08/20/2025
Over the weekend John Schoolland celebrated a very special birthday!
John was born August 17th, 1925, to James and Sarah Schoolland in Alamosa, Colorado. His parents were farmers and parents to six surviving children. When John was a boy, he would often go with his dad while he worked in the fields. John would ride the pony behind the rake and go up and down the field. One time when he was about six, John fell asleep on the pony. So, his dad unhooked the pony, and it started heading back to the barn on its own. Well, what John’s dad did not anticipate was that the pony would start galloping partway back and wake John up in a fright. Boy did he hold on to that saddle for dear life! John’s parents and grandparents had immigrated from the Netherlands and so when at Grandpa and Grandma’s house only Dutch was spoken. The family attended Church at the Christian Reformed Church. John attended first through eighth grades at a two-room country school near Alamosa. After the eighth grade John was needed to help on the farm. That was just fine with John, for as a boy he just always wanted to be with dad. As a young man John worked as a farmer. In his spare time all socializing was done at Church Sunday school and catechism or the occasional trips to the local bowling alley.
In 1947 John was asked by his cousin to travel with him to California to visit a girl that his cousin was interested in. That girl Marge had a sister named Helen who was a grammar schoolteacher at Ripon Christian Grammar School. When John showed up alongside his cousin, the girls’ father- who was affectionately called “Pop” said to John, “you’re not coming out for one too!” Meaning one of his daughters! Well, little did they all know that with the prompting of John’s cousin and Marge, John would ask Helen out towards the end of the trip. When asked Helen jokingly replied, “oh, I don’t know…” The following Sunday they attended night church together. The next day John returned to Colorado. The couple wrote letters back and forth and John travel to California during the winters for a few years. In the summer of 1949, they both attended a youth conference in Colorado. The winter of 1949-1950 John went back to California. He was then asked by a man to stay and help build five houses. John wrote to his father who granted him permission to stay in California. John and Helen became engaged April of 1950, and they married August 8, 1950.
The couple were blessed with four children. The family settled on a small farm near Modesto and where John farmed Almonds. They were and still are members of Modesto CRC. In 1960 John started his construction business which evolved into Schoolland Brother’s construction when his brother Cliff joined the business. With all his experience with construction John and Helen were able to help with CRWRC a relief organization established by the Christian Reformed Church. For fifteen years starting when he was sixty-five, John, with Helen by his side would go three times a year for three or four weeks at a time to help as a carpenter or supervisor responding to natural disasters. Helen was a cook at the sites. One memorable job was to the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i.
When not traveling for CRWRC, the couple took trips to many other locations. Some favorites included Alaska, Mexico, Peru to see John’s sister, Canada to visit CRWRC friends, and hiking the Grand Canyon from rim to rim with an overnight stay at a ranch on the floor of the canyon. There were also cruises including one from San Diego to Hawaii.
In 2001 John and Helen moved to the New Bethany Cottages on fourth street. The place was so new in fact that John did some of the finishing work in their apartment. Over the years they have been blessed with thirteen grandchildren and thirty-nine great-grandchildren.
Happy 100th Birthday John!
