Broer Doekele Dykstra (November 21, 1871 - March 29, 1955), usually cited as B. D. Dykstra, was a

Dutch American Dutch Americans () are Americans of Dutch and Flemish descent whose ancestors came from the Low Countries in the distant past, or from the Netherlands as from 1830 when the Flemish became independent from the United Kingdom of the Netherlan ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

who wrote several books, served as editor of the ''Volksvriend'' Dutch-language

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

, and was a visible member of the

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 82,865 members. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed ...

. Known in the RCA as "the man on the bicycle," he operated a small publishing house with his sons and traveled door-to-door to sell his books. Dykstra was born "Broer Dijkstra" in Pingjum,

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

in 1871, son of Doekele Dijkstra and Beitske van der Schaaf. The family emigrated to the United States in 1882. He became an avid

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

. He was a student at Orange City Academy, now Northwestern College in the late 19th century; today, the school offers the Dykstra-Muste-Nelson Peace Scholarship in his, A.J. Muste's, and Ronald R. Nelson's honor. He died in

Orange City, Iowa Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler traditio ...

, United States, in 1955. Several of his sons became prominent educators and theologians. D. Ivan Dykstra was a professor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan, United States. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman coll ...

, Wesley C. Dykstra held the same position at

Alma College Alma College is a Private college, private Presbyterian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,200 students and is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accre ...

, and Vergil Dykstra served as president of

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

Books by Dykstra

*''Ten Eeuwigen Vrede'' or ''For Everlasting Peace'', 1937 *''Door Californië Per Fiets in 1936'' or ''Through California by Bicycle'', 1939 *''Geloof en Leven'' or ''Belief and Life'', 1941 *''Korte Gedichten'' or ''Short Poems''

References

External links

Northwestern CollegegoDutch.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dykstra, B. D. 1871 births 1955 deaths American pacifists American male writers American people of Frisian descent Calvinist pacifists Dutch emigrants to the United States Reformed Church in America members People from Wûnseradiel

Books by Dykstra

See also

References

External links