Randall P. Vande Water

Holland: the Tulip Town (Mi) (Images of America) Randall P. Vande Water

On April 26, 1927, Lida Rogers, a Holland High School biology teacher, suggested an idea to members of the Holland, Michigan Womenís Literary Club. The idea was that the city present a ìTulip Dayî every spring. Two years later, on May 18, 1929, after scores of visitors viewed more than 100,000 tulips along Hollandís curbs, Tulip Time became an annual event. ÃÃThe 1930 Holland Evening Sentinel banner headline read: ìTulip Reigns as Queen of City.î Throughout the decade, motion picture and radio personalities visited to promote the festival. The Holland Furnace Company, then the cityís largest corporation, sponsored special radio programs that were broadcast nationwide. ÃÃAfter World War II, Holland saw the festival grow into the nationís third largest annual event. Visitors have enjoyed parades that included street scrubbing, ìklompenî dancing, floats, and more than 50 bands. When Tulip Time began, 85 percent of the names in the Holland telephone directory were Dutch. Over time, the communityís cultural diversity has evolved and is now reflected in the festival. ÃÃ