’N Fonnie Bisnis: The Yankee Dutch World of Loe Verlak, ”Peenter, Peeperhenger, Dikkereeter,” Sage

14 Pen Drawings by D. Lam
Foreword by George G. Harper
Preface by Frederick Ten Hoor
Vocabulary by Anna Nieland-De Boer

This work is a celebration of Yankee Dutch, the colorful language adopted by thousands of Hollanders after immigrating to America. Written in a peculiar English with Dutch spellings, Dirk Nieland’s ’n Fonnie Bisnis recounts the humorous adventures of Loe Verlak, the prototypical Dutch immigrant, as he gets into all sorts of ＂funny business＂ around his community. Nieland’s fourteen vignettes touch on a wide variety of Dutch life, from Sunday school picnics to everyday jobs to the joys and trials of marriage.

Including a foreword (in plain English) by George G. Harper and an extensive vocabulary chart, ’n Fonnie Bisnis gives a picturesque glimpse into an ethnic enclave that has since been forever transformed by the passage of time. In this new edition the book will continue to delight anyone interested in Dutch American people, language, and culture.

Dirk Nieland (1886-1954) was born in the Netherlands and accompanied his parents in 1906 on the long immigrant journey to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Working in furniture manufacturing and eventually becoming an important business owner in the city, he was especially recognized for his sketches of Dutch life in America.