Rapids Historical Society
Volume 36, number 1!
September 2014
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society
Inside this issue: Cover Story: September program: A Walk Through Fulton Street Cemetery Letter from our President, page 2 Cemetery Book from Tom Dilley, page 3 Coming GRHS programs, page 4-5 Happening in History, page 7 Photo Sleuth, page 7
Search: Grand Rapids Historical Society
Next Program: C.O. and Mabel Taylor: Power Couple of the Progressive Era. Save the date: October 16, 2014, 7:00 p.m., at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. (Note: this is one week later than usual to avoid ArtPrize crowds.)
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A Walk Through Fulton Street Cemetery by Thomas R. Dilley
Saturday, September 6, 2014: 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Sunday, September 7, 2014: 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. Parking: Houseman Field off of Fountain Street For many, contemplating our local cemeteries, and the critical place that they occupy in the discovery and study of local and regional, as well as cultural history, Fulton Street Cemetery, at the corner of Fulton Street and Eastern Avenue, is often left behind, and hence, unexplored. And yet, this earliest of extant local burial sites represents not only the final resting place of some of the very earliest residents of Grand Rapids, but is also the very first real response to an unavoidable civic need that signaled that Grand Rapids would not be a tiny frontier settlement, but was clearly headed toward establishment as a town, and eventually city of size and importance. Fulton Street Cemetery was opened in 1838, only twelve years after the original arrival of fur trader Louis Campau. Its location, just outside the city limit at Eastern Avenue (then known as East Street) was probably a reflection of the firm rejection of urban burial spaces that had been going on in New England for more than a century before. Though titled a “cemetery� from its beginning, Fulton Street is really not that, but is more accurately viewed as a late version of the graveyard format of cemetery design that had dominated burial sites all over the Eastern United States for the preceding two centuries. The graveyard is easily identified by its highly geometric appearance, general lack of opulent markers, and general lack
The marker of young Francis Botsford presents the only sculptural piece, here an image of hope, found in Fulton Street Cemetery
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Dear GRHS Members,
The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, published six times annually. Established in 1894, the Grand Rapids Historical Society is dedicated to exploring the history of West Michigan; to discover its romance and tragedy, its heroes and scoundrels, its leaders and its ordinary citizens. The Society collects and preserves our heritage, passing it on to new generations through books, lectures, and education projects.
Executive Committee: Gina Bivins, president Matthew Daley, vice president John Gelderloos, treasurer Board members: Alan Bennett Charles Bocskey Thomas Dilley W.D. Frankforter, emeritus Tim Gleisner Marilyn Hamill Chris Kaupa Gordon Olson, emeritus Nan Schichtel Wilhelm Seeger Jeff Sytsma Jim Winslow Kurt Yost John Morrison, editor
Grand Rapids Historical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Web site: www.grhistory.org Email: grhs.local@gmail.com
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My husband Fred asked me, "What more would you like to know about Grand Rapids history?" My answer is that I would like to have the histories of less documented ethnic groups, written by someone from their group integrated into the general history of the community. I want them to share this with us in programming whether it be the Societies' offerings, the collaborative History Detectives event at the Pubic Library or some other public forum. When the first Gina Bivins middle easterners came, which I believe GRHS President were the Lebanese, why did they come? What successes did they have that encouraged them to invite others from their homeland to come here? Where did they live? Why did they choose that neighborhood? I know that the Newcomers exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum does some of that, but I want more. I think too many still view the Grand Rapids area as a Dutch/Northern European American community. I know that we are far from that. Last I heard there were fifty different languages spoken in homes of Kentwood students. When my children were at Union High School in the 1980s and ‘90s many of the English Language Learners were schooled there. It gave my kids great exposure to people from a number of cultures. I want to hear their stories from their perspective. Now that you know what I want, I ask you, what do you want? The Society was able to offer a couple of member only tours this summer due to the efforts of board member Jim Winslow. The invites went out electronically due the short time available to get the reservation in. We plan to continue to seek out member only opportunities. Opportunities come about very quickly, which does not allow for the design, printing and mailing of an invite. We know that not all of our members are connected electronically and we are looking for a no cost solution for informing all members. I look forward to seeing you at the Fulton Street Cemetery in September.
About the Grand Rapids Historical Society. The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight programs each year, beginning in September and running through May, including lectures, audio/video presentations, demonstrations, collections, or special tours. Programs are co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Membership. Membership is open to all interested persons with annual dues of $30 per family, $20 for seniors and students, or $400 for a lifetime membership. The membership year runs from May to the following May. Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society receive eight newsletters each year and a subscription to our annual magazine, Grand River Valley History. Members also receive a 20 percent discount on books published by the society as well as books published by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. Change of Address. If you will be permanently or temporarily moving to a new address, please notify GRHS before your change occurs. Let us know your new address and the date you plan to leave and plan to return. Email to grhs.local@gmail.com, or mail to Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
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Th e Ar t of M em or y: H i s t or i c Cem et er i es of Gr an d R ap i d s , M i c h i gan b y Th om as R . D illey In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the look and feel of cemeteries in the United States changed dramatically, from utilitarian burial grounds to the serene park-like spaces that we know today. The so-called park cemetery was innovative not only for its distinctive landscape architecture but also because, for the first time, its staff took on the tasks of designing, running, and maintaining the cemetery itself, leading to a very consistent appearance. By the mid-1800s, the influence of park cemeteries began to spread from big cities on the east coast to the Midwest —eventually producing fifteen transitional examples in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In The Art of Memory: Historic Cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Michigan Thomas R. Dilley details the history of Grand Rapids’ park cemeteries, finding that their development mimicked national trends and changing cultural beliefs about honoring the dead.
Welcome to new members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: Kurt Yost Kevin Kaminski Pamela Daley Jeanne Frissel Christopher Markham Terry Schliewe Sharon Rydzewski Kathy Den Hollander Carrie Koster Ron Redman Lee Engstrom Jim Bleeker Dave Thompson, Jr. David Britten Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society:
Get your copy of The Art of Memory at local bookstores, at our September program at Fulton Street Cemetery, or from our website at www.grhistory.org.
Join the Grand Rapids Historical Society or Give a Membership as a Gift The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight lectures each year, which are co-sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Members of the society enjoy these benefits: The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society. Published and mailed to members eight times a year, it includes current items of historical interest, details of upcoming lectures, historically relevant activities, and short articles. The Grand River Valley History is the society’s annual magazine. Featured are illustrated articles by local history researchers and contributions from the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the City Archivist, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. 20% Discount on all books and other items published by the society. Please enroll me as a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: ___ New ___ Renewal ___ Gift ____ Individual/Family Membership: $30.00 per year ____ Senior Citizen or Student: $20.00 per year ____ Lifetime: $400.00 one-time fee
• Annual memberships: 286
Name: Address: City/State/Zip Email:
• Organizations: 42
Please make check payable to the Grand Rapids Historical Society and mail it with this form to:
• Baxter Award winners: 20
Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids MI 49503
• Lifetime memberships: 71
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
2014 - 2015 Gr an d R ap i d s H is t or i c al S oc i et y P r ogr am s Walking Tour of Fulton Street Cemetery September 6 at 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. September 7 at 1 & 3 p.m. Thomas R. Dilley The GRHS exploration of local cemeteries continues on September 6 & 7, with a walk through the oldest extant burial site in Grand Rapids, Fulton Street Cemetery. Located at the corner of Fulton Street and Eastern Avenue, Fulton Street Cemetery has served the community for more than 175 years, and contains the burials of many of our earliest citizens, including Thomas Gilbert, John Ball, Rebecca Richmond, Joel Guild and Charles C. Comstock.
Federal Building to W.N. Ferris Building: Renewal and Reconstruction January 8, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Kendall College, “The Fed” Building Tom Mathison and Eugene Hopkins The Exciting Early History of African American Women’s Clubs in Grand Rapids Celebrating Women’s History Month AND Black History Month Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum February 12, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
In 1907 five African American women’s groups hosted the convention of the State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs in The marker of Andrew Haldane, Grand Rapids. Delegates from all over brother of furniture maker William C.O. and Mabel Taylor: Power Michigan were welcomed by the mayor and Haldane, is of white marble, and Couple of the Progressive Era treated to trolley tours and receptions. Who shows the effects of more than one October 16, 7:00 p.m. were these enterprising women representing hundred fifty years of weathering. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum a minuscule percentage of the city’s Andrew is thought to be the first Doug Taylor and Michael Johnston population? Only now are we piecing burial at Fulton Street, in 1838. together their story from the rich social ferment fostering the emergence of women onto the nation’s public stage. Among the host clubs in 1907 was a new group for younger women, the stillcontinuing Grand Rapids Study Club. During the 1890s women’s clubs had proliferated so rapidly and organized women into such a social force that newspapers were compelled to create new sections featuring their plans and activities. What can be found in these early news accounts? That Jewish women, Polish Catholic women, all women, were gathering for selfeducation and charitable purposes – and sometimes to step up publicly and denounce racist articles, as did the Married Ladies Nineteenth Century Club in 1898. The Grand Rapids Study Club and the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council will tell a fascinating story that The remarkable story of an extraordinary couple who fills major gaps at the same time it corrects errors in helped birth the emerging middle class in Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids history. the late 19th and early 20th Century. By his grandson Doug Taylor, historian at large and Michael Johnston, Open Door: The One Hundred Year History of Grand Grand Rapids labor historian. Rapids Junior College/Community College March 12, 2015, 7:00 p.m. A History of The Grand Rapids Police Department Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum November 13, 7:00 p.m. Walt Lockwood and Mike Klawitter Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum Lt. Patrick Merrill For one hundred years Grand Rapids Community College has had a major impact on the city of Grand Rapids and 4
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West Michigan. Is was the first junior college in Michigan and one of the earliest in the nation. This presentation will explore the origins of the College and its importance to the central city through the years. Included will be a look at the expansion of programs, enrollment and facilities; the challenges and successes the College has experienced; and some of the personalities involved. Who the Heck is Abner Doubleday: Baseball and the Civil War April 9, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum Bruce Allardice (member of the Chicago Civil War Round Table) The Berkey and Gay Litigation of 1933-34: The Furniture City’s Struggle Against a Corporate Raider May 14, 2015 (Time and Place to be determined) Patrick E. Mears On September 19, 1933, downtown Grand Rapids was the scene of a gala parade in support of the NRA, the National Recovery Administration, one of FDR’s newly created, “alphabet soup” federal agencies and its codes of conduct for participating businesses. The NRA’s symbol, the Blue Eagle, was paraded through the downtown streets in front of 75,000 spectators, accompanied by 75 elaborate floats, the Furniture City Bank and a drum and bugle corps. Many
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of these floats were sponsored by well-known, local businesses such as American Seating, Corduroy Tire & Rubber Company, Wurzburg Dry Goods and Voight Milling Company. Notwithstanding its federal theme, the “Blue Eagle March” was a local extravaganza celebrating Grand Rapids manufacturing and commerce. The next day, the power of these local businesses, especially the furniture companies that made Grand Rapids famous in the previous century, was arrayed against the Simmons Company and its Wall Street allies in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan for the first day of trial in an action for an accounting and the recovery of monies alleged by the court-appointed receiver to have been looted from the Berkey & Gay Furniture Company by its corporate owner, the Simmons Company. In September, 1929, just one month before the Stock Market Crash and the onset of the Great Depression, Simmons acquired Berkey & Gay and, in the first dark years of the economic collapse, allegedly liquidated assets for Simmons’ exclusive benefit to the detriment of Berkey & Gay’s creditors.
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of any real constructed landscaping. In the design of Fulton Street, in conformity with its ‘graveyard’ style, the site is strongly reminiscent of an early farmer’s field, with generally straight rows of graves, oriented on an east/west and north/south axis. In replicating this Colonial format at Fulton Street, its founders, whether consciously or not, were reproducing what they knew, and what, from their nearly universal New England beginnings, was most familiar to them. Though there are some vague hints of the later park cemetery (of which Oak Hill is a local example) at Fulton Street, it is clear that the curving, landscaped appearance of the later style had not yet fully arrived in Grand Rapids, and that the replication of the older graveyard format still provided a level of familiarity that appealed to early residents. It is at Fulton Street Cemetery where many of the founders of the cemetery, and of the city itself now rest. Joel Guild, the first actual settler, who bought his land from Louis Campau, is buried here, along with his daughter and son-in-law, Albert Baxter. Under a huge boulder at the eastern side of the cemetery, pioneers John Ball, and his wife, Mary Webster Ball rest in the The marker of Franz Werner, from 1859, carries the evocative and melancholy image of a willow, as well as an inscription in Werner’s native German, a sentimental reference to the place of his origin.
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This map clearly shows the highly geometric layout of the Fulton Street Cemetery, imposed upon the site without regard for any naturally occurring landscape features.
middle of a large family plot filled with later members of this important local family. Other pioneers also rest here, including William ‘Deacon’ Haldane, the founder of the local furniture industry, businessman and developer William Richmond, farmer and manufacturer Jonathan Chubb, and the irrepressible Charles C. Comstock, all of them familiar to students and observers of local history. All of these names and others are present at Fulton Street, often inscribed upon markers lush with symbols the meaning of which were well understood by their Victorian contemporaries, but which have since fallen from general knowledge. Our walk on September 6 & 7 will acquaint participants with all of these people, and with the monuments to themselves and each other, that they have left behind. Because of the limited dimensions of Fulton Street Cemetery, the walks on September 6 & 7 will be limited to 200 visitors at a time. Walks will commence on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.. On Sunday, the walks will begin at 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.. Each walk will run about two hours, and will cover the entire, fairly level cemetery. Please wear comfortable walking shoes. Grand River Times
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Happening in History: September 2014 If you have history-related events you would like included in our calendar, please let us know at grhs.local@gmail.com. Reading the Great Lakes Thursday, September 4, 2014, 7:00 p.m. Main Library – 111 Library St NE Come explore the Lakes with the Grand Rapids Public Library! They’re reading a range of titles including mystery, history, fiction, and nonfiction all taking place in the Great Lakes region—from Chicago to Cleveland. This book club is led by librarians and takes place the first Thursday of each month. Additional copies of the book are available to be checked out on Level 4 of the Main Library. For a complete list of books, visit www.grpl.org/rtgl. September’s selection is American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Western Michigan Genealogical Society Common Sources in Uncommon Places Saturday, September 6, 2014, 1:30 p.m. Presenter: Karen Krugman Grand Rapids Public Library, Ryerson Auditorium Think you've looked everywhere for that marriage date or birthdate? Think again. This talk shows you some uncommon places you may not have thought of for locating dates! Karen Krugman has been researching since 1990, and professionally since 1998. She enjoys the challenge of
Lineage Society research. Since 2002 she has been speaking to genealogy groups in the metro Detroit area as well as other areas of Michigan & Ohio. Her talks are given with a humorous spin that is unique to her. Societies she has held positions in include: research chair for the Detroit Society for Genealogical research, past Registrar of the Michigan UDC chapter, past president of the Ford Genealogy Club, a member of the Oakland County Genealogy Society and a six year volunteer at the Library of Michigan. She has written five books based on her family history research and was co-author of The Ford Family Cemetery book, which includes photos and other information on the cemetery where auto pioneer Henry Ford is buried. Western Michigan Genealogical Society Fall Bus Trip September 10 and 11, 2014 Presenter: Donna Odom Grand Rapids Public Library, Ryerson Auditorium Western Michigan Genealogical Society’s Bus Trip to Fort Wayne’s Allen County Public Library is coming up. Visit www.wmgs.org for details. Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 7:30 p.m. DeWitt Student Center, Kuyper College 3333 East Beltline NE Roger Rosentretter comes to the Grand Rapids Civil War Round Table in September. Topic to be announced.
Grand Rapids Public Library Photo Sleuth It's September, and time to think about going back to school. Kids aren't the only ones who get to hit the books (and maybe get some hands-on experience, too)! This month's Photo Sleuth delivers 15 mystery men from the Student Meat Training Class in August 1935. The photo is from GRPL’s enormous Robinson Studio Collection, and shows the butchers-to-be seated in what is described as a Kroger Training School for new employees. Can you identify any of these meat men? If so, please email Heather Edwards at the Grand Rapids Public Library at hedwards@grpl.org, or call 616 988-5402, extension 5497. Since the beginning of the year, the Grand Rapids Public Library has been able to add 25 names to its photo index with help from the public, including Grand Rapids Historical Society members. Thank you! Grand River Times!
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Grand Rapids Historical Society, Inc.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 234
c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
A Walk Through Fulton Street Cemetery by Thomas r. Dilley
Inside this issue:
Two dates in September; four walks
Cover Story: September program: A Walk Through Fulton Street Cemetery
Details inside!
Letter from our President, page 2 Cemetery Book from Tom Dilley, page 3 Coming GRHS programs, page 4-5 Happening in History, page 7 Photo Sleuth, page 7
For more information on Historical Society programs, visit www.grhistory.org
