Join us for Sophia's presentation at 10:30am, or stay for the whole day of
local history programming featuring:
9:30am - Lawrence C. Earle Is Grand Rapids' First Artist
Don Bryant -
Sponsored by the Western Michigan Genealogical Society
For over five decades Grand Rapids’ first artist dedicated his fascinating life to art and to motivating others.
10:30am - Undercurrent: African American Women in Turn-of-the-20th-Century Grand Rapids
Sophia Ward Brewer -
Sponsored by the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council
How a small community of African American women in Grand Rapids made waves in history, waves that swelled into national consequence.
11:30am - What Did They Know and When Did They Know It? Grand Rapidians and the Holocaust
Rob Franciosi -
Sponsored by Kutsche Office of Local History at Grand Valley State University & Grand Rapids Public Library
Contrary to popular myth, average Americans including Grand Rapidians read a lot of Holocaust history reported in their daily papers as it was happening.
1:00pm - Hot Spots in a Cool City: Evening Entertainment in Grand Rapids, 1940-1970
M. Christine Byron -
Sponsored by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission
In the mid-twentieth century Grand Rapids already offered a “cool” range of evening entertainment at cocktail lounges, music venues, dining-and-dancing spots, and movie theaters.
2:00pm - Fresh Air, Thrift, Exercise and Innocent Delight: School Gardening Programs in Progressive Era Grand Rapids
Jayson Otto -
Sponsored by the Grand Rapids City Archives
In the early 20th century, Grand Rapids became a model for school gardening programs when every grade school had its own.
3:00pm - WWII: When Patriotism Was the Norm
Sandra Warren -
Sponsored by the Grand Rapids Historical Society and the Grand Rapids Public Museum
How Grand Rapids South High students bought a B-17 Bomber to aid the war effort during World War II.