Glance at the Past

William J. Hardy became active in the politics of Gaines Township after African American men were granted the right to vote in 1870.

The "Knockout Polio" drive began in September of 1963. Approximately 320,000 people in Kent County participated, 86% of the population, and took the two drops of vaccine placed on a sugar cube.

Jim Rose began offering swimming instruction at Reed's Lake in 1901. By the time Rose's Beach was closed during WWII, Jim and his family had watched thousands of people swimming there for forty-three years.

The original seal of the city was adopted on June 25, 1850, but seven years later the Common Council decided that since it had passed a new charter, the seal also needed a few adjustments.

Aquinas College has had several names and been in several locations, but it has occupied its beautiful wooded campus since 1945.

Martin Antoine Ryerson's roots go back to the beginning of the city, and the Ryerson Library, now the Grand Rapids Public Library, was his gift to the people of his native city.

The Ramona Theater had stood so long it couldn't be dismantled. Wreckers wanted to salvage the steel roof beams, but the huge wooden pillars supporting them were rotten. How could they finish the project?

When you visit the Grand Rapids Public Library you can read microfilm copies of city newspapers from the 1840s to current times. Have you ever wondered how long microfilm has been available?

In October of 2007 the Grand Rapids Art Museum opened its new building, ninety-seven years after its founding in 1910. It occupies the same corner where 157 years earlier William Preusser began his jewelry and clock business.

The Lear organization was founded in Chicago in 1930 to produce the first practical automobile radio and other radio equipment Bill Lear had invented.

When Native Americans occupied the shores of the Grand River they welcomed the river's spring floods as they cleansed the lowlands and islands of debris for the coming season. 

In September of 1928 ads in the local papers clamored, "You'll want to tell your grandchildren that you heard the first all-talking picture. The screen speaks!"

The election of 1837 was an event not only in Michigan, but in the village that would become Grand Rapids. 

Citizens of Grand Rapids were so anxious for the advantages of the new railroad line that they had offered a bonus of $10,000 if the line was completed on time.

The famous Tiger baseball player, Ty Cobb, visited Grand Rapids in October of 1912. The city's baseball fans had long regarded Cobb, nicknamed the "Georgia Peach," as the greatest player the sport had ever known.

The membership of Fire Company No. 3 began to build their engine house on Scribner just north of Bridge St. in 1859 and completed it in 1860. Most of the labor was done by the firemen after six o'clock during the summer months.

Michigan's tornado season runs from mid-March into September. Three tornadoes in April 1956 sent more than 200 to hospitals and left an estimated 2000 homeless.

Club Indigo was organized for the social, athletic and civic advancement of the African-American community. The members and their guests could enjoy meals, drinks, and dancing in a refined atmosphere.

The 1899 Michigan Photographers convention, held in Grand Rapids, inspired the organizing of a local camera club. It's an organization still active in the city today.

Roseswift Airplane Company began passenger service for West Michigan in 1919 using a Canadian model, Curtis JN-4 bi-plane, commonly known as a Jenny.