The Story of The Hollandtown Schut
The Hollandtown Schut has been a tradition of the community of Hollandtown for 176 consecutive years. The Schut is held on the second Sunday of August each year. Traditionally, the Schut was held at the "Schut grounds" near the church. For safety reasons, the event was moved to Triple J Wing and Clay. Shooters take turns shooting directly at a fabricated bird. The one to shoot down the last piece of the bird is declared the King. Prizes are awarded for the head, tail, wings, and the last piece. The King and Queen then reign at a dinner held in their honor.
Early History
It was a rainy day in June, 1848. A group of Dutch settlers arrived at a place we know as Hollandtown, Wisconsin. They had been traveling for three months. They had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sailed on the Great Lakes. At Green Bay, they boarded flatboats. These slow-moving boats took them up the Fox River. At last the Dutch people came to Little Chute. A number of friends had settled there. However, the new settlers decided to travel ten miles farther. Father Godhart, a missionary, led the group of travelers. The settlement they started was first called Franciskus Bosch. The settlers chose a hilltop location. They made huts covered with branches and leaves to escape the rain. Later, the Dutch settlers built log homes. Other settlers arrived. Dutch immigrants could not bring much with them, but they did bring memories, customs and traditions.
The Tradition of the Schut
One Dutch custom that came to Hollandtown is the yearly Schut. The Hollandtown Dutch came from one of the southern provinces of the Netherlands. The schut festival was celebrated there every summer. It was a special kind of shooting match. On Schut day, everyone paraded into a big field. A brightly-painted wooden bird was the center of attention. It was placed high on a pole. Marksmen took turns firing at the bird. Drummers and other musicians played whenever a part of the bird fell to the ground. The winner of the contest was not necessarily the best marksman. The man to shoot down the last piece of the bird was named King of the Schut. He was allowed to choose his queen. As king, he wore a silver medal around his neck all year. The medal shows a carving of a bird. The Schut has a long history and is hundreds of years old. Early Christian missionaries visited what is now the Netherlands. They watched people there take part in a shooting contest. The men used stones as weapons. The stones were aimed at a wooden bird high on top of a long pole. This custom came down through the years. But, of course, weapons and materials changed. Early Dutch people had organizations called guilds. Some guilds were started to protect people in time of danger. They were called schutters-gilder. The shooting contest or Schut was held by this group. The celebration became one of their days of fun and target practice. Schut is a Dutch word meaning "protection". As they used to do in their homeland, early Dutch settlers formed groups to protect those in need. This group held the Schut at Hollandtown.
Continued Legacy
Hollandtown settlers began to celebrate the Schut in 1849. At first, only Dutch men took part in the shooting match. The winner wore a silver heart. Now the Schut is open to anyone. Women and men are contestants. Everyone comes to watch the contest. The day gets exciting when only a small part of the bird is left on the pole! As the years went by, the guns used at Hollandtown changed. The size and weight of the bird changed, too. The number of contestants grew. The bird was made bigger and stronger. At first it was wood. Then rubber and wood were used together. In this way, everyone gets a turn to shoot. By 1948, the bird measured thirty inches across. The pole was seventy-five feet tall. In 1956, the Netherlands sent an official to the Hollandtown St. Francis Schut. He brought a gift from the queen (pictured top right, Queen Juliana). It is a beautiful silver bird to be worn by the winner until the following year. This original silver bird is still worn today by the Schut Kings and can be seen in the middle picture above. The winner also wears a blue cape just for the day. The Schut is still held in the Netherlands. It also has been held in some places in the United States. Hollandtown, however, has a special record. The Schut has been celebrated in Hollandtown, Wisconsin every year since 1849, longer than any other place in the world. The Hollandtown Schut has been held on the second Sunday of August.
