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GGRWHC Board of Directors
Mary Seeger,
Jo Ellyn Clarey,
Co-Presidents
Susan Coombes
Vice-presidents
Ruth VanStee,
Secretary
Connie Ingham
Treasurer
Jo Ellyn Clarey
Kyle Irwin
Mary Seeger
Ruth Stevens
Amy Dunham Strand
Julie Tabberer
Kate van Liere
Ruth Van Stee
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Congratulations to the Mary Free Bed Guild!
Inducted into the
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
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By 1915 the initial small committee had grown to 50-member guild.
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On October 19 in Lansing, the Grand Rapids-based 125-year-old
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Carol Springer, Guild president, with Shirley Zeller, president of the Michigan Women's Studies Association board.
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Mary Free Bed Guild was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. Carole Springer, current president of the Guild was there, along with nearly 20 current guild members, to accept the honor.
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Guild members' table at induction event
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The Mary Free Bed effort dates back to 1891 when a small group of women decided to raise funds to cover the cost of a "free bed" in the Union Benevolent Association Hospital. They came up with a fund-raiser, calling on everyone whose name was Mary, a very popular name at the time, to donate ten cents. And they encouraged everyone else to donate ten cents in honor of a Mary they knew, family or friend. This free bed took on the name of the Mary Free Bed. A Mary Free Bed committee was formed to continue the support.
In 1911, the committee formalized itself as the Mary Free Bed Guild to expand membership hoping to raise enough to support a free bed in the hospital for an entire year. The expanded Guild soon came up with other fund raising ideas, including benefit concerts bringing famous operatic soloists and big-city orchestras to Grand Rapids.
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Members of the concert series ticket sales team pose for a group photo in 1912. Top row: Maud Miller, Mary Wykes, Lottie Thoits, Charlotte Irwin, Muriel Montelius, Amelia Keegan.
Bottom Row: Mrs. A.B. Smith, Rosamund Rouse, Mrs. Curtis Bunting.
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By the 1920s they turned their interest to rehabilitation, particularly of children, with the opening of the first pediatric orthopedic clinic. In 1923, almost 70 years before the 1990 Americans
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Junior members of the Guild, Peg Neuman (left) and Jessie Grimes (center) organized activities with some of the children.
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with Disabilities Act, the Guild worked with the Grand Rapids Public Schools to establish accessible classrooms for those children with disabilities. In 1930 they opened a Children's Convalescent Home, later to include a brace shop and amputee training program.
In the 1950s they began to include adults in their rehabilitation programs. Finally, in 1974, in need of more space they broke ground for the current campus on Wealthy Street at Jefferson Avenue.
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Guild members at the groundbreaking on June 28, 1974.
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The venture which started as small committee grew to include a $62.5 million flagship hospital, home to 167 inpatients beds, 14 inpatient and 31 outpatient programs, a medical group, and a rehabilitation network which provides expertise throughout Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
The 120 women of the Guild govern Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital with majority representation on all boards and committees.
Celebrating their 125th anniversary throughout this year, the Guild has hosted an art exhibit, other events, and the publication of an updated edition of their history,
In the Name of All Marys, by Gordon Olson, first written for their 100th anniversary. Find out more about their anniversary
here.
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Don't miss the November 10 Program
Celebrating Local Women in the Armed Forces
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The first woman in West Michigan to be admitted to the Marine Corps: Marjorie Newton Barrett of Cascade Township.
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Cooperating with the Grand Rapids Historical Society we are celebrating Veterans Day with Will Miner of the Grand Rapids Public Library and his presentation on Grand Rapids women serving in the armed forces during World War II.
Grand Rapids Pubic Library Auditorium, 7 p.m.
More details in the next email or visit the
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For more information, see our website
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| Join us or Update your Membership! |
Not a current member of GGRWHC?
Register or renew your membership and
help offset the expenses associated with annual research and programs. Your membership helps to set the record straight on the women who've made history here in our community.
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Board meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at the Vanderveen Center for the Book at the Grand Rapids Public Library. If you have suggestions for programs, oral histories, or other items, please
email us
or plan to attend a meeting.
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