Windmill offers a spin through history in Holland, Michigan

HOLLAND, Mich. — Come for the Dutch heritage, stay for the bullet holes. In 1961, an idea was proposed to bring an authentic windmill from the Netherlands to Holland to celebrate the city's Dutch heritage. The country, though, had recently banned the export of windmills. After three years of negotiations, a suitable mill for export was found in the village of Vinkel in the North Brabant province. Built in 1884 with pieces from at least two other windmills, De Zwaan, which means "the swan" in Dutch, is 125 feet tall from the ground to the tip of the blades. The grain mill was in disrepair and b...