Two crisp 8 x 10 original photographs from the Holland, Michigan Tulip Festival, a show which persists to this day. They both show the Baker Twins. They are joined by friends for the second. The Tulip Time Festival has been going on since 1929, and as these photos are from 1943, they weren't going to let Hitler's occupation of the real Holland stop the show.
In 1928, The Holland city council bought 100,000 tulip bulbs from Holland and stuck them in the ground. They come up every year, and so do buses of tulip fans.
Holland, MI is super-conservative and super-religious. The "What would Jesus Do" wristbands originated there. The city recently adopted a backwards anti-discrimination policy which specifically omitted the rights of LGBT citizens as well, but that will go away when they finally learn it's bad for business. There are some level-headed progressives working to correct the situation, and 25 years from now I suspect the Tulip Festival will be more crowded then ever. I mean please.
"The Baker Twins" photographs, 1943 by anonymous. Collection Jim Linderman
