Robert P. Swierenga

A Name for Herself

History & Biography

“Kent Van Til has a knack for telling a story. This one follows a Dutch immigrant family from the 1890s to the 1990s, as told vicariously by a daughter who lived into her ‘90s. The Reckers, like many blue-collar immigrants, were rolling stones, going back and forth between south Chicago suburbs and Wisconsin and Montana. The men ride the rails as hobos, dabble in farming, building Pullman Palace cars—anything to get by. They see Chicago mobsters rob a bank and run booze, all the while trying to live as faithful Dutch Reformed Christians. Grandson Al, a WWII vet, commits suicide, grandson Don marries a Jew, and there are foibles galore. Most important, Van Till gets inside the head and heart of this immigrant family and shows what makes them tick. This is a great read.”

The Truth About Who We Are

Christian Living

“Every grandfather should write a book like this. It’s perfectly pegged for grandchildren, telling them who they are by lineage, heritage, patrimony—embarrassing or not—even DNA, and a grandfather who drove an electric car a hundred years ago. A cleric, Brouwer’s heritage is Dutch, Calvinist, and West Michigan, but anyone can use this book as a template.”