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Grand Valley State University Special Collections
Kent County Oral History collections, RHC-23
Mrs. Earle Clements
Interviewed on October 21, 1974
Edited and indexed by Don Bryant, 2010 – bryant@wellswooster.com
Tape # 41 (46:06)
Biographical Information
Mrs. Clements was born Nellie Dorothy Calder in Chicago, Illinois on 12 August 1893. She was
the daughter of Robert Gillon Calder and Emma C. Bluthardt. Her father, Robert Calder was
born 16 October 1858 in Bathgate, Scotland and died 29 January 1946 in Grand Rapids. He was
buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Her mother, Emma Bluthardt was born 27 December
1863 in St. Louis, Missouri and died in 26 December 1929 in Grand Rapids. Robert and Emma
were married on 24 November 1886 in Chicago. At the time of Robert Calder's burial, the
remains of Emma and daughter Marjorie Calder were removed from Graceland Mausoleum in
Grand Rapids and re-interred in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.
Nellie Calder was married in Grand Rapids on 2 May 1914 to Earle Arthur Clements, the son of
Eilert Alfred Clements and Julia Jenssen. Earle was born in Niles, Michigan on 19 June 1891 and
died on 18 January 1972. His father, Eilert Clements was born about July 1864 in Norway and
died on 12 May 1934 in Grand Rapids. His mother Julia whom Eilert married in Chicago 7
September 1889 was born about July 1870 in Trondheim, Norway and died in Grand Rapids 20
November 1942.
__________
Interviewer: Residence of Mrs. Earle Clements at twenty-five oh-six Normandy Drive, Grand
Rapids, Michigan. Mrs. Clements had kindly consented to be interviewed and I‟m going to start
by asking her a few questions about where she was born and her parents and her grandparents.
Mrs. Clements: Well I was born in Chicago, Illinois on August twelfth eighteen ninety-three and
moved to Grand Rapids when I was eleven years old. My parents, my father was born in
Bathgate, Scotland, not far from Edinburgh and mother was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her
parents, they had come from Germany.
Interviewer: I don‟t think we really need to hand this back and forth, actually we can just… I‟ll
just hold it and watch the dial here. Now when did you come to Grand Rapids Mrs. Clements?
Mrs. Clements: In nineteen, in nineteen four.
Interviewer: I see and what was your father‟s, line of work?
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Mrs. Clements: Well he was he was with the old Nelson-Matter Furniture Company and
Michigan Chair Company. Stayed with them until they went out of business, and then he went to
Johnson-Handley for a good many years - great many years.
Interviewer: Had he worked in Chicago for the Nelson-Matter Company?
Mrs. Clements: Yes, and in those days he commuted when there were no, there were no,
furniture markets in Grand Rapids at the time and so whenever he would have a customer from
the West Coast why, he would bring him to Grand Rapids to see the show rooms and finally, I
think they decided that it would be better if he lived right here and so we moved over in nineteen
four which was quite a, father was accustomed to Grand Rapids and had been a member, a nonresident member of Kent County Club and all and so he, he felt that he fitted in. But Mother had
a, quite a time adjusting because Chicago was so far advanced over Grand Rapids in those days
that it was pretty difficult. And I was thinking this morning when I was expecting Lee, I
remembered when we took, we rented the house on Cherry Street between College and Paris
Avenue and lived there for… until after I was married; and I remembered so well that Marshall
Fields did all the decorating, the rugs and the draperies and the wall papers and all for Mother in
Chicago because there was nothing available here that she had, that she could find out about
anyway. And a, I remember when we‟d go back to visit we‟d come home on the train laden with
English muffins and cream puffs and all the things we couldn‟t get in Grand Rapids to bring
back for treats. It was, of course there were very little ready to wear clothing made in those days.
Most everything was made in the homes or by dress makers and it was it was a very different
life. When you went back to Chicago, everything was available and it took Grand Rapids quite a
few years to catch up. Today I think our markets are as good as almost anyone.
Interviewer: Is the house still standing that…?
Mrs. Clements: No, they tore that down within the last ten years. The house was an old, old one.
Dr. Lilly, I think, had built it originally and I think it was a fifty years old when we moved into
it. And it deteriorated badly after we left and it was made into kind of a, well, it wasn‟t a
rooming house, but kind of flats. They, I know that my bedroom and bathroom were one
apartment and they divided the whole place up in that way; and it was deteriorating so badly that
in spite of the nostalgia, I was glad to see it torn down. I hated to, to have it go to pieces in front
of us. And that‟s where the doctors buildings are built today. [516 (430) Cherry Street]
Interviewer: I see
Mrs. Clements: It‟s that whole block between Paris and College.
Interviewer: Paris, Paris and College. You probably knew my great Aunt, Mrs. Charles Wilson.
Mrs. Clements: Next door, yes.
Interviewer: Right around the corner on College.
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Mrs. Clements: And you had a father down the block on College.
Interviewer: Yes.
Mrs. Clements: And College Avenue was a wonderful, wonderful neighborhood in those days.
So many, many of our friends who are still friends, lived in that block and the block toward,
toward Fountain, or toward Fulton I mean.
Interviewer: When, when did your family decide to move? In what, what year do you remember?
Mrs. Clements: I came to move here?
Interviewer: No I mean you moved out of that house.
Mrs. Clements: Out of that house? Yes, I was married in nineteen fourteen and I think they
moved out about twenty-one. [In 1922, the Robert G. Calders lived at 122 Union SE]
Interviewer: I see. Did you have any brothers or sisters?
Mrs. Clements: I had a sister.
Interviewer: I see. Was she younger or older?
Mrs. Clements: Younger, younger.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: And it was interesting in those days. When you speak of a younger sister I
always think because there was nothing from, from the corner of College Avenue, College
Avenue was built up just Morris Avenue was just being opened up; and the, the Frank Deans had
the only house on Morris Avenue, in the middle of the block there was nothing else. And there
was a little path, it wasn‟t wider than two feet, worn, foot-path that we used to go to school, to
Wealthy Avenue School from our house. And we‟d cut across, straight across from the corner of
College and Cherry through Morris and over to the corner of Madison and Wealthy. Right
through there were, there weren‟t woods but there were undergrowth.
Interviewer: Was there a school on that corner?
Mrs. Clements: Where, where Vanderbilt [Vandenberg] school is today, was old Wealthy
Avenue Street School.
Interviewer: Vanderbilt? [Vandenberg], not…
Mrs. Clements: On Mad… on Lafayette and Wealthy.
Interviewer: Lafayette and Wealthy. I see.
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Mrs. Clements: Yeah and that was the old Wealthy Avenue school. I have some pictures of that
in my scrap-book of the old school.
Interviewer: Do you remember some of your classmates of…?
Mrs. Clements: Oh yes, there were; all that College Avenue crowd.
Interviewer: I see. Who were you‟re special friends?
Mrs. Clements: Well, Mary Murray and Olive Maddox and, you should have given me a little
warning.
Interviewer: That‟s alright.
Mrs. Clements: A, Ali, what was her name, Snow? You know...
Interviewer: I think I do know, is that, Mills or…
Mrs. Clements: Yes.
Interviewer: Didn‟t they call her Nifty Mills?
Mrs. Clements: Nifty Mills.
Interviewer: She was a sort of a relative of mine.
Mrs. Clements: Oh was she?
Interviewer: Yes.
Mrs. Clements: She was a good friend and a, Mary Fisher and there were, there were a great
many awfully nice people that were there.
Interviewer: Can you remember your teacher at all?
Mrs. Clements: Yes, Miss Keck particularly.
Interviewer: Miss Keck?
Mrs. Clements: And she was the principal.
Interviewer: Is that K-E-C-K, K-E-C-K?
Miss Clements: K-E-C-K and, that was interesting because I had gone to a little private school in
Chicago, and had never been in a public school and Mother was very doubtful about this and the
school was not up to our standards of today. The toilet room for instance, was a big room with a
board with holes in it and that we all sat in and no heat down there. I can remember it very
vividly. But Miss Keck, we moved in September and, school had started a few days before and
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so when Mother took us to school, Miss Keck took [me] up under her wing and took us to our
teachers and got us started. And she was wonderful to us there and helped us adjust to a new
environment and years later when I was President of the Women‟s City Club I followed her; she
had been president before me and then I came and that was quite a jump from a principal and a
little girl to two ex-presidents together.
Interviewer: Really. Did you go, did you as many of your age group, did you go on to Central
High School?
Miss Clements: No, I went to Miss Moffat‟s School.
Interviewer: Miss Moffat‟s School?
Mrs. Clements: In a private, in a private school.
Interviewer: Now where was that located?
Mrs. Clements: Well on Jefferson, down near Wealthy.
Interviewer: Um hum.
Mrs. Clements: And I went from, from Wealthy Avenue Street, to Central Grammar which was
where Junior College was, is.
Interviewer: Yeah
Mrs. Clements: And finished the seventh and eighth grades there and then instead of going to
Central High School, I went to Miss Moffat‟s for four years.
Interviewer: For four years?
Mrs. Clements: Then went east to School.
Interviewer: Where did you go after, after you left Miss Moffat‟s?
Mrs. Clements: I went to Spence in New York City.
Interviewer: I see, how long were you there?
Mrs. Clements: Just a year.
Interviewer: Now that would bring you up to just about what year?
Mrs. Clements: Nineteen thirteen
Interviewer: Nineteen thirteen? And you said you were married in nineteen fourteen, I believe.
Mrs. Clements: Um Hum.
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Interviewer: How did you meet Mr. Clements or…
Mrs. Clements: I met him on a sleigh ride, originally, and, and then I didn‟t see him for a year or
so afterwards and then we were pulled together again and we were married in nineteen fourteen.
Interviewer: And what was he doing at that point?
Mrs. Clements: Well he was in, in, he was with the Globe Knitting Works; his fatherwas the
head of that.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: And, he was with that for a great many years and, and was superintendant until
he left and he left, left later on to establish a knitting department down in Tennessee for a big
concern.
Interviewer: Was the Globe Knitting Works or Globe Knitting Company, I‟m not sure of the
correct name.
Mrs. Clements: Works.
Interviewer: Works, was that a family owned business?
Mrs. Clements: Mr. Clements, and Mr. Liesveld, that was Herman Liesveld; and I suppose there
were others have had some stock in it but those two had the…
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: …controlling interest. And they, they, they were, that went on until after Mr.
Clements‟ death and then Roy Clements became president of it and then it was sold, oh in the
forties I guess or fifties I‟m not sure.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: To some eastern concern and they liquidated it. Which was too bad because
today even people come up to me and say, “Oh Mrs. Clements, I remember your husband so
well. I worked at the Globe for so long and then there was no place for us.” And there wasn‟t,
Because all those people who had been trained they had hundreds of employees, maybe five
hundred and, they had been trained along that line and there was nothing around here in any little
town or anywhere else that they could get employment, you know? And a lot of them were older
that couldn‟t start to learn a new trade and it was rather disastrous.
Interviewer: Yes, I can see. Do you suppose it was the Depression, or was it just they…
Mrs. Clements: Well I think the Depression, I know that Mr. Clements, when he first left, he had
planned to go into the hosiery business in Belding and it with the financing through the
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Depression it was, the banks closed and there were, it just stopped everything, and so that fell
through. And then later on he went to Tennessee, just as a temper…, temporary thing, I mean, we
never really expected to just stay there the rest of our lives but it was fine opportunity to do
something.
Interviewer: Now, were, were your, was your husband, were your husband‟s parents natives of
Grand Rapids or did…?
Mrs. Clements: No, they both came from Norway.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: They came from Norway and they met in Chicago.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: Which was interesting.
Interviewer: And when did they come to Grand Rapids?
Mrs. Clements: They, my husband was born in Niles and they were there first and I think I‟m
sure that Roy Clements was born in Grand Rapids, so that would have been about ninety-three,
eighty-three, ninety-three, ninety-three.
Interviewer: Ninety-three.
Mrs. Clements: Yes.
Interviewer: Was that when Mr. Roy Clements was born?
Mrs. Clements: Um hum.
Interviewer: I see, and then they came up to Grand Rapids somewhere just prior to that then?
Mrs. Clements: Um hum. And they lived over on the west side, and I think they were driven out
of the west side by the Big Flood [1904].
Interviewer: Oh yes.
Mrs. Clements: And then they moved over to this side.
Interviewer: Where did they live when they came to this side of the river?
Mrs. Clements: Well they lived on College Avenue when I first knew them.
Interviewer: I see.
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Mrs. Clements: Down near Franklin and then they moved into the, the big house on Fountain
Street, just two doors from you, you know the, the, what was the name of the people that lived at
the corner across from you?
Interviewer: Well, Mrs. McKnight and…
Mrs. Clements: No, the other way, going up Fountain Street.
Interviewer: Well, the, in the old days of course, Curtis Wiley‟s parents lived there for a while.
Mrs. Clements: No, I mean the little house, the one story house. She was, she married Ted
Booth.
Interviewer: Oh the Earles, oh yes.
Mrs. Clements: The Earles house then…
Interviewer: Which is gone.
Mrs. Clements: And then the Clements‟. Yes the Clements‟ house was gone too.
Interviewer: I see. I thought the [Edwin F.] Uhl House was right there,
Mrs. Clements: Well it was the Uhl house.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: Was the Uhl House.
Interviewer: They moved into what had been the Uhl House.
Mrs. Clements: What had been the Uhl house and they lived there for oh, until the family was all
gone, then they took the smaller place.
Interviewer: I see. Where did your husband go to College?
Mrs. Clements: He went to Howe Military School.
Interviewer: He to Howe Military School? And what is your education with Mr. Grover Good? I
know there‟s some tie in there.
Mrs. Clements: He was, he was married to Mr. Clements‟s sister.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: For a while, before…
Interviewer: He, he was also in, in the knitting works was he not?
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Mrs. Clements: Well he was brought here when he married Nora.
Interviewer: Wasn‟t he the head master of Howe or, I knew he had some a…
Mrs. Clements: Uh huh.
Interviewer: He was, yeah.
Mrs. Clements: But I don‟t know if you want all of this.
Interviewer: Well we don‟t have to know all about everything. Let‟s just stop for a moment. I‟d
thought I‟d like to ask you a little about the social life of the period when you were married and
what, what, what did people, young married people do in those days?
Mrs. Clements: Awful lot of dancing, awful lot of dancing, and we had a very good theatre. The,
the New York plays came on, you know, Powers theatre was, was wonderful. We went a great
deal, and there was a great deal of entertaining and very formal entertaining, very lovely
entertaining. I was thinking the other say in connection with the Voigt house. I remember a big
reception there, and today it would be fun to go back and see how they, how they‟re doing what
they did in those days, but it was so very formal, and very, very lovely. Beautifully done.
Interviewer: Who were some of the other people who entertained in a rather elaborate fashion?
Mrs. Clements: Well, the, Robert Irwins and the Booths and, and oh I don‟t know, a lot of
Mother‟s friends that did a great deal of entertaining, and very formal. Mother used to, had such,
wore such beautiful clothes and, I wish I had them. I wish I had saved them for a museum today
some of them. But, she would have a brougham brought around maybe once, or every other
week or something like that and then go very formally calling all afternoon you know and, and
on people who had entertained her and so forth and who had been kind to her moving to Grand
Rapids and all. And it was very formal, with beautiful hats and all the ermine scarves the, all the
lovely things that they wore. I, it, when I see my grandchild today I, I wonder what my mother
would say.
Interviewer: Did they have the dressmakers, is that where the clothes came from? Is…?
Mrs. Clements: Yes, well, I remember was a wonderful tailor here, a man‟s tailor who also did
women‟s clothes, and he made Mother some beautiful things. And the, the suits, I remember, a
light blue broadcloth suit that went to the floor, long, afternoon suit you know and very formal,
very dressy and very impractical. But you see there were no automobiles at all, and we‟d walk
from, had to walk to school, where I went to Central Grammar, we not only walked up and back
we came home at lunch.
Interviewer: I see.
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Mrs. Clements: And today when I can hardly wobble around well, why I think back at those
walks and wonder how I ever did it. But they, the street-car of course ran up Cherry Street and
then if you wanted to go downtown you were fine but to go visit anybody who lived over beyond
Fulton or up on Fountain, there was no way of getting there.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: And we used to go out to Fran Russell‟s house for his ball-room for parties and
we would take the bus and then we would have to transfer and take the old, little old Carrier
street-car to get up to the country club, get up that way.
Interviewer: Yes.
Mrs. Clements: You know, to his house and all.
Interviewer: Yes. Uh huh. That was pretty much out in the country in those days.
Mrs. Clements: Oh, very far. We‟d carry our dancing slippers in a bag, you know, go in boots. I
got boots, lace shoes I guess.
Interviewer: Oh, I think the entertaining, in that family went on, right up through Janet‟s, teens or
at least almost into her teens.
Mrs. Clements: Oh, Mrs. Russell was wonderful. She was always open-housed. It was just
wonderful. No matter what you wanted to go you could always go there. And we had many a
good time.
Interviewer: You spoke of dancing, were, was this usually in people‟s homes, like at the Russells
for instance, or..?
Mrs. Clements: Well, a great deal, but then they had, we had a lot of dances; there were a lot of,
of charity dances and all.
Interviewer: Where did they take place?
Mrs. Clements: Well, now for instance one, I remember so well a woman‟s board entertainment
that they had up in the, in the Press building. And then the first, when the Press building was first
built there was a big dance, a big floor up on the top floor. And we had a wonderful party up
there. With living models and, all the prettiest girls in town modeling, you know. And then they,
then there was a dance floor on top of the Regent Theatre which is gone now. And we had, and I
remember that the Junior League had a big dance up there. And there were, the Saint Cecilia of
course was always available.
Interviewer: Were you ever in any of Miss Calla Travis‟ classes?
Mrs. Clements: Oh, yes, yes. I and my daughter and my granddaughter.
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Interviewer: In what way was your life affected by the First World War?
Mrs. Clements: Well, we‟ve been watching those pictures, the World at War, which of course is
the Second World War but, of course we didn‟t have radio, we didn‟t have television. We had
newspapers and extra-papers that were out about every hour of the day, you know, the boys
yelling the news.
Interviewer: Uh hum.
Mrs. Clements: And, but we didn‟t visualize it the way we do today. I mean, you have Vietnam
right in your dining room while you‟re having dinner every night and I don‟t know that, we read
about it, of course. I was married in four in fourteen and my first baby was born in fifteen and the
other one in seventeen so I was awfully busy with babies; and I wasn‟t as active. My mother and
mother-in-law were both very active in Red-Cross work. But I didn‟t, couldn‟t „cause I had a
handicapped child that I had to stay home with, and I don‟t think, I don‟t think it sank in, I was
too young, and I, when I look back at it, I think maybe that‟s what‟s the matter with the young
people today. I doesn‟t really, they don‟t really understand what‟s happening. We‟ve watched
those pictures the last few Sunday‟s and we never visualized the war as it really was. It was so,
so much worse.
Interviewer: I think there was a great deal of a rather fervent patriotism.
Mrs. Clements: Oh yes and, and, everybody was for it and everybody was together and singing
all the patriotic songs you know and all. And there was a great deal of, oh and when the war was
over the excitement was just terrific. Everybody swarmed downtown and so excited, and today
we all take it with such apathy, we‟ve seen it all before. And it was that First World War but of
course we had such high hopes it was going to end wars but when the Second World War came it
disillusioned us so and was so much more dreadful. It‟s been hard to have much hope for the
world since then.
Interviewer: I want to go back and ask you to recollect a little bit about early automobiles. And
Michigan of course is the Automobile state, or at least it still is to a very large extent, and you
mentioned that you didn‟t have automobiles when you were small and didn‟t, weren‟t all, not
around and you relied largely on street-cars for any long distances.
Mrs. Clements: When I was in Chicago as a little girl, I can remember just before I left Chicago,
riding in my first automobile. And that was kind of what they called the buckboard; just two
seats with the board over the transmission up to the back.
Interviewer: Uh huh.
Mrs. Clements: And the, when I went back, maybe three years later, I probably don‟t think I was
in Chicago again for three years, that interval, why, there were a great many automobiles in
Chicago; and electric automobiles that some of my friends had. But in Grand Rapids there were
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very few. The Welshes had a car and the Mac, MacCardners had a car and a few people. And
very often they would take us for a ride on a Sunday or they would take us to the Country Club
or there was something like that. But there were very few cars in Grand Rapids.
Interviewer: Do you remember when you first, when they first began to become more prevalent,
about what time would you say that, can you date it, when, when cars began to be fairly
common?
Mrs. Clements: Well, after the war.
Interviewer: After the war? The nicest there was to be.
Mrs. Clements: After the war. And I know my husband took an old Franklin and we modeled it
into a Roadster and we thought it was just the ultra thing. And today even when you see a picture
of it, it was awfully funny.
Interviewer: Was that your first car?
Mrs. Clements: That was our first car, personally. But of course his family had had cars.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: My father never had a car, he never learned to drive.
Interviewer: Uh huh.
Mrs. Clements: But the Clements had them almost from the beginning. But I drove for a great
many years and then was having difficulty with neuralgia and I stopped. And I haven‟t driven for
a quite a few years. So I‟m dependant on my daughter now.
Interviewer: Surely. We, we‟ve mentioned, or you have mentioned on one of two occasions, in
the course of this interview, Kent County Club. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like
in those days?
Mrs. Clements: Very much like it is today. Just as lovely. It‟s never, it‟s never let go of that first
feeling that you had there. It was just the nicest place there was to be. And of course the new
building is, I think, ultimately, the ultimate. It‟s just perfect. But it was a lovely place and in
those days we used it more for family groups, I think then they do [now]. Of course the prices
weren‟t so high. But I mean, Fourth of July, New Year‟s Day, Easter, all the different holidays,
we always were there for dinner, with the whole family.
Interviewer: Uh hum. Surely
Mrs. Clements: And fire-crackers on the Fourth of July. We sat on the veranda and watched and
they had them down at the last hole there. And I have always loved it.
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Interviewer: Well, it‟s quite an institution, goes back, I think into the nineties. I guess you
probably know it was out originally where Mr. Bissell‟s house…
Mrs. Clements: Well Mr. Bissell‟s house was the club house and where we built our house on the
corner of Plymouth and Lake Drive was the first tee.
Interviewer: I see, what‟s the, what‟s the address on Plymouth?
Mrs. Clements: Five fifty-one.
Interviewer: Five fifty-one?
Mrs. Clements: Where Cath and Widwordy. [Cath and Woodrick?]
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: We built that house in about twenty-two , twenty-two I think it was.
Interviewer: Where had you lived when you were first married?
Mrs. Clements: First in an apartment on Paris Avenue. And then on Byron Street we bought a
little new house after the war that was very modern, we thought, and we lived there for quite a
few years and then moved, then built the house on Plymouth Road until we went to Tennessee.
Interviewer: That‟s quite a beautiful house.
Mrs. Clements: Well it was. It was wonderful for the family. It‟d be much too big today. But it
was perfect in its day.
Interviewer: I believe that one of the things that you could call an accomplishment or distinction
at least, is that you were the first president of the Junior League, is that not true? And would you
tell us how, about some of the other people who were associated with you in that, and whence it
came?
Mrs. Clements: Well, there was, there was an old guild called the Butterfly Guild of Butterworth
Hospital and we took care of maternity cases and we sewed for the nurse, nursery and made
curtains for the rooms and things like that. And one day one of the, one of my friends said,
“Nellie, why don‟t you apply for membership in the Junior League?” And she told me a little bit
about it and then Chuck Palmer‟s wife, Laura Palmer was here one day and she was a member of
the Junior League of Atlanta and I invited her to my house on Plymouth Road when we‟re
having a meeting to tell us about it. And the girls were all quite inspired and we all thought well,
it‟d be a good idea. Well, a couple, maybe a month or so later I happened to be on the train going
to New York with my husband and I thought this would be a good chance for me to go and see
about that. So, without any authorization, I just went in, made an appointment and the AJLA was
just being originated and the New York League of course was a going concern but the AJLA was
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just, that‟s the Association for the Junior League of America. They had a roll-top desk, and old
oak roll-top desk in one corner of the New York Junior League‟s Office and that office was
upstairs in the, what do you call, not the Chauffer but the horse driver, where the horses, in the
carriage shop.
Interviewer: Coachman.
Mrs. Clements: The coachman‟s quarters. Up in, in can old carriage house over, oh I think it
must have been in the thirties over maybe past Madison Avenue and down in the thirties over
there. I don‟t remember just exactly where it was. Anyway, I made, made an appointment and
went over there. And they gave me all kinds of papers and a skeleton constitution to work on and
so forth and I brought it back to Grand Rapids and we got to work. And Jo Bender and Dorothy
Wilcox and I drew up the articles of the constitution and so forth. And within a year, we were
admitted to the League, to the AJLA. Well in those days you, the retirement age of forty, which
still exists, we had quite a time, because so many of our members didn‟t want to admit to being
forty. And we had one family of three daughters who had the most remarkable mother because
they all were within nine months of each other on the records. Well anyway that was all
straightened out and then we were allowed to transfer some of our members who had been
members in Grand Rapids to the leagues where they were then. Well we had a little difficulty
with one of those. One league didn‟t want a certain girl. We had quite a time. But all those things
were, they were details, but interesting. And then we worked out the, we divided the League into
teams and we used the hour system, that they had to do a certain number of hours and all that. I
don‟t believe that they‟d be able to put those rules into effect today. Nobody‟d pay any attention.
But in those days everybody took them very seriously. And we were doing this maternity work at
Butterworth of trying to encourage mothers to have their babies in the hospital. Today we‟re
reversing the thing and wanting them in their rooms with their family around and all that. Well,
in those days, there were very few admittances in the maternity department. And they, the
doctors were urging it because it made it so much easier for them to do it at the hospital than at
home. And we started that, we had a fund for the maternity fund and when we went into the
Junior League we had to break our connections with Butterworth, which broke Mrs. Lowe‟s
heart. I didn‟t think she was ever going to talk to me again, but she did. And we severed the
relations and we turned over the money to Butterworth, it‟s now the Butterfly Guild Fund of the
Junior League, or something like that anyway, at Butterworth. Then we went into taking care of
part-pay patients. People who didn‟t feel they could afford to go to the hospital. And when they
were referred by the physician as worthy and needing, we wools send a committee to investigate
and refer back to our committee for affirmation and we took care of a great many mothers. Well
that went on until medi…, until Social Security came in. (That isn‟t right).
Interviewer: Well it went on for some time?
Mrs. Clements: Yes. And when it was taken over you see, so that it wasn‟t necessary anymore,
and now the guild is in such diverse agencies, they‟re doing, they‟re just overwhelming. I can‟t, I
�15
read their reports and I just can‟t believe all the things that they‟re doing. They‟re doing a simply
magnificent job.
Interviewer: What year was the League founded actually, in Grand Rapids?
Mrs. Clements: In twenty-four.
Interviewer: And how long were you president?
Mrs. Clements: Well I was president of the Butterfly Guild for two years and then two years of
the Junior League so four, really four years there.
Interviewer: Who succeeded you as president?
Mrs. Clements: Florence Steele…
Interviewer: Mrs. Steele?
Mrs. Clements: …and then Jo Bender.
Interviewer: Uh huh.
Mrs. Clements: And we three were the ones who signed the articles of incorporation.
Interviewer: You also spoke of, of having been a past president of the Women‟s City Club.
Which I believe has just celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary. When were you president of that,
Mrs. Clements?
Mrs. Clements: In thirty, nineteen thirty-one to thirty-three, thirty-one to thirty-three.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: I don‟t know if it was thirty
Interviewer: Well that‟s close enough.
Mrs. Clements: Thirty to thirty-two I guess it was.
Interviewer: Was [it] in the present building at that, by that time?
Mrs. Clements: Yes, yes they just moved in shortly before.
Interviewer: Where were they before that?
Mrs. Clements: Down in that little building on, across from Rood‟s on that little side street, Park
Avenue. It‟s been torn down, it was an old building, I think…
Interviewer: Is that the Godfrey house?
�16
Mrs. Clements: Yes, yes. The old Godfrey house.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mrs. Clements: Next to the Godfrey house, yes.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: And that, it owned by Dr. Barth and he leased it to us and they built a big dining
room there to make facilities there available and they stayed there for two or three years and
that‟s when Estelle Wolf was a manager down there. And then they bought the property which is
the old Sweet house, first mayor of Grand Rapids. And Mrs. Waters and Mrs. Noyes Avery were
the two who remodeled that and planned it all and gave a great deal for, toward it. And Mrs.
Bowen was the first president of the Women‟s City Club and then Mrs. Hen, Mrs. Russ
Hendricks and Miss Keck and then Mrs. Dudley Waters and then I; and then Mrs. Warner and
Mrs. Avery. So you have all those original people.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Mrs. Clements: Although I wasn‟t in on the start of it because I was so involved with the Junior
League in those days that I didn‟t think I was ever going to need it. But within a year of joining
why I was Activities chairman and then vice-president and then president. They kept me going.
But of course my, well I wouldn‟t say my, I think the Junior League is my first love causes I
really have been so proud of that achievement; but the thing that, the place that I have really
worked the longest is Butterworth Hospital. And that, I started when I first, when I was about
twelve years old when I first came to Grand Rapids. Mrs. Millard Palmer was our neighbor, just
two doors down Paris Avenue. And she started a little group of Golden Rule Girls. And we set
out to earn a child‟s wheelchair which they didn‟t have in the hospital and it was to cost twentyfive dollars. And we worked, we made molasses candy, and we made pot-holders and we worked
our little heads off to earn that twenty-five dollars. And while we were, just before we got to our
peak, my Aunt from St. Louis came on. She was so intrigued with it and she said, “Well if you
girls earn the twenty-five dollars I‟ll give you another twenty-five dollars so you can buy two
wheelchairs.” So that started that, and from then on Mrs. Palmer was, Mrs. Palmer was on the
board of Butterworth and she, I think, was instrumental in asking, getting me to go on that board;
and I went, I have been on the board now fifty-two years.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: I‟m an honorary member now and I don‟t go very often but I‟m still just as
interested.
Interviewer: When you were, when you first as a, as a child, when you were twelve years old,
what was Butterworth Hospital called and where was it located?
�17
Mrs. Clements: It was where the nurse‟s home is today.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: And there were three little cottages that ran down through the park there, little
wooden frame houses. And one was for medical care, I think and one was the obstetrical care
and I‟ve forgotten what the third one was. But they had, we had all those mothers and babies in
that little wooden frame house. And in those days if you got out of bed before two weeks you
were going to die you know, you weren‟t allowed out of bed. And it was upstairs and the
delivery room was downstairs and they carried you down those little rickety steps to the delivery
room and back up. And the babies were left downstairs in cribs, a long row of cribs attached to
each other. And many a night I lay awake thinking what would happen if they had a fire in that
place. And it was great relief when that was discontinued.
Interviewer: Was it called Butterworth Hospital then?
Mrs. Clements: Um Hum.
Interviewer: I think it was originally St. Mark‟s Hospital.
Mrs. Clements: Well that was before
Interviewer: An outgrowth.
Mrs. Clements: Yes, that was, that was down on Jefferson, I think, or Sheldon.
Interviewer: Well, I‟m not sure.
Mrs. Clements: It started down there. And, but then when it was there where the Nurses‟ home is
today then Mr. Lowe gave the property where it is today, and with the stipulation that the city
match the funds, and he would give a million dollars if they matched it. I think that a million
dollars is right. And they raised that money and built the original hospital. And it was built with
those two wings going out this way to the west and the straight building and then there were
supposed to be two more wings out here. Well, after it was working, I think it was Dr. Rags…,
during Dr. [L. V.] Ragsdale‟s time when they decided they had to build an addition. And they
found that that was so impractical that nursing stations couldn‟t see these four ends you see, they
couldn‟t control it and it meant nursing stations at both ends. And so then they built it with that
long extension out to the west to facilitate the nursing end of it. I have always said it looks kind
of like a boiler factory because it‟s got so many partitions and things. And it was a beautiful
building when it started.
Interviewer: I want to stop for a second and make sure that we‟re recording; I think we are but I
just want to be on the safe side. Well, we were, are still recording apparently. Did you have any
other interests besides the hospital, the Junior League, the Women‟s City Club? Any other club
interests or philanthropic interests?
�18
Mrs. Clements? Well I was a member of the Junior Diet Kitchen Guild of Butterworth for a good
many years and in those years we started the theatre trains. And those were very successful and
were lots of fun. A great many people enjoyed them. But that guild had been disbanded because
everybody was too old to work anymore.
Interviewer: I see. I know that you attend Grace Church, here in Grand Rapids. Have you always
been a member of Grace Church?
Mrs. Clements: No not until about nineteen fifty-six.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: My parents were not members and there was a little division of ideas there and I
waited until they were gone, and then I joined.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: I‟d always gone to Grace Church for Sunday school and for when I wanted to go
to church but I wasn‟t a very regular member but today I get a great deal out of it.
Interviewer: Well… let‟s stop for a minute. I‟d like to ask you some questions about the people
that you and Mr. Clements knew the best over the years. Can you give me and idea of some of
the, of the families, couples, individuals that you got to know very well?
Mrs. Clements: Well the, the Bill Steeles I guess would top the list of my favorites. And the
Harvey Clays, and the Fosterhouses(?), Paul and Megan,
Interviewer: Yes.
Mrs. Clements: And the, you want couples, don‟t you?
Interviewer: Not necessarily, no.
Mrs. Clements: Well, Jo Bender of course has always been such a good friend and Jeannette
Warner and Esther Booth and then the Admiral Brouwers, and the Walter Palmers and oh,
there‟s so many of them.
Interviewer: I heard that Nancy‟s moved back to Grand Rapids.
Mrs. Clements: Right here in the building, in the next building.
Interviewer: Yeah. You should have gone on that trip, last week to Ann Arbor to...
Mrs. Clements: I didn‟t think I was quite up to it. I‟m better sitting still.
Interviewer: I see.
�19
Mrs. Clements: Nellie [her daughter] said that was a lovely occasion and she enjoyed it
thoroughly. I was sorry not to have gone.
Interviewer: Yes, it was very well done. I want to ask you a little bit about downtown Grand
Rapids, when you were young. Do you remember any particular stores where you like to shop?
Mrs. Clements: Well Spring‟s, what was it?
Interviewer: Friedman-Spring‟s?
Mrs. Clements: Friedman-Spring‟s was the nicest shop in those days and they really, they really
did a thing. Of course Foster Stevens was a forerunner of Rood‟s, they were a wonderful shop.
And then there were lovely dress-shops when they came in, the gown shop and the, that one up
on the corner of Fulton and LaGrave. Miss…
Interviewer: I can‟t tell you.
Mrs. Clements: Oh, there were some really very, very nice shops, after clothes became well
made and available.
Interviewer: So you didn‟t really have to shop in Chicago anymore?
Mrs. Clements: No, you, no. I think today that you can do almost as well here, right here as you
can, you get into New York or Chicago, and you don‟t see a thing you haven‟t seen here
nowadays. Perhaps more quantity but I don‟t think on the normal run of things that you do any
better away from here.
Interviewer: Where do you do your grocery shopping today?
Mrs. Clements: Same old place that we‟ve been doing it for sixty years, the Daane and Witters.
Interviewer: I sort of guessed that but, I didn‟t really know.
Mrs. Clements: Well, I don‟t know what I‟d do without them, because they deliver even way out
here today and I wouldn‟t be able to carry all those groceries. They and American Laundry still
comes out and the stores deliver so it‟s wonderful but I don‟t know what I‟d do without DaaneWitters. And then another store that I used to love so was Herkner‟s. Those men are all gone,
that‟s all changed.
Interviewer: What were some of Mr. Clements‟ interests besides the Globe Knitting Works?
Mrs. Clements: Just fishing.
Interviewer: Just fishing?
�20
Mrs. Clements: Just fishing; that took all his thoughts. He had a place up on the little Manistee
River on, near Peacock there, between Peacock and Baldwin. He loved that I think better than he
did me.
Interviewer: I remember the triangle club that…
Mrs. Clements: yeah.
Interviewer: …that always had a party around Christmas time and it came to the point where the
men brought their sons or sons-in-law. And I remember your husband being there and he was
one of the organizers and one of the stirrer uppers.
Mrs. Clements: Yes, oh and they had such fun when they were young. Those parties were great.
Interviewer: Yup.
Mrs. Clements: Well, he loved it because the boys did come in and take over at the end; but they
had good times.
Interviewer: Yeah, have you done much traveling in your life?
Mrs. Clements: Very little cause I‟ve been, I‟ve had my Bobby to be around.
Interviewer: Yeah, yeah
Mrs. Clements: But we did have our first trip to Europe last year, Nellie and I went on the
Women‟s City Club tour for just nine days and went to England and to London and to
Edinburough, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Interviewer: You, you had some relatives that came from Scotland?
Mrs. Clements: I had, we still had one cousin left up in Scotland and we went to see her in
Edinborough.
Interviewer: I see.
Mrs. Clements: And as I say we picked the coldest day in a hundred and two years. I never want
to be so cold again.
Interviewer: Do you play bridge?
Mrs. Clements: I love it.
Interviewer: You‟re a good bridge player I take it.
Mrs. Clements: I don‟t play much anymore but I just really truly love to play.
�21
Interviewer: We always have one question that we ask, I say we ask, you‟re the first person I‟ve
interviewed but the previous people who have done the interviewing seem to have one question
they like to ask and that is, what is the greatest change that you‟ve noticed since you were a
small? What, what has changed the most in life? Is there one, one particular thing that has
changed a great deal or, or what, what has…?
Mrs. Clements: I suppose the morals.
Interviewer: The morals?
Mrs. Clements: What we were taught to believe and to do and to act on, don‟t see those things
don‟t seem to matter much anymore. And I don‟t know whether it‟s for the, for better or worse.
Interviewer: Why do you think it‟s occurred?
Mrs. Clements: I don‟t know. It‟s a whole generation that has changed, because as I look back
my grandmother, my mother, myself, my daughter, we all went along pretty much in the same
pattern. Maybe improving on each other…
Interviewer: Now I asked you before do you think that this project of, of interviewing older
people who have lived in Grand Rapids most of their lives or all of their lives is something of
value?
Mrs. Clements: Oh I do because even if the children don‟t appreciate it today they will as they
grow older and they‟ll look, they‟ll know that, while we probably have made up our mistakes,
we have tried.
Interviewer: Well I think that will conclude our interview.
INDEX
A
Association for the Junior League of America · 14
Avery, Mrs. Noyes · 16
B
Bender, Josephine · 14, 15, 18
Bissell, Mr. · 13
Booth Family · 9
Bowen, Mrs. · 16
Butterfly Guild · 13, 14, 15
Butterworth Hospital · 13, 16, 17
C
Calder, Emma C. Bluthardt (Mother) · 1, 9, 11, 21
Calder, Robert Gillon (Father) · 1, 2, 12
Central Grammar School · 5, 9
Clements, Earle Arthur (Husband) · 6, 8, 18, 19
Clements, Nellie (Daughter) · 1, 10, 12, 13, 19, 20
Clements, Roy · 6, 7
D
Daane-Witters · 19
�22
F
Fisher, Mary · 4
Friedman-Spring’s · 19
G
Globe Knitting Works · 6, 19
Golden Rule Girls · 16
Grace Church · 18
Michigan Chair Company · 2
Mills, Nifty · 4
Miss Moffat’s School · 5
Murray, Mary · 4
N
Nelson-Matter Furniture Company · 2
P
H
Palmer, Mrs. Millard · 16
Harvey Clay Family · 18
Howe Military School · 8
R
J
Ragsdale, Dr. L.V. · 17
Robert Irwins Family · 9
Russell, Fran · 10
Johnson-Handley · 2
Junior Diet Kitchen Guild of Butterworth · 18
Junior League · 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
S
K
Keck, Miss · 4, 5, 16
Kent County Club · 2, 12
L
Liesveld, Herman · 6
M
Maddox, Olive · 4
Spence School · 5
Steele, Florence · 15
W
Warner, Jeanette · 16, 18
Waters, Mrs. · 16
Wealthy Avenue Street School · 3
Wilcox, Dorothy · 14
Wolf, Estelle · 16
Women’s City Club · 5, 15, 16, 17, 20
�
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/46f7fd0da6c30151863c533c07d1289e.mp3
ec9fc828c8438e406bd553db2c7bf666
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Grand Rapids Oral Histories
Subject
The topic of the resource
Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Local histories
Memoirs
Michigan--History
Oral histories (document genre)
Description
An account of the resource
Taped and transcribed interviews conducted in the early 1970s primarily of the children and grandchildren of many of the founders of Grand Rapids, Michigan; many of whom were residents of the Heritage Hill neighborhood. Interviews were collected to develop a significant collection of oral resources that would supplement other primary and secondary local history materials. Initially funded as a private project, Grand Valley State College (now University) assumed responsibility for continuing the project until 1977.
Creator
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Various
Source
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<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/452">Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)</a>
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Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
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application/pdf; audio/mp3
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eng
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RHC-23
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1971 - 1977
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RHC-23_41Clements
Title
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Clements, Nellie
Creator
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Clements, Nellie
Description
An account of the resource
Nellie Calder was born in Chicago on August 12, 1893. She married Earle Clements in 1914. She organized the Junior League with Josephine Bender and was at one time the president of the Women's City Club. Mrs. Clements traveled to Europe with the Women's City Club. She also worked with maternity cases at Butterworth Hospital.
Publisher
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Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Subject
The topic of the resource
Michigan--History
Local histories
Memoirs
Oral histories (document genre)
Grand Rapids (Mich.)
Personal narratives
Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Grand Valley State University
Women
Language
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eng
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Type
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Text
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application/pdf
audio/mp3
Source
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Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1974
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5324a6f56063e30b08f0c710a03d3032.pdf
692e3e90e239ae322a7372996e436dfe
PDF Text
Text
The announcement that Grand Valley would be switching to online classes came out on
March 11 in a message from the university’s president. However, this did not yet include
the cancellation of NCAA division II sports. As a member of the GVSU volleyball team,
we continued practicing for two more days, until it was decided that all sport activities be
cancelled on March 13 through May 31st. I remember coming to practice on that
Thursday and the campus had already turned into a ghost town; it seemed as if we were
the only ones on campus. However, off-campus seemed to be thriving and taking
advantage of not having classes for the rest of the week. I don’t think the severity of the
situation was understood yet, as people were partying in large groups. I remember
joking about how Grand Valley and other universities made the decision to close campus
to limit large groups of people, while students celebrated by doing just that, partying in
large groups of people.
Following the announcement that our spring season was over, we had a team meeting,
which included our coaching staff and athletic trainer. They gave us tips on how to stay
safe and protect ourselves from the coronavirus, as well as discussed how this would
impact our program. Most of our fundraising takes place in the spring and summer, and
this is a huge portion of our financial support for the following season. In addition, these
fundraisers go towards our out-of-the-country trip that was scheduled for next summer.
Thus, having to cancel these events, brings uncertainty about the trip. The meeting gave
us many resources for support and our staff made sure that we would have a place to
stay and food to eat during the time away from campus.
Our team decided to hang out one last time together Friday night before we parted ways,
for who knows how long. I stayed one more night in Allendale on Saturday, and on
Sunday returned to my parents’ home in Holland, Michigan. Looking back, not knowing
when I’d be able to go back to Allendale, I really wish I would have packed more of my
things to take back home. I still have most of my clothes there and don’t know when I’ll
be able to go back to get them. Luckily, I have a great relationship with my parents, so
coming home wasn’t that hard.
I’m finishing up my classes with finals this week and didn’t have many problems as far
as switching to online. Most of my professors have been understanding and supportive
throughout the switch. The only problem I ran into was with my BMS professor. She
started giving us less time on assessments once we switched to online to try and
prevent cheating. Our exams were 60 questions long and she limited our time to 60
minutes; one minute per question… As a student who struggles with ADHD, completing
assessments within a time-limit is a difficult task no matter how much time is given, and
even harder when you limit that time. I’m also a student who likes to double, triple check
my answers and I found it impossible to do that within the time limit. I have heard of
other students with similar problems. Some of my teammates said that their professors
have put a higher demand on them, assigning more assignments, assuming that
students are in quarantine and have nothing but time to do schoolwork. What these
professors struggle to understand is that, while most of us do have the time, everybody
�is experiencing more stress due to the pandemic, without added demand from
professors.
My daily life has changed drastically since this started. Not having practice, which
normally takes up 3-4 hours of my day, is a huge adjustment. I always wished for more
free time and now that I have it, I don’t know what to do with it! I’m extremely excited
about finishing classes this year but part of me wishes I was taking summer classes to
keep me busy. My days consist of sleeping in, taking walks on the beach with my
parents and dog, homework, and Netflix. My parents and I are still getting a long pretty
well and I don’t mind spending this time with them. I miss my friends but due to my
naturally introvert personality it isn’t affecting me too much, as I like having time to
myself. On the other hand, I haven’t seen my boyfriend since the lockdown, and I miss
him a lot. His mom works at a hospital, so they don’t want him to expose me to anything
he might get from being around her. We FaceTime, but it just isn’t the same.
Me and my family have been strict under quarantine and I haven’t really seen the
outside world since I left Allendale. We don’t even go to the grocery store anymore; we
have been using Shipt and other delivery services. The only shortages we noticed was
at the beginning of quarantine when we struggled to find bread and toilet paper.
I’m ready for this to be over and to go back to living my normal life.
�
Dublin Core
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COVID-19 Journals
Creator
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Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
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This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
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2020
Source
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University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
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Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Text
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Dublin Core
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COVID-19_2020-04-23_ANON_017
Creator
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Anonymous
Date
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2020-04-23
Title
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Corona Journal
Description
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Journal of an anonymous GVSU student's exprerience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
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University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
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Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
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Text
Format
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application/pdf
Language
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eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5597ba4e84788293e89f4e3760230d75.pdf
9ece819851c4800b17ceac1feb0eb502
PDF Text
Text
April 23, 2020
Corona Virus and I
When everything with COVID-19 started getting more serious, I decided it would be best
for me to move back home in Illinois from my apartment in Allendale. My friends helped me
pack up my car, and I did the same with those who left before me. My roommates and I spent
one last late night together, still expecting to come back and see each other a few weeks later.
Since that was in our expectations, we all have stuff left at our apartment, and so do my friends
whom I did not live with.
The day we heard we would not be coming back to school to finish the semester hit us
all kind of hard. I have a very tight-knit friend group that I meant here at Grand Valley in my
dorm building freshman year. We all have become so close especially now that been living
separately, we see each other every night we spend in Allendale. We were all devastated we
would not get to spend the rest of the year together and finish off how we should. We still keep
in touch almost every day and update each other on everything going on in our lives. When we
are allowed, we all plan on seeing each other once everything is over, whether it be in Allendale
or one of our hometown’s.
My online classes are going all right. I’ve taken an online class before, which I did not
consider to be difficult. Having all online classes is a huge adjustment to go through. It takes a
lot of self-discipline to get myself to stop being lazy (which tends to take most of the day) and
start doing my work. All the messages that my teachers send through BlackBoard are very
sincere and caring, and many of them have extended deadline when students voiced that they
had too much to handle at some points. I think this has been hard on many students and even if
we don’t notice, a lot of us are handling it the same way. Dragging ourselves up to do work,
procrastinating, and probably not being able to put forth our best effort anymore is seen across
the board with students. I’ve seen this in myself and talked about it with my friends also, and
they agree.
My daily life at home has been going all right. My parents have both been working from
home. I tend to be someone who likes to be alone sometimes, and I feel like this can be hard
for my parents to understand. This is why I enjoy having my own apartment at school with
three other girls who are similar to me in that aspect. With my parents it can seem like they get
offended by me being in my room for a majority of some days, whereas with my roommates we
would checkup to make sure everything is okay and let each other be. Then by the end of the
night we’d end up outside our rooms laughing together pretty much till the sun rose. It’s hard
to go from living with friends who do not boss you around to living with your parents who seem
to monitor your every move. I know it is probably an adjustment for them too with me being
back, so I try to be as understanding as I can since this is something no one could have seen
coming.
Grocery shopping in the beginning was rough and looking at the empty shelves felt like
something I’d seen in a movie. I feel like that came from the initial panic of everything, and
since then it has improved. I can get what I need quickly and leave most of the time. One thing
that I know is still difficult to get is toilet paper, which hasn’t been too much of a problem with
me because for some reason my parents have always made sure to buy more than we need.
�Another thing that is still difficult to get is hand sanitizer, but other cleaning products have been
stocked every time I go to the store. For the most part I feel like I have access to anything I need
to get, and if it’s not there I know it will be somewhere else.
My friends and I have talked and overall, we just hope that we can continue next school
year together, and not have to talk through screens anymore. More than anything I think all
students agree. Yes, we want our summer to not be taken from us, but if it means we get to
have a normal school year next year that would be worth it. We will continue to all hope for the
best every day and do what we can to do our part.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_2020-04-23_ANON_010
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Anonymous
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-04-23
Title
A name given to the resource
Corona Virus and I
Description
An account of the resource
Journal of an anonymous GVSU student's experiences and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on them and their friends.
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/987f47cfce059d426460300cfc210b21.pdf
b4f589d1d6f8283471c35ec7678b7bbc
PDF Text
Text
April 23rd, 2020
Because of COVID my parents made me leave my off campus apartment, they feared it would be
too dangerous to live there. They came up to Allendale and helped my sister and I pack and move the
day the shelter in place order was given. Since my mother is a nurse my sister and I couldn’t move
back home out of the fear of getting sick. We were forced to move up-north until classes were over
because this was the only place that had internet, which we needed to finish our online classes. I
struggled a lot with my online classes because some of my professors were not lecturing and forcing us
to learn everything on our own. This resulted in me being swamped with additional readings and
assignments. Since classes moved online professors were assigning way more work than what would
have been assigned if we were still taking in person classes. Also, they made the exams were
extremely hard. I found myself studying substantially more than I ever did and still receiving bad
grades, due to time restraints and extremely difficult questions. I know both my friends and I became
extremely unmotivated after a few weeks and became very overwhelmed by everything, it felt like we
were drowning.
I was a part of the GVSU swim club and everything was canceled once the school shut down.
There were no more practices or team bonding because a lot of people moved home and the pool and
gym were closed. I am stuck up north with just my younger sister and I absolutely hate it. I have been in
quarantine with her and my dogs for an entire month and I could not wait to finish my classes so I could
move back home with my parents. My parents really miss being away from us, they have come up
every other weekend and dropped some food off with us and leaving us each time is very hard on
them, my mother especially. This pandemic but a lot of strain on my relationship with my boyfriend. But
I was able to see him and clear everything up but the isolation has made me go stir crazy.
I had a job working as a home aide with an individual who has muscular dystrophy. She had to
move home because of this virus since she is extremely immunocompromised. Me and six other girls
on staff all lost our jobs when this happened. I was unable to collect any unemployment from the state
of Michigan and I was also ineligible to receive a stimulus check since my parents still claim me as a
dependent. I was donating plasma while I still lived in Allendale but since I have moved I have no way
of bringing in an income to pay my bills.
Currently no one in my family is sick but we did have a scare with my mother. She had a high
fever two times as was turned away twice from work because of it. Two days ago she went somewhere
to be tested for COVID and just today we received the negative test results. But she still has to go back
and work at the hospital where she is constantly in contact with COVID patients so we worry about her
health. We also worry about my grandma’s because they are both extremely high risk for contracting
this virus. They have been in quarantine since the shut down and my parents drop off food at their
houses so they don’t have to go grocery shopping and put themselves at risk.
I used to work as a nursing technician for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and I actually quit
one year prior to this outbreak. When I worked there I never experienced any problems with having
PPE availability but those resources weren’t scarce then. I do have a friend who still works there as a
nurse technician though and she says that they barely have any PPE to go around. She doesn’t even
get a N95 for her 12 hour shifts. She is supposed to wear one of those basic surgical masks for her
entire shift and they are only supposed to be used for a max of 30 minutes. Everyone working in the
health care field is not being given the proper PPE to protect themselves.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_2020-04-23_ANON_008
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Anonymous
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-04-23
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID Impact
Description
An account of the resource
Journal of an anonymous GVSU studdent, describing the impact of COVID-19 on their life.
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9e29aba9fd95d8f32d7287369733923e.pdf
b5f67674f724d2b18ce1ea5bb60747c7
PDF Text
Text
COVID-19 has changed my life in a lot of ways. I work in health care, and I am thankful to keep busy with
that during this stressful time. Although, I feel that my constant exposure to the general public dooms
me to eventual exposure to the virus. I am young and healthy and know that my body could fight this,
but it is still terrifying to think about.
I am trying everyday to be grateful. In some ways, this virus is my worst nightmare. I am extremely
extraverted, and I am also clinically depressed. I thrive from connection with my friends and family. On a
normal day, I leave my house early for work and do not return except to eat or freshen up, spending the
rest of my day with my friends or family. I know though that it could be so much worse, and stay
thankful for my safe home environment and try to stay positive.
I have been keeping vey busy, making art and watching various shows and movies. Zoom and facetime
have become my safe haven, thriving from speaking with my loved ones, but wishing I could give them a
big hug. Yesterday, my friend came over and sat on my porch while I sat inside and we spoke through
the door. It was so nice to see her!
I have always lived with my parents, but now I have reawakened a deep appreciation for all that they do
for me. While my mother is an essential worker like me, my dad has been off of work for at least 4
weeks now. He, like me, struggles when he is not kept busy. This has led him to make large
improvements on the house and start many projects. For this I am thankful, and yesterday I helped him
paint.
I am also very thankful for my coworkers. Together, we stay sane and keep each other company. While
we focus on keeping others separated by 6ft while in our building, it is nearly impossible to distance
from each other. This has led us to band together to stay sane. I feel that our conversations have
become far more intimate and meaningful, I feel very united with them and am thankful to be part of
such an amazing group, working together to make the world healthy again.
Overall, I will get through this. The hardest time for me was the initial couple of weeks. Now I know how
to handle negative thoughts, and how to keep busy and cope healthily. Honestly, just writing this journal
has helped clear my head, and I have plans today to make art and enjoy the sunshine. Thank you for
reading.
Grace Catherine Glemboski 4/26/2020
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_2020-04-26_GlemboskiGrace
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Glemboski, Grace
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-04-26
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID Journal
Description
An account of the resource
Journal from GVSU student Grace Glemboski's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0de800d7c288b26e9261fd2d9139be52.pdf
f5de962f432dfa52e3cdfdfc84efd64c
PDF Text
Text
Sydney Hayward
COVID-19 Journal Entry
Being a senior in college my friends and I were really looking forward to our last couple
months of being college students. We had plans set as well as plans to celebrate
graduating. COVID-19 changed all those plans and memories. We have not got to see
eachother even though we are still all at our apartments near campus. It has been hard
adjusting to these changes and disappointing not being able to create final memories. It
has also been hard to adjust to online classes. Also as a senior with the last set of finals
and classes my roommates and mine motivation has been low to excel in our classes.
Online classes have not helped with this and have hindered my learning. I was going to
finish out my lease and stay in Allendale for the summer but with everything going on in
May move home and try to find a job there. It has been hard with everything being so up
in the air and not having any set plans. It has been exciting not knowing exactly what
lies ahead but also caused some anxiety. All in all it has been nice to step back from the
stresses of daily tasks but has added a different stress of uncertainty and missing out
on experiences.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_2020-04-26_HaywardSydney
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hayward, Sydney
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-04-26
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal
Description
An account of the resource
Journal of GVSU student Sydney Hayward's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/66a7e567e7831848a3000f038124bf84.jpg
5c7b258f633ce7766f1da3643583c663
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fab172481282fbd6feb3aa6ab7cab17f.jpg
e48373d4bd395e2db6e6201333c9a747
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_Postcard001
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal Postcard 1
Description
An account of the resource
COVID-19 Journaling Project card submitted by a student or visitor to the University Libraries in 2021. Prompt: What should people of the future know about being a student in a pandemic? Response: don't
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0de3c444b2118e959536cab06bb929a9.jpg
6503675ce7f85765de26a56668da5368
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cbfe2c3a7193b9dc5b1ff80ee1c23c2c.jpg
10f531023938bd8170ec8a6b8ea4d3e1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_Postcard010
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal Postcard 10
Description
An account of the resource
COVID-19 Journaling Project card submitted by a student or visitor to the University Libraries in 2021. Prompt: Write a 6 word "essay" about your experience of the pandemic (or draw a picture!). Response: Learned how to be with myself. [drawing of 3 hearts]
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/145fff41e63d0397481d315e994e3210.jpg
ada660184c06db5af18b49aca73ce335
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/23a6c46d0147fb5f6d9147cac720c32e.jpg
709860358fdb89c0847eee0603badb56
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_Postcard011
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal Postcard 11
Description
An account of the resource
COVID-19 Journaling Project card submitted by a student or visitor to the University Libraries in 2021. Prompt: What should people of the future know about being a student in a pandemic? Response: It is way harder than you'd expect! Parents or adults haven't been in school for awhile & those who have been get it!!! @fisher.sydney
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a9c95b2f1aaa497455fd67c3b95c4558.jpg
f84685e223511912d0a42882a3b8ac2f
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/35b4123abdb38f4a45378754c839dc45.jpg
10db0c12d7e3c849d9b1f0f974e0e723
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_Postcard012
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal Postcard 12
Description
An account of the resource
COVID-19 Journaling Project card submitted by a student or visitor to the University Libraries in 2021. Prompt: Write a 6 word "essay" about your experience of the pandemic (or draw a picture!). Response: Sitting Through Too Many Zoom Meetings!
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/093b66530ffbc44729f2794fc76add45.jpg
8edc4e47dfedeb001b9c0384753ac3dc
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/314af62d2a33909b76707dc949a84495.jpg
cb829d3dc666de7064597c187efa34cd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_Postcard013
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal Postcard 13
Description
An account of the resource
COVID-19 Journaling Project card submitted by a student or visitor to the University Libraries in 2021. Prompt: Write a 6 word "essay" about your experience of the pandemic (or draw a picture!). Response: We are literally living through history @snowangelj Jackie Domeier [drawing of the sun]
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/12fe5022988257aa4746c11545941c30.jpg
8341aab5875cae8e026d9d7bfda9ba8d
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/983a380f6678a635c6635bb0d0883b75.jpg
00df87863f60f9a6d919c94d3c2e4b69
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
COVID-19 Journals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
Description
An account of the resource
This collection of journals and personal narratives was solicited from the GVSU community by archivists of the University Libraries during the events of the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic. During this unprecedented crisis the university closed suddenly, following federal and state guidelines of social distancing to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The university closed its campuses on March 12, 2020, and quickly moved students out of campus housing. Faculty swiftly transitioned to fully-online teaching for the remainder of the Winter 2020 semester, and all campus events, including commencement, were cancelled.
The purpose of the COVID-19 Journaling Project was to document the individual and personal experiences of GVSU’s students, staff, faculty, and the wider community during this time of international crisis. Some project participants were university student employees who were compensated for their journaling. Other participants were granted stipends or extra credit for submitting entries to the archives. Still others participated without any compensation or credit. The University Archives remains grateful to all who submitted journals, for helping us to understand the impact of this crisis on our community.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Subject
The topic of the resource
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
COVID-19_Postcard014
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. Special Collections & University Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021
Title
A name given to the resource
Covid Journal Postcard 14
Description
An account of the resource
COVID-19 Journaling Project card submitted by a student or visitor to the University Libraries in 2021. Prompt: What have you learned about yourself, your friends, or your family as a result of the pandemic? Response: I learned that every second counts with friends and family. Do not waste it by being on your phone go and try something new, make memories!
Subject
The topic of the resource
COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
College students
Personal narratives
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
image/jpeg
Language
A language of the resource
eng