Bakers, butchers, and Delft blue: Truth be told, I’m not a big shopper and neither is my husband Bob. But in the day and a half we spent in Pella, there simply wasn’t time to do justice to all the delightful opportunities for browsing and buying that presented themselves to us. While Bob became fascinated with the old pictures, antique butchering tools, and mouth-watering cuts of meat, plus famous Pella sausage at Ulrich’s Meat Market, I wandered over to De Pelikaan.
This gift and imports store contains display after display of Delft blue, traditional and modern styles; walls of wooden shoes, plain and painted; and downstairs, imported Dutch and Indonesian foods and spices. Since Christmas is right around the corner in October, I bought tree ornaments: a regal Sint Nikolaas on his white steed, some Sinterklaas Kapoentje shoe ornaments, and a little wooden Dutch girl that dances when you pull on her string.
At Jaarsma Bakery and Vander Ploeg Bakery, both on Franklin Street, you can find the famous Dutch letters, which have spread throughout Iowa as a favorite treat. These are puff pastry shells shaped into S’s and filled with almond paste. Does that appeal to your sweet tooth? You can order them and other delicacies from the Jaarsma Bakery website. West of downtown at 1109 Washington Street next to Strawtown Inn is Strawtown Gifts. Its rooms upstairs and downstairs are a riot of color and variety, with lots of Christmas themes, including many uniquely decorated trees.
Plentiful parks of Pella: There’s lots to see in Central Park, the heart of downtown Pella. The Tulip Toren (tower) on the south side of the park figures prominently in Tulip Time. It’s the second Tulip Toren, as the original wooden tower built in 1940 deteriorated and was torn down. In 1968, a 65-foot high concrete structure was erected and is holding up quite well.
A 155mm Howitzer cannon stands on the southwest corner of the park. It was given to Pella by the U.S. government after World War II to replace two civil war cannons Pella had donated to the war effort. A big black circular sundial dominates the center of the park. Scholte House and Gardens is across Washington Street, north of the park. The 23-room mansion is open for tours for a $4 admission. The gardens behind the house are free, and in blooming season, display more than 34,000 tulips and flowers. The pond in Sunken Gardens Park on north Main Street is shaped like a wooden shoe! It’s also got a windmill, ducks, and a floating miniature Dutch-style building. In addition to the aforementioned parks, Pella has 10 more parks scattered throughout town. Not bad for a town with a population of just over 10,000! We’re told that in spring these parks and almost every Pella garden overflow with tulips and other Dutch bulb blooms.
Historical Village, bounded by Franklin, Liberty, and 1st and 2nd Streets, takes up an entire block and inner courtyard. Admission is $7 for adults and $1 for students in grades K-12. Vermeer Windmill and the adjoining Interpretive Center were completed in July 2002. A miniature 1850s Dutch village is being created on the second floor of the Interpretive Center. Wyatt Earp’s restored boyhood home, a log cabin, potter’s and blacksmith’s shops, library with collections of Dutch books, community records, Delft and Dutch dolls, and Hindeloopen cow in the courtyard are just some of the sights in the Historical Village. From the Vermeer Windmill, cross 1st Street to Molengracht Plaza for a pleasant stroll along the canal and some more window-shopping.