DE
VOLKSVRIEND
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______ Everyone knows that almost from the beginning Mr. Henry Hospers was the leader of the settlement, and it did not elude his watchful eye, that if the colony were to succeed and if our fellow countrymen were to enjoy the advantages and privileges of this good land, they would need an organ through which they could speak or could be spoken to. Hospers understood the great necessity for a great number of people to take possession of a large portion of the County, in order to form a closely-knit group. Knowing that the fulfilment of this desired goal would depend largely on a printing press and on a paper, he decided to publish DE VOLKSVRIEND in 1874. In the beginning it was a small paper, with only 120 subscribers and hardly any advertisements, but yet it was filled from week to week with what was most important from, about and for the colony. She was like a little bird We have often looked at the old numbers with pleasure and always with Increased interest; they gave us such a true picture of the life and the struggle of the first settlers. Those first volumes (indeed, they would be worth a reprint) give us a picture of the description of Hospers of the events of the day in the first times, and also for the coming generation to keep in mind the struggle of the pioneers and God's good hand over all. All new comers were mentioned, and the section, or quarter section, on which they settled, was pointed out. Each child that was born, and each passing away was announced. In DE VOLKSVRIEND were printed the catastrophes affecting each heart, blessings which rejoiced the soul, and in this way this paper though small was a bond tying the colonists together. One another's suffering was felt, each happiness shared, all burdens borne together. |
