Marinus (Martin) and Lena/Mary Van Doorn

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Martin Van Doorn arrived in Grand Rapids/Holland area in 1876. He was seventeen.

Martin became a US citizen in 1879. He was working as “finisher” at the Phoenix Furniture Company and was boarding at 133 Cass.

Martin purchased Lot 3 Block 1 of the Merrill and Nims addition to the City of Grand Rapids from Sewell S. Vaughn on Nov 21, 1881 for the price of $275. The street address was 53 Dwight Avenue. It was later renumbered to be 113 Dwight Avenue. He would live at this residence for the remainder of his life.

Martin Van Doorn and Helena (Lena) Elenbaas were married on May 4, 1882. An interesting anecdote about these two is that both had been born in Oud-Vossemeer, The Netherlands in the 1850s. Their families had immigrated to the United States independently. Years later they met again in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

By 1885, Martin had stopped working in the furniture factories and was working as an “expressman.” In 1892 Martin was working as a driver for the Telfer Spice Co, a local distributor for a Chicago-based coffee firm.

In 1906 he was working as a teamster at the Vinkemulder Produce Co. His son Edward was living at home and was employed as a clerk at Houseman & Jones. His daughter, Adriana, was also living at home. She was employed as a stenographer at G.R. Engraving Co. 

Lena died on August 6, 1909 after an illness of two years.

In 1910, Martin worked as a wagon driver, Adriana worked as a church secretary, and Eddie worked as a salesman at a haberdashery. Adriana and Eddie were still living at the home of their father.

Martin and Mary Van Duine were married in 1914

Martin, his first wife Lena, and his second wife, Mary were all members of Third Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. Martin served as a deacon in the church in the 1890s.

Martin was described as being “hot-headed.” He also had a reputation for being tight with his money. He refused to see a doctor after breaking his collarbone and hurting his back. Neither healed properly. He would not hire anyone to clean house, do the washing, or prepare a meal. He and Mary lived in squalor the latter years of their life. Although he could afford to pay for assistance, he chose not to, preferring to save his money for his children. However, neither wanted nor needed any money.

After living at home for many years, Eddie moved to Arizona. He married twice. One wife had a son, Jack, from a previous marriage. However, Eddie never fathered any children of his own. He died in July of 1964 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Adriana graduated from Central High School in Grand Rapids in 1902.  Her studies focused on the languages and sciences.  She transferred her membership from Bethany Reformed Church to Park Congregational Church on Oct 6, 1907.  Adriana served as the church clerk and pastor’s assistant at Park Congregational from 1906 – 1910. She also served as the superintendent of the primary department of the Sunday School from 1907 – 1910. 

Ill health forced her to move out West in 1910. She returned two years later. She married a man named Ralph Marrin on July 9, 1912 in Grand Rapids. He was a clothing salesman. Later, they moved to California. Adriana transferred her membership from Park Congregational to the Christian Science Church in San Francisco on October 6, 1926. The Marrins lived in San Francisco for many years, where Adriana served as an executive secretary at the Red Cross.  She earned a BA degree while working full-time. Ralph and Adriana moved to Reno, Nevada in 1941. Adriana worked at the Red Cross in San Francisco and Reno for over 30 years.  Ralph died in Reno in 1956 after a long illness. Adriana suffered a stroke at her Carmel, California home in December of 1963. She moved back to Grand Rapids and was living at the Springbrook Nursing Home at the time of her death on January 1, 1964. The funeral was a Christian Science service and the body was cremated.

Adriana’s legacy to the people of Grand Rapids is the Santa Claus Girls charity. In November of 1908, on a trip to the Grand Rapids Herald to deliver the church news for printing, Adriana stopped to chat with Miss Elizabeth Muir, a reporter. Muir showed her an article about a Philadelphia woman who was trying to be Santa Claus to the “forgotten children.” Adriana excitedly told Miss Muir, “that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Muir suggested that Arthur VandenBerg, editor of the Herald, might be able to help. During a one hour meeting that same day, Adriana convinced VandenBerg to support her. He and the postmaster, L.K. Bishop arranged for mail addressed to Santa Claus to be delivered to the Herald. Adriana agreed to visit the home of each child that had written. In cases where the parents were financially able, Adriana returned the letters to the parents to fulfill specific wishes. In those cases where parents had no resources to buy gifts, Adriana would provide a gift.

Adriana enlisted the support of nine other Sunday School teachers at Park Congregational Church. Each agreed to collect $1 toward the cause. The Herald publicized the work of the ten Sunday School teachers, highlighting the need as well as the volunteer effort. The community responded. By Christmas Eve, the cash donations totaled $85, with merchandise contributions bringing the total value collected to more than $200. Several individuals volunteered their services and automobiles to help deliver the gifts.

On Christmas Eve, the ten Sunday School teachers, now know as the Santa Claus Girls, began filling stockings with gifts. Between 5 and 7 PM, drivers delivered the stockings to 150 children. Afterwards, the drivers recounted the joy and thankfulness of the children and the parents.

At 10 o’clock that night, Adriana received a call that a terminally ill boy desperately wanted a Christmas tree with ornaments. She and the Santa Claus Girls set out to find a tree and ornaments. The next morning the boy woke up to find a fully trimmed tree at his bedside. [6] 

Here in the words of Adriana Van Doorn is how the Grand Rapids Santa Claus came to be. “Since childhood I had visualized playing Santa Claus to the children in the city who might not receive Christmas gifts, believing that many people would be glad to help if some organization could be planned to accept funds and make purchases and deliveries. One day in November 1908, as I was making my newspaper rounds, with church news, I stopped to chat with Mr. Musselwhite and Miss Muir of the Grand Rapids Herald, and the conversation drifted round to the subject of Christmas. We aired our views on the much discussed problem of giving, and I ventured to mention my long-cherished dreams of bringing a bit of the romance and poetry of life into the world of those little children who might be reading too much of the prose pages of history. After briefly explaining details, I left the office with the promise to think over a plan whereby we could cooperate. The result was that the next week saw the work of the Herald Santa Claus Girls well begun, with the promise of the Herald to take care of raising all the funds. The ten girls who assisted me in the work of the primary department of the Sunday School at Park Congregational Church promised to cooperate to the fullest, and with Miss Muir ably writing all the little heart stories, the campaign was well launched by the first of December.”

Ill health forced Adriana to move to Reno, Nevada two years later. The remaining Santa Claus Girls carried on the work. 

By 1945, the work was too much for the church, and the operation was carried on by the Grand Rapids Federation of Women’s Clubs. In 1959, the Grand Rapids Herald suspended operations. The Grand Rapids Press agreed to carry on in the sponsorship role.

It has been the goal of the Santa Claud Girls for many years to see to it that no child in Kent County is without a gift on Christmas morning. Each child receives a new piece of clothing, a new toy, a new book, a hat, and mittens. In 2003, over 11,000 children received gifts. All the work of the Santa Claus Girls is done by volunteers.