More than a museum
Lori Clark’ s lifelong love of the Scholte House
6 • 2025 Senior Lifestyles
STORY & PHOTOS BY DONALD A. PROMNITZ
Lori Clark knows the Scholte House better than her own home and has a passion for sharing her knowledge— including with Scholte’ s descendants.
“ I think I know their family history better than I know my own family history,” she said.
Long before she started working at the house around 1976 and giving tours for the Pella Historical Society, Clark was born and raised in Pella. She grew up not far from the home the town’ s founder, Dominee Hendrik Scholte, once lived— and she’ ll point out that it’ s pronounced with a“ tuh” at the end in the original Dutch. She was also a personal friend to his great-granddaughter— and the first Tulip Queen— Lenora Gaass Hettinga.
“ Our first Tulip Queen’ s son was a grade ahead of me in high school, so I grew up knowing the family,” Clark said.“ In fact, when she was dying of emphysema, I had the opportunity of helping sit with her, so I’ ve actually slept in the house. Because she and her brother gave the Scholte house to the Historical in 1978 with the understanding that she could stay on the west side of the house as long as she wanted to, and then she died in 1987.”