The work of GGRWHC researchers never ceases! Join us as we blaze new trails through Grand Rapids history with cutting-edge information on women who were "also there."

We're extremely proud of the engaging historical women's stories unearthed and reported during Legacy 2010. Where else would you have learned about nineteenth-century Grand Rapids women physicians, businesswomen, journalists, and streetwalkers, or local women on the blues scene? (Revisit the entire month of Legacy 2010 programming on our web site).  

And, mark your calendars for the first quarter of 2011 and the following programs. Next year is shaping up to be just as intriguing as last!

Join us at the Ford Museum when historian Mary Jane Doerr, author of the new book Bay View: An American Idea, reveals how the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad played a role in the development of Bay View, the Methodist camp and chautauqua north of Petoskey. Bay View is of vital significance to Progressive Era women, including many from Grand Rapids. The gatherings of nearly 200 nationally significant women speakers and their enormous audiences have in the past been virtually ignored or reported with gross inaccuracy. Join us to learn more and set the record straight.

On Saturday, January 15, Doerr will sign her book at Schuler Books on 28th Street from 1-2 pm.

Co-sponsored with the Grand Rapids Historical Society and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Free and open to the public.

Join other local history enthusiasts at the Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch, on Saturday, January 22, for a day filled with local history. Dip in and out or stay all day. The GGRWHC-sponsored presentation at 3 pm is an overview of Grand Rapids as an important Michigan suffrage center. Other talks will focus on Ramona Park, Heritage Hill, transportation in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Civil War. Lunch is $6.00 and must be ordered in advance.  Plan ahead, but never fear: we'll send a reminder!

During Women's History Month, at the Ford Museum, the GGRWHC sponsors its first significant look at the history of Dutch women in West Michigan. Researcher Janet Sjaarda Sheeres shares her discovery that significant numbers of single women immigrated here during the late-nineteenth century from the Netherlands. The history of Dutch women in general has been underrepresented; the story of these specific women has been entirely unknown. Join us in March to hear their stories.

We will end March at the Women's City Club with a 2011 Women's History Month Finale, An Eye to the Past/An Ear to the Future, when WGVU's Shelley Irwin will host a celebratory reception and brief program featuring Kent County Commissionwomen, past and present. Current chairwoman Sandi Frost Parrish will represent "now" and you will meet "then" county commissioner Grace Ames Van Hoesen, who served during the Depression from 1930-1938. Naturally, we'll toast them and our GGRWHC members. More details to come.