Albany, New York. It was established by Killian Van Rensselaer afterhe became the first patroon of Rensselaerswyck in 1630. Rensselaerswijck was apatroonship, which was established by the Dutch West India Company, [DWIC] tomanage the settlement of immigrants on the lands that comprised New Netherland.


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Patroons were granted large sections of land by the States General, or its agent, theDWIC. By accepting the land grant, the patroons were responsible to recruit immigrants,transport them to the patroonship, and then support them to become sharecroppers on thelands. Van Rensselaer, who was also a director of the DWIC, had proposed thepatroonship concept, and his patroonship proposal was accepted by the DWIC.

The patroonship concept has been criticized as a get rich quick scheme for the patroonswho became big landholders. But the patroonships were necessary because at that time itwas the only way to provide incentives to settle on the lands. Immigrants could not affordto come over on their own. They were not able to afford the transportation cost to the newlands, and after they landed, they needed support to become established. But even if theyhad the resources, there was no place for them to go and settle. Even if they managed toget to their destination, they were well aware that they would be infringing on Indianterritories, and the Indians did not always welcome intruders.

So as a result the idea of the patroonship was one way to attract potential immigrants. In

the early years of Rensselaerswyck, the growth was minimal. In 1642, twelve years afterthe first settlers had arrived, the Rensselaerswyck population had grown to only abouttwo hundred settlers, and most of them were congregated around Fort Orange, in presentday Albany. Even at that time, the new settlers were afraid to live by themselves for fearof attack by the Indians.

In the long run, the patroonship plan for Rensselaerswyck worked magnificently and thedescendants of Killian Van Rensselaer became extremely wealthy, because over time thevalue of the lands that their ancestor had acquired through a land grant, had increasedenormously in value. Also the patroonship system allowed people of minimal means tocome and settle and begin a new life. Not all patroonships worked out. Several othersfailed.

The third chapter covers the Van Cortlandts. The Van Cortlandts were another DutchAmerican family that became enormously wealthy but not through patroonships. The firstVan Cortlandt was Oloff Van Cortlandt, who had arrived in New Amsterdam as anemployee of the DWIC. The DWIC essentially was the agent for the Dutch governmentto run the colony of New Amsterdam. So when Oloff Van Cortlandt arrived in NewAmsterdam, in its early years, he was a DWIC employee. Shortly after his arrival, OloffVan Cortlandt became the collector of tariffs for the DWIC, which then was essentiallythe government agency governing the New Amsterdam colony. Tariffs were the mainsource of government income, and as such Oloff Van Cortlandt was essentially thecolonys tax collector.

Apparently Oloff became successful as a tax collector, and as a result was compensatedwell. He was able to build up enough assets to start a business, which eventually grewinto a number of businesses in such fields as manufacturing, beer brewing, construction,real estate and transportation. Oloff Van Cortlandt became one of the wealthiest residentsof the New Amsterdam colony. And after the colony was taken over by the British, hecontinued to prosper in his business activities. Two of his sons became mayors of New


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York City. So clearly the Van Cortlandts were well wired into the political as well asbusiness networks in the commerce capital of the new world.

Later generations of the Van Cortlandts became involved in land speculation as well as inland ownership. As a result, the Van Cortlandts became even larger land owners than the

Van Rensselaers, but the Van Cortlandt lands were apparently not acquired throughpatroonships. The family name of Cortlandt is imprinted on two communities in NewYork State. The two communities are the town of Cortland in Westchester County andthe city of Cortlandt in central New York State, south of Syracuse.

So the descendants of the people who originally founded New Netherland, an originalprovince of the Netherlands, not only played a major role in the development of NewYork City, but also contributed to the development and growth of the remainder of NewYork State. The region around Albany, New York, still bears many names that can betraced back to the patroonship of Rensselaerswyck. And in and around New York Citythere are many names that were associated with the original New Amsterdam.

TRANSPORTATION PIONEERS

The first major infrastructure development of the newly independent United States wasthe construction of the Erie Canal. The project took nine years to complete, and stretched363 miles from Lake Erie, at Buffalo, to the Hudson River at Albany. It required a lot ofdigging and earth moving, but also a lot of construction. A total of 83 locks and 18aqueducts were constructed. The locks were necessary to take the canal boats from oneelevation to another. The Appalachian mountain chain had to be traversed, and the 600+feet drop between Lake Erie and the Hudson River had to be surmounted for the shipsgoing west. The canal construction project was started on July 4, 1817 and wascompleted in October 1826.

The major driving force behind the eventual building of the Erie Canal was DeWittClinton. He became the Erie Canal Commissioner in 1808, having been appointed by theNew York State Legislature. Two years prior to the appointment, the New York StateLegislature had authorized and provided funding for a survey for the construction of thecanal. The idea of a canal linking Lake Erie and the Hudson River had been around sincethe early 1790s. But lack of money and interest by the New York State Legislature hadnot moved the idea forward until the 1808 Erie Canal survey funding decision. DeWittClinton, as Erie Canal Commissioner, moved the idea forward and eventually convincedthe New York State Legislature to provide funding for the canal construction start in1817.

The original Erie Canal was critically referred to as Clintons Ditch during the diggingphase and following its construction. Literally speaking it was not much larger than aditch. It was only four feet deep and 40 feet wide. But it was able to accommodate loadedflat bottom canal boats up to 75 tons. The economic impact was dramatic. Freight ratesbetween Buffalo and New York City dropped from $110 per ton for road transportation


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to $10 per ton for canal transportation. It also made New York City the largest port on theeastern seaboard easily surpassing Boston, the previous leader.

The Erie Canal was extremely successful. The canal tolls were able to repay the cost ofthe canal in 9 years. And in 1836, only ten years following its opening, the canal was

expanded and modernized so that it could accommodate canal boats up to 240 tons. TheErie Canal also opened up the American Midwest, especially the states of Ohio,Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. The low cost transportation made it more profitable togrow grains for the eastern seaboard markets, and agriculture in the Midwest boomed as aresult of the low cost transportation the Erie Canal provided.

The Vanderbilts, and especially the senior Vanderbilt, Cornelius, also dubbedCommodore Vanderbilt, were the pioneers in the development of low cost and highquality water transportation on the eastern seaboard, but also in long distance seatransportation. Later, the Vanderbilts sold off their water transportation assets andbecame the pioneers in the development of rail transportation.

Cornelius Vanderbilt started his first water transportation venture by providing passengerand freight transportation in the lower Manhattan and Staten Island areas. He becamesuccessful because he provided transportation at lower cost and with better or at leastequal quality of his competitors.

Over time Vanderbilt continued to explore other passenger and freight operations andeventually became the dominant provider of ferry and riverboat transportation on theHudson River, in Long Island Sound, and eventually along the entire eastern seaboard.He continued to use the business format that initially made him successful. He waswilling to take on almost any competitor and then competed on the basis of price andquality of service. To be able to do that one must also be an extremely able manager. Andapparently Cornelius Vanderbilt knew the business he was in and was able to competevery successfully.

When Vanderbilt expanded to sea transportation, he focused on the New York City toSan Francisco market. This market was very lucrative during the California gold rush.Again Vanderbilt was able to compete successfully on price and service, and in additionon speed. By the 1840s, Vanderbilts shipping fleet had grown to over 100 steamships,and the company became the biggest employer in the United States.

By the 1860s Vanderbilt became aware that the future in transportation was in therailroads. About that same time his son William Henry Vanderbilt joined him inmanaging the railtoad business. The Vanderbilts went after existing weak railroads andacquired them, and then developed and modernized them. Within five years of theirdecision to go into the railroad business they made $25 million in the railroad business.The founder, Cornelius Vanderbilt passed away in 1877. His son William also had toretire early, in 1883, because of ill health. But by that time the Vanderbilt railroad systemconsisted of ten railroads, including the New York Central Railway system, a sleepingcar company and the Hudson River Bridge.


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The two freight transportation pioneers were Martin Bekins and Henry Jansen. MartinBekins founded Bekins Van Lines, prominent movers and shippers all through the UnitedStates and Canada. Martin Bekins started a local moving company in Sioux City, Iowa in1891. In addition to local household moving using horse and wagons, he developed the

system of national moving household goods by using the railways for long distancetransport and local movers for delivery and pickup at local destinations. As highwaysystems developed the moving business eventually moved to all-truck transportation. Atthe present time the Bekins Company is still active in moving but it also has moved intothe business of providing complex logistics services to American and Canadian industry.

Lynden Transport was founded by Henry Jansen during the 1940s in Lynden,Washington. Initially his transportation business was focused on milk hauling by tankertrucks from the dairy farms to the milk processing plants. During the 1950s, after theupgrading of the Alaska Highway, also called the Alcan Highway, from Alberta toAlaska, he decided to go into the trucking business between the lower 48 states and

Alaska.

The trucking business, operated by Lynden Transport from the lower 48 states to Alaskawas successful and when Alaska was hit by a major earthquake in 1964, LyndenTransport was able to supply the necessary supplies and services quickly. In the early1970s work was started on the Alaska oil pipeline, and again Lynden Transport becamea major supplier to the contractors on the pipeline. Along the way Lynden Transportexpanded to sea transportation to reach some of the Alaskan territories that were notaccessible by land transportation. And eventually, Lynden Transport went in the airtransportation business supplying both their Alaskan customers and the Americanmilitary where ever the military called for air transportation.

At the present time Lynden Transport has over 1500 employees and consists of 12subsidiaries serving the transportation needs of Alaska but also the needs of some of theiroriginal customers, including the dairy farms near Lynden, Washington.

The final transportation pioneers are the air transportation pioneers and developers. Themost famous of the two is Anthony Fokker, who singlehandedly developed the airplaneindustry during the early airplane building period in the 1910s. Fokkers planes flew inthe First World War, and continued to be operational well past the Second World War.He initially started building planes in Germany, then following the First World War, hemoved back to the Netherlands, and eventually to the United States.

Following Fokkers early death in the 1930s, his planes continued to be built. The lastcompany that carried his name was Fokker Aircraft of the Netherlands which initiallybuilt a twin engine propeller driven jet and then went into production of a pure twin jetseating about 100 people. Unfortunately the competition drove the company intobankruptcy in the 1990s, and it ceased to exist. Its planes are currently still flying.


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The other air transportation pioneer is of a later era than Fokker. His name is DavidNeeleman, who was the founder of Jet Blue, the upscale but low cost passenger air travelprovider. Neelemans concept of an upscale but low cost air transportation providerappeared to work well initially. But then a winter weather problem at Jet Blues majorhub, JFK Airport in New York, created an enormous delay and bottleneck.

The way Jet Blue handled the delays and the bottleneck created an enormous amount ofbad publicity which forced the company to enter into a major and costly promotioncampaign in order to alleviate the bad publicity. Eventually the company recovered butNeeleman was asked to step down from his top leadership position. The overall conceptof Jet Blue appeared to be sound. The problem was that there were no plans in place tohandle a major weather catastrophe such as they encountered during that winter snowstorm.

This concludes the four transportation stories of Dutch Americans during the period fromthe early 1800s to the present. The two most impressive transportation feats were the

eventual building of the Erie Canal, and later in the nineteenth century the developmentof sea and rail transportation by the two Vanderbilt, Cornelius and his son WilliamHenry.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

Of all the Dutch Americans covered in this book, the most successful contemporaryentrepreneurs must be the Koch brothers. The Koch brothers are Charles, David andWilliam Koch. The three Koch brothers are the grandchildren of a first generation DutchAmerican, Harry Koch. Harry Koch arrived in Quana, Texas in 1888. Harry wasmodestly successful as a publisher and printer in the small frontier town of Quana. Thelocal paper that he founded there over 100 years ago is still being published today, albeitfollowing a merger with another local competing paper. Harry did well enough that hewas able to send his son Frederick Koch for his higher education to the quality RiceInstitute, currently Rice University, in Houston, Texas.

Frederick Koch became interested in chemical engineering while at Rice, and while therefound out that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] was going to offer aprogram specializing in chemical engineering. Frederick forthwith transferred to MIT,and earned his B. S. degree in chemical engineering from MIT. Following graduation,Frederick went to work for an engineering firm, providing advisory services to the oilindustry. After acquiring enough practical experience, during the 1930s, he opened hisown engineering advisory firm, and developed a more efficient way to refine crude oil.Since the major oil firms already had their oil refining systems in place, they refused tohave anything to do with Frederick Kochs new more efficient oil refining method.

Frederick Koch did not capitulate but found out that the Russians were interested in hisnew refining method, and he ended up spending the next several years in Soviet Russia,


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developing Russian refineries. Eventually he became appalled by the Soviet system,which mistreated its own people and he returned to the United States. He then went intothe oil business himself, largely as a small oil refiner and as a provider of oil fieldservices. As his sons grew older, they all decided to follow in his foot steps, and each oneended up going to MIT, studying chemical engineering and graduating with chemical

engineering degrees, and some even with graduate degrees.

The three sons of Frederick Koch all went into technical and management consultingactivities following their higher education. And as the father, Frederick, grew older, andless well, the three sons joined the Koch family business in the oil industry. Followingthe fathers death, the Koch firm continued to expand. One of the sons, William left thefirm and decided to start out on his own. But Charles and David decided to stay in thefamily business and developed it into what is today the largest family owned business inthe United States, with about $100 billion in annual revenues. William developed his ownoil servicing firm and his business has also grown to substantial size. Each one of thethree brothers who followed their father in the oil business is a billionaire according to

Forbes Annual Billionaire Survey.

The three Midwest manufacturers described below are a little more modest in size whencompared with the Koch Brothers multi-billion dollar empire. Two of the three firms arein Iowa, and the third one was in Michigan. The two Iowa firms are Pella Windows,founded by Peter and Lucille Kuyper in Pella, Iowa, and Vermeer Manufacturing,founded by Gary Vermeer, also of Pella, Iowa. The third firm is Prince Manufacturing ofHolland, Michigan. The Prince firm is the youngest of the three firms, having beenfounded in 1965. It was founded by Edgar Prince, and grew into an automotive partssupplier. Upon Edgar Princes death the firm was sold to Johnson Controls, also a largeautomotive parts supplier.

The oldest of the three firms is Pella Windows. It was founded in 1925, and has growninto one of the largest window and door unit suppliers for the home building and homemaintenance industries. Pella Windows focuses on quality construction. VermeerManufacturing was founded in 1948. It began with manufacturing and sales of amechanism to allow farm wagons to dump their load in the same way as a dump truck.The idea was simple but was quite timely, and on the basis of that initial product VermeerManufacturing has developed into a major developer, builder and supplier of farm andconstruction machinery.

Prince Manufacturing began as a die cast machine manufacturing firm. The firm becamesuccessful with their die cast machines and then developed into a major automobile partsmanufacturing firm. It became and still is the largest manufacturer in Holland, Michigan.The son of Edgar Prince is currently the owner and president of Black WaterCorporation, the firm with the huge federal government contract to provide protectiveservices in Iraq for the United States State Department.

From the above we can see that small firms with the right products and propermanagement can grow quite large, become quite profitable and successful. The Koch


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Brothers were especially successful by being able to grow a modest size oil services andrefining firm into the gigantic Koch Industries firm of today. The fact that they were inthe right industry during their period of growth probably helped them to quite an extent.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

In this category there is only one firm, the Kiewit Corporation, one of the largestconstruction companies in the United States, and probably in the world. The origins ofthe Kiewit Corporation go back to the 1880s, when Pieter and Andrew Kiewit foundedthe firm as a local construction firm in Omaha, Nebraska. Andrew Kiewit left thepartnership in the 1890s and Pieter Kiewit continued on his own. During its earlyexistence the Kiewit firm remained a small local contracting firm. The economic healthof the country was not strong during the last years of the nineteenth century.

In 1912, two of the older children of Peter Kiewit joined the firm and the firm was

renamed Peter Kiewit and Sons. After the founder, Peter Kiewit passed away in 1914, thetwo sons renamed the firm and it became Peter Kiewit Sons. The Kiewit firm got its firstmajor contract in 1924, when it was successful in its bidding for its first million dollarcontract. The contract was for the construction of the 10-story Livestock ExchangeBuilding in Omaha, Nebraska. Shortly thereafter the firm was successful in its biddingfor the building of Nebraskas State Capitol Tower, the Joslyn Art Museum and UnionStation, all in Omaha, Nebraska.

During the depression of the 1930s, the Kiewit firm went through a difficult period butmanaged to stay intact. In the 1940s, the war effort began to build and the KiewitCorporation became one of the major builders for war time construction, building notonly buildings but also air fields, military bases and even a bomber plant. While doingwork in Wyoming, the firm also became involved in coal mining.

Following the Second World War, the Kiewit Corporation became involved with thebuilding of the United States Air Force Base in Thule, Greenland, for the Distant EarlyWarning Line. In 1952, the Kiewit Corporation was selected to build the $1.2 billionGaseous diffusion Plant at Portsmouth, Ohio. And during the Eisenhower Administrationthe Kiewit Corporation became involved in the construction of the interstate highwaysystem, building more lane-miles than any other contractor.

During the past several decades, the Kiewit Corporation has remained one of the largestinfrastructure constructors in the world. It is still quite active today. During its time inoperation the firm has retained the Peter Kiewit name, and appropriately so. The originalfounder, Peter Kiewit lived from 1850 to 1914. His youngest son, also named PeterKiewit lived from 1900 to 1979. Both devoted most of their lives to the firm, and the firmproudly carries their name to this day.

MERCHANDISING AND SERVICE DELIVERY


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The first chapter in this section covers the two Michigan merchandisers consisting of theMeijer Super Center Chain, and the Amway Corporation. The former was founded and isstill owned and managed by the Meijer family. The latter was founded and is currentlystill managed by the Van Andel and DeVos families. The one thing that both

merchandising firms have in common is the fact that they were both started as familyfirms and are still so today. The Meijer firm was started in 1934, as a small local grocerystore, and over time has grown into a large regional retailer using the medium of supercenters to sell their merchandise. The Van Andel and the DeVos firm is the Amway orAlticor Corporation which markets its products through middlemen called dealers.

The Meijer firm is involved in mass merchandising based on the Walmart and Targetmodels. As a matter of fact, the Meijer firm introduced the concept of the super centerstore or also called hyper market. Although the firm was the originator of the super centerstore idea, the Meijer firm is much smaller and is a regional firm, as opposed to theirnational and international competitors. The Meijer super center chain sells its products

through over 180 stores. Its stores are located in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentuckyand Ohio. So it is definitely a regional chain with its limitations on size, but it is probablymore manageable if specific problems develop. Since it is a private firm, its sales figuresare not available, but are estimated to range from $15 billion to $20 billion annually.

The two other families, the Van Andel and the DeVos families are the principals in theAmway Corporation, now known as the Alticor Corporation. The firm was founded byJay Van Andel, now passed away, and Richard DeVos, Sr., in 1959. The firm sellshousehold and personal care products through multiple levels of dealerships. WhereasMeijer has remained strictly a regional company, the Alticor Corporation has become aninternational merchandising giant selling their products in Canada and China as theirbiggest outlets, but also in Japan, Australia and in some of the European countries.

The other two developers, merchandisers and service providers are Huizenga and Astor.Astor is the oldest, having passed away in 1912, well before Huizenga was born. So interms of age the two have nothing in common. Astor was largely a real estate developerand manager, and most of his properties were centered in New York City. He did notdevelop his fortune, as it was inherited. But he managed it wisely. Huizenga is adeveloper and builder of companies, specialized in the service and merchandisingindustries. As a result Huizenga is much more diversified than Astor. What they have incommon is the fact that they were both enormously successful.

Astor is best known for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which he built in cooperation with hiscousin who bore the name of Waldorf. Each owned a hotel on Park Avenue in New YorkCity, and the two hotels were next to each other, and competed against each other. Sothey came to an agreement to join the buildings and form one hotel which they named theWaldorf Astoria Hotel. The merger took place sometimes around the turn of the century.The present Waldorf Astoria is a newer hotel which was built in the 1930s on the site ofthe original Waldorf Astoria Hotel.


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The other claim to fame John Astor has is the fact that he perished in the sinking of theTitanic in 1912. He was still quite young, in his forties, when he ended up being leftbehind on the Titanic, and drowned after the sinking of the ship. His new wife who waspregnant at the time survived and left him a son posthumously. The sons name wasappropriately also John Astor. During the hours preceding the sinking, John Astor was

convinced that the Titanic was unsinkable, and he tried to convince his wife and servantsof that. Unfortunately for him, he was incorrect.

Wayne Huizenga was a builder of companies. The first company he built was WasteManagement. The company even today is the nations largest waste hauler and wastemanager. He built Waste Management up from his own small waste hauling firm into aninternational waste management giant. He then sold the firm and began to focus on hisnext project. His next project was in the movie rental business. He followed the samemodel as he had used for building waste management, and build a company namedBlockbuster Entertainment into an international giant in movie rentals. As he wasinvolved in the two projects above, he also consolidated automobile dealerships into the

national automobile retail chain, Autonation.

Following the above three successes, Huizenga built up a hotel chain, named ExtendedStay America. He used a little different format for growth of the hotel chain, and built thechain by building the individual hotels. In all company development cases, he was notinterested in managing the firms, and usually quickly sold most of his properties, or atleast the majority ownership in the properties. And also along the way, he built up a smallscale competitor for Waste Management, named Republic Services. In recent years hehas become interested in owning sports teams, largely in the Miami market. At one timehe held the three major sports franchises in the Miami market consisting of the MiamiDolphins, The Florida Panthers and the Miami Marlins, Miamis baseball team.

From the above descriptions of the successful entrepreneurs one can see that theAmerican economy provides many opportunities to become a successful entrepreneur. Tobe sure all of the above, except for Huizenga, were able to continue the development oftheir enterprises with a foundation provided through inherited organizations. But in eachcase all of the entrepreneurs above added substantially to what was left to them by theirrespective ancestors.

INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

In this section we will cover what eight inventors and developers accomplished duringtheir respective productive life times. The first three are innovators for the consumermarkets. They are Van Camp known for Van Camps pork and beans, Scheepers knownfor the Dutch tulip bulb imports, appreciation and distribution in the United States, andPeet known for introducing the American market to the quality coffee bean, and itsresultant output, the quality cup of coffee.


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The next two innovators are inventors and developers of products in the electrical andelectronic product markets. They are Thomas Edison and Lee De Forest. Edison is bestknown as the developer of the electric light bulb and the developer of electric powerdistribution to provide the electricity for the light bulb. De Forest was the inventor anddeveloper of an electron tube which allowed wider transmission of electronic signals for

electronic radio communication.

The third group of inventors and developers were Kolff, Noorda and Schoemaker. Kolffis the father of the development of artificial organs, and in particular the inventor anddeveloper of the artificial kidney. He also established the first blood bank in Europe andlocated in the Netherlands. Noorda is considered to be the father of network computing,and also developed a large network technology firm, at one time employing as many as12,000 people. Schoemaker was the co-founder of one of the first successfulbiotechnology firms, a firm that was eventually acquired by Johnson and Johnson forclose to $5 billion.

Gilbert Van Camp was one of the first persons to develop the sealed metal can for storingand preserving foods over long periods of time without requiring salt or freezing. At thetime, around the 1860s, Van Camp developed the sealed metal can, freezing was not anoption. However, certain foods, including meats, could be preserved through storage inhighly salted liquids. The ubiquitous metal can has survived until this day, and is noweven widely used for storing and preserving liquids such as beer and soft drinks.

John Scheepers is known for promoting, growing and importing the tulip bulb into NorthAmerica. He promoted the bulb through the use of horticultural societies, tulip festivals,extensive use of flowering bulb displays at national and international exhibitions, andgarden clubs. Along the way he became a grower and distributor of tulip and other flowerbulbs through his company, John Scheepers, Inc., a company that is still active today intulip bulb distribution.

Alfred Peet grew up in a family that owned a gourmet coffee and tea distributioncompany in the Netherlands. As a result he became an expert in quality coffees and teaswhile still a young man. Following the Second World War he moved to the United States,and was appalled that you could not find a gourmet coffee shop anywhere. So he openedhis first gourmet coffee bean and coffee shop in Berkeley, California during the 1960s.His business became successful and he soon expanded to a second coffee shop in the SanFrancisco Bay area.

About that same time gourmet coffees became fashionable in the Seattle, Washingtonarea. Starbucks heard about the Peet operation in Berkeley, and sent some of their peopleto train under Peet in the selection and brewing of gourmet coffees. Starbucks growth ishistory. A corporation named Peets Coffee and Tea was founded in the San FranciscoBay area, where it currently dominates the gourmet coffee market.


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The most famous American inventor and developer is undoubtedly Thomas Alva Edison.He did not invent the light bulb, but he developed it to the point where it could be usedeconomically. He then also developed distribution systems to distribute the electricity tolight the light bulbs. Edison then developed his Menlo Park Research Laboratory into anelectronic and electrical technology development operation. Numerous inventions and

developments took place in the laboratory during his life time. Edison became the holderof over 1000 United States patents during his life time, plus many more in the UnitedKingdom, France and Germany.

Lee De Forest had the benefit of an extensive and thorough education in electronics andelectrical technology. He had both B. S. and Ph. D. degrees from Yale University inelectrical engineering. Following graduation he went to work for Western Electric butonly stayed there for two years. He then started his own company which he called the DeForest Radio Company. Within two years, in 1904, he received a gold medal for hisscientific electronic contributions at the Chicago World Fair. One of De Forests majorcontributions was the Audion vacuum tube used in radio voice transmission. It was a

triode vacuum tube as opposed to diode vacuum tubes which then had been in use. Thetriode vacuum tube was a major advance and improved radio signal transmissionenormously.

Willem Kolff was a medical doctor who practiced medicine in the Netherlands during theSecond World War. He was instrumental in starting the first blood bank in the townwhere he was practicing medicine. It was not only the first blood bank in the Netherlands,but also in all of Europe. After he moved to the United States following the SecondWorld War, he became involved in the development of artificial organs, including theartificial kidney. Later he became also actively involved in the artificial heart. Dr. Jarvikdeveloped and built the first artificial heart using Kolffs principles.

Ray Noorda was a second generation Dutch immigrant. Noorda worked most of hisproductive life for General Electric and for a number of California electronic firms. In theearly 1980s when he was nearly 60 years old, he took over a struggling softwaredevelopment firm by the name of Novell. He was able to revive the firm and steer it inthe direction of network computing. During the next 12 years the firm grew to over12,000 employees, focusing on network computing. During the following 12 years thefirm struggled to survive in what had become a highly competitive environment. Noordaleft Novell in 1994, when he started up another firm in the computing field.Unfortunately, Noorda became incapacitated and had to turn over the management of thefirm to his children.

The last of the innovators and developers is Hubert Schoemaker. He was a firstgeneration immigrant, and came to the United States as a college student. He studiedchemistry and graduated from Notre Dame with a B. S. degree in chemistry. He thenenrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to do graduate work. He graduatedwith a Ph. D. degree in biochemistry from there. Some time following his graduation, hebecame one of the three co-founders of Centocor Incorporated, a biotechnology firm,


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located in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Centocor became one of the greatsuccesses in developing therapeutic biotechnology products for the treatment of diseases.

In 1999, Johnson and Johnson acquired Centocor for $4.9 billion. Schoemaker then usedhis share of the proceeds from the sale of Centocor to establish a development stage

biopharmaceutical company, named Neuronyx, Incorporated. Unfortunately, Schoemakerbecame a cancer victim himself in 1994, a disease that caused his early death in 2006, atthe rather young age of 54.

The eight inventors, developers and pioneers described above clearly made collectivelyan enormous contribution to the world in which they grew up. Although the enormity ofeach individuals contribution varies considerably, each one deserves to be recognized forwhat he has contributed. We shall let the future decide which one of the individuals madethe greatest contribution to society.

CULTURE AND EDUCATION

In this last section of the book we shall review the contributions to American society bytwelve individuals in the fields of education, entertainment and culture in general. Thefirst group consists of the directors and producers in the American movie industry. Theircontributions occurred over a time period covering nearly a century. The four individualsare DeMille, Zanuck, Eastwood and Verhoeven. Each one has contributed in the area ofdirection and production. But Eastwood also has made significant contributions as anactor.

The second group consists of the modern music producers and performers. Their music isperformed with the assistance of a band. As a result the band is usually intertwined withthe performance of the individual. The two principals are Eddie Van Halen and the VanHalen Band, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

The third group consists of the religious book publishers. They are also producers, but notperformers. On the other hand they are very much involved in the diffusion of culture, thematerial used in religious culture in this case. The four publishers are Zondervan ofZondervan Publishing, Eerdmans of Eerdmans Publishing, Baker of Baker Book Houseand Kregel of Kregel Publishing.

The fourth and last group consists of four education promoters whose family names,through philanthropy to higher educational institutions, became attached to theeducational institutions they supported. The four promoters are Van Rensselaer and theRensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, Vanderbilt and VanderbiltUniversity in Nashville, Tennessee, Rutgers and Rutgers University in Brunswick, New


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Jersey, and last but not least Hofstra and Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island,New York.

The most prolific movie director and producer is probably Cecil B. DeMille. Heproduced 83 films and directed 90 films during his film making career. He began his

directing-producing career at the early stages of the movie production era, so the numbersof films may be inflated, because the early films were usually quite brief. The mostprolific producer of films was definitely Darryl Zanuck, even surpassing De Mille.Zanuck produced over 200 films during his film making career. Zanuck was, however,not a film director.

The remaining two producer-directors are Clint Eastwood and Paul Verhoeven.Eastwoods movie career was largely in acting. Later in his career, he became involved inboth producing and directing. And he received considerable recognition for his directing,even more so than for his acting. Verhoevens film career began in his native theNetherlands. He initially directed a number of Dutch movies and television productions.

Only later in his career did he come to Hollywood. Verhoevens film directing andproducing career is definitely not as extensive as DeMilles or Zanucks.

The two modern music producers, Eddie Van Halen and Bruce Springsteen arecontemporaries. Both started their professional music careers in the 1970s. Springsteenis linked with the E Street Band and Van Halen is linked with the Van Halen Band.Springsteen is probably more vocally oriented, whereas Van Halens music is all centeredaround his guitar. Also the Van Halen Band definitely falls in the Rock and Rollcategory. It is not clear if the E Street Band and Springsteen would appreciate their bandto be designated as a Rock and Roll Band. Both bands and their respective mainperformers were still active as of the late 2007s and early 2008s. Given that both startedin the 1970s indicates that the two performers have strong durability. And it appears thatthey probably both will be around for a number of years into the future.

The religious book publishers are all geographically headquartered in the same location,Grand Rapids, Michigan. They were all started by essentially two families, including theEerdmans, who then produced the Zondervans, and the Kregels who then produced theBakers. In other words, Pat Zondervan worked for his uncle William Eerdmans, and thenleft and started his own publishing house, which became Zondervan Publishing. Andseparately, Herman Baker worked for his uncle Louis Kregel, and then left and started hisown publishing

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