HUGE ESTATE SALE May 2 nd & 3 rd • 9-6 May 4 th • 9-2
Long-time miller stepping aside
DONALD PROMNITZ Associate Editor
It ’ s often among the first things to come to mind when someone hears “ Pella ,” and it ’ s as synonymous with the town as the tulips themselves .
“ When you think of the Netherlands – and you think of Pella – what do you think of ? Well , in the Netherlands , it ’ s tulips , wooden shoes and windmills ,” said Jim Brandl , miller for the Vermeer Windmill at the Pella Historical Museums .
Brandl , 81 , was one of the two original millers remaining with Kenneth Uitermarkt , and both men have been involved with the windmill since it was little more than an idea . Now , they ’ re stepping aside , with Brandl citing his health as his reason for concluding his two-decade tenure .
Brandl was one of the delegates from Pella to come to the Netherlands city of Leiden in 1996 . That was the initial meeting .
“ When we first started this , we thought , ‘ Well , we ’ re going to go to the Netherlands and see if we can buy a mill and take it down and bring it to America ,” Brandl said . “ Wel , l we learned very quickly that that ’ s not permitted .”
Windmills are considered national treasures in the Netherlands , so a purchase was out of the question . If Pella wanted a mill , they ’ d have to have one built .
Construction of the parts began in the Netherlands in 2000 under the windmill company Verbij .
The first parts came to Iowa in February of 2001 , with the project completed later that year . When the time came to start
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training someone on how to operate the windmill , the Dutch manufacturers agreed to train one person instead of the five people interested , since the tradition in the Netherlands is one man , one mill .
Brandl and others had something else in mind .
“ Well , I went to them and I said , ‘ Well , maybe that ’ s the way it is in the Netherlands , we ’ re going to try to do it with all five of us ,” Brandl said . “ Well , today … we have about 15 millers trained , and we operate the mill from the middle of March through the end of the year .”
Brandl says it ’ s a people magnet whenever the mill is running , so they run it as long as possible . But as he and Uitermarkt hand over the reins , Brandl says it ’ s a job that takes a lot of knowhow .
Up until last year , he had the responsibility of training all the new millers , putting them through a training process that is sometimes dependent on the individual .
“ The hardest thing I think for a new person running the mill to learn was how to stop the mill properly ,” Brandl said . “ The mill is very , very powerful and the brake is very , very massive that allows us to stop the mill in any kind of conditions . But it takes a good deal of experience to learn how to stop the mill smoothly and fairly quickly – but not too quickly .
But even if the first millers aren ’ t running the windmill anymore , their work will be enjoyed for generations to come .
“ We ’ ve asked the Dutch , ‘ How long do you think our mill will last ?’ And they said , “ Well , it should last a couple of hundred years , as long as you maintain it and keep it well painted ,’” he said .
HUGE ESTATE SALE May 2 nd & 3 rd • 9-6 May 4 th • 9-2
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Pella ’ s Tulip Time 2024 7