BUENA PARK : 100 Celebrate Dutch Heritage at Dinner

Leo J. Van Kampen’s Dutch parents immigrated to America 40 years ago in search of a better future for their three children.

Now, grateful that his parents made the move, Van Kampen nevertheless wants to do something to preserve his Dutch heritage for his children.

Tuesday night, he joined 100 others of Dutch descent at a dinner at the Buena Park Hotel to celebrate Dutch-American Heritage Day, sponsored by The Federation of Netherlands Organizations and The Netherlands-American Arts and Cultural Foundation.

Van Kampen, president of the Netherlands Organizations, said an estimated 8 million people of Dutch descent live in the United States.

His own family arrived after World War II, from a small town called Sneek, in the province of Friesland.

“The reason my parents came out here was that they were pessimistic about the economic future,” Van Kampen said.

In 1953, Van Kampen’s family settled in Cypress, where his father worked at a gas station. He bought the business three years later, then in the mid-1960s the elder Van Kampen bought a liquor store, where he worked until he retired.

Van Kampen, now 49, lives in Buena Park. His parents are dead, but for him and other natives of the Netherlands, their Dutch roots are not forgotten. Van Kampen’s group was among many Dutch organizations across the county that held similar events Tuesday.

“That particular day makes me feel good . . . it gives me a little bit of pride,” said Art Den Heyer, 69, of Huntington Beach, who emigrated 30 years ago from the Netherlands.

The event symbolizes the contributions made by Dutch Americans and celebrates their culture, traditions and history of their homeland, Van Kampen said.

Dutch-American Heritage Day, recognized by presidential proclamation, was first celebrated on Nov. 16, 1991. On that same date in 1776, the first foreign salute to the American flag on a U.S. warship took place on the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, Van Kampen said.

“It was the first time the sovereignty of the United States was acknowledged by an official foreign state,” he said.

Van Kampen, vice president of a Los Angeles wholesale supply company serving the petrochemical industry, said his parents made the right decision to come to America.

“I’ve been back to Holland once or twice,” he said, “and even though the economic conditions improved considerably, I wouldn’t necessarily want to live there.”