Holland History Harvest

History Harvest

The Digital Holland Committee at Hope College will be hosting “Holland History Harvest” on April 15, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., at Winants’ Auditorium, Graves Halls, Hope College, Holland, Michigan. This will be a time for community members with relics, documents, etc. about Holland’s church history to come and share about their artifacts in a very casual open house atmosphere. Students will be available to record and photograph materials brought to this event.

Antique Anecdotes

American Legion Band

Taking a trip down memory lane highlighting an illustrated potpourri of Holland happenings from the past 165 plus years called “Antique Anecdotes” will be presented by Randy Vande Water Tuesday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hope College Maas Auditorium, 264 Columbia Ave.

Featured at the monthly meeting of the Holland Area Historical Society, the free event includes more than 100 pictures and commentary covering the community‘s offbeat triumphs and trials as told by Vande Water, local author, historian and retired Holland Sentinel editor.

Vignettes showing “gang buster” invasions by 1930s Great Depression desperadoes are stories of trials gleaned from city newspapers.

Anniversary celebrations are triumph tales, beginning in 1872 when the city reached 25, and a half century in 1897 and a century in 1947.

From “Love Finds a Way,” recalling the Holland National Guard unit during sitdown strike duty in Flint, to the “goingson” of hoboes who camped for more than a halfcentury near Windmill Island relate items of interest during the 1920s and 1930s.

Several ship tragedies have taken place in stormy Lake Michigan during the years since Dr. A.C. Van Raalte founded this place in 1847.  Van Raalte’s escapade as told in this program should bring a smile.

Automobiles have been around for more than a century and cities like Holland had difficulty with drivers and passengers nine decades ago.

Aldermen established an unheard of before ordinance to handle seating for young women and men. Individuals are named for their local fame while others register as infamous. There are a few new twists on longtime topics and several vignettes that seldom have been heard.

History of West Michigan Waterways

Birkholz-150x150

The Holland Area Historical Society will host a program titled “Our West Michigan Waterways in Peril: History, Uses and Abuses, and Reality” on Tuesday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m.

The presentation will be held in the Maas Auditorium, Maas Conference Center,Hope College, Holland, Michigan. Maas Auditorium is located at 264 Columbia Avenue on the Hope College campus. The public is invited, and admission is free.

Are our waters swimmable, fishable, and drinkable? What should be done? What can be done? Who will do it? Be part of the conversation and solution with Patty Birkholz, the West Michigan Director of the League of Conservation Voters and former member of the Michigan State Senate, Michigan House of Representatives, Allegan County Treasurer, and trustee for Saugatuck Township.

 

CANCELLED-The Warm Friend Tavern and Hotel Turns 90

Warm Friend Hotel (H88-PH27290-002)

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

The Warm Friend Tavern and Hotel opened in 1925 as a premier hotel of the Midwest. Built by the Holland Furnace Company, it brought entertainers, sports figures and hundreds of visitors to downtown Holland. The Warm Friend, now operated by Resthaven as an independent living center, continues to be a Holland landmark. Join Glenn Lowe and Susan Etterbeek DeJong as they present the 90 year journey of the hotel.

The Holland Area Historical Society will host this program on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. , in the Maas Center Auditorium, at Hope College, located at 264 Columbia Avenue, in Holland, Michigan.

Gangsters in West Michigan Presentation

 

The H010_al_capone_theredlistolland Area Historical Society will host a program titled “A Killing in Capone’s Playground: Gangsters in West Michigan” on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. The presentation will be held in the Maas Auditorium, Maas Conference Center, Hope College, Holland, Michigan. Maas Auditorium is located at 264 Columbia Avenue on the Hope College campus. The public is invited, and admission is free.
Following the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Chicago gangsters made their way
into the rural neighborhoods of southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana. Using never-
before-published police reports and interviews with family members of key witnesses and leading experts, historian and author Chriss Lyon establishes the foundation for what would develop as a haven for gangsters.

History of William Ferry Family Program

The history of the William Ferry family of Ottawa County will be hosted by the Holland Area Historical Society on Tuesday, October 13, 2015, at 7:30 p.m., at the Maas Center Auditorium, at Hope College, at 264 Columbia Avenue, Holland.
William Montague Ferry and his sons dominated the early history of Ottawa County and played important roles in business, war, and religion in Michigan, Utah, and the nation. Come hear historian Paul Trap tell more about this father and his four sons.