November 11 , 2018 I www.ggrwhc.org   I 616-574-7307
This Week and Women's History:
 WWI and the 19th Amendment
On Wednesday, supplement what you’ve been learning during the WWI centennial with some women’s history—especially if you didn’t have a clue that the Grand Rapids “woman's" committee was only one of 17,000 mobilized as a home defense after U.S. entry in April 1917. 

And then on Thursday, bone up before the centennial celebrations of the 19 th Amendment in 2020! Read on~

The Second Line of Defense: Grand Rapids Women and the Great War

Wednesday, November 14th, 3:30 pm
Meeter Center Lecture Hall, Calvin College, fourth floor of the Hekman Library

The GGRWHC has been a leader digging out the stories of both local and national women’s roles during WWI, the largest wartime mobilization in their young country’s history. On Wednesday afternoon at Calvin College, GGRWHC president Melissa Fox will present one last overview during this season. Catch her lavishly illustrated program!

In 1917 one third of US draftees failed their physicals. The establishment of woman’s committees by the Council of National Defense mandated American women to ensure the future fitness of the nation, at the same time they served the current war effort, and their long-time reform movements suddenly took off. The initiatives of Grand Rapids women created a home defense by guaranteeing wholesome food sources, raising healthy children, and protecting women in the industrial work force. 

Discussing the pioneering efforts of local women, Melissa Fox will integrate local histories into the national story. This talk is part of a monthly Calvin College history colloquia series, whose lectures are free and open to the community. Come early to enjoy refreshments! 
(https://calvin.edu/calendar/event.html?id=3e989ae5-549a-44a9-a8b8-2a692716250e)
Author Elaine Weiss at the Ford
On Thursday, November 15th, 7:00 pm , at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, author Elaine Weiss will visit Grand Rapids to talk about her new book featuring the nail-biting climax of the 72-year fight to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. The Woman’s Hour  is an inspiring story of activists winning their own freedom in one of the last campaigns forged in the shadow of the Civil War and the beginning of the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights. Free and open to the public, but RSVP at 
https://www.ggrwhc.org/event/elaine-weiss-the-womans-hour-the-great-fight-to-win-the-vote/
Finish up women’s history in the fall with the GGRWHC. Then stay tuned for upcoming events beginning early in 2019!

Hope to see you soon~
GGRWHC |   www.ggrwhc.org   | 616-574-7307
Hats off to the historical women who've shaped West Michigan!
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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.