Read Online Migrating to Michigan by Jeffery L Schatzer - Free Book Online

Professor’s Office—Today
    W e followed the path back toward the village of Holland. As we walked, Owen tripped on a tree root and fell flat on his face. When he got up, his lip was bleeding and his glasses were bent. Mister Adams ran to his side and started wiping the dirt off of his shirt.
    â€œAre you alright?” the professor asked as he rushed to Owen’s side.
    â€œHe’s fine,” Rachel said. “Owen falls down all the time. Like I said before, he doesn’t always tie his shoes, and he’s clumsy. He doesn’t get good grades like I do either.”
    Owen steamed as he looked at Rachel. Then she started up again. “I don’t know why you’re staring at me. Everything I said was true. You’re always a mess, and I am always neat and tidy, just ask my mom.”
    The professor made sure Owen was okay, then we continued down the path. Before long, we were back at the sand dunes. We stepped through the green cloud and tumbled back through time to the professor’s office.
    Professor Tuesday went down the hall and got a wet towel for Owen. As my classmate cleaned himself up, we started talking about what we had seen in early Holland, Michigan.
    â€œProfessor,” I asked, “why did Dutch people migrate to Michigan in the first place?”
    â€œThere are always many reasons why people immigrate to a new place,” said the professor. “The Dutch first came to Michigan in 1847 for religious reasons. They didn’t like some of the things that were going on in their home country. They thought that if they moved to America, they could preserve their culture and their own religious beliefs. Our visit to them took place about two years after they first arrived.”
    â€œWere they missionaries like the Germans were in Frankenmuth?” Owen asked as he wiped his face.
    â€œYes and no,” said the professor as he scribbled some notes on a piece of paper. “Some of their early documents and speeches told of their plans to be missionaries. But, like the Germans in Frankenmuth, they really didn’t do much to spread their religion once they started their settlement.”
    â€œThe school was pretty cool,” said Owen. “They spoke both English and Dutch there.”
    â€œVery good, my friend,” nodded Professor Tuesday, “you were paying attention.”
    â€œHe doesn’t always do that in class. That’s why he’s always in trouble,” Rachel said.
    Owen hung his head, “Nobody’s perfect, not even you, Rachel.”
    Professor Tuesday looked at Rachel as Miss Pepper does every once in a while, then he spoke. “Schoolhouses in those days had only one or two windows. A door was on one end of the building, and a fireplace or wood-burning stove was at the other. During the first few years of the settlement, the Dutch hired a teacher. Their children were given lessons in both English and Dutch.”
    â€œWhy?” I asked.
    â€œWell, it seems as though the Dutch wanted to preserve their culture and language. At the same time, they wanted their children to learn English, the language of their new country.”
    â€œI saw the children writing on little chalkboards,” Owen said. “Didn’t they have paper in those days?”
    â€œThey did have paper,” answered the professor, “but it was far too expensive to be used in school. Children often practiced writing with chalk on pieces of slate. When they were done with their lessons, they would wipe the slate with a cloth or their sleeves. In some of the poorer areas of the state, children would use sticks and practice their writing in sand or dirt.”
    â€œWhen we arrived, there was a big lake on the other side of the sand dunes. After we visited the school, we walked by another lake,” I said. “What were those lakes?”
    â€œRemember the map I drew in the dirt?” asked the professor. “Well, the lake on