This group, born between the years 1910 through 1927, experienced the hardships of the Great Depression and they also lived through World War II as both soldiers and civilians. They contributed and sacrificed much to win the war. After the war ended, many of this group went on to enter the workforce, build new homes, raise families, and enjoy the peace and prosperity the victory gave them.
The number of Americans who served in World War II was around 16 million. Today, the number of these American service men still living is less than 400,000.
Gord Geurink is one of this generation who represents these life changing times, and his life story is a compelling one.
Gordon was born in Zeeland, Michigan on October 6, 1924 to Henry and Hattie (Blauwkamp) Geurink. He goes by his middle name because he had a cousin who was also named Elvin, which caused a lot of confusion.
Gord had two sisters, Henrietta (Geurink) ten Broeke and Delia (Geurink) Bakker. He had two brothers Henry and Adrian. Adrian still lives today in a house built on the Geurink farm.
In 1928, four years after Gord was born and just a year before the beginning of the Great Depression, his father purchased a 40-acre farm in Borculo, and the family moved there. The farm was located one-half mile south of Borculo on 96th Avenue between the Borculo Cemetery and Bingham Street. I grew up on the farm located directly across from the Geurink farm, so they were our nearest neighbors.
There was no indoor plumbing - you had to use an outhouse or privy. Most of these were two-holers with a recycled Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog used as toilet paper. But most homes did have a chamber pot under the bed so you did not have to make a trip in the middle of the night or during a blizzard outside. Wash tubs were used for the weekly Saturday night bath.
I asked Gord what he remembered about growing up on this farm in Borculo. He replied, “I experienced everything a farm boy would experience at this time. This would include milking cows by hand, feeding chickens, gathering eggs, driving horses, getting in loose hay and threshing grain with the neighbors.” My Dad would sometimes hire Gord to help on his farm. The 1940 farm account book of my father shows Gord getting paid $2.00 for a day’s work.
I asked Gord what his experiences at Borculo School were like. He hesitated and then said, “Well, I wasn’t the best student I could have been. I liked to have fun, and I have many good memories of my time spent there with my friends”.
One of Gord’s best memories of Borculo School was when teacher Miss Vander Pol decided to have the students put on a school play. He got a role in this play and enjoyed drama better than hitting the books. “We didn’t have room to present the play in the school, so we presented the play in the basement of Borculo Christian Reformed Church (CRC) for our parents and friends.” I wonder if this acting experience helped him in later life when he became a preacher.
After graduating from the 8th grade, Gord continued working on the family farm and working as a farm hand at other farms. At the age of 18, Gord decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. His older brother Henry had already been drafted into the Army and was serving overseas. Henry had suffered some injuries and Gord felt it was his patriotic duty to stop this enemy who had already wounded his brother. He was inducted into the Army on August 24, 1943 and was sent to a basic training center located in Camp Blanding, Florida. Gord spent the next 17 weeks in basic training, quite a different life than working peacefully on the farm in Borculo.
Even sadder days were yet to come when in the next year, 1944, three young men from the Borculo Church were killed in action. During that year, the first casualty of the war was Simon Blauwkamp. He died on February 24, 1944. His body was buried in the Borculo Cemetery on August 14, 1948. The next young man to die was Peter Gebben. He died on August 7, 1944, and his body was buried in the Borculo Cemetery on October 1, 1948. Harold Gruppen died on October 13, 1944 and was buried on November 14, 1947. All three soldiers were buried in the soldier’s memorial plot. Memorial services were held shortly after they were killed in action. Funeral services were held in the Borculo Church on the day they were buried.
THE BATTLE
After completing this training, Gord was given a furlough and sent into the battle fields in Italy to participate in the Rome Arno and Anzio Campaigns of World War II. He arrived there on March 20, 1944.
Arriving in the Anzio Beach area, Gord soon found himself living in a two-man foxhole day and night along with the rest of his company. His meals now consisted of C-rations, or dinner in a tin can. They would stay in their foxholes during the day and get their C-rations at night.
While Gord went out fighting on patrols and guarding his post, he prayed this prayer to God. “If you will spare my life, I will spend my life in your service.”
On May 24, 1944, Gord was wounded in action. While advancing in battle near a bridge, a German shell landed near him and exploded. It sent metal shrapnel into his leg from his knee to his hip. The shrapnel cut through his flesh and crushed bones in his leg. The company medic was a soldier named Baker. He heard Gord’s cries and stopped the bleeding and protected the wounds and was able to get Gord to a medic station on a stretcher under enemy fire. Gord said Baker saved his life. From there he was transported to a large Allied Hospital in Naples, Italy and put in a full body cast. Months later he was transferred to a VA Hospital in Indiana for rehabilitation.
Some of his wounds were not completely healed when Gord arrived home after his honorable discharge from the Army. Gord received medical care from a doctor in Holland and from the VA. After some months, his wounds improved, and he looked for a job. He started working at the Borculo Garage, pumping gas, changing oil, and greasing autos. The Borculo Garage had recently been purchased by Elmer Nienhuis and Jerry Por from Gerrit and Herm Bussis. They had also purchased the old Bussis implement building across the street.
As a boy, I looked up to the Geurink brothers as being very athletic and often watched them play softball. As soon as Gord recovered from his war time injuries, he was again playing on local softball teams. He played for teams called the Borculo Tigers and the Ottawa Indians. They played some of their games at Legion Field in Zeeland and were sometimes the League Champions there.
I also remember visiting the concession each week and using all of my 5 cents/week allowance to purchase a packet of gum with 5 baseball cards of major league players. The baseball cards sold at Legion Field were called the “Leaf” collection. They were the first baseball cards to be printed in color after World War II. They were printed in limited quantities during 1948 and 1949. I later gave my collection of cards to my children. Today some of them are quite valuable, especially the cards of the most popular players like Joe DeMaggio, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams, which will often sell for $1,000 a card today.
With a growing family, getting back to studying full-time was no easy task, but Gord was excited about this new adventure in his life. Gord commuted to RBC each day from Hudsonville. At times he would carpool with a few RBC students from the area including Don Essenburg and Alverne Boetsma. After 18 months of schooling, Gord got some experience working with Faith Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Here he got some practical experience in church planting. He began helping with Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and helping in morning worship.
CALVARY CHURCH, PLAINWELL, MICHIGAN
On the last day of college, a letter came in the mail from the First Jenison Christian Reformed Church, inviting Gord to appear for an interview with a possibility of beginning a new church somewhere. After a successful interview, he accepted this offer.
After the Plainwell Church became self-supporting, the First Jenison Church asked Gord if he would like to start a new church in Paw Paw, Michigan. Gord agreed and worked there for four years. Then he accepted a call to be pastor of Bravo CRC, located south of Fennville, Michigan. Bravo was a very real, warm and friendly church. They had a large youth group, and Gord loved the people there and hated to leave after only 3 and a half years, but another adventure was calling and this one would last for the next 40 years.
FORGOTTEN MAN JAIL MINISTRIES
While serving at Bravo Church, the church did a slide presentation one morning of the Forgotten Man Ministries based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After the church service, Bill Most, the director, asked Gord if he would consider becoming the chaplain at the Ottawa County Jail. After much soul searching, Gord and his wife Dee finally accepted this as another step of faith in their gospel ministry, a ministry that would last 65 years of their married life together.
Beginning a new work was difficult. Their first challenge was to raise the money ($70,000) to get this new program going at the jail. Many contacts were made to several people, pastors, and churches. Soon they had enough promises to get this new jail program going. Gord’s boyhood church in Borculo supported him for the entire 15 years he worked in the Grand Haven jail ministry.
Gord and Dee bought a large home in Grand Haven. Dee also became very active in the work for Forgotten Man Ministries. Gord recalled Sheriff Dykstra (pictured at right with Gord) and Under Sheriff Phil Alderink as excellent people to work with. With Gord’s leadership, the ministry at the jail was very successful. He started new programs aimed at helping the inmates make a new beginning in their lives. Sheriff Dykstra was very pleased with Gord’s work there and wrote a special tribute to him in a letter on behalf of the citizens of Ottawa County.
Gord’s testimony:
“God makes no mistakes. His promises and protection are always comforting and true”.
“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36).