Morning of Women's History!

Saturday morning the first two History Detectives programs at the Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch, are on women! Read about interviews of 20,000 Grand Rapids women in 1918 and African American woman pioneer Merze Tate--then scroll down to read about the fascinating programming during the rest of the day. It's too late to order a lunch, so bring your own! (The library cafe is not open on Saturday.)

2012 History Detectives:

Sleuthing for Local History

Saturday, January 21, 9:30 AM-4:00 PM

Grand Rapids Public Library

Main Library Auditorium, 3rd floor

Talks will focus on interviewing 20,000 women in 1918; Merze Tate, an African American woman who left a legacy; Ray Barnes, a legandary cartoonist; prosopography -- "a collection of... studies focusing on the public careers and relationships of a group in a particular place and period; a collective biography."; and the Ku Klux Klan in Grand Rapids; special scouts in the civil war.

9:30-10:15 AM

Rescued from the Attic: A 1918 Grand Rapids Treasure Trove

Diana Barrett

One week in 1918 a thousand Grand Rapids registrars interviewed 20,000 women, one half the city's adult female population. Trained by the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense, they surveyed 118 skill categories that could aid the effort for WWI. Men's registration cards, including comparatively little information, have been saved; but data-rich women's cards have virtually disappeared all across the nation - except in the Grand Rapids Public Library. Local history sleuth Diana Barrett will recount the story of their rescue from decades of obscurity and elaborate the picture they provide of Grand Rapids women in 1918 from all social levels and ethnicities.

Sponsored by the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council

10:30 - 11:15 AM

Merze Tate DECLASSIFIED

Sonya Bernard Hollins

Why would anyone try to murder a Howard University history professor? Why did the U.S. State Department call one of its own diplomats "a public relations risk"? These are only two questions we can ask about Merze Tate, born an African

American girl in 1905 in rural Michigan. She graduated first in her class from Western Michigan University, earned a doctorate from Oxford University, worked for the State Department and traveled around the world twice - before purchasing a ticket to travel into space. Closer to home, we can ask what legacy Merze Tate left to her undergraduate alma mater. She was an amazing woman.

Sponsored by the Kutsche Office of Local History, Grand Valley State University.

The Rest of the Day's Programming

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM

Uncovering Ray: From House History to the Discovery of a Legendary Cartoonist

Benjamin Boss

What began as a simple house history soon turned into a discovery of a local cartoonist and his life's work of capturing Grand Rapids in ink. While digging through city directories for previous owners of his house, Benjamin Boss came across the name of Ray Barnes, manager of the Newspaper Engraving Company. Turns out that Mr. Barnes was a local celebrity. Barnes was best known for his cartoons "Razzing the Rapids" in The Grand Rapids Herald (1923 to 1952) and later "Over the Rapids" in The Grand Rapids Press (1953 to 1972). For nearly fifty years his caricatures portrayed local persons using bits of biography and light humor. Readers looked forward to seeing who would be "razzed" each Sunday.

Sponsored by the Grand Rapids Public Library and the Grand Rapids Historical Society.

12:15 - 1 PM

Enjoy your lunch in the auditorium. If you haven't reserved already, please bring your own! (The library cafe is not open on Saturday.)

1:00 - 1:45 PM

Collective Biography: The Rewards of Prosopography

Don Bryant

Find out how prosopography helps enrich our view of a Grand Rapids micro-neighborhood called home by five former mayors and other city leaders. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, prosopography is "a collection of... studies focusing on the public careers and relationships of a group in a particular place and period; a collective biography." The place: Cherry Street from College to Union. The period: the 1850s to the 1920s. The group: neighbors living in the homes, some of which still stand and some that are long gone.

Sponsored by the Western Michigan Genealogical Society.

2:00 - 2:45 PM

The Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Grand Rapids?

Matthew L. Daley, Ph. D.

The crowning event of the July 4th 1925 weekend was a 3,000-person march of the KKK starting at Bridge Street on the northwest side of the city. Unlike the famous "hooded" marches, the local parade was hoodless, declaring the marchers' identity and pride in membership. By revealing the faces of the members, the leadership hoped to bolster Michigan's struggling Klan chapter by removing the stigma surrounding the secret society.

Co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission & the Grand Rapids Public Museum

3:00 - 3:45 PM

Invaluable Services: Special Scouts in the Civil War

Gordon Olson

As Union troops pushed south all the way to New Orleans, loosely organized units resisted occupation by sniping at Union vessels, smuggling goods and by raiding Union sympathizers and Confederate families alike. One of a variety of tactics employed to counter these guerrilla fighters was the formation of Lt. Isaac N. Earl's Special Scouts in mid-1864. The Scouts captured nearly 200 prisoners and goods valued at $14 million. Olson's presentation will summarize the Scouts' activities and assess their role in the Union's effort to control southern partisans, guerillas, and renegades.

Sponsored by the Grand Rapids Civil War Roundtable.