History of the  

in Pella, Iowa 

by Elaine M. Jaarsma Nagel

laatste wijziging vrijdag 21 augustus 2009

The two brothers, Cornelius and Harmen Jaarsma came to America in the late 1890s and settled in Pella, where we live. Cornelius wanted to be a farmer and there was a huge forest fire in Minnesota that destroyed thousands of acres of trees. The land was for sale and it was very inexpensive because of the fire. Cornelius was young and unmarried and decided to move there because some other Dutch people were going to do the same thing. He bought land in Hinckley, MN and married in 1899 the Dutch girl Duurtdina Delger (from Finsterwolde (Gr.)) and his family stayed in that area until the third generation. Some remained, but most left Hinckley.       

Harmen Jaarsma 1930   

Harmen was a baker (in Peasens) when he left Friesland and started working for a Dutch baker in  bakery/coffee shop in his home. Later he bought a building on the town square and opened a cold bakery there. He continued baking in his home. He delivered bread and pastries to the homes of his customers if they placed an order with him. He used a horse and wagon for his deliveries.

When his son Frank Jaarsma was old enough, he started to bake with his father. In the 1940s they bought out another bakery on the square and moved into that building because it had a gas oven which was easier to use than the old brick oven. When Harmen retired Frank took over the business. His older son Howard Jaarsma loved to work in his father's bakery and decided to go to a baking school in Minneapolis to learn the newer methods of bakery production. He came back to Pella and their bakery business grew. When my husband Ralph Jaarsma graduated from the University of Iowa he decided to join his father and brother in the business. Ralph went to a cake decorating school in Chicago and started selling decorated cakes and cookies.

The men bought a building in a neighboring town (Oskaloosa) and opened another shop there. The goods were baked in Pella and brought by truck to Oskaloosa each morning to sell. Also, grocery stores in the area started to buy our products to sell. And the business kept growing.

July 15, 1973 the Jaarsma Backery was completely destroyed by a fire that started on a Sunday night at 10:45 pm. The rebuilt bakery is opened in 1974 .

When Frank retired, Howard and Ralph took over the business (1973). Our son-in-law started working in the bakery after he graduated from the university and now he and our daughter Kristi Jaarsma are buying the business from us. We bought the building next to the bakery and expanded the business into that building this year. I'm sure that Harmen would be very pleased to know that his business is still flourishing into the fourth generation.

Ralph and Elaine Jaarsma (2006)