Rapids Historical Society
Volume 33, number 6
March 2012
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society
Inside this issue: Cover Story: March program: WWI, Women, and the Rise of Grand Rapids Farmers Markets Letter from our President, page 2
WWI, Women, and the Rise of Grand Rapids Farmers Markets March 8, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council
History Test Kitchen; Lost and Find, page 4
Celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Fulton Street Farmers Market in 2012, Jayson Otto will share its story on Thursday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
Michigan in Perspective; Local History Conference page 5
After managing the local market between 2005 and 2007, Otto researched its
History a’La Cart; Photo Sleuth, page 6 Happening in History, page 7
surprising beginnings and has placed it in the broader history of retail farmers markets in Grand Rapids. Prior to 1917, no official spaces allowed Grand Rapids residents to buy fresh produce directly from local growers. In fact, city ordinances declared it illegal for farmers to sell on city streets between 1897 and 1917. Once inflation caused food prices to skyrocket, some local residents believed farmers markets and community gardens could help feed struggling families in Grand Rapids.
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April Program: The Civil War Presented by the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Civil War Roundtable April 12, 2012 Co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Civil War Roundtable
Grand River Times
"Hunting Old Hi" cartoon of women shopping at the Leonard Street Market in 1917. The caption on the cartoon reads: They come in autos, on horseback, in one-hoss shays, on bicycles and velocipedes and on foot to the city retail market to hunt old Hi Cost o living and in lots of instances they find him and give him a wallop or two. Here the lady from the limousine and the lady with the market basket on her arm mingle and vie with one another in seeking out the bargains. They carry away their purchases in everything from big eight cylinders to baby carriages and, above all, everybody has a good time doing it.
Based on archival research, Jayson Otto’s story will reveal how prominent local residents, mainly women, worked during the first quarter of the twentieth century to fight the “High Cost of Living” by bringing fresh food production closer to home. It will recount their failures and successes convincing local leaders to institute farmers markets and to support the community gardens dotting the city prior to World War I. Continued on page 3
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