Page 145 - Poat_to_Poot_Engels

Rev. Poot usually owned a team of horses and a carriage wherever he lived.
Like modern men and their automobiles, he enjoyed showing off his
prized possession, but usually employed someone else to care for it. He
had a reputation for not always being practical with his expenditures. This
is shown by the following advertisement in the Pella's Weekblad:

JUNE 23, 1899
OUR OMNIBUS

FOR SALE FOR SALE

A carriage, as good as new, handles four adult persons, a kind of surrey with a
canopy top and curtains, it is waterproof, and such that it can be turned into a closed
coach. It has only been used a little; it cost $110.00 and is now for sale at a cheap
price by Rev. J. W. Poot. Pella, Iowa
A coach seating only four adults was not a practical idea for the Poot
family. There were five teenaged children living at home, so he was better
served by something larger.

A few months after moving to Pella, J.W. Poot became a newspaper
publisher. He was very interested in writing and publishing. When he lived
in the Netherlands, he published two editions of a book and helped
publish a monthly religious magazine. After moving to America, he is
believed to have invested in a publishing business, possibly in Michigan.

One of the largest and most respected Dutch language newspapers in
America was Pella's Weekblad (Pella's Weekly News). Founded in 1861, it
was a Democratic weekly newspaper that gave news of interest from
Europe, the Netherlands, and Dutch communities in America. In 1865,
during the Civil War, a competing Republican Dutch paper was founded. It
was named the Pella Blade and was written in English. In 1870, Mr. H.
Neyenesch, a businessman and local political leader, purchased the Pella
Blade. He was born in the Netherlands in 1823. He transformed the Blade
into a leading Democratic English-language newspaper serving Dutch
communities in America. Mr. Neyenesch also purchased Pella's Weekblad
and continued its success as a leading Dutch-language Democratic
newspaper.

When Mr. Neyenesch reached the age of 76, he decided to retire from the
newspaper business. His decision was the result of distress after the
death of his daughter. The business sale was negotiated and on January
1, 1899, these two newspapers began publication under the ownership of
Rev. J.W. Poot. At this time, the Weekblad held the largest circulation of
any newspaper in Pella. In later years the need for a Dutch language
newspaper diminished and the Pella Blade would grow to become the
number one newspaper in town. The newspapers occupied a modest

(11-2006) - Published in Pella - page 5 -