Before Tom Dilley’s 7:00 program on the early fascination of Grand Rapids women with Egyptian design, join us at 6:15 pm when the Council will meet to vote on, and welcome, new board members.
Use the evening to become a member-supporter, if you aren’t already! Stay tuned for details. Read on~
Paths Less Taken:
Grand Rapids Women & the Egyptian Revival in Cemetery Architecture
by Thomas R. Dilley
November 8, 7:00
Grand Rapid Public Library, Main
Free and open to the public, free parking
Co-sponsored by the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council,
the Grand Rapids Historical Society,
& the Grand Rapids Public Library
In recent years Thomas R. Dilley has remarked on the lives of Grand Rapids women whose final resting places fell along the routes of his popular cemetery tours. This year, in the dry comfort of an inside auditorium--no rain date necessary--Dilley will reflect on three local women who made unusual decisions when they commissioned expensive burial monuments in a style which was, in the eyes of the religious and nearly all male establishment, pagan and inappropriate for a Christian burial ground.
Dilley will explore why around 1900 this fashion took hold in Grand Rapids proportionally more than elsewhere in the nation--and why three of our four mausoleums featuring an exotic, brooding Egyptian design were selected by women.
In his book
The Art of Memory: Historic Cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dilley notes that the “adoption of an Egyptian Revival design certainly required willingness to step out of the well-established stylistic pattern of the day.” Join us as Dilley starts down his own daring path by listening to late Victorian funerary art.
REMINDER!
Kent County Women and WWI’s Home Front Defense
Monday, October 29th, 6:00 pm, Cascade Branch Library
Melissa Fox, president of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, will discuss how in 1917 this area’s women stepped up when their young country suddenly undertook its largest wartime mobilization ever. Their long-time efforts to monitor food quality, children’s health, and women’s factory life took off during World War I with the establishment of woman’s committees for the Council of National Defense. There were 17,000 across the nation. Never heard of them? Join us for a look at history-making in process.
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.
