Glance at the Past

Viva Flaherty attended Central High School, Vassar College, and the University of Michigan before taking a position at the Bissell Settlement House in Grand Rapids in 1903. Several years later she left for New York City to work with newly arriving immigrants. She was always an outspoken champion of the underdog.

Wurzburg's Department store ran large ads in the Grand Rapids Herald and Press announcing the visit of Norwegian Hero of the Arctic and his Siberian sled dogs to Wurzburg's Toyland.

Grand Rapids Romance, produced by Gilligham & Smith Enterprises, owners of the Orpheum Theater, featured local citizens in a suspenseful, romantic story. The newspaper reviews were mixed.

The Hoffman apartments on Ransom NE had many modern conveniences to attract upscale tenants. The seven room suites made for comfortable living close to downtown.

Grand Rapids seems to have had difficulty relinquishing its attachment to the great lakes steamboats, but at the same time it happily accepted the advantages of the railroads. 

A simple attempt to adjust his mother's oil lamp led to a small shoestring business which grew into a company with international agents.

A Grand Rapids businessman, Melvin Church, while visiting Chicago, suggested an innovative solution to an engineer during the construction of the World's Fair that allowed the fair to open on schedule.

The children's map, Land of Make Believe, created by Jaro Hess in the 1930s, captured the imagination of children and their parents as soon as it appeared. While it was just one of his many creations, it is his most well-known work and is still available today.

Alexander Flyn, an accomplished Grand Rapids portrait artist, came to this city in 1918 and stayed until his death in 1963. During that time he was active in the local art community.

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