1914 attended Farmer's Institute presentation
1915 honor roll
1917 guest at party with sister Lizzie; participate in concert with Bert and Elizabeth
1918 registers for WWI draft; party at Sip Heimstra's home; sings in quartet
1920 census Lynden, WA
1910 age 12 Census
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| 1910 Census, Lynden, Whatcom, Washington |
See a bird's eye view of Lynden in 1910 here
In other news
on this year, Japan annexes Korea; Halley's Comet causes hysteria over the land; and King George V (Windsor) reigns from 1910 to 1936 (OurTimelines.com, 2018)1910 age 12
Historical Insight -- Boy Scouts of America
Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis was a young boy living in Washington around the time the Boy Souts of America was founded. |
| Credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images from Ancestry.com Historical Insights |
The Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910 -- uniting boys across the country with its goals of physical, mental, and moral strength.
In 1910, the recently established British youth organization, the Boy Scouts, was established across the pond in the United States. Like Europeans, at the turn of the 20th century, Americans had a heightened concern that the increasingly industrialized modern society was weakening men. To physically reinvigorate American youth, the Boy Scouts hearkened back to the country's rugged past. Boys aged nine to 17 were taught wilderness survival, first aid, community service, and a "duty to God and country." The organization grew rapidly and scout troops sprang up throughout America, becoming one of the largest youth organizations in the world. Today over 110 million Americans call themselves Boy Scouts and the organization continues to attract new members each year.
Historical Insight -- Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus
The foreign performers, trained animals, and incredible stunts of the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus probably awed Abel Dyksterhuis .... |
| Credit: Library of Congress from Ancestry Historical Insights |
The circus included numerous equestrian acts and utilized more than 500 horses. About 1900
1911 age 13
South Pole reached by Roald Amundsen (OurTimelines.com, 2018)1912 age 14
Alaska organized as a territory, New Mexico and Arizona enter the union as the 47th and 48th states; and the Titanic sinks (OurTimelines.com, 2018).
1913 age 15
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| 1913 Woodrow Wilson |
Woodrow Wilson president of the United States from 1913 to 1920 (OurTimelines.com, 2018)
1914 age 16
World War I from 1914 to 1919
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden, Washington 12 November 1914 page 1 downloaded 28 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
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1915 age 17
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 28 January 1915 page 3 downloaded 26 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 11 February 1915 page 1 downloaded 28 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
The red circle is Abel Dyksterhuis, a Tenth Grade Honor Student. I truncated the original news article to make it more applicable and readable. And, yes indeed, this list was published twice!
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| Lynden WA dedicates the New High School The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 11 February 1915 page 1 downloaded May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
In Other News --
Einstein postulate's the Theory of Relativity (OurTimelines.com, 2018) |
1916 age 18
Abel turns 18, and Sonar is developed (OurTimelines.com, 2018)
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1917 age 18
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 29 November 1917 page 6 downloaded 25 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
Abel Dyksterhuis and sister Lizzie Dyksterhuis are guests at a surprise party.
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 4 January 1917 page 1 downloaded 25 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
Apparently, the Dyksterhuis family are quite musical! Abel, Bert and Elizabeth Dyksterhuis participated in a sacred cantata called "Ruth" through the Choral Club of the Christian Reformed Church.
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 26 April 1917 page 1 downloaded 25 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
Historical Insight -- America Enters World War I
When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Abel Dyksterhuis was probably living in Washington.
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| 1917 USA Credit: Interim Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images Ancestry.com Historical Insight On June 26, 1917, just a few months after the US officially joined the war, 14,000 US infantrymen landed in France. They were immediately put through more combat training and, within a few months, were fighting on the Western Front |
When the First World War began in 1914, the United States remained neutral. Despite this, German U-boats attacked US merchant vessels and declared "unrestricted warfare against all ships" entering the war zone. Three years into the conflict, President Woodrow Wilson stood in front of the US Congress on April 2, 1917, and asked for a declaration of war, explaining that the United States must "exert all its power and employ all its resources" to end the First World War. Congress conceded. Thousands of Americans flocked to recruitment stations, eager to "do their bit" to defeat the enemy. Within nine months, 175,000 American soldiers were stationed along the Western Front, prepared to take on the Central Powers. While some Americans criticized President Wilson for going back on his promise to remain neutral, most eagerly put their backs into the war effort, supporting the four and a half million American soldiers who served in Western Europe. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight
Historical Insight -- Registering for the Draft in World War I
After the Selective Service Act was signed in May 1917, Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis registered for the draft.
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| about 1915, Cincinnati, Ohio Credit: Paul Thompson/Archive Photos/Getty Images |
The term "slacker" was used to describe anyone who was not participating in the war effort, particularly draft dodgers. Those caught speaking out were quickly punished using old-fashioned methods like stocks. -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight
1918 age 20
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 19 September 1918 page 1 downloaded 25 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
Abel N. Dyksterhuis was one of over 300 men registering for the Draft. Apparently, there was a new law requiring those men from 18 to 45 years of age to register. This article lists the number of native born men, and those who were alien or naturalized.
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 7 March 1918 page 6 downloaded 25 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 2 May 1918 page 63 downloaded 25 May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
WWI Draft Registration
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| WWI Draft Registration 1918 |
Abel Nicholas Dyksterhuis is 20 years old. It seems he filled this out himself, since the signature and the information seem to be in the same hand. This means this is secondary information, but it comes from the person himself, making this pretty reliable information. He lives in Lynden, Whatcom County, Washington State, a natural born citizen. He is a farmer for his father's farm, G.E. Dyksterhuis. The nearest relative is listed as Mrs Helen Dyksterhuis. I think this would be his mother Hiltje Grommers Dyksterhuis, since there is nobody else in his immediate family whose name is even close. This is simply my speculation, I don't have any proof that Hiltje would translate to Helen. I do think I have proof that Hiltje translated into Hilda, just not Helen. And, yet, he works and lives on his father's farm in Lynden, therefore I conclude (on shaky ground) that Mrs Helen Dyksterhuis, his nearest relative, is his mother.
He is tall and slender with grey eyes and light coloured hair, with no physical disqualifications. Although Draft registration started May 1917, he didn't fill out the draft form until more than a year later, September 1918.
I take back what I wrote about the signature being the same as the rest of the information. I think the registrar filled everything out, with Abel standing there giving the information, then signing the form at the bottom of the first page. Still, pretty reliable information.
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| The Lynden Tribune, Lynden Washington 28 December 1916 page 1 downloaded May 2018 from Newspapers.com |
Also in the news --
Flu epidemic kills more than 25 million people, from 1918 to 1920, and Prohibition from 1918 to 1933 made possession, making or selling alcohol illegal (OurTimelines.com, 2018)
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1919 age 20
Historical Insight -- 1919 Paris Peace Conference
Abel probably read newspaper accounts about the Paris Peace Conference while living in Lynden Washington
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| 1919 Paris France Credit: New York Times Co/Archive Photos/Getty Images |
Representatives from more than 32 nations attended the conference, but all the important decisions were made by the "Big Four." -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight
Historical Insight -- The "Red Scare"
In 1917, Abel Dyksterhuis may have witnessed one of the "Palmer Raids" while living in Washington, during the first "Red Scare.
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| Credit: Universal History Archive/ Universal Images Group/UIG via Getty Images |
During the Red Scare of 1919-1920, anticommunism led to Constitutional rights being trumped by the pursuit of national security.
The political paranoia that emerged after World War I in the United States is known as the first "Red Scare." After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, Americans perceived an eminent threat from communism. The title of a popular 1919 propaganda song proclaimed, "We Will Never Change the Blue and White to Red." In April 1919, the Post Office discovered 38 bombs mailed to politicians and capitalists, and two months later, Italian anarchists detonated larger bombs in eight cities, including one that killed a man and another that damaged Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer's home in Washington, D.C. Between November 1919 and January 1920, Palmer responded by hunting for communists in over 30 cities across 23 states. Using the power of the Espionage and Sedition acts established during the war, about 200 people were deported and 6,000 suspects were arrested or detained as a result of the "Palmer Raids." -- Ancestry.com Historical Insight -- editor note: Wow! No wonder people were scared.
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I couldn't find a recording of this song, but I found an online copy of the sheet music from the Library of Congress.
In other news
League of Nations initiated, and the Shortwave Radio was developed (OurTimelines.com, 2018)
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Resources:
Newspapers.com. (1914, December 2). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois, page 11. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Newspapers.com: Newspapers.com
Newspapers.com. (1916, February 24). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois page 3. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com
Newspapers.com. (1923, April 10). The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana page 25. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com
OurTimelines.com. (2018). TimeLines. Retrieved from OurTimeLines.com: http://ourtimelines.com/
Resources:
Newspapers.com. (1914, July 11). The Pantagraph,
Bloomington Illinois page 7. Retrieved september 4, 2017, from
Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com
Newspapers.com. (1914, December 2). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois, page 11. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Newspapers.com: Newspapers.com
Newspapers.com. (1916, February 24). The Pantagraph, Bloomington Illinois page 3. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com
Newspapers.com. (1923, April 10). The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Indiana page 25. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from Newspapers.com: www.newspapers.com
OurTimelines.com. (2018). TimeLines. Retrieved from OurTimeLines.com: http://ourtimelines.com/
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