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Current News
March - Women's History MonthEvery year, during the month of March, hundreds of thousands of events are held throughout the country to acknowledge and recognize the amazing accomplishments of women. This national celebration and recognition of women's historic achievements began in 1980 when National Women's History Week was proclaimed by Presidential Proclamation. In 1987, this national celebration was expanded by Congressional Resolution to an entire month by declaring March as National Women's History Month. National Women's History Month provides an opportunity to educate the general public about the significant role of women in American history and contemporary society. Establishing this focal celebration has encouraged schools to introduce new curriculum, and communities to recognize women who have been pivotal in their own communities. The knowledge of women's history provides a more expansive vision of what a woman can do. This perspective can encourage girls and women to think larger and bolder and can give boys and men a fuller understanding of the female experience. Each March, to unify the observance of National Women's History Month, a special theme is created. Women whose lives and extraordinary work exemplify the theme are selected as Honorees. The theme for 2009 is "Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet." This theme is timely in a year when the world is discussing the problems and repercussions of dramatic climate changes and the recognition of diminishing natural resources. If you think these ecological problems may be insurmountable, you will be encouraged and inspired by the dramatic actions of the 2009 Honorees. The 2009 Honorees are women whose courageous, pioneering, and innovative leadership are helping to save our planet. There are over one hundred Honorees and their achievements and accomplishments span three centuries and seven generations. For each acknowledged NWHM Honoree, there are tens of thousands of other women who are equally committed and currently working in their own communities, states, and countries. For more information about National Women's History Month or for full list of the 2009 National Women's History Month Honorees, visit www.nwhp.org. Contact information: Molly Murphy MacGregor, Executive Director - National Women's History Project [Top] LEGACY 2010The run up to the month-long LEGACY 2010 event has begun! In September the GGRWHC had the opening reception at the Grand Rapids Public Library. In October we had our first research workshop. On Saturday, March 21, we’ll have our second workshop at no cost for those individuals or organizations wondering about or ready to do historical research for their LEGACY 2010 projects. See "Upcoming Events" http://www.ggrwhc.org/upcomingevents.php The deadline for LEGACY 2010 registration is Tuesday, June 30. [Top] GGRWHC Board Member Death - Nelle FrischThank you to our members and friends who made contributions to honor the memory of board member Nelle Frisch, who died in November at the age of 84. Former owner of Downtown Books, Nelle donated her time and energy to the GGRWHC, Girl Scouts, the Ladies Literary Club, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, Temple Emanuel, and the Literacy Center of West Michigan. Nelle also authored Celebrating the Harvest, featuring Michigan farm markets. The GGRWHC was fortunate to benefit from Nelle’s incredible energy and wide-ranging interests over many years. We miss her very much. [Top] GGRWHC Board Member Dawn Hudson Relocates to D.C.Board member Dawn Hudson accepts a new position in Washington D.C. to work on the copy desk of Stars and Stripes, located in the National Press Club building. Dawn worked for The Grand Rapids Press for a decade. Read Editor Mike Lloyd's tribute: http://www.mlive.com/opinion/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/01/column_press_copy_editor_repor.html [Top] Michigan History Day State Finals Winners AnnouncedEditor’s Note: A full list of winners can be found in the attached pdf and also at http://www.hsmichigan.org/mhd.php. Students from the following communities were awarded: Ada, Ann Arbor, Bay County, Beverly Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Canton, Comstock Park, Eaton Raids, Farmington, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids, Grant, Hancock, Hastings, Holland, Houghton, Howell, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Midland, Muskegon, Painesdale, Plymouth, South Haven, and Whitehall. This year an estimated 5,500 students competed in the History Day program statewide in Special award prizes were also given to students and sponsored by the Friends of Michigan History, the Michigan Women’s Studies Association, the Michigan Roundtable of the Lexington Group in Transportation, the Michigan Archival Association, the Michigan Oral History Association, the Michigan Genealogical Council and the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History. All entries in the competition were tied in some way to the National History Day theme for 2008, Conflict and Compromise in History. Related Documents 2008 MHD National Finalists, Alternatives, and Special Award Winners[Top] Michigan's Female Lighthouse Keepers RecognizedThe Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame is recognizing Female Lighthouse Keepers. The museum is the first in Michigan to cover this topic. The exhibit will be open from January 14 to June 27, 2008. Click on the link to read the entire press release. Related Documents Female Lighthouse Keepers Recognized in Exhibit at Womens Historical Center[Top] Going to the Blazes: One-Hundred-Sixty Years of the Grand Rapids Fire DepartmentDennis W. Morrow, Pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Parish and Chaplain for the Grand Rapids Fire and Police Department will present Going to Blazes: one-Hundred-Sixty Years of the Grand Rapids Fire Department at the Grand Rapids Historical Society's Annual Meeting. No dramatic disaster underwrote the organization of fire-fighting in Grand Rapids, but by 1848 citizens began institutionalizing practices, buying the equipment, and building the housing that has developed over 160 years into the professional GRFD we know today. Click on the link below to read the entire article. Related Documents Going to the Blazes[Top] Diana Barrett Wins State History Award in the Communications DivisionLarry J. Wagenaar, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Michigan, announced today that Diana Barrett has won the State History Award in the Communications division for the GR Historical Commission's new virtual archive: http://www.historygrandrapids.org She will be honored on September 28th at the State History Conference in Macomb County: http://www.hsmichigan.org/meetings.php. To read more about the archive, click on the link below. Related Documents Diana Barrett Wins State History Award[Top] Two West Michigan Women to be Inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of FameTwo women, Gertrude Buck and Emma Cole, are being inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame on October 17. Read about them by clicking the links below. Related Documents Emma Cole by Julie StiversDr. Gertrude Buck by Jo Ellyn Clarey[Top] Grand Rapids History: The Grand Rapids Historical Commission Online ArchiveIf a picture is worth 1,000 words, imagine what you can do with thousands of pictures! It is the plan of the Grand Rapids Historical Commission at their new Online Archive, http://www.historygrandrapids.org in cooperation with the Grand Rapids Public Schools and the Grand Rapids Public Library, to collect images from local families, archives of public and private institutions and organizations, and other local sources that reflect and reveal family and community life and the ways in which Grand Rapids people worked, traveled, educated and enjoyed themselves from the mid-nineteenth through the twentieth centuries. This time of social, economic, environmental, and technological change will be documented through images that can be used to discover Visit the past by exploring the photo essays in the Explore section. The subjects of our photo essays are determined by the photos and documents offered. Sometimes they are supplemented with images from photo collections at the GR Public Library, the Public Museum of GR, and CARC (Community Archive and At the end of a photo essay you can select “Learn More” if you want to continue your exploration. There is a bibliography of books available at the Grand Rapids Public Library and a list of related websites. Our intent is to entice students and other visitors to the website to learn more about Each primary source image is accompanied by a record that provides basic information such as the date, place, creator (photographer, engraver or other source), notes and subject(s). This information allows you to search for images in many different ways using the GRHC database. Just as you might use your library online catalog to search for a book, video or other item, you can use the GRHC online catalog to locate an image, view that image and the information related to it. The multi-level search engine for the image database allows basic searches by keyword, subject, or date; refined searches where you set the criteria; and the Browse by Subject section where you can browse images in the same or related categories. The Classroom section encourages skills of observation, analysis and critical thinking for students through areas such as Primary Sources, Citation Styles, and Resources. As the site grows, lesson plans and classroom activities connecting the images and If you or your organization would like more information about how to contribute copies of your collection to the project, please contact us via the Contact Page on the website www.historygrandrapids.org. [Top] |
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