The eldest greeter at Frontier Village celebrated his 92nd birthday Friday on the job.
Gerald Van Bruggen has been the greeter at the Louis L’Amour Writer’s Shack for nearly eight years, said Tina Busche, secretary-treasurer of Frontier Village Association. He started through the Jamestown Volunteer Center for seniors when it operated the RSVP Store, but Van Bruggen preferred to be outside and adopted the writer’s shack as his beat, she said.
“Gerald has been there for many years with us and has been a great asset,” Busche said.
Van Bruggen kept coming in even as he was healing from knee surgery, she said. He Looks forward to being at the village, she said.
“Everybody loves Gerald,” she said.
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Van Bruggen said he sets his own hours but likes to come in at least a couple hours each afternoon. If he isn’t visiting around town he is volunteering at the village because he likes to talk to people.
“They come from all over,” Van Bruggen said. “I can’t believe how many people come here.”
Janet Van Bruggen, his wife, said she knows why he keeps volunteering.
“Yackety-yak yak,” she said.
Van Bruggen said he still drives and that is another reason he is able to get around as much as he wants.
“It gets me out of the house,” he said. “It gets me out of her hair.”
Karen George, the caretaker of the horse and pony operation at Frontier Village, said Van Bruggen’s post is just across from her area. He walks over to open and close the gate when she is giving visitors a ride, she said.
“He loves people,” George said. “He knows a lot about the community and the buildings here.”
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Searle Swedlund, executive director of Jamestown Tourism, said that from the visitor perspective, people like Van Bruggen are invaluable in creating a positive visitor experience. The volunteers are essential to any nonprofit organization, he said.
“Visitors come wanting to learn more about the local culture and people like Gerald are a great way to introduce them to the village and to learn more about the area,” he said.
On hand to wish Van Bruggen a happy birthday were William and Lucille Finch, the couple who once ran the print shop that is now part of Frontier Village. William is 100 years old and Lucille will be 102 on Aug. 24.
Van Bruggen was born on his family’s farm east of Montpellier in 1926. His family moved to another farm around 12 miles south of Eckelson when he was in the eighth grade.
Van Bruggen eventually took over the farm and was around 30 years old when he married Janet when she was 25. The couple have been married for 61 years and have six children, 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
The couple moved to Jamestown in 1994 and Van Bruggen continued helping out on the farm his son’s family now runs.
Van Bruggen said he doesn’t remember when Frontier Village was founded but does recall when the World’s Largest Buffalo statue was installed in 1959.
Janet spends her time making knit hats for newborns at Jamestown Regional Medical Center.
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“When our club (Stitchers) first started making baby caps we were making about 100 caps a year,” she said. “Now they are making more than 300 a year.”
