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OC Mag 01-22

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JOHN BUNTSMA COMES BY HIS FASCINATION

WITH DUTCH HISTORY NATURALLY.

The 70-year-old Orange City resident

was born in the Netherlands, returned

to live there

in his 20s, and

has visited

it several

times. This

year, Buntsma

will make a

presentation

on William

the Silent,

renowned

in the

Netherlands as “The Father of the

Fatherland” at the Dutch-American

Heritage Museum. Details are being

finalized.

“He’s held in such high regard,”

Buntsma said of William the Silent,

who served as a stadholder — a highranking

government official — in the

Netherlands in the 16th century, and is

still revered there.

“My interest in William the Silent

was in knowing more about why early

settlers here wanted to name the

community after someone who hadn’t

been around for 300 years,” he said.

“In the Netherlands, William the Silent

was referred to colloquially as ‘Orange.’

The more I read, the more immersed I

became in wanting to learn more.”

Buntsma was born in the Netherlands

but his family departed when he was 2,

first moving to Canada before settling in

Boone, Iowa. He was raised in a singlefamily

home, he said, and his mother

worked hard to make ends meet. He

became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1967.

Buntsma attended Boone High School,

Bemidji State College in Minnesota and

several other colleges, including Iowa

State University. He was drawn toward

writing, and landed a job with the

Dayton Review after college.

When he was in his early 20s, he

returned to the Netherlands, living with

relatives.

“I was in the Netherlands for seven

months in 1976 and over the next 10

years was there for two or three weeks

three more times,” Buntsma said.

He knew very little Dutch, but family

members told him he needed to learn

the language.

“They said, ‘Either you speak Dutch or

be quiet,’” Buntsma said.

He doesn’t consider himself fluent in

the language, but he is conversant, and

can write and read it.

For most of his career, however, he

wrote in English, serving as editor and

general manager for The Dayton Review,

The Canton Pilot in Kansas, The Sioux

County Capital-Democrat in Orange

City and The Le Mars Daily Sentinel.

The demands and hours of weekly

newspaper work grew wearisome,

and he took a job as a copywriter for

K Products, which became American

Identity and finally Staples. He held that

post until his department was eliminated

in 2017.

Buntsma said he has collected a

mountain of information on William the

Silent and could deliver an extensive

report, complete with numerous slides

depicting the Dutch hero, his era, and

dramatic exploits.

Dutch-American Heritage Museum

board member Jill Haarsma said she is

looking forward to the presentation. The

schedule will be announced in the spring.

“We are excited to have him part of

our Summer Nights at the Museum,”

Haarsma said.

It will be the latest community event

for him. He has been a very active

presence in Orange City over the years.

Buntsma, his wife Cheryl, and their

daughter, Katie have been devoted

members of the Trinity Reformed

Church, where he was a Sunday school

teacher, missions committee member,

Wednesday night children’s worker,

deacon and elder.

They have volunteered their time to

the Orange City Tulip Festival. Buntsma

has served on the Orange City Public

Library board, the Orange City Arts

Council, the Dutch Front Committee

and the Downtown Visioning Committee.

Buntsma ran for the Iowa House District

4 seat as a Democrat in a Jan. 6, 2015,

special election, losing to John Kooiker

of Boyden.

In addition to history, Buntsma is a

music enthusiast.

“I do have a large vinyl collection

and an even larger CD collection that

is stored online so it is accessible from

all of our devices,” he said. “Big in the

online arena is Christmas music, over

150 albums. My music tastes are pretty

eclectic including jazz, R&B, old alternate

rock and Black gospel. Favorite artists

include Tower of Power Nina Simone,

Wes Montgomery, Quincy Jones, early

Boz Scaggs, Kirk Franklin and too many

more to name. The only Dutch band I

really have is a couple of Focus albums.

“Beyond that, volunteering, reading

and researching are big,” Buntsma said. “I

am also captivated by collecting stamps,

a childhood hobby I resumed about five

years ago.”

Among the most popular faces

on Dutch stamps: William the Silent.

He remains a regular presence in his

country more than 500 years after his

death.

Why that is, and what he means to

the Netherlands, will be explained during

Buntsma’s presentation.

SPRING 2022 | OC MAGAZINE 13

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