Reprise!
Highlighting Women in WWI History
Centennial acknowledgements of World War I will begin wrapping up on November 11, 2018. Many exhibits and presentations and websites have downplayed the role of American women citizens during the Great War because research on this history has only recently begun in earnest. Even specialized venues have been unaware that, upon U.S. entry in April 1917, over 17,000 American "woman's" committees mobilized as a home defense and registered millions of women for wartime contributions.

The GGRWHC has been a leader in digging out both the local and national stories, and GGRWHC president Melissa Fox will present an overview of this history in two very different, but very public, community venues. If you missed her in November, 2017, catch her lavishly illustrated program on October 29 at KDL Cascade or on November 14 at Calvin College. Read on!
Kent County Women and WWI’s Home Front Defense
Nearing the November centennial of the end of World War I, learn how in 1917 this area’s women joined the largest wartime mobilization of their young country. In fact, they were leaders. Melissa Fox, president of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, will illustrate how women’s long-time efforts to reform food quality, children’s health, and women’s factory life suddenly took off when they were granted a
federal mandate by the establishment of woman’s committees by the Council of National Defense—17,000 across the nation.

Never heard of them? Be on the cutting edge!
Join us for a look at history-making in process.

Cascade Branch Library
2870 Jack Smith Ave SE (map)

Monday, October 29, 6:00 pm
(6:00 pm, because the branch closes at 8:00 pm)

Plan for traffic at that time of day
& browse the library prior to the program!
The Second Line of Defense:
Grand Rapids Women and the Great War
Melissa Fox, president of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, will report on Grand Rapids women's WWI initiatives to create a home defense by guaranteeing wholesome food sources, raising healthy children, and protecting women in the industrial work force. When in 1917 one third of US draftees failed their physicals, women were mandated to ensure the future fitness of the nation. Integrating local histories into the national story, she will discuss the pioneering efforts of midwestern women.

This talk is part of a monthly Calvin College history colloquia series, whose lectures are free and open to the community. Come early to enjoy refreshments!

Meeter Center Lecture Hall,
in the Hekman Library building, Calvin College
Wednesday, November 14, 3:30 pm
Mark Your Calendars!
Paths Less Taken: Grand Rapids Women
and the Egyptian Revival in Cemetery Architecture

Historian Thomas R. Dilley will build on his book The Art of Memory: Historic Cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Michigan to consider a gender story--why around 1900 the Egyptian Revival fashion took hold here and why three of our four examples of this exotic, brooding design in mausoleums were selected by women. The GGRWHC is offering this program to the Grand Rapids Historical Society lecture series.
Free and open to the public
Grand Rapids Public Library, Downtown
Thursday, November 8, 7:00 pm
The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote
Prepare now for centennial celebrations in 2020!
Author Elaine Weiss will visit the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids to talk about her new book featuring the nail-biting climax of the 72-year fight to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. The Woman’s Hour is an inspiring story of activists winning their own freedom in one of the last campaigns forged in the shadow of the Civil War and the beginning of the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights.
Read the book and hear the author!

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Thursday, November 15, 7:00 pm
Free and open to the public, but an RSVP necessary. Don’t wait!
Please recruit friends to attend presentations with you
and to see what GGRWHC is up to.
Then stay tuned for more upcoming events beginning early in 2019!

Hope to see you soon~

Visit our Website
Thank you
to many friends of women's history who have contributed in 2018
to the GGRWHC so we can "uncover, preserve, and celebrate the rich history of women in our community."
To continue your support of GGRWHC in 2018 or to join as a brand-new supporter, click below!
GGRWHC |   www.ggrwhc.org   | 616-574-7307
Hats off to the historical women who've shaped West Michigan!
Please take a moment to forward this message to others you know who may be interested in women's history. If you've received this message as a forward, consider joining our mailing list in order to receive future updates about programming.

Thank you for your interest in preserving and celebrating the history of the many phenomenal women who've helped to shape West Michigan!  If you aren't already a supporter of the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council, consider investing in our work as a volunteer or with an annual donation .  Visit our  website  for more information and the ability to donate online.