It’s a gorgeous autumn day in Edinburg, Scotland. It has taken several weeks and a vacation across the Atlantic Ocean for me to make the time for this post. What a year 2022 has proven to be (and it’s not over yet).
This past summer was packed full of fun, both the usual and the non-usual. It began in what has become the usual way over the past twelve years, and that is at the lake with the JPs and VLs. Wendy and I arrived a little early and stayed a little late to enjoy time to ourselves and with friends Dave and Lola.
After returning to Pella, the social calendar included our support of the Pella Opera House at their annual gala.
We also enjoyed our friend, Shanae’s wedding in Des Moines. I was honored to be asked to pray a blessing over the wedding feast, and we had a lot of fun with friends. Wendy and I were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our granddaughter across the pond, which may (or may not) have prompted Wendy to offer to adopt dear little Audrey as an honorary grandchild for the evening.
We were ecstatic when, just days later, our 2nd grandchild, Sylvie Ruth, arrived. Taylor, Clayton, and Milo welcomed our new bundle of joy in Scotland on June 28th while Wendy and I were at the lake to celebrate a quiet July 4th (Taylor’s birthday, btw) holiday. I toasted Sylvie’s birth with a pint and a stogie on the deck while scoring the Chicago Cubs game. Other than having to spend a few extra days in the hospital to hit all of her health markers, everything went according to plan. So excited to have sweet Sylvie with us.
July ushered in another wedding. I was honored to officiate the joining of Megan and Tanner at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. Megan has pretty much been another daughter and we’ve had so much fun getting to know Tanner. It was a fabulous wedding and an amazing reception.
Our friends Kevin and Linda were back in Pella for five weeks this summer and we tried to make the most of it by getting together several times over those weeks. We enjoyed a summer evening of drinks and stogies on the patio. Enjoyed another evening at the Atkins Oasis. The VLs joined us for a Cubs night at the Vander Well Pub, and the six of us helped celebrate Pella’s 175th birthday at a special Pella Soiree one evening.
We also enjoyed visits from a niece and nephew this summer. Our nephew Asher joined us for a night along with his dad, Wendy’s brother Josh. We actually got to host our niece Lydia for a few days while her folks, (Wendy’s sis) Becky and Court got a few nights off. We had fun taking Lydia and Miss Camille to Pella’s new SmashPark. Uncle Tom got to take Lydia to Adventureland. It was her first visit to an amusement park.
We actually had even more gatherings with the Hall and Vander Hart crews. Wendy’s Uncle Brad and Aunt Barb moved back to Pella from Dubuque and we had multiple gatherings at their place. Wendy’s brother Jesse also came to town with his girlfriend Ania, and we enjoyed a great lunch with them and Wendy’s folks. We also enjoyed our nephew Owen’s first birthday gala.
As far as the Vander Well crew goes, all is well. Grandson Milo graduated from Nursery School and started primary school. All is well for Madison, Garrett, and the Rotties down in South Carolina. Papa Dean won both a first-place blue ribbon and a third-place white ribbon for the two stained-glass pieces he entered in the Iowa State Fair. The folks began considering a move to Pella this summer. Mom’s Alzheimer’s continues to progress, but she still manages to be adorably cute. One day on FaceTime my father was telling a long story and was holding his phone so that mom and I were basically staring at each other while Dad talked. I started making faces at her and she started making faces back at me. She’s so funny.
The summer ended with a traditional adult weekend at the lake with the JPs and VLs. It’s always a wonderful weekend of feasting and sharing of life. We spent more time chilling out at the Playhouse this summer and less time out and about. We ended the weekend with me making a double batch of the Vander Well family’s favorite Dutch treat, eireflensjes. The perfect bookend to wrap up the season.
The week after my birthday and the first weekend of May is really all about Pella’s Tulip Time Festival. For several years Wendy and I were regularly a part of a production that our community theatre, Union Street Players, produced for the thousands of visitors to our town. USP stopped doing Tulip Time productions a few years back and Wendy and I admittedly took a respite from volunteering for a few years. Guilt would set in as we wandered up to the square from our house, just a block away. We vowed that we needed to get in costume and volunteer. It takes a not-so-small army of volunteers to make this thing work, and at some point it would be time to play our parts once again. Ironic that we’re more involved now that we moved far away from our prime property just off the square.
Last year was the year to dive in. We volunteered to portray our town’s founders for the annual three day event, roles that we’ve played on stage multiple times. Last year we were in costume for 12-13 hours straight all three days, but discovered that it was a little much. The 1860s fashion was a little overwhelming to don all day. So, this year we vowed to do things a little differently.
Thursday morning of Tulip Time. Just knew it was going to be a good weekend.
Weather for the festival this year was pretty stellar. Thursday was sunny and relatively cool. Friday was the hot day with temps reaching near 90. Saturday was cooler, much more humid, and hazy. There was a brief sprinkle during the afternoon parade and an intermittent light rain during the evening parade, but the sun made regular appearances in between..
Emma!!
We’re just wild about Harry!
Brush with greatness. Our friend, Shanae who was on the Tulip Court this year.
We spent our mornings outside the Scholte House Museum greeting visitors and talking a few confused passers-by into giving the museum a try. And, we got our pictures taken somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,344,682 times. The most fun were the wandering gaggles of foreign visitors who would, as a group, whip out roughly a dozen or six cameras at the same time. Then, various members of the group would take turns running up to stand with us while cameras, cell phones, and iPads were hoisted like paparazzi next to the red carpet. Wendy said her face hurt from all the smiling! 😉
We took a brief break for lunch around noon and continued our duty outside the Scholte House until around 2:00 in the afternoon. We would then wander back across town in the early afternoon, stopping every 5.34 feet for another picture. I’m not sure how many international dialects I heard saying “One…Two…Three!”
Courtesy of Designer Images
Our friends Shane and Olivia Burch.
Courtesy of Designer Images
Waiting for our horse.
Courtesy of Designer Images
By 2:30 we were in our places to be picked up for the afternoon parade. Our horse drawn carriage (refurbished this year and sporting a beautiful sign) was actually pulled by the Tulip Queen’s horse. So we would sit behind the Historical Village and wait for the Queen to make her pilgrimage through the parade. The horse would quickly be switched from the Queen’s luxurious ride to our humble little four seater. It was rather comical getting Wendy in her HUGE hooped skirt to squeeze into the back seat of a carriage that had been designed for much smaller people. I joked that there wasn’t enough room for Wendy, her dress, and me. We would then take back streets to the beginning of the parade route and pray that we made it on time. We actually made it five out of the six parades this year.
It was fascinating to watch the crowds at each parade. They shift and change. The Thursday afternoon crowd is filled with seasoned citizens who arrived on one of an army of buses from around the Midwest. Thursday is always the lightest day from the sheer number of humans, and the Thursday evening parade feels like mostly locals with their families and visitors. Friday is the hybrid crowd. There are still a number of bus tour visitors, but there’s a growing number of diverse visitors from all over. By Friday evening, the after-work, weekend crowd had fully descended for a picture perfect Iowa night. The parade route on Friday evening was packed. Saturday is the crowd crazy day. The sea of humanity is varied, colorful, and a ton of fun. The Saturday afternoon parade had people packed deep the entire length of the parade route.
Hanging with Mom Hall at Gma VH’s apartment.
The Roose crew visited on Friday.
Stoopwaffels!
Poffertjes!
Our treat after a hot afternoon parade… a rest in the Heineken Loft.
Maddy Kate!!
Sam!!
With Madison and Matt at the Heineken Loft in the Pella Opera House.
After the afternoon parade it was time to get out of costume and enjoy being Tom and Wendy for a while. The difference between Tom & Wendy as Henry & Mareah Scholte and Tom & Wendy as Tom & Wendy Vander Well is quite a contrast, to be sure. On Thursday afternoon I had forgotten something in the Historical Society’s Curatorial Office where we’d changed back into our mild-mannered civilian selves. I returned to the office where a number of workers from the Historical Society were gathered in any number of official duties. One young woman who works for the Society thought I was a tourist and said to me, “I’m sorry sir, this house is not part of the tour!”
She was a big confused and taken aback when I simply smiled and said, “I know,” and walked right past her into the back room where we’d stored our belongings. When I returned she was still standing there looking confused and bit frustrated. As I passed by her I smiled and said, “You don’t recognize me out of my Dominie costume, do you?” It was then that it dawned on her who I was. I wish I had a picture of the shocked look on her face, before she began laughing and apologizing.
Our afternoons incognito began at the Heineken Loft in the Pella Opera House visiting with friends and relaxing in the air conditioned loft while we watched the festival pass by on the streets below. Then it was off to the food stands to try one of the many tempting options afforded by the food vendors at Tulip Time.
This year’s culinary surprises were the “Double Dutch” which Wendy had on Thursday night, and the Romanian Sausage sandwich I had on Saturday. The Double Dutch is a quarter pound hamburger topped with Gouda cheese, which then gets topped with a large slice of Pella bologna. Sounds a bit strange, I know. Wendy loved it. I only had a bit, but had to admit it was pretty delicious. Our friends from Pella’s Greek Orthodox Church sell a Romanian sausage sandwich. The recipe came from the the grandmother of one of the people in the parish and it had been highly recommended by our trustworthy City Council representative, Larry Peterson. Again, I was surprised at how good it was. Not something I would have ordered otherwise.
Of course, we also had to get our annual taste of the Tulip Time staples. Stroopwaffels, Poffertjes, Dutch Letters, corn dog, tenderloin…. You get the picture. Regular diet resumes sometime today (after we finish up a few of the leftovers!).
Courtyard entrance to The Cellar.
The Iowa Craft Beer team set up to serve in the Cellar’s converted garage.
Dinner in the courtyard of The Cellar Peanut Pub.
On Thursday night we took our supper from the food stands to the Cellar Peanut Pub’s courtyard. The Iowa Craft Beer truck was set up at the back of the Cellar’s garage and was serving a special wheat ale from Peace Tree Brewing in Knoxville that is made with wheat milled by Pella’s Vermeer Windmill. Everything the Cellar served on their 50+ taps during Tulip Time was from local Iowa breweries. It was a great addition to the Tulip Time offerings.
About 8:00 we were back at the Historical Village getting back into costume for the 8:30 parade. When the parade was over we would quick get to our car and try to navigate the back streets home before the parade was completely over.
It was good to see family and friends, as always. Taylor came to town late on Thursday and was supposed to join us again on Saturday until some kind of intestinal crud struck her. Madison and her boyfriend, Matt, arrived on Saturday morning for a cup of coffee together before Wendy and I headed into town. Madison had fun introducing Matt to everything Pella and we joined for some enjoyable conversation at the Heineken Loft in the late afternoon, then debriefed at home late into the night. Today was supposed to be kind of a 50th birthday celebration with the girls, but with Taylor down those plans got theoretically rained out just as my Cubs-centric birthday bash got rained out in both Chicago and Des Moines last weekend. I guess, once again, “there is no joy in Mudville.” C’est la vie.
Today is rest, recuperation, and reentry into routine. It’s been a fun week. Once again I shake my head in amazement at the unique community we’re blessed to call home.
For Remember When Wednesday, I happened across this post from April 9, 2006. The the local high school prom that year was at the historic Pella Opera House. The theme was, appropriately, The Phantom of the Opera. I was asked to don the Phantom costume and haunt the prom goers as they arrived. Taylor attended prom that year with her friend, Walker.
It has been a rather amazing autumn here in central Iowa. It’s been an extended Indian summer. The days have been sunnier, warmer more dry than usual. The blustery, wet chill of an Iowa autumn has been virtually non-existent up to this point.
The past week was fairly routine for Wendy and me with work and fall activities. Taylor has been traveling to see friends and family the past week and a half. She was home briefly on Tuesday night from her weekend in California and flew out early Wednesday to spend some time with Madison in Colorado. So, the house was quiet. Wendy took the opportunity to do some cleaning and arranging late in the week.
The weekend, however, ended up being even more full than we had expected. On Friday night our friends Dan and Anna came over for dinner and the conversation lasted late into the night. During the evening our friend Cyndi texted and mentioned she had two extra tickets to The Illusionists at the Des Moines Civic Center on Saturday afternoon and asked if we’d like to join her, Ben, and Megan for lunch and a show.
The time in the car with Cyndi afforded us an opportunity to run lines for our performance on Saturday night. It was the Silver Anniversary of the Pella Opera House restoration and re-opening. Opera House Executive Director, Kevin McQuade, had planned a huge gala event for the occasion and asked me to pen a short sketch for the occasion. Cyndi, Wendy and I performed the sketch and had precious little time to rehearse, so the time in the car was beneficial.
By the time we returned from Des Moines we had to make a quick change and get to the Opera House for the black-tie event. It was a wonderful evening and we loved visiting with all sorts of people from the community (see featured photo).
As the crowd was ushered upstairs into the Opera House auditorium for the evening’s program. Wendy and I headed back stage to change into our costumes for the sketch. I was standing in the dressing room with Wendy and Cyndi running lines when Laurinda Nikkel arrived. Laurinda is an opera singer who returned home to Pella to perform for the event (it is, after all, an Opera House). When Wendy was a little girl, Laurinda dated Wendy’s uncle and Laurinda sort of adopted Wendy as a niece. They had not seen one another or communicated since Wendy was very young. It was so cute when Wendy approached Laurinda, looked her in the eye and said, “I’m Wendy.” I thought Laurinda was going to lose it right there. It was a wonderful reunion and the we had a great time chatting with her after the program.
Kevin and Linda invited us over for a nightcap after the evening’s festivities. Wendy and I didn’t get to bed until right around 2:00 a.m. We tried but couldn’t remember the last time we were up that late. Taylor’s comment: “you crazy kids.”
It was a week of major life transition here at Vander Well Manor. Just over two years ago, Wendy’s youngest sister Suzanna moved in with us. She entered her senior year at Pella High and then spent this past year working and saving for college. She’s been a welcome member of our home and together we’ve shared a ton of life experiences during this shared stretch of our life journeys. This past Wednesday was the day we drove her to college and launched her on a new stretch of her own journey. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Monday and Tuesday were spent packing, purging, and preparing. Both Suzanna and Wendy buzzed around upstairs. Suzanna took over the guest bedroom for her sorting and staging process.
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Tuesday night was Suzanna’s last night at home, so we let her decide the meal. Her choice was Wendy’s homemade pizza and breadsticks. She also requested family movie night to watch The Big Lebowski, which she and I have talked about watching for months. Taylor invited her friend Curtis to join us. It was a fun night. We all gathered around the kitchen island and enjoyed conversation as Wendy made dinner. Despite me dropping one of the pizzas and losing half of it into the bottom of the oven, we had a great dinner and then settled into the Great Room for the movie (and requisite White Russians).
We packed the cars and headed out around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday for the two hour drive to Suzanna’s campus. She followed behind us. The load out was fast and much easier than we anticipated. Suzanna’s roommate had moved in the previous day and we enjoyed meeting her. After the last of her stuff had been dropped in the room we offered to take Suzanna out to lunch and make sure she was familiar with where things were in town. She opted for lunch with her roommate and some girls on the floor. As we said good-bye the mood went from smiles and excitement to teary good-byes. Wendy and I lunched at BWW on our own before driving home.
Taylor did some house-sitting for friends late this week so Wendy and I had four nights of experiencing an empty nest for the first time in a while. But, our social calendar kept us from savoring the quiet.
The Historic Pella Opera House
On Thursday night we headed to the Pella Opera House for their annual season kick-off. Our friend and neighbor, Kevin, is the Executive Director there and is in the middle of an audacious million dollar renovation campaign. We were excited when Kevin announced they’d reached $800,000 towards their goal. In October the Opera House celebrates 25 years since their historic renovation. A grand black-tie evening is on tap and Kevin asked me to script a sketch as part of the evening’s entertainment. Wendy and I enjoyed hanging out and socializing with friends. We were among the last to leave when Kevin flashed the lights at the end of the evening.
An evening at V-Dub Pub
On Friday night we enjoyed barbecue chicken on the grill with our friend Cyndi who will be taking over as President of Union Street Players. We discussed transition of leadership as well as the transitions of both Suzanna and Cyndi’s daughter, Megan, who also headed to college. Kevin and Linda arrived after dinner and we settled downstairs in “V-dub Pub” (thanks, Chad VL, for that moniker). I unveiled my script for the Pella Opera House Anniversary show and was happy that it received a favorable review from the Producer. As always with this crew, spirited conversation and laughter reigned until well after midnight.
Celebrating Matthew and Sara’s One-Week Anniversary.
A couple of short nights led Wendy and me to a rather slow start on Saturday. We worked a little bit and eventually busied ourselves cleaning up the upstairs in anticipation of Wendy’s Uncle Brad and his bride-to-be Barb who spent the night with us on Saturday. I spent part of the afternoon helping my friend, Matthew, move a washer and a couple of dryers into his new house. We then met Matthew and his new bride, Sarah, at Kaldera for dinner and a celebration of their one-week anniversary.
I end this week’s episode of The Latest with a relatively insignificant, but admittedly proud moment. Yesterday in the mail I received my first ever royalty check for my play Ham Buns and Potato Salad which is being produced by Newton Community Theater this fall.
Wendy and I feel so blessed to live a community this size (roughly 10,000) that has such great cultural offerings. Last night we ventured out to the gorgeous, historic Pella Opera House to watch National Players touring production of To Kill a Mockingbird. The wandering troupe of 10 players had performed Shakespeare’s The Tempest in the morning to a house full of students, and exposing many to their first experience with live Shakespeare.
It had been many years since Wendy or I had ready or watched Harper Lee’s classic story of racial injustice. The National Players production was a great way to refresh our memories of the incredible story. We loved the production and our post show discussion raised three great take aways…
You don’t need a lot of window dressing. While we all love our Broadway extravaganzas, the truth is that great theatre requires very little spectacle. National Players had ten chairs, a few moving set pieces, and two pillars at the back of the stage. Yet, their performance effortlessly took our imaginations to a front porch, a courtroom, and a country road.
Transitions, transitions, transitions. I am convinced more than ever that one of the crucial details between great theatre and mediocre theatre is in the scene changes. For scene changes, the National Players cast sang a cappella versions of spirituals that both kept us in the period of the play while entertaining us as they moved the set pieces around. The changes were seamless. Rather than being an interruption to the action of the story, they became enjoyable bridges.
The script makes a difference. There’s no substitute for good writing. A great script can still inspire even when produced by rank amateurs. A poor script in the hands of the best professionals cannot hide its flaws. The adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird used by the National Players was a great script that told the story in a succinct way without losing its power or inspiration. Last night we had a capable group of talented professionals performing a great script, and we were blessed and inspired.
I hope that Kevin will find time on the Pella Opera House schedule to book National Players again next season. An evening of quality live, professional theatre in a priceless, historic venue for $12 a seat. I love this town!
Wendy and I love St. Patrick’s Day when we get to let our Scotch and Irish genetics take over. This year, with our recent move, we did not have much time, energy or resources to plan something special. Fortunately for us, the Pella Opera House and it’s fabulous Executive Director, Kevin James Patrick Sean Francis Ian Aengus Joseph Ennis “Lucky Charm” McQuade, made a simple evening of celebration with enjoyable people possible. They did all the planning. We simply showed up and enjoyed.
The Opera House offered a free showing of The Commitments complete with popcorn with plenty of Irish, adult beverages available for a reasonable price. Wendy and I invited our friends Matthew and Sarah to join us and a good time was had by all!
New Year’s Eve always has special significance for Wendy and me. It was eight years ago that we were married and threw a New Year’s Eve party to remember. We were excited to find out that the Pella Opera House was throwing a New Year’s Eve party that, it seems, most people just don’t get a chance to attend these days. The JPs and VLs joined Wendy and me as we dressed to the nines and joined the festivities. Many friends were there from USP and the community. There was live music from the Fred Gazzo Band, dancing, toasting, and a general spirit of merriment. We counted down to midnight (in Dutch) and I got to kiss my bride at midnight to kick off another year together. A good time had by all.
Earlier this week I shared about the birthday celebrations which began a week ago today with an overnight trip to Des Moines. I felt really celebrated this year. I took Tuesday, my birthday, off of work. And, what a day to take off. It was gorgeous, sunny and warm. When I came downstairs from writing my morning blog post I found my stack of birthday gifts sitting on the table with breakfast. Wendy and I enjoyed a quiet breakfast reading the paper and I got to open my gifts. Bob Leonard came by and interviewed Wendy and me about our roles in the Tulip Time production of The Dominie’s Wife for KNIA/KRLS radio.
We then headed to Des Moines for a noon Iowa Cubs game. We sat in the sun, ate hot dogs, drank beer, and watched the hometown boys celebrate my birthday with a 7-2 win over the Round Rock Express. We got fried to a crisp in the hot sun, but after a cool, wet spring that seemed like a worthwhile luxury.
We got back to Pella in time to get our stuff gathered and up to the Pella Opera House for our final dress rehearsal. The Tulip Queen and her court came to see the show, which was nice. After the show, our friends in the cast, crew (Moriarity’s, Van Zante’s, Ann W., Lisa W. along with Kevin M.) went out to Kaldera for food and drinks. We enjoyed a marvelous evening together. It was the perfect way to end my birthday.
The celebrations weren’t over, however. There was no rehearsal on Wednesday. My friend Matthew took me to Des Moines for a burger and a pint at Rock Bottom before seeing the movie Oblivion at Jordan Creek. It was great to spend time with a friend. Wendy and I enjoyed the evening on the couch watching Scott Feldman pitch a complete game in a Cubs’ victory of San Diego.
Pella Tulip Time arrived yesterday along with a rare, late winter storm. It was cold, windy and wet all morning. Then the snow started flying. The parades were cancelled. After trying to open for a few hours, all the food stands shut down. Wendy and I bundled up in our scarves, winter coats and gloves to walk through the blizzard like conditions to the Pella Opera House. Since it was one of the few things people could do indoors, we had a good crowd for our opening performance of The Dominie’s Wife. After the show we braved the elements to walk home and holed up to have dinner and call it an early evening.
How our backyard looks on a previous May day.
How our backyard looked this morning.
This morning I could hardly believe my eyes when I looked out the window at the blanket of newly fallen snow. Our show will still go on this afternoon. Tomorrow the high is predicted at 58 with light rain, so there may yet be hope for at least one soggy parade or two. What an awful disappointment for the community. No one we’ve spoken with can remember a Tulip Time this miserable! 😦
We have performances of The Dominie’s Wife this afternoon at 4:30 and again tomorrow at 12:30.
Wayfarer 