Holland had a Wooden Shoe Factory for over six decades

Editor’s Note: This story was published in June 2020.

HOLLAND — Did you know Holland once had a Wooden Shoe Factory?

The business launched in the 1920s, when Chester Van Tongeren opened the Dutch Novelty Shop on the corner of River Avenue and Sixth Street — then Fourth Street — in downtown Holland. The establishment eventually took on the title of Holland’s Wooden Shoe Factory.

“I grew up with so many stories,” said Dave Gier, grandson of Van Tongeren. “It was my entire childhood. So many famous people — such as Rocky Marciano, Red Skelton and Johnny Weissmuller — came to visit. They all autographed wooden shoes that we had on display. There’s so much family history here.”

A postcard featuring Holland's Wooden Shoe Factory and Restaurant off U.S.-31. Today, the building is home to the Wooden Shoe Antique Mall and Restaurant.

In the early 1950s, Van Tongeren built an additional factory on Chicago Drive and M-21. He paired up with Fred Oldemulders, a well-known wooden shoe carver. Together, the two brought machinery from the Netherlands to make wooden shoes. Around this time, the Wooden Shoe Restaurant opened on-site.

But just a few years later, tragedy struck.

“I’ll never forget it,” Gier said. “It was Christmas Eve, 1956. My mom’s brother called and said, ‘The Wooden Shoe Factory is on fire. It’s burning down.’”

A postcard featuring Holland's Wooden Shoe Factory location off M-21. The factory and adjoining restaurant burned down on Christmas Eve, 1956. The factory was later rebuilt off US-31.

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‘Probers Poking Through Ruins of Wooden Shoe’

An excerpt from The Holland Evening Sentinel, published Dec. 26, 1956, reads:

An investigation into the blaze, which completely destroyed the Wooden Shoe Factory on M-21 Christmas Eve, was expected to continue today.

The fire raced through the rambling one-story building shortly after 6:15 p.m. Monday and, within minutes, the entire structure was engulfed in flames.

An adjoining restaurant, in which new equipment had been installed last week, also was lost.

Roger L. Rietberg was driving by the building and he and his wife saw smoke rolling across the highway but no flames. He rolled down the window of his car and heard glass breaking inside the building.

He raced to the nearest home and turned in the first alarm. Fire Marshal Andrew Westenbroek said he could see the factory from his home and flames were leaping into the air when he received the alarm.

Fire trucks from all three township departments answered the alarm but were unable to do anything but keep nearby buildings from catching fire from the sparks and leaping flames.

The factory couldn’t be saved; but the wooden shoe machinery was spared.

By 1958, Van Tongeren opened a new factory on US-31 and 16th Street — where the Economy Inn, Wooden Shoe Antique Mall and Restaurant and Wooden Shoe Motel are located today.

At the time, the factory portion was operated by Van Tongeren, and the Wooden Shoe Restaurant and Wooden Shoe Motel were owned by other families. The downtown location remained open, selling Dutch novelties in addition to wooden shoes.

‘Van Tongeren Family In Klompen Business Now For 30 Years’

An excerpt from an article published in the Holland Evening Sentinel, during Tulip Time in 1958, reads:

For a better understanding of the Tulip Time, turn to the wooden shoe.

A pun, perhaps, but more so a fact — for the wooden shoe is one of the unique features of the annual festival.

A trip to Holland is not complete without a stop at one of Holland’s two wooden shoe factories to watch the actual operation of the making of the famed “klompen.”

The shoes are manufactured at two locations in Holland. The main building is located on the US-31 bypass at 16th Street, while the other building is situated at the corner of River Avenue and Fourth Street. Both places are easily accessible and have plenty of parking areas.

In 1928, Chester Van Tongeren began the business, which has grown each year and, at present, shoes are now shipped to every one of the 48 states.

The business has remained a family venture and is owned by Van Tongeren and his son, Delwyn, is manager.

The three decades between 1960 and 1990 were perhaps the most popular for The Wooden Shoe Factory.

“Back then, there was a fun park next to the factory called Wooden Shoeland,” Gier said. “There were all kinds of exhibits and we even had Dutch dancing. The factory had a large gift shop, where we sold wooden shoes, Delftware and lots of other Dutch souvenirs. We even had a country store that sold cheese, candy, baked goods and homemade fudge.

“We did tours of the factory area. You’d put a quarter into a turnstile and it would swing open and you’d walk in. People loved it.”

Van Tongeren died in 1971, leaving Gier’s mother and uncle to run the factory. By 1976, Gier was largely running the business himself. In the late 1970s, the family sold the northernmost portion of the property to the Blue Mill Inn — where the Economy Inn stands today. Eventually, the downtown location closed.

In 1987, the factory acquired the Fuller Bowl Mill. An additional building was dedicated to the production of wooden bowls. The year-round success of this business eventually encouraged Gier to shut down the Wooden Shoe Factory in 1999.

“It was a different time,” Gier said. “In the late 1980s, Tulip Time was a big bus destination. We’d have close to 300 buses the week of the festival; and we didn’t even get as many as Windmill Island or the Dutch Village. It was crazy, crazy busy.

“Later on, in the 1990s, the tourist industry started to change. There were more things to see and they were more scattered across the country. Everything slowed down. Because the bowl mill was doing so well and the factory was so seasonal, I decided to close the Wooden Shoe Factory.”

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