Judy Parr
The married couple who currently hold title to the longest membership in Hope Church, 142 years between them, are Vern and Lois Boersma. The Boersmas were among the couples who formed the Mr. and Mrs. Club in 1951.
Organized shortly before Christmas, the club declared its first project to be conducting a Christmas carol sing for shut-ins. That was the first of many activities that combined socializing and service. The group met twice a month during the school year and once a month in the summer. Whether holding a “hard times party” at the De Witt Hatchery in Zeeland (in 1953) or preparing popular and festive New Year’s Eve dinners, they formed a friendly group that thrived during the 1950s.
By the mid-1960s, enthusiasm for the Mr. and Mrs. Club had waned, but some wanted to form a group similar in purpose but open not only to couples but also to singles and those whose spouses had died. A few years later such a group was formed.
Lois and Vern Boersma tell how the new group started and received the name Brim Bunch: “We had a start-up dinner in the spring and Eleanor Hopkins was in charge of table decorations. Because many of the group were now drinking de-caf coffee, she used one-pound Brim coffee cans filled with daffodils. ‘Brim Bunch’ was thought to be a silly, fun name,” they said. “No one anticipated that it would be considered an odd choice or that Brim coffee would cease to be. The group decided to meet every other month or five times a year.”
How many original Mr. and Mrs. Club members now belong to the Brim Bunch? The answer: Vern and Lois Boersma, Joanne Brooks, Peggy DeHaan, Dwight Ferris, Ruth Green, Clarence and Eleanor Hopkins, and Loren and Elsie Howard.
For many years, Vern and Lois Boersma have been recognized as the leaders of the Brim Bunch. They have presided over many a meeting and helped to organize the programs, set up the table decorations, prepare the food, and clean up afterwards. For many Brim Bunch meetings they are the first to arrive and the last to leave. As they “retire” from leadership of the organization in February, Brim Bunch will honor them for their many years of loving and hospitable leadership and service.