Rapids Historical Society
Volume 34, number 1
September 2012
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society
Inside this issue: Cover Story: September program: Oakhill Cemetery Tour Letter from our President, page 2 Baxter Award Winner, Lost and Find, page 3 2012-13 GRHS Programs pages 4-5 Legendary Locals; Photo Sleuth, page 6
Taking Another Look at the South Side of Oakhill Cemetery, Old Valley City September 8 and 9, 2012 10:00 a.m. each day The grandest of the historic cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Oakhill Cemetery has been in existence for more than 150 years. Here are buried many of the most important players in the history of the city, and here are many of the most interesting and elaborate monuments to those people. Back by popular demand (and because it rained on our first tour two years ago) join us for a walking tour of the southern half of this historic cemetery, and learn about its history
Happening in History, page 7
and occupants, as well as the art and architecture of this wonderful, historic place. The tour will take place on Saturday, September 8 and will repeat on Sunday, September 9. Mr. Dilley will also use a microphone this year. In case of severe weather, cancellation will be announced on Grand Rapids Historical Society’s Facebook page.
Left: The crowd listens as Thomas Dilley tells stories from Grand Rapids history with the pyramid-style Brown family mausoleum in the background.
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Next Program: Ethnic Surprises: The Early History of Chinese and Japanese Grand Rapids, by Diana Barrett. Save the date: Thursday, October 11, 2012, 7 p.m.
Grand River Times
Right: Thomas Dilley discusses the architectural style of the Gay family monument as well as the relevance of the well-known Grand Rapids family it represents.
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Dear GRHS Members,
The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, published six times annually. Established in 1894, the Grand Rapids Historical Society is dedicated to exploring the history of West Michigan; to discover its romance and tragedy, its heroes and scoundrels, its leaders and its ordinary citizens. The Society collects and preserves our heritage, passing it on to new generations through books, lectures, and education projects. Executive Committee: Gina Bivins, president Open, vice-president John Gelderloos, treasurer Board members: Alan Bennett Charles Bocskey Matthew Daley Thomas Dilley W.D. Frankforter, emeritus Tim Gleisner Marilyn Hamill Sharon Hanks Chris Kaupa Les Morant Gordon Olson, emeritus Nan Schichtel Wilhelm Seeger Jeff Sytsma John Morrison, editor
Grand Rapids Historical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Summer is not quite over. The fall equinox occurs on September 22 at 10:49 a.m. The Historical Society is rushing the fall programs just a little by offering two opportunities in early September. Board member Tom Dilley again ventures into Oak Hill Cemetery to take a look at more of the beauty and history that lies therein. Last fall an overwhelming crowd came to learn about a section north of Hall Street. We hope that by offering two days of the same route in a section south of Hall Street we will be able to accommodate everyone that wishes to attend. The Program Committee has been hard at work since Gina Bivins last spring putting together another fine season. Most GRHS President will again be presented at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, which deserves a big thank you for their hospitality. I certainly am looking forward to the great variety of topics that have been selected. Hopefully there is something for everyone. Marketing and Membership have been merged and are redoubling their efforts to inform the public at large about what we have to offer. We do have a Facebook page, which you can check to keep up to date with the Society, click like to join us. And every effort is made to make the web site www.grhistory.org a useful tool. Publications has put out another fine magazine and is already compiling stories for the next edition. I must take a moment to thank you, the members, however, since it is your support that allows us to continue with the programming and bring you the newsletter and magazine. We appreciate your input, always. We welcome suggestions for future programs. The Program Committee is always looking for a great speaker or a fascinating topic. One of the charges of the Historical Society Board is to encourage an interest in local history. This August I had the privilege of presenting Saturday morning walking tours for the Grand Rapids Art Museum in conjunction with their temporary exhibit on cities in transition. I enjoyed filling in the blanks on information I already knew about the arena district, banking buildings, furniture market exhibit buildings and what is now called Monroe Center. I love doing research and get great satisfaction when I discover new information, or find “the whole story”. In my job as Public Program Manager at the Grand Rapids Public Museum I am in charge of our Ethnic Heritage Festival, and I have been giving a number of tours in our Newcomers exhibit about the immigration of people into West Michigan. The October program about the early Chinese and Japanese in Grand Rapids will be welcome information. I am a little leery about the “The Walls of Marywood Tell the Story” program that will be on site at the Academy in November. I had an ongoing nightmare as a child about that imposing structure. If I dare tell it, it will be in the November newsletter. See you at Oak Hill Cemetery.
Web site: www.grhistory.org Email: grhs.local@gmail.com
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
2012 Albert Baxter Award Winner, Kevin Finney In May the Grand Rapids Historical Society held its annual banquet at the Women’s City Club, where we honored Kevin Finney with this year’s Albert Baxter Award. Kevin has been involved in teaching about and actively preserving regional traditional arts, cultural heritage, and the value of local history for may years, and in 2009 founded the non-profit Great Lakes Lifeways Institute for just that reason. Two months out of the year Kevin serves as artist-in-residence at the Goodwillie Environmental School in the Forest Hills Public School District, teaching local history through hands-on activities and doing active historical research with students. Project focuses include historical mapping, fur trade history, snowshoe making, and since 2005, annually building a historical canoe with fifth graders. The list of activities and causes Kevin is involved with is long. You can find more about Kevin and the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute at www.lifewaysinstitute.org. Congratulations, Kevin!
Kevin Finney, outside the Women’s City Club, with one of the canoes he built with his students.
Lost and Find Last year we started the Lost and Find section of the Grand River Times. Sometimes we get a great response and sometimes it’s a little weaker.
Specifically she would love to have a photo of the ice cream shop, and would also like to hear from anyone who remembers the shop.
This month, GRHS member Marlene Fabbro is looking for information on The Bunny Duck ice-cream shop. It was owned by Marlene’s father, John Weidenfeller, in 1934 and was located at 1206 Alpine Avenue NW, just north of Leonard Street. She says he only owned and operated the store for a year or two, and that the building previously held a shoe repair shop.
If you know where Marlene can find these photos or if you remember The Bunny Duck, please let the Grand Rapids Historical Society know at grhs.local@gmail.com. Let the Grand Rapids Historical Society know what you are looking for in your research or collection. We will post your request in the Lost and Find column of the Grand River Times.
About the Grand Rapids Historical Society. The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight programs each year, beginning in September and running through May, including lectures, audio/video presentations, demonstrations, collections, or special tours. Programs are co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Membership. Membership is open to all interested persons with annual dues of $30 per family, $20 for seniors and students, or $400 for a lifetime membership. Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society receive eight newsletters each year and a subscription to our annual magazine, Grand River Valley History. Members also receive a 20 percent discount on books published by the society as well as books published by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. Change of Address. If you will be permanently or temporarily moving to a new address, please notify GRHS before your change occurs. Let us know your new address and the date you plan to leave and plan to return. Email to grhs.local@gmail.com, or mail to Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Grand Rapids Historical Society Program Season 2012-2013 GRHS programs are generally scheduled for second Thursdays in the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum auditorium at 7 p.m. They are free and co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Please note that this year programs in September, November, and May will meet in other locations. In addition, the September program date/s and time have been changed. Mark your calendars! (www.grhistory.org) September 8 & 9, 2012, 10 a.m. each day Taking Another Look at the South Side of Oak Hill Cemetery, Old Valley City Thomas R. Dilley The grandest of the historic cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Oakhill Cemetery has been in existence for more than 150 years. Here are buried many of the most important players in the history of the city, and here are many of the most interesting and elaborate monuments to those people. Back by popular demand (and because it rained on our first tour two years ago) join us for a walking tour of the southern half of this historic cemetery, and learn about its history and occupants, as well as the art and architecture of this wonderful, historic place. In case of severe weather, cancellation will be announced on Grand Rapids Historical Society’s Facebook page. October 11, 2012 Ethnic Surprises: The Early History of Chinese and Japanese Grand Rapids
The two small Japanese-American boys with their mother in the center of the photo are Robert and James Seino Jr., the children of James and Karou Seino. They will be featured in Diana's talk. (Coll. 141-10-17, Grand Rapids Historical Society Records Collections) 4
Diana Barrett, Grand Rapids Historical Commission “Chop Sooy and Suds” reads a 1902 headline attesting to the long history of Asians in Grand Rapids, but Chinese laundrymen had already been here for thirty years. By 1914 Stickley Brothers had recruited a Japanese furniture decorator to their factory. Front and center in a 1929 photograph taken at the Clinic for Infant Feeding, we see his wife and two sons, testifying to the family's sustained presence here. The story of Asians in early Grand Rapids includes successes (wealthy entrepreneur Chan Hoy), surprises (the first Chinese granted U.S. citizenship got it here), and disappointments (no Chinese could attain “full” citizenship then, and Chan Hoy was refused re-entry after a business trip abroad). The experiences of early Asian immigrants will be set into the context of laws targeting them specifically, answer some questions (why so many laundries and so few women), and raise many more issues about the lives of Asian immigrants introduced into a booming Midwestern city 140 years ago. 7 p.m., Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum November 8, 2012 The Walls of Marywood Tell the Story Sister Rose Marie Martin, Archives Director, Dominican Sisters Grand Rapids Have you ever wondered about that imposing building on a hill on the northwest corner of Fulton and Lakeside Drive? Now is your chance to find the answer to your questions and visit the lovely structure built in the early 1920s in the style known as Italianate. Learn about its earliest purpose, its transformation from academy and convent to residence and spirituality/conference center. Hear about the plans for its future as changes unfold in the lives of the Sisters of Marywood. You will see a brief power point, hear a bit of the history and have a tour of some parts of this building including the new Legacy Room and renovated archives that has recently been completed. You may have heard the saying: “if these walls could talk!” Now is your chance to read/hear the walls of Marywood tell the story of nearly 90 years of existence. 7 p.m., Dominican Center at Marywood, 2025 Fulton Street East January 10, 2013 Are We There Yet? One Hundred Years of Kent County Road Construction Tom Byle, Kent County Road Commission Every kid has asked and every parent has heard the question from the backseat of the car. It was a frequent question in the Grand River Times
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
days before the freeways and handheld video games. Join Tom Byle, a 40-year employee of the Kent County Road Commission as he tells the history of roads and street in Kent County. The story is amply illustrated with photos from the 1920s and ‘30s, which was the first golden age of road building in Michigan. The photos are taken from the Road Commission Annual reports of that era. Come see and hear the evolution of the Indian trails to the highways of today as well the equipment used to build and maintain the roads. Tom is a graduate of Michigan Technological University with a degree in Civil Engineering. He is a licensed engineer in the State of Michigan. In addition to his interest in the history of roads and construction, he is also interested in old construction equipment and owns several old crawlers and graders and an antique tractor-trailer to haul them. 7 p.m., Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum February 14, 2013 Red-Lining and Auburn Hills: Developing an AfricanAmerican Neighborhood in 1960s Grand Rapids Jennifer Moelling Metz, Past Perfect, Inc.
House in Auburn Hills
The story of Auburn Hills is the story of African-American professionals not welcome in Grand Rapids neighborhoods. So they created their own. People fought them at every turn, but eventually they won the battle, built their homes, and created the diverse neighborhood still in northeast Grand Rapids today. Many of the original families still live in Auburn Hills, which is also an interesting example of late 1960s/early 1970s architectural development. 7 p.m., Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
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March 14, 2013 A Progressive Era Activist: Educator Josephine Ahnefeldt Goss Marcella Beck, Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council Co-sponsored by the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council (GGRWHC 25th anniversary & Women’s History Month) Josephine Ahnefeldt Goss was a Grand Rapids powerhouse with one foot in the world of public schools and the other in the broader civic arena of the Progressive Era. While her career in education was utterly unusual, Goss was also one of many dynamic women inspired by progressive ideals in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to bring opportunity to all. She was on the front line of political reform (suffrage), educational reform (open air Josephine Ahnefeldt Goss schools, manual training, truant schools), and civic improvement (the playground movement, library commission)--just for starters. Her career in education alone spanned the days of her first teaching job in the 1870s to her retirement in 1938 as principal of Sigsbee school. In between, Goss held elective office and served on the Grand Rapids School Board. From inside and outside the academy, Josephine Ahnefeldt Goss led a life committed to the power of education and action to change the world. 7 p.m., Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum April 11, 2013 Medical Myths & Misconceptions of the American Civil War Dr. Bradley Bengston (Grand Rapids Plastic Surgeon) Co-sponsored by the Civil War Roundtable 7 p.m., Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum Dr. Bradley Bengston is a practicing plastic surgeon in Grand Rapids and will speak about the medical myths and misconceptions of the American Civil War. May 9 Mugging for the Camera: Mug Shot Book 1897-1911 Gina Bivins, President, Grand Rapids Historical Society Gina Bivins searches out stories behind some of the faces of a turn-of-the-century mug shot book from the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Time and place to be determined 5
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Legendary Locals of Grand Rapids by Norma Lewis and Jay De Vries From the back cover: Grand Rapids began as an Indian trading post. Louis Campau became the first permanent white settler in 1826. Today, the city on the Grand River is Michigan’s second largest with a population of nearly 200,000, more than triple when adding the surrounding metropolitan area. Though best known as the hometown of President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford, the city lays claim to other who are, or have been, in the national spotlight as well. These include astronauts Roger Chaffee and Jack Lousma; sports figures Stan Ketchel, Dave Rozema, Mickey Stanley, and Chris Kaman; screenwriter and director Paul Schrader; actors Lorna Gray and Dick York; writers Meindert DeJong, Chris Van Allsburg, and Bich Ngyuen, to name just a few. In these pages are legends named Meijer, Van Andel, DeVos, Trotter, Belknap, Hekman, and Wege. Others are lesser known, or even unknown, but their heartwarming stories make them equally worthy of legendary status. Norma Lewis has written extensively for national and regional magazines, and this is her third collaboration with her husband, Jay de Vries. Legendary Locals of Grand Rapids is available at local retailers, online bookstores, or Arcadia Publishing for $21.99.
Grand Rapids Public Library Photo Sleuth This image comes from the Robinson Studio Collection (#125). This very cute group of Brownies was photographed March 8, 1949. If you can identify anyone in this photo, please email your information to kgillman@grpl.org, or call 616 988-5402, extension 5497. Each month the local history department of the Grand Rapids Public Library posts a different photo on a web page called Photo Sleuth to enlist the public’s help in identifying individuals in the photos. To find the photo on GRPL’s website, go to www.grpl.org and type “photo sleuth” in the search bar.
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Happening in History: September 2012 If you have history-related events you would like included in our calendar, please let us know at grhs.local@gmail.com. Reading the Great Lakes Thursday, September 6, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Main Library – 111 Library St NE Come explore the Lakes with us! We'll read a range of titles including mystery, history, fiction, and nonfiction all taking place in the Great Lakes region--from Chicago to Cleveland. This book club will be lead by our smart librarians and will take place the first Thursday of every month. Additional copies of the book are available to be checked out on Level 4 of the Main Library. September's selection is South of Superior by Ellen Airgood.
Mary Chase Perry Stratton: Journey of a Pioneering Spirit Exhibit September 15, 2012 – January 4, 2013 Main Library -111 Library St NE Founded in 1903, Pewabic Pottery has an 110-year legacy through its nationally renowned vessels, tiles and architectural ornamentation. This exhibit tell the story of Mary Chase Perry Stratton, Pewabic Pottery's founder, her unique vision and her role in the history of Detroit. It also explores the growth of the Arts & Crafts movement in America and the development of ceramic art. This exhibit is organized by Pewabic Pottery and is made possible through a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council. Free and open to the public.
Razzing the Rapids Tuesday, September 11, 2012, 5:30 p.m. Grand Rapids Torch Club meeting at University Club
West Michigan Genealogy Society Family History Writers Workshop Tuesday, September 18, 2012, 1:30 p.m. Dominican Center, 2025 Fulton Street East
Benjamin Bos, of the Local History Department of the Grand Rapids Public Library discusses Ray Barnes, former Grand Rapids Press cartoonist, and his series Razzing the Rapids. Meeting charge includes meal and reservations are required. Info at www.torchclubgr.org.
Everyone is welcome to attend. This month’s group will cover the topic, “What I did on my Summer Vacation (past or present). Those in attendance help and support each others desire to write about families with a kind eye and lots of humor. Info at www.wmgs.org.
InkTrails: Michigan's Famous and Forgotten Authors Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Main Library – 111 Library St NE
2nd Michigan Cavalry Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Kuyper College, Dewitt Student Center - 3333 East Beltline NE
Revered as the birthplace of many of the nation's best known authors, Michigan has also served as inspiration to countless others. In this entertaining program, Michigan Notable Book author Jack Dempsey and his brother Dave, will discuss their new book which explores the secrets, legends and myths surrounding some of Michigan's literary luminaries. Which Michigan poet inspired a state law requiring teachers to assign at least one of his compositions to all students? Which young author emerged from the University of Michigan with a bestselling novel derided by some critics as “vulgar”? And from what Michigan city did Authur Miller, Robert Frost, and Jane Kenyon draw vital inspiration? The answers will all be revealed! A book signing will follow the presentation.
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The Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table begins a new season with Roger Rosentreter’s presentation on the 2nd Michigan Cavalry. Info at www.grcwrt.com.
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Grand Rapids Historical Society, Inc.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 234
c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
September: Two Days at Oakhill Program: Taking Another Look at the South Side of Oakhill Cemetery September 8 & 9, 10 a.m., each day Details inside!
Inside this issue: Cover Story: September program: Oakhill Cemetery Tour Letter from our President, page 2 Baxter Award Winner, Lost and Find, page 3 2012-13 GRHS Programs pages 4-5 Legendary Locals; Photo Sleuth, page 6 Happening in History, page 7
For more information on Historical Society programs, visit www.grhistory.org