Education and Christian faith were a central part of community life.

—if you could only imagine—
Immigration and assimilation will continue to be a struggle in the
United States because we are a nation of immigrants.
Transplants
An Immigration Encounter of East and West
Dutch Tulips & Oriental Poppies
The stories of immigrants reveal almost insurmountable challenges, but the families persevered. The pain of loss will be impressed upon you.

Blessed is North Bessemer School, built on a hilltop.

“I am so happy and thankful for my forefathers … and the education at the North Bessemer School.”
Four teachers lived on the second floor of the school, foresight of our forefathers. The Bible was read first in the early morning, and the school day ended with prayer.
“We memorized verses from the Bible, and we had to write them all down at semester’s end. Eighteen verses in one semester, one for each week—a total of thirty-six for the school year. I remember them all. Some of the assigned portions were several verses in length.”
“We sang the hymns, and memorized them all, too. Every morning our class would sing together. We had to sing loudly. We sang in tune. My teacher bent over and put his ear to our head to check if we were
singing, and to listen if we were singing in tune.”
“While milking the cows and riding his horses, my pastor gave thoughts to the next Sunday sermon. The Sunday sermons topics were always centered on farming and his many unique experiences with the animals.”
Today Anneke Letitia Van Ooyen Crans is a music instructor and flautist, who recently felt renewed as an artist when she began exploring photography and writing. Her photography has been shown in many venues and has received numerous awards. She has performed as principal flutist in local orchestras and bands, has been a choral director, a director of middle and high school bands, and an adjunct professor at GVSU. She earned her bachelor of arts in music education from Calvin University, and a master of arts in music education and flute performance/pedagogy from WMU.
Her father, Claude Van Ooyen, was the organist of the Ironwood community. “Most often, my father played for five churches in one weekend—two services on Saturday evening, and three services on Sunday morning.”
The reader will also see many connections at every level between the immigrants and themselves