A special conference remembering the life of Pella’s founder will be held late this summer by Pella Historical Society.

Executive Director Valerie Van Kooten tells KNIA/KRLS News they are bringing in experts from Canada and the Netherlands, as well as numerous local historians, to talk about the history and significance of Scholte 150 years after his death. Speakers will be presenting topics as varied as Scholte’s Impact on Pella to Scholte’s Religious Legacy. The conference is sponsored jointly by Pella Historical Society, Central College, Kampen Theological University in Kampen and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Local speakers include Dr. Ron Rietveld, who will speak on the time the Pella colonists spent in St. Louis. as well as give the keynote speech at the conference banquet; and Carl Nollen, who will speak on the Scholte-Nollen connection.

The conference takes place August 15-17, and the cost to register is $85 by June 30th and $95 after. Find registration details here.