FINDING THE LOST REGION
Midwestern History Association
Loosemore Auditorium, Wednesday, June 7th
Hauenstein Center, Grand Valley State University
For the third time the MHA meets in Grand Rapids, giving us opportunity to stay on the cutting edge of the burgeoning field of midwestern studies! Courtesy of GVSU's Hauenstein Center, you can attend free. Scroll down to read about the GGRWHC! Check here for the entire day's schedule of topics and register ahead for the free lunch!
Attend all or just part of the day--but don't miss the GGRWHC's panel from 2:00 - 3:30 pm! We will describe the little-known roles of Grand Rapids and midwestern women generally in WWI programs for the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense. Recruit friends and come on down to see what GGRWHC and the MHA are up to! See you there~
 Our pioneering work on Woman's Committee activities on the national, state, and local levels launches GGRWHC's three-year report on women's wartime efforts creating a home defense by guaranteeing healthy food sources, raising healthy children, and ensuring the health of women in the industrial work force. This widespread women's war work has been virtually unknown to date. Join us to honor it and to rectify the lapse in American history!
This year's panel will illustrate how demand for farm products ensured important roles for midwestern women, explain top-down management problems faced by local groups, and demonstrate how women's pre-war programs thrived when given a federal mandate! We will highlight the experiences of urban Grand Rapids and rural Indiana women. Here's the program:
The Woman's Committee of the WWI Council of National Defense in the Midwest
Wednesday, June 7th, 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Creating 'An Army of Housewives': Woman's Committee Food Programs of World War I Anita Anthony-VanOrsdal, Michigan State University
Hooverizing and Managing the Nation's Women: The Example of Jasper County, Indiana Sue Caldwell, Indiana Genealogical Society
Schoolyard Patriots: Municipal Housekeepers and Government in Grand Rapids Jayson Otto, Aquinas College
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Bicycle Fever
Wednesday, June 14th, 6:30 pm
The Pyramid Scheme - 68 Commerce SW
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A group of women cyclists gather at the Fulton Park fountain
for a ride, circa 1895 (Grand Rapids Public Library Archives)
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By 1895, America had the fever as the bicycle evolved from a dangerous and expensive contraption to an easy and affordable way to travel.
Using one
-of-a-kind historical photos and documents, Alles will discuss the Furniture City's obsession with bicycles--including information about women's cycling clubs and how bicycles affected women's dress and offered new freedoms. In Grand Rapids bicycle culture was huge!
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In 1897, a Grand Rapids woman with a bicycle built for women. Note the lowered center frame brace, enclosed chain drive, and raised handlebars. (Grand Rapids Public Library Archives).
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Join us for the 83rd Annual
July 4th Hollyhock Lane Parade!
Back by popular demand, the GGRWHC will once again honor our forebears by re-enacting suffragists parading on Grand Rapids streets over a hundred years ago. Please march with us at the 83rd annual July 4th Hollyhock Lane Parade. Stay tuned for details!
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