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