User:Buster7/Sandbox-Belgian American Club of Chicago

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The history of the Belgian-American Club of Chicago is the history of the Belgian immigrant population in the City of Chicago, Illinois. Unlike most other ethnic communities that congragated themselves and established their presence as the dominant ethnic "personality" within varied insular neighborhoods in Chicago, the Belgian community was dispersed citywide due to the basic occupation (janitor) of many of its members. After WWII, a large influx of immigrants came to the United States. Many of the Belgian immigrants coming to the USA found their way to Chicago in search of employment.

1904/05[edit]

Although Dutch-speaking Belgians are recorded in Chicago from the earliest Euro-American presence at Chicago, it was not until the late 19th century that the immigrant community was notable. By 1902 there were already several thousand Flemings in Chicago. Chicago Catholic Archbishop Edward Quigley asked Father John de Schryver (SJ), the pastor at Five Holy Martyrs Parish in Chicago, to organize a parish for the growing Belgian community in Chicago. Named after a Flemish Jesuit from the 17th century (St. Jan Berchmans [1]), the parish was established at Logan Boulevard and Maplewood Avenue on September 3, 1905. However the church itself was not officially dedicated until December, 1907.

Van Heck and the Union[edit]

As with many immigrant groups, new arrivals tended to look to countrymen for jobs and security. Belgian arrivals frequently looked for positions as flat (=apartment) janitors - a profession that the Belgians as early as 1902 are mentioned in. Chicago Flat Janitors' Union Local #1 (Federal Union #14332) was established as early as 1905 but it was not until 1912 (under William F. Quesse) that it found stability. An early Flemish officer was Gus Van Heck (1882-1968). Belgian-born, Van Heck served as Vice-President and Business Manager of the Chicago Janitors' Flat Local #1 until 1955.

Because many Belgians were janitors and looked to socialize with their countrymen, in 1947 Van Heck created the Belgian American Janitors' Club. By 1951 the club had become known as the Belgian American Club of Chicago ("BACC"). The BACC was not the first "Belgian" club in Chicago - the All Belgians Are Equal Club had immediately preceded it and in fact built the Belgian Hall in 1921. The President of the ABE club was Charles F. Strubbe (1857-1910), born in Bruges, Belgium. Even earlier, Felix Streyckmans, another Chicagoan with West Flemish roots, had presided over the Belgian American Club from the 1880s on. In the late 19th century and well into 1910s, Charles Henriot, founder of the Chicago Stock Exchange in 1882 and Belgian Consul for several decades, not only presided over a Francophone Belgian Club but was a major benefactor of the community. But the club established by Gus Van Heck was/is the sole surviving entity today.

Gus Van Heck served as President of the Belgian-American Club until 1968. He was knighted by the Belgian Government in 1955 in recognition of his service. His son, Ray Van Heck (1904-1984) succeeded his father as President of the BACC in 1968 and served in that role until 1984 (when he was succeeded by Arnold Van Puymbroeck).

Apportionment of jobs[edit]

The care and upkeep of residential buildings of a certain size required a permanently resident Janitor or Stationary Engineer. As a result, the members of the Belgian-American Club were scattered throughout the city. So while there was a "Belgian" neighborhood (clustered around Western and Fullerton), it was not cohesive. This accelerated the assimilation of Belgians (really, Flemings) into the local society. This was of course different from the experience of other ethnicities in Chicago who were able to congregate their homes within a defined community.

Synonyms for immigrant[edit]

  • non native
  • naturalized citizen
  • foreigner
  • alien
  • out-lander
  • newcomer
  • someone with "old world roots"

Club[edit]

  • Established: in 1947, as Belgian-American Janitors Club
  • Address: 2625 West Fullerton (SE corner of Fullerton Avenue and Talman Street.
  • Renamed: as the Belgian American Club of Chicago "BACC"

Current Info[edit]

Officers[edit]

The Belgian Hall Building[edit]

One of the predecessor organizations of the current Belgian American Club of Chicago is the All Belgians Are Equal (ABE) Club. In 1921 the ABE club constructed a two-story structure, the Belgian Hall at 2625 W. Fullerton, Chicago IL 60647. The immediate room off of Fullerton is a bar area. The larger part of the Belgian Hall includes a long dance floor and a stage. Most of the 13 Belgian organizations in Chicago - The Belgian Bow and Arrow Club, the Belgian Stamp Club, the Queen Elisabeth Club - rented the Hall for events as needed. The heyday for the Hall was from the 1920s until the 1970s.

Over time, as the neighborhood changed (especially in the 1970s) and the Flemings who lived in the city migrated to the suburbs and out-married to other ethnicities, club membership declined. In 1979 the Belgian Hall was sold to a local family for $25,000. For reasons unknown the Belgian Hall has remained vacant - with the exception of stored furniture - since that time.[citation needed]

Events[edit]

  • Bow and arrow competitions
  • Dances
local
with other Belgian clubs in the Midwest
  • Picnics
  • Fund raisers

Occupations[edit]

  • connection to the SEIU-Janitors Union
  • Belgian American Janitors Union

Membership[edit]

  • The BACC and other Belgian Clubs had a collective membership of more than 10,000 in 1959.
  • The BACC briefly closed in 1998 but was resurrected by a group led by Bart Ryckbosch in 1999. Today the club is an amalgamation of Belgian immigrants and descendants of earlier immigrants.

ABN[edit]

The standardising effect of ABN has contributed to a great levelling of differences in modern times.

  • Spoken standard Dutch: "Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands"

At the end of the 19th century more and more people started to have an opinion on a 'cultivated' pronunciation which was supposed to be based on the Hollandic dialect of the nobility. This development went hand in hand with an increased attention for spoken Dutch. As civilization changed, there was a growing need for a spoken standard language. One decisive factor was increasing mobility and the mingling of different dialect speakers wanting to communicate with one another.

In the course of the 20th century there were new media, such as the radio and the telephone, giving a boost to oral communication and broaden the acceptence of a common language.

In the circle of the magazine Taal en Letteren the name Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (ABN) was created and it was used to refer to the spoken Dutch standard language which spread in the course of the 20th century.

The spread of ABN[edit]

ABN started its career about 1900 in the circle of Dutch nobility in towns in Holland. This minority wanted to stand out socially by means of its language. Until ca 1920 hardly 3 % of the population was able to speak this so-called "chic" ABN.


  • The social and geographical spread of ABN in the Netherlands happened in 3 stages:
  1. In the 1940s and 1950s the Handbook by Charivarius dictated what Dutch should ideally be like.
  2. In the next stage (from ca 1920 onwards) there were several social and political changes with an effect on the language. The social middle class (teachers, parents,...) learned ABN in order to be a part of the cultivated minority. In this stage, which could be refered to as middle class ABN, the standard language had spread to almost 40-50 % of the Dutch population.
  3. In the third phase ABN spreads to the Dutch countryside, to finally reach about 80 % of the population. This phase could be called democratic ABN.

By the 1960s ABN was generally accepted by the entire Dutch population: everyone understood ABN and most people were able to speak it. The explosive spread of ABN in the Netherlands was boosted by compulsory education and also, importantly, by the media.

Until 1970, then, there was a univocal, fixed standard which was brought to the people by means of strict normative handbooks.

A broader standard after 1970[edit]

This Dutch text from the magazine Onze Taal explains the history of ABN. Until ca 1970 ABN was first and foremost a cultivated language: it was the educated, respectable variant as opposed to dialects and careless language. As such, there was no room for variation in this strict standard. This was no longer accepted in the 1970s. The attitude towards ABN changed dramatically which was mainly due to changes in civilization: equality and democratization gained importance. People from all social classes wanted to be treated equally and this also concerned their language: they did no longer accept to be discriminated because of a regional pronunciation. Consequently, the name 'ABN' (with Beschaafd meaning cultivated, educated) was also criticised, and from then on, they used the name Algemeen Nederlands (AN) to refer to standard Dutch. Finally, in the 'democratic' civilization the standard language was losing its function as an instrument to climb the social ladder.

Civilization informalized and manners changed. The Dutch language reflects this new situation. Informal and regional variants (regarding both pronunciation and the lexicon) were able to gain a place in the standard language. The broader standard means that Standard Dutch welcomes variation, innovation and simplification. Therefore this stage of the spoken Dutch standard language could be refered to as varied ABN.

Why Flemish[edit]

  • Algemeen Vlaams (General Flemish)

Deze site is nog in vollen opbouw. This site is under construction.

  • Waarom Vlaams ipv Nederlands? Why Flemish instead of Dutch?

Deze site beschrijft de algemene Vlaamse omgangstaal zoals ze nu is, in de verwachting en de hoop dat deze heden nog inconsistente omgangstaal geleidelijk zal verder evolueren naar een gestandaardiseerd Algemeen Vlaams dat het Algemeen Nederlands zal vervangen als officiële taal van Vlaanderen. This site describes the general Flemish everyday as it is now, in the expectation and hope that the colloquial yet inconsistent gradually evolve towards a standardized general Flemish that the General will replace Dutch as the official language of Flanders.

  • Waarom willen wij dat? Why do we want? Er zijn vier hoofdredenen: There are four main reasons:
  1. Nederlands is niet onze taal Dutch is not our language.
  2. Vlaams is mooier dan Nederlands Flemish is better than Dutch.
  3. Een Vlaamse standaardtaal zal Vlamingen taalvaardiger maken A Flemish Flemish linguistic skills will default to.
  4. Een eigen Vlaamse taal is prestigieuzer dan Nederlands Your own Flemish language is more prestigious than Dutch.

Details[edit]

In wat volgt bespreken we deze redenen in meer detail.

In what follows we discuss these reasons in more detail.

Nederlands is niet onze taal/Dutch language is not our language[edit]

  • In de 19e eeuw werd de Hollandse standaardtaal in Vlaanderen geimporteerd door goedbedoelende flaminganten die het als wapen tegen de verfransing gebruikten (maar onderling wel veelal in het Frans communiceerden).
  • In the 19th century the Dutch standard language in Flanders imported by well-meaning flamingants it as a weapon against the Frenchification used (but are themselves often communicated in French).
  • In the 19th century well-meaning flamingants imported the Dutch standard language into Flanders as a weapon against the Frenchification (of Flanders) (although they themselves often communicated in French).


  • Hoewel de gemiddelde Vlaming weinig tot niets van dat Hollands begreep, en het al helemaal niet kon spreken, diende men deze vreemde taal voor te stellen als de natuurlijke taal van de Vlamingen.
  • Although the average Fleming little or nothing of the Dutch understood, and it certainly could not speak the language they had to imagine the natural language of the Flemings.
  • Although the average Fleming understood little or nothing of the Dutch (language), and they certainly could not speak the language, they had to imagine (this foreign taal) as the natural language of the Flemings.

Hiertoe werd het op niets gefundeerde hersenspinsel geïntroduceerd dat die Hollandse standaardtaal voor een belangrijk deel mee gevormd was door Brabantse vluchtelingen die zich na de Val van Antwerpen (1585) in Holland gingen vestigen.

This was not based on fantasy that introduced the Dutch standard language is largely formed from Brabant with refugees after the fall of Antwerp (1585) were established in Holland.


Dit verzinsel wordt nog altijd verspreid door zelfverklaarde taalliefhebbers, die het meestal ook werkelijk geloven.

This concoction is still spread by self-proclaimed language enthusiasts, who often actually believe.

Taalhistorici weten echter beter.

Language historians know better, however.

We citeren de Nederlandse taalhistorica Nicoline Van der Sijs (zie taalschrift.org ):

We quote the Dutch language historian Nicoline van der Siskin (see taalschrift.org ):


In alle geschiedenissen van het Nederlands kun je lezen dat aan het eind van de zestiende eeuw veel Vlamingen naar Holland trokken, op de vlucht voor de Spanjaarden. In all the histories of the Dutch you can read that at the end of the sixteenth century many Flemish people went to Holland, fleeing the Spanish. Toen er in Holland concreet werd gedacht en gewerkt aan de standaardtaal, zouden die gevluchte Vlamingen hun invloed daarbij hebben laten gelden. When in Holland concrete thought and worked on the default, which would thereby have fled their influence Flemings stand.


Geïnspireerd door recent onderzoek ben ik puur wetenschappelijk gaan onderzoeken hoe de standaardtaal gevormd is en welke talen of dialecten daar vooral invloed op hebben gehad. Inspired by recent research purely scientific, I will explore how the standard has been formed and which languages ​​or dialects, there have been particularly affected. Zo maakte ik een inventarisatie van de vormen die blijvend tot standaardtaal zijn verheven. So I made ​​an inventory of the standard forms that continue to be raised. Voorts heb ik bekeken tot welk dialect ze behoorden: tot het Hollands, het Zuid-Nederlands of Oost-Nederlands. I have also looked into which dialect they belonged: the Dutch, the Dutch South-East or Dutch.


Conclusie: de invloed van de Vlaamse dialecten op de standaardtaal is minimaal geweest. Conclusion: The influence of the Flemish dialects of the standard has been minimal. Die mythe van de grote Vlaamse invloed op het ABN is gewoon onjuist. The myth of the great Flemish influence on ABN's just wrong.


Het AN is dus gewoon gestandaardiseerd Hollands. The AN is just standardized Dutch. Wie dit wil betwisten nodigen we uit om eens concreet de elementen van het AN aan te wijzen die op de mythische Brabantse invloed terug te voeren zouden zijn. Anyone who wishes to contest are invited to take a concrete elements of the AN to designate the mythical Brabant effect would be attributed.


Er is wel degelijk Vlaamse invloed geweest op het Hollands, maar die invloed is veel ouder en voert ons terug naar de periodes van het Oud- en Middelnederlands; dus lang vóór het gevormd werd op basis van de Hollandse dialecten. There is definitely influenced the Dutch Flemish, but this influence is much older and carries us back to the times of the Old and Middle, so long before it was formed on the basis of the Dutch dialects. Het taalgebruik uit die periode - de late Middeleeuwen - kan beschouwd worden als de gemeenschappelijke oorsprong van het Vlaamse en Hollandse taalgebruik, maar is zo goed als onverstaanbaar voor hedendaagse Vlamingen en Nederlanders. The language from that period - the late Middle Ages - can be considered as the common origin of the Flemish and Dutch language, but is almost incomprehensible for contemporary Flemish and Dutch. Men hoeft trouwens niet veel verder terug te gaan om ook bij de gemeenschappelijke oorsprong met het Duits en de andere Germaanse talen terecht te komen. It also does not have much further to go back even to the common origin with the German and other Germanic languages ​​trap.

Vlaams is mooier dan Nederlands/Flemish is better than Dutch[edit]

Het spreekt vanzelf dat deze stelling een subjectieve mening is en geen objectief aantoonbaar feit. Obviously, this statement is a subjective opinion and not an objective demonstrable fact. Dat de meeste anderstaligen die met het Nederlands in aanraking komen dat Nederlands geen mooie taal vinden is echter wel een welbekend feit. That most Dutch speakers who come in contact with the Dutch language is not a nice find, however, is a well known fact. Eerlijkheidshalve dient opgemerkt dat dat voor een belangrijk deel te wijten is aan de gutturale Hollandse uitspraak van de g. Fairness should be noted that this is largely due to the guttural pronunciation of the Dutch g.


Of diezelfde anderstaligen het Vlaams een mooiere taal zullen vinden valt te bezien. Flemish speakers of the same language will find a more beautiful to be seen. Het enige dat voor ons van tel is is echter onze eigen subjectieve mening dat het Nederlands geen mooie taal is en dat het Vlaamse taalgebruik in al zijn vormen veel mooier is. The only thing that counts is for us is our own subjective opinion that Dutch is not a beautiful language and the Flemish language in all its forms more beautiful.


Wat wel een objectief feit is is dat het Nederlands een eenvoudiger taal is dan het Vlaams, dat complexere verbuigingen en vervoegingen en meer variaties in de syntax heeft. What is an objective fact is that Dutch is a simpler language than that of Flanders, that complex Inflections and more variations in syntax. Wat ons betreft heeft dat weinig belang - het Engels is nog simpeler maar daarom niet minderwaardig - maar omdat velen de schoonheid van een taal associëren met de complexiteit ervan geven we dit toch maar mee als argument. In our opinion it has little importance - English is simpler but no less worthy - but because many of the beauty of a language associate with its complexity, we only do this as an argument.


Een Vlaamse taal zal Vlamingen taalvaardiger maken/A Flemish language Flemish linguistic skills will make Flemish linguistic skills[edit]

Als wij het op één vlak met onze Hollandsminnende landgenoten eens kunnen zijn dan is het wel hierover: Vlamingen zijn gemiddeld minder taalvaardig dan de ons omringende taalgroepen. If we are on a level with our loving countrymen agree Holland than it is about: Flemish language skills are on average less than the surrounding language groups. Wij menen dat dit vooral te wijten is aan het opdringen van de voor ons onnatuurlijke Hollandse standaardtaal, die ook de beheersing van de Vlaamse dialecten - waarin de Vlaming wél mondig was - aangetast heeft. We believe that this is mainly due to the encroachment of the Dutch standard language unnatural to us, also the control of the Flemish dialects - which is empowering Fleming was - has been affected.


De ironie van de taalgeschiedenis wil dat, juist door de aangehouden haatcampagne van de zelfverklaarde taalelite tegen de Vlaamse dialecten, er iets geboren werd dat zij nog meer haten: het zogenaamde Verkavelingsvlaams, de kiem van de toekomstige Vlaamse standaardtaal. The irony of history that language, precisely because of the sustained hate campaign against the self-proclaimed elite language Flemish dialects, something was born that they hate more: the so-called Parcel Flanders, Flemish the seeds of future default. Het ontstaan van deze nieuwe taalvorm was en is een spontaan proces, ondanks de actieve tegenwerking van degenen die het algemene taalgebruik krampachtig in een Hollands keurslijf willen blijven steken. The emergence of this new form of language was and is a spontaneous process, despite the active opposition of those who desperately general language in a Dutch straitjacket to keep stabbing.


  • Het feit dat het algemeen Vlaams op een spontane manier aan het ontstaan is geeft ons de hoop dat het een taalvorm zal zijn die de gemiddelde Vlaming wél op een natuurlijke en vlotte wijze kan hanteren.
  • The fact that the general Flemish in a spontaneous manner is emerging gives us the hope that it will form a language that the average Fleming is a natural and easy way to handle.
  • The fact that general Flemish is emerging in a spontaneous manner gives us hope that it will form a language that the average Fleming can handle in a natural, easy way.


Daar zien we nu al de eerste aanwijzingen van - het Vlaams verdringt het voor een Vlaming stijve en onnatuurlijke Algemeen Nederlands in meer en meer situaties - en dit positieve effect kan alleen maar toeneme naarmate het stigma tegen Vlaams taalgebruik verder afbrokkelt. Here we are already seeing the first signs of - Flemish crowds for a stiff and unnatural Flemish Dutch in general more and more situations - and this positive effect can only increase as the stigma against further weakening Flemish language.

Een eigen Vlaamse taal is prestigieuzer/Your own Flemish language is more prestigious[edit]

Het meest lachwekkende argument om het gebruik van de Hollandse importtaal in Vlaanderen te verdedigen is wel dat het gebruik van die taal meer respect zou afdwingen bij de Franstalige Belgen. The most ridiculous argument for the use of imported Dutch language in Flanders to defend is that the use of that language would command more respect from the French-speaking Belgians. Ten eerste is het al symptomatisch voor een diepgeworteld minderwaardigheidscomplex als men zijn taalgebruik wil laten afhangen van wat buitenstaanders denken, ten tweede moet de eerste Franstalige die opkijkt naar le Néerlandais wellicht nog geboren worden. First, it is already symptomatic of a deep inferiority complex when his language wants to depend on what outsiders think, secondly, the first French who looks up to le Anglais might still be born.


Nederlands is een taal met zeer weinig internationale uitstraling. Dutch is a language with very little international appeal. Terwijl zowat elk vergelijkbaar klein of nog kleiner taalgebied in Europa wel een schrijver van wereldformaat heeft voorgebracht - Noorwegen heeft Ibsen, Denemarken heeft Hans Christian Andersen, Tsjechië heeft Milan Kundera, Zweden heeft er een hele reeks - is er in de Nederlandse taal niet één literair werk voortgebracht dat wereldwijd succes kende. While just about any comparable small or even smaller language in Europe is a writer of world-class has made - Norway, Ibsen, Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen, the Czech Republic Milan Kundera, Sweden has a whole series - is in the Dutch language is not a literary work produced worldwide success. Het enige oorspronkelijk in het Nederlands geschreven boek dat wereldwijd gelezen wordt is het dagboek van Anne Frank. The one originally written in Dutch book is widely read is the diary of Anne Frank.


Er zijn Nobelprijzen voor literatuur toegekend aan schrijvers die schreven in het Hongaars, Tsjechisch, modern Grieks, Hebreeuws, Servo-Kroatisch, Ijslands, Zweeds, Deens, Fins en Noors - stuk voor stuk kleinere tot véél kleinere taalgebieden dan het Nederlandse - maar nooit aan een Nederlandstalige. There are Nobel prizes for literature awarded to writers who wrote in Hungarian, Czech, modern Greek, Hebrew, Serbo-Croatian, Icelandic, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian - all smaller to much smaller language than Dutch - but never one Dutch. De enige laaglander die ooit de Nobelprijs voor literatuur won, de Gentenaar Maurice Maeterlinck, schreef in het Frans. The only low-lander ever won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Maurice Maeterlinck of Ghent, wrote in French.


We willen de Nederlandstaligen met dit alles geen minderwaardigheidscomplex aanpraten. We want the Dutch to all this inferiority complex is not persuaded. Het dient alleen opgemerkt dat de enige geldige reden om een vreemde taal te adopteren - het culturele prestige - niet opgaat voor het Nederlands. It should only be noted that the only valid reason to adopt a foreign language - the cultural prestige - not true for Dutch.


Ter vergelijking: stel dat we ipv het Hollands het Duits hadden geadopteerd als standaardtaal der Vlamingen - en daar was ongeveer evenveel reden toe - dan zouden we deel zijn gaan uitmaken van het taalgebied dat literaire reuzen als Goethe en Schiller heeft voortgebracht, en dichters als Hölderlin en Rilke, en de in het Duits gezongen muziek van Bach en Brahms, en de filosofische werken van Nietzsche en Kant, en de wetenschappelijke werken van Einstein en Planck. In comparison, suppose we instead of the Dutch German had adopted as a standard of Flemings - and there was about as much reason to - we would have become part of the language that literary giants such as Goethe and Schiller has produced, and poets such as Hölderlin and Rilke, and sung in German music of Bach and Brahms, and the philosophical works of Nietzsche and Kant, and the scientific work of Einstein and Planck. Dát is het soort prestige waar je als taalgebruiker iets mee bent. That's the kind of prestige as a language user that you're something.


Natuurlijk zal ook de Vlaamse taal het bij haar aanvang zonder internationaal prestige moeten stellen. Naturally, the Flemish language in its international prestige without beginning to ask. Wat dat betreft beginnen we dus al meteen op gelijke hoogte als het Nederlands. In that respect so we start immediately on the same level as Dutch.

Readings[edit]

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