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Yup...those bad boys from Holland would come in with their wooden shoes and Klomp till all hours of the night. Too funny.

A lot has changed in the area since my first job at Haworth in the early 90s. Thanks to company like JCI, Herman Milller etc., you have a lot more people from outside the area that have brought an ourside perspective.

You do still have pockets of people that when to high school, college and than found a job all in the Holland/Zeeland area. Holland Christian/Zeeland to Hope to the local small company. Hope grads that never left the area are an interesting bunch. Great people but very myopic.

West Ottawa high school on the North Side of Holland (where my kids and most kids with parents from outside the area go to school) is viewed with suspicion because you have people that "aren't from these parts" that may actually look different than the rest of the Dutchies.

If you ain't Dutch you ain't much!

Having grown up near this area, I can say I probably have a good idea what he's referring to when he uses the word "culture" and can sort of relate.

What he doesn't understand (if this is the real reason for him leaving) is that this is the "culture" just about everywhere else outside of Ottawa/Kent County. Going to Hope, he's missing out because he isn't escaping that comfortable "bubble" outside of Zeeland.

bronco89 made a comment about West Ottawa High School being slightly different than the norm around there, and he's exactly right. My roommate in college -- and therefore many of my friends -- graduated from West Ottawa. They, along with others, were the ones that helped introduce me to different things at WMU. My first year in the dorms was complete culture shock for me.

There were things that happened DAILY there that I simply wasn't accustomed to, or even understood half the time, having grown up in conservative, dutch-country. It scared me a little bit at first, but after I got a semester under me, it became a new comfort and I really enjoyed it. I'm now convinced that my freshman year in the dorms was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Now I look back at where I grew up, and I just shake my head sometimes at how closed off things are from reality, and I thank god I was able to "get out" for a little bit and experience the rest of the world outside Kent/Ottawa County. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a great place to live and raise a family, but my point is that I think Van Dort is really doing himself a disservice in the long-term by sliding back into comfortability-land.

"There were things that happened DAILY there that I simply wasn't accustomed to, or even understood half the time, having grown up in conservative, dutch-country. It scared me a little bit at first, but after I got a semester under me, it became a new comfort and I really enjoyed it."

That can be interpreted in so many ways :)

Go WO!! Go Broncos!!

(10-16-2014 12:44 PM)bronco89 Wrote:  "There were things that happened DAILY there that I simply wasn't accustomed to, or even understood half the time, having grown up in conservative, dutch-country. It scared me a little bit at first, but after I got a semester under me, it became a new comfort and I really enjoyed it."

That can be interpreted in so many ways :)

Go WO!! Go Broncos!!

I knew I'd get some crap for that...

(10-16-2014 11:57 AM)Hoekjeness Wrote:  There were things that happened DAILY there that I simply wasn't accustomed to, or even understood half the time, having grown up in conservative, dutch-country. It scared me a little bit at first, but after I got a semester under me, it became a new comfort and I really enjoyed it. I'm now convinced that my freshman year in the dorms was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I hope Jay Harris didn't scare him off, since he's no longer around either.

(10-16-2014 12:55 PM)Chibronco Wrote:  

(10-16-2014 11:57 AM)Hoekjeness Wrote:  There were things that happened DAILY there that I simply wasn't accustomed to, or even understood half the time, having grown up in conservative, dutch-country. It scared me a little bit at first, but after I got a semester under me, it became a new comfort and I really enjoyed it. I'm now convinced that my freshman year in the dorms was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Classic!

He was way overrated. He was big, that's it.


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Hope eked out a win Saturday over Olivet. Saw the recap on the News 8 Bush League Sports Report. Hope rushed the field. Had to be an exciting moment for the Vandorts. Beating Olivet is epic.

Grand Valley was crushed by Michigan Tech, eliminating them from a chance at a post season run.

Interestingly, Ferris, stocked with a few former Brocos is lighting up the GLIAC this year.

Ferris is now a nationally ranked DII program. Interesting tidbit - their coach, Tony Annese, applied for the CMU job when Enos was hired. At the time he was HC at GRCC and led them to a national championship in the junior college ranks.