Next Week!
GGRWHC and WWI Women
with the Midwestern History Association
Scroll down to plan ahead for July and August!
Meeting in Grand Rapids again for the fourth time on June 6, the Midwestern History Conference gives local residents the opportunity to stay on the cutting edge of the revival of Midwestern studies. See what is offered next Wednesday and register. ( link ). It's free! Including a free parking and sign up for the free lunch.

Held in the DeVos Center, GVSU downtown campus. (#3 on the map)
Free Parking in the Seward Lot (#10 on the map)

Can't come all day? Come at 7:00 in the evening to hear what the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council is presenting on the Children's Year, 1918. See full description below.
Parking gates are up after 6:30 for all GVSU lots.
GGRWHC Presents!
Midwestern Women and WWI Council of National Defense Children’s Programs in 1918
7:00 pm

This program is the second in GGRWHC’s three-year project illustrating the little-credited but incredibly important American women's initiatives to create a home defense by guaranteeing healthy food sources, raising healthy children, and ensuring the health of women in the work force. On June 6, we will focus on the women’s programs which benefited children, ensuring the future health of the nation in the wake of a public health disaster.
When one third of American male draftees failed their physicals, the better care of American children became an important aspect of an ongoing home defense.

Melissa Fox, Jayson Otto, and Sue Caldwell will report on a variety of 1918 “Children’s Year” initiatives in urban Grand Rapids, MI, and rural Jasper County, Indiana.
On Thursday, June 7:
Gone Before Spring: A Retro Look at Alger Heights
Celebrate the publication of Sheila Shotwell’s young-adult coming-of-age novel set in the 1960s. GGRWHC’s Melissa Fox will highlight neighborhood history, including businesswoman Mrs. Roshewski, owner of Mitchell's Young at Heart clothing store.
Grand Rapids Public Library, Main, 7:00 pm
In July and August!
Wednesday, July 4th, 8:30 am,
Hollyhock Lane Parade!
Back by popular demand, the GGRWHC will take to the streets to honor parading suffragists from a hundred years ago. Watch for details & join the fun with bands, bicyclists, candy, and placards! To quote a past participant: this event is “oddly exhilarating."
Sometime in mid-July!

The unveiling of the next Legends statue this summer of Betty Ford. Stay tuned for date and other details. Joining Helen Claytor and Anna Sutherland Bissell, Ford will be the third woman honored in this project funded by the family of Peter Secchia.
Thursdays, July 26th & August 23rd, 7 pm
Holland Museum, 31 W. 10th Street, Holland

Coordinating with the Holland Museum’s ongoing Atmosphere of Distinction: Suffrage and Clothing Exhibit, the GGRWHC will offer two programs. On July 26th, Ruth Van Stee will tell the story of a suffrage publicity stunt, Takeover! West Michigan Suffragists & the 1914 Grand Rapids Press. And on August 23rd, Jo Ellyn Clarey will highlight the colorful the 1899 meeting of national suffragists in St. Cecilia's building led by Susan B. Anthony, NAWSA never again held its annual convention in Michigan.

Over the summer the Holland Museum exhibit will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11:00 - 4:00, illustrating how American women’s rights movements impacted West Michigan fashion trends and reflected women’s changing roles in society.
Tuesday, August 14th, and Saturday, the 18th (rain date August 21st)
The Beyond-Her-Grave Bicycle Tour: Legacies of Women Buried in Fulton Street and Oakhill Cemeteries Sponsored by She Rides Her Own Way, the Grand Rapids Public Library’s GR Reads program, and the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, a one-of-a-kind bicycle tour will make stops at Fulton Street and Oakhill cemeteries, highlighting remarkable as well as lesser-known local women, who have made a difference in the history of our city.
August 23rd
Observance of Women’s Equality Day
Check for us at food-truck Thursday on the patio of the Grand Rapids Art Museum! Once again, we will buttonhole passers-by about the 98th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment and remind them of the centennial of constitutionally guaranteed universal suffrage in 2020! We’ll have great local history materials.
Thank you
to many friends of women's history who have contributed in 2018
to the GGRWHC so we can continue to "uncover, preserve, and celebrate the rich history of women in our community."
If you have not yet renewed your support of GGRWHC for 2018 or joined 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.