Women's HISTORY Month
The Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council is dedicated to spotlighting the history of women's contributions to our community. Join us again next week for "100 Years of Food Politics & West Michigan Women"!
"Women of the Ridge: Handling the Business and Politics of West Michigan Agriculture"
by Cindy Laug, Grand Valley State University
7:00pm, Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Reception Following
Free & Open to the Public
From the Peach Ridge Fruit Growers Association, formed in 1928, to Women for the Survival of Agriculture in Michigan, organized in 1972, West Michigan women have overseen the business of marketing fruit and picketing price-gougers. Women in agriculture were an untapped resource during the twenty years of the Apple Smorgasbord, and they were fearsome in 1972 when they stepped away from their kitchens, orchards, and farms to support family farms in a very different political way.
Meet some of the players on March 22nd as we celebrate WSAM's 40th anniversary! Attending will be two of 1972's "fearsome foursome," Sharon Steffens and JoAnn Thome, along with Ginny Ebers, and sisters Pat Rasch Cederholm and Mary Rasch Alt. Cindy Laug will also draw on her research for exhibit material in the foyer. Come early and stay late for talk during the reception!
2012 Women's History Month Finale!
Don't miss it! Courtesy of benefactors, enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a champagne toast honoring the centennial of the Girl Scouts! We'll also have a sneak peek at Jaye Beeler & Dianne Carroll Burdick's new book. Current members of the GGRWHC will receive one complimentary wine ticket; wine ticket bar ($5/glass). Hope to see you and your guests at the Women's History Month Finale on March 29th! Let us know you're coming! info@ggrwhc.org or (616) 234-3603!
Tasting and Touring Michigan's Homegrown Food: A Culinary Road Trip
Thursday, March 29th, 2012
5:00 pm Hors d'oeuvres & wine ticket bar ($5/glass); 5:30 pm: program
Women's City Club, Lower level auditorium, 254 Fulton Street
Free & Open to the Public
Writer Jaye Beeler and photographer Dianne Carroll Burdick will bring us into the present when we celebrate their new book! Traveling 2000 miles over the course of a year, they met dozens of enterprising women farmers and producers whose stories continue to squash myths that only men are farmers.
Join us & support the work of the GGRWHC!
During the flurry of programming during March, don't forget that the GGRWHC works year-round fostering research to be used later as programming, brochures, radio spots, and photo essays-and in books and articles and documentaries. The end of March marks the beginning of a new membership and work year for us, and we reinvest your generous dues and donations in women's futures by unfolding our past.
Please be part of the effort! Join as a member and RSVP early for the final event of Women's History Month on Thursday, March 29th. Current members of GGRWHC will receive a complimentary wine ticket! Let us know you're coming! info@ggrwhc.org or (616) 234-3603!
FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS
Always check our website at:
http://www.ggrwhc.org/upcomingevents.php
LAST THURSDAY!
If you missed Jayson Otto's program, get a sense of it via Garret Ellison's and Sharon Hanks' newsy accounts. Check them out-and reward our news outlets for attending to local history! http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/03/how_female_leaders_changed_the.html
and http://therapidian.org/join-us-thursday-night-learn-about-early-years-fulton-street-farmers-market
MORE ON THE FARMERS MARKET TODAY
Today the Fulton Street Farmers Market draws more than 10,000 patrons per week and has plans to construct a year-round building. Development Project Manager Christine Helms-Maletic will attend Otto's program tomorrow and be available to answer questions:
http://www.ggrwhc.org/pdfs/Fulton_Street_Farmers_Market.pdf 
