COVID-19 pandemic, 2019-2020
Epidemics
Grand Valley State University
Grand Rapids (Mich.)
Personal narratives
Daily journal entry of Pamela Benjamin, spouse of GVSU history professor, Craig Benjamin, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally self-published on WordPress.
Benjamin, Pamela
University Archives. COVID-19 Journaling Project
Grand Valley State University University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
In Copyright
Al Weener (audio interview and transcript) 2018
Michigan
Saugatuck (Mich.)
Douglas (Mich.)
Outdoor recreation
Fishing
Fishermen
Gay bars
Allegan County (Mich.)
Oral history
Audio recordings
Al Weener describes his connections to West Michigan as well as his time as a fisherman in Saugatuck
Weener, Al
Stories of Summer project, Kutsche Office of Local History. Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives
Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project)
Cynthia Sorenson (audio interview and transcript) 2018
Restaurants
Cynthia Sorensen shares her memories of the burning of the Big Pavilion, attending high school, and working at The Hollyhock House.
Sorensen, Cynthia
Larry Philips (interview transcript) 2018
Motorcycle gangs
Automobiles
Larry Phillips recounts his time in Saugatuck and Douglas, where he grew up. In this interview, he discusses working several jobs, including his work at the Lloyd J. Harris Pie Company. He also discusses his time as a firefighter and provides a first-hand account of the Big Pavilion fire.
Philips, Larry
Dave Karpowicz (audio interview and transcript) 2018
Theological seminaries
Dave Karpowicz discusses his time at the Phelps Mansion and his experiences being a high school seminarian. He also discusses his time outside of Saugatuck-Douglas, as well as what brought him back to the region.
Karpowicz, Dave
Tom Fosdick, part 2 (audio interview and transcript) 2018
The second part of his interview, Tom Fosdick describes his experiences with the school system and playing sports. He also discusses summer jobs, cross-state school trips, and his family and their role as school janitors. He also explores changes to the region.
Fosdick, Charles Thomas
Tom Fosdick, part 1 (audio interview and transcript) 2018
The first part of a longer interview, Tom Fosdick discusses early memories about the Saugatuck-Douglas area. He describes his time at the Old Schoolhouse and playing with his friends on the school properties.
Anne Corlett (audio interview and transcript) 2018
Anne Corlett describes her experiences as a summer cottage resident during the 60s and 70s. She recounts her experiences of the beaches, her connection to the arts and Oxbow, as well as her various experiences with the LGBT community.
Corlett, Anne
Le, Lan Chi (Interview transcript and video), 2010
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, Vietnamese-American
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Veterans
Video recordings
Ms. Le was born in Saigon in 1970 to an American father and Vietnamese mother. Her father had to leave, and her mother struggled to make a living, especially when the communists took over. A program called ODC allowed them to leave Vietnam, go to the Philippines for orientation for 6 months and then move to America. Mastering the English language was a struggle at first, but Ms. Le worked hard and became very successful. She said she is grateful to the ODC program.
Le, Lan Chi
Veterans History Project collection, RHC-27
Grand Valley State University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI, 49401.
Johnson, Mae (Interview transcript and video), 2012
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army. Women's Army Corps
Mae Johnson was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1919. She graduated from Leavenworth High School in 1937 and eventually went to nursing school. Because she could not finish nursing school, Mae traveled to California with a friend. After visiting California, she decided she would enlist in Woman's Army Corps (WAC) in New Haven, Connecticut. She was then sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia for basic training. After basic training, Mae was sent to Hot Springs, Arkansas where she worked in a hospital as she was assigned to the Surgical and Medical Wards. Once she was finished in Arkansas in early 1945, she was sent to Fort Sheridan, Illinois where she maintained a similar position as before. While at Fort Sheridan she met her future husband and met many German POWs.
Johnson, Mae
Greene, Carolyn (Interview transcript and video), 2006
Other veterans & civilians--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Carolyn Greene was born in Jackson, Mississippi on June 23, 1948. Her father was in the US Air Force and she grew up where he was stationed at Kessler Air Force Base in Mississippi. When Carolyn was a teenager she was active in the Civil Rights Movement, working with the Freedom Riders, NAACP, and even got to meet Martin Luther King. She enlisted in the Army in 1972 after graduating from college, and went through basic training in Fort Jackson in South Carolina. She then went to Fort Rucker in Alabama where she took AIT classes and spent the rest of her service working in an office. In the interview, she notes continuing problems with racism in Alabama and some of the problems that returning veterans from Vietnam brought with them.
Greene, Carolyn Annette
Bailey, Paul (Interview transcript and video), 2017
Paul Bailey was born in 1936 and opted to join the Military Police after graduating high school in 1954. Bailey attended Basic Training at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, and then Fort Gordon, Georgia, for advanced training to become an MP. His first regular assignment was at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, during which he noticed the pervasive racial segregation of the south. He was then sent to South Korea where he was statationed six miles from the DMZ and border with North Korea. Bailey returned to the U.S. in 1956 and spent his last year of enlistment at Fort Stewart, Georgia. After leaving the service, he worked a couple of police administration and public safety jobs before entering the united Methodist ministry in which he studied to become a pastor.
Bailey, Paul F.