Tidbits Able County Here, Granny. Pappy Joe says the ones with windows are for you. The flowers provide a kaleidoscope of color and a stunning backdrop for the town's Tulip Time festival, a three-day celebration of Pella's Dutch heritage. Town employees and community volunteers plant about 160,000 tulip bulbs in public parks and gardens each fall.
Residents plant the rest around their homes.
Pella's heritage is evident in more subtle ways as well. The Dutch work ethic has benefited the town's thriving industries, which include the Pella Corp., one of the world's leading manufacturers of premium-quality doors and windows. Founded in 1925, the company is headquartered in Pella and employs about 3,500 people there. The Dutch respect for learning is evident in the town's Central College, a respected liberal arts college affiliated with the Reformed Church of America. The town's Dutch roots were planted in 1847, when a group of 800 immigrants, led by the Rev. Hendrik Pieter Scholte, left the Netherlands in search of religious freedom in America.