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John
Ball Park: Grand Rapids' Most Significant Cultural Landscape
Thursday,
October 10
Jack Hoffman
When adventurer, explorer and pioneer settler, John Ball, died
in 1884, he left 40 acres to the people of Grand Rapids for a park.
Jack Hoffman, an attorney with the firm of Wheeler, Upham in Grand
Rapids and avid local historian will describe how the park assumed
a special place in Grand Rapids' history.
Gerald
R. Ford Museum, 7:30 p.m.
"Here,
the surveyor died." Michigan's Original Survey and its Legacy
in the Grand River Valley"
Thursday,
November 14
Jim Mulder and Kevin Finney
Over 160 years ago, trailblazing surveyors braved isolation,
disease, swamps and mosquitoes to lay out the precise boundaries
West Michigan residents still use. Local historians Jim Mulder and
Kevin Finney will describe the work and contributions of Michigan's
original surveyors.
Gerald
R. Ford Museum, 7:30 p.m.
Playing
the Game: Black Baseball in Grand Rapids, 1900-1960
Thursday, February 13
Dr.
Richard Harms
Like much of the rest of America, baseball was often segregated
prior to the 1950s. Some of Michigan's best amateur and semi-pro
black teams played in Grand Rapids. Dr. Richard Harms, Curator of
the Archives of Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary and
Archivist of the Christian Reformed Church of North America will
discuss the outstanding personalities and highlights of 60 years
of black baseball teams in Grand Rapids.
Gerald
R. Ford Museum, 7:30 p.m.
Gay
Nineties Grand Rapids and Eulabee Dix: Launching a Larger-than-life
Painter of Miniatures
Thursday, March 13
Nancy Clouse
Painter,
art historian, and GRCC Faculty Emeritus Award Winner Nancy L. Clouse
will use slides to illustrate the colorful career of Eulabee Dix.
Initiated in turn-of-century Grand Rapids, it quickly assumed theatrical
proportion. Painter and painted, Eulabee Dix was a beauty in the
beauty business whose miniatures of the famous (Ethel Barrymore,
Mark Twain, Daisy, Countess of Warwick among them) helped revive
a centuries-old tradition of art.
Gerald
R. Ford Museum, 7:30 p.m.
From
Pomology to Petunias: Grand Rapids in the Golden Age of Horticulture.
Thursday, April 10
Dr. Cheryl Lyon-Jenness
Dr. Cheryl Lyon-Jenness-Grand Rapids was an active participant
in the later 19th century's "Golden Age" of horticulture.
With agriculture a central feature of its economy, West Michigan
was a leader in the formation of organizations such as the Michigan
Pomological (fruit growers) Society. Dr. Lyon-Jenness, Assistant
Professor of History at Western Michigan University, will describe
early horticulture fairs and exhibits and place these local efforts
in a Midwest context.
Gerald
R. Ford Museum, 7:30 p.m.
Annual Meeting and Banquet
(Open to Grand Rapids Historical Society members and their guests)
Thursday,
May 8
"A free Public Library, Open to Everyone." History of
the Grand Rapids Public Library
The Grand Rapids Public Library was formed in 1872 by merging the
libraries of the Public Schools, Ladies Literary Club, and YMCA.
It has grown dramatically from its original 4,000 volumes, but never
lost sight of its commitment to provide "a free Public Library,
open to everyone." Gordon Olson, former Grand Rapids City Historian,
will present an illustrated lecture on the history of the Public
Library. A special tour of the renovated library facility will be
offered to members on a separate date.
Grand Rapids Historical Society
Gerald
R. Ford Museum, 7:30 p.m.
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