825 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/105bc1359f01497ad0184b86ce6f8227.jpg 7af834bf3ae4cfa233e781333eee201e 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 Believing and Belonging on Campus Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Interfaith Photovoice Description An account of the resource During the 2024 Winter semester at GVSU, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Interfaith Photovoice hosted nine students from different religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds for a semester-long cohort centered on storytelling. By using predominantly mobile-phone photography, these students explored what it meant to believe and belong on campus and in the greater West Michigan community. This project was designed to help capture their experiences and stories, to enable them to find their voice through photography. The cohort culminated in an exhibition displayed on multiple GVSU campuses and curated by the students around three self-selected themes: Religious & Spiritual Practices, Barriers to Belonging, and Creating Welcoming Spaces. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource College students Belonging Hinduism Islam Judaism Students, Foreign LGBTQ+ people Orthodox Eastern Church Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) 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 2024-Kaufman-Exhibit-5 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sri Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Title A name given to the resource Religious & Spiritual Practices 5 Description An account of the resource Puja is a religious ritual practiced in many Indian homes, including mine as an Indian living in America. In this ritual, lamps are lit as an offering to the divine. The light from the lamp symbolizes knowledge and the power of the sacred, while the wick represents the ego, and the oil signifies our negative tendencies. When lit by spiritual knowledge, these negative tendencies are gradually eliminated, and the ego eventually perishes. There are various ways of performing puja: light lamps in front of a deity, some in front of the Tulasi plant, and some light lamps at dawn and dusk. The type of oil and wick used also holds significance. For instance, cow's ghee ensures radiance, prosperity, health, and happiness. Similarly, a cotton wick brings prosperity and all good fortune. The chanting of slokas or hymns also accompanies the lighting of the lamp. The shloka "Subham Karoti Kalyanam, Arogyam Dhana Sampadah, Shatru Buddhi Vinashaya, Deepa Jyotir Namostute" is commonly chanted while lighting the lamp, seeking the divine's blessings for prosperity, good health, and the destruction of opposing forces. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute (exhibitor) Subject The topic of the resource Hinduism College students Belonging Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Kaufman Interfaith Institute Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b936cb2817bb7978785e38b14dcdc638.jpg be34098bd84e782e8ba92ae1ce343b3c 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 Believing and Belonging on Campus Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Interfaith Photovoice Description An account of the resource During the 2024 Winter semester at GVSU, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Interfaith Photovoice hosted nine students from different religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds for a semester-long cohort centered on storytelling. By using predominantly mobile-phone photography, these students explored what it meant to believe and belong on campus and in the greater West Michigan community. This project was designed to help capture their experiences and stories, to enable them to find their voice through photography. The cohort culminated in an exhibition displayed on multiple GVSU campuses and curated by the students around three self-selected themes: Religious & Spiritual Practices, Barriers to Belonging, and Creating Welcoming Spaces. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource College students Belonging Hinduism Islam Judaism Students, Foreign LGBTQ+ people Orthodox Eastern Church Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) 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 2024-Kaufman-Exhibit-6 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cecelia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Title A name given to the resource Religious & Spiritual Practices 6 Description An account of the resource Through Interfaith Photovoice, I was part of many conversations about belonging. Where do I belong or have a home? Lenten bouquets are not an official tradition within the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Christian tradition that I practice, but the color purple is liturgically the color for the time of Lent. While I have been so rooted and comforted to know and believe I belong within my faith and God, that I have a home in those spaces, it occurred to me that I might also make a space for God to have a home within me and my space. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute (exhibitor) Subject The topic of the resource Orthodox Eastern Church College students Belonging Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Kaufman Interfaith Institute Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7e00df37fb2337bddf563b117f91ff0f.jpg 8ab1244ea229de83d5732b12bbc80e97 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 Believing and Belonging on Campus Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Interfaith Photovoice Description An account of the resource During the 2024 Winter semester at GVSU, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Interfaith Photovoice hosted nine students from different religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds for a semester-long cohort centered on storytelling. By using predominantly mobile-phone photography, these students explored what it meant to believe and belong on campus and in the greater West Michigan community. This project was designed to help capture their experiences and stories, to enable them to find their voice through photography. The cohort culminated in an exhibition displayed on multiple GVSU campuses and curated by the students around three self-selected themes: Religious & Spiritual Practices, Barriers to Belonging, and Creating Welcoming Spaces. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource College students Belonging Hinduism Islam Judaism Students, Foreign LGBTQ+ people Orthodox Eastern Church Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) 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 2024-Kaufman-Exhibit-7 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Molly Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Title A name given to the resource Religious & Spiritual Practices 7 Description An account of the resource Mezuzahs are often found outside of doors in Jewish spaces. They are there as a reminder that you are entering a holy space and should act accordingly. When I am in my hometown, I see many of these. Being in a new environment here at GVSU with not as many Jewish people, I do not see mezuzahs on doors when I am walking in. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute (exhibitor) Subject The topic of the resource Judaism College students Belonging Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Kaufman Interfaith Institute Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/69b6dd4f37a9b955864a6582cabc56dc.jpg 411e5810bdf3a39ea9ed9b6440467f3d 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 Believing and Belonging on Campus Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Interfaith Photovoice Description An account of the resource During the 2024 Winter semester at GVSU, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Interfaith Photovoice hosted nine students from different religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds for a semester-long cohort centered on storytelling. By using predominantly mobile-phone photography, these students explored what it meant to believe and belong on campus and in the greater West Michigan community. This project was designed to help capture their experiences and stories, to enable them to find their voice through photography. The cohort culminated in an exhibition displayed on multiple GVSU campuses and curated by the students around three self-selected themes: Religious & Spiritual Practices, Barriers to Belonging, and Creating Welcoming Spaces. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource College students Belonging Hinduism Islam Judaism Students, Foreign LGBTQ+ people Orthodox Eastern Church Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) 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 2024-Kaufman-Exhibit-8 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Anam Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Title A name given to the resource Religious & Spiritual Practices 8 Description An account of the resource This photograph captures a moment of tranquility within one of the Interfaith Reflection Rooms at GVSU, where individuals from diverse backgrounds come together to pray. In Islam, prayer, being the second pillar of the faith, holds significant importance. Muslims adhere to a disciplined practice of praying five times a day, each within specific time windows. There are 17 obligatory units of Salah spread throughout these five daily prayers, and each unit consists of two sajdah (prostrations). This image not only signifies the personal devotion of individuals but also highlights the inclusive environment fostered by the university, providing a space for spiritual reflection and connection regardless of one's faith tradition. For me, Salah (prayer) is a profound experience where I feel deeply connected to God. It's a time when I am away from all worldly tensions, allowing me to find peace and solace for my soul. Each prostration (sajdah) during prayer brings immense benefits, including physical relaxation, mental clarity, and spiritual elevation. It's a moment of submission and humility before the Divine, offering a sense of renewal and inner tranquility that carries me through the challenges of daily life. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute (exhibitor) Subject The topic of the resource Islam College students Belonging Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Kaufman Interfaith Institute Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/98a8e2ffe507c08f7c3bbebe8cd35ec6.jpg 45051fd2cfd119362c73cf7cf541ee8d 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 Believing and Belonging on Campus Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Interfaith Photovoice Description An account of the resource During the 2024 Winter semester at GVSU, the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Interfaith Photovoice hosted nine students from different religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds for a semester-long cohort centered on storytelling. By using predominantly mobile-phone photography, these students explored what it meant to believe and belong on campus and in the greater West Michigan community. This project was designed to help capture their experiences and stories, to enable them to find their voice through photography. The cohort culminated in an exhibition displayed on multiple GVSU campuses and curated by the students around three self-selected themes: Religious & Spiritual Practices, Barriers to Belonging, and Creating Welcoming Spaces. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource College students Belonging Hinduism Islam Judaism Students, Foreign LGBTQ+ people Orthodox Eastern Church Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) 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 2024-Kaufman-Exhibit-9 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lex Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Title A name given to the resource Religious & Spiritual Practices 9 Description An account of the resource Growing up, I didn't have a lot of exposure to LGBT books, fiction or non-fiction. Every reference was treated with a great deal of sterility and distance if not complete dismissal. So to find out we had an entire little library on campus dedicated to queer literature was beyond wonderful. Everything I had wished I was able to read growing up was right here in one place. To have something like this on campus is such a joy because it means our stories get to be celebrated just like everyone else's. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute (exhibitor) Subject The topic of the resource LGBTQ+ people College students Belonging Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Kaufman Interfaith Institute Relation A related resource Believing and Belonging on Campus: An Interfaith Photovoice Project (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7f3992c973297d8e50344147d373d646.pdf 6dce3e8ed4e762149731376fc19e2ea7 PDF Text Text Ir. "· {jtnrgt 1Jfnx RABBI SOUTH SHORE TEMPLE 7215 )BFFBRY AVBNUB l'HONB FAIRFAX 3275-6 CHICAGO 49 Nov . 11, 1948. Mr. Fred Rodoff, 119 ,I._ Western Av., Muslfgon, Mich·. Dear Mr. Rodoff: Thank you for the invituticr- t o the dedication and the tickets to the dinner. \ We shall not be able to share the happy occasion w1 th you, but of course you know that our hearts a.re ,tith you. Thanking you again, Cordially GGF:L �November 19, 1948 Past presidents: Prior to 1938 _ Henry Rubinslcy Isaac Grossman (Well to make mention of these) Subsequent to 1938 - Milton Steindler Samuel Gluck Leo s. Rosen Samuel Lipnan Samuel K1.ayf I!JliJ ding Committee: Co-Chairmen - J. M. Kaufman Members: Hebert Fisher ~ l Klayf Paul Wiener - Harold Rosen �F1t01i P rt Pne;: 1 'r. Pr 1d.cnt, Rnbb1 Un n, Ouoot In behnlf or tho offiooro and on th1 Fri ndo, a.nd l 1 oober : I ob roof th Bn 1 Ior el Con..~ ot1on Sohool and 1..1brnry, l t l lcriou our day of Dod1o tion of our no bta you voloooe. w 0 1th uo to celebrate th1 o.ro happy you ar h V lonn- OOr.l wt ny . un loolt bo.o joyoua ooono1on. ap:o, n'bout 40 y n h~n ful of Jcwo, thoro uero not rony f ~ll1 oh r hen at that t1n • cot o.t enoh othorn honoc , o.nd froc thoro to a ooo.11 Syna. ,ori'llo on Mua • gon hloh 2S yoar venue, '!O aci n I ride to th old. r folk , ond- no our ,n1f cont Tenplc, lo r llY h re . drcan, th1o The pact hno R1vcn un tr d1t on, h1oh \ revere; it ho ,::1ven uo fr nd, hon u lv n uo o nloo ole n olty , chcr h; lt hnc ut noot of nll , our pa t boa ~1von uo ch ract r nJoy. lool· 1nto th futur • hloh nd ctr n~th to \t_J s? The tutur of tho To• l lo 1 o lonf! elf r wo lorn to b of our follo honC'lrnblo in our 6n1ly 11.voo , loo· to th t\r?o to good dv ntor;o th\.o Teeple Thi Tonpl b on bu1lt tor us lone that m-ondch110ron that thy nay 1h1lo cvoryon 1n th1 thlo ~1f1cc , and nll h v n oula b nd uo our 1.11 rro pr 1n our oon~n1ty . 1o built ln honor of Oo~ Al~1(?hty , 1n c thooc who ltrv 11vod here , and p uo th prop r r ver~no • on , ~ ve our Lo to tholr Juot r w rO . 017 of oll Ith o not oelf1oh, but for our oh1ldron nd nJoy 1tn bl oo1nga . v1o1n1cy hao haO ah nd ln h lpl n 1v n f r and o 11 nttent on to on r ly to build of tho1r tlr.10. nm'l oonoy • w muet 1·o too,. tho 1 d no o: 1 t through. �He ho.s hnd nnny re tles bu 1neee; he ho. opent thousands of dollar trips to different c1t1es. besides you Temple. n1ghto nnd m ny llo.ye to.ten woy from hie for long d1ct nee oalle, Th1s r.ioney came out of h1o o n pocJcot, nnd 111 find h1s name as one of the lnr e contributors to th1e We truly 010 n de p debt of r titude to Leo Rooen. Leo dee~rven the henrt-relt th nk of every nm:iber, 1n br1ng1np; th1e bu1ld1n~ to co~plet1on . no "LJe have adeC'u te f c111t1e~ for our sp1r1tunl , cultural , and coc1 l life . 1th our dream fulfilled men, womon, and children can con- reg te 1n 1rayer ---In tho 1th1n our rn gn1f1oent Temple . me tone or benuty end dignity 1th which our Temple hne b en planned, nnd furn1nhed, so are our eerv1oec nd rP11glou echool conducted u~der R bb1 8 mucl Ur.ien. · Rnbb1 Unen ie a f1ne rPeourA ful Je tsh schol r , nd one horn c cnn proudly ter~ as the Spiritual Leader of our Congr gt on. For our brief ncqu 1ntnnoe w1th hie, one cannot fn11 to reco~n1ze h1o undernt nd1ng of pc.et Je 1 h h1Rtory,and !')r 1e ent world trendc. hould congradul te ouroelver, ond our co~mitteea 1n securing Bnbb1 Unen'n cervloeo . He 1111 go place not only by our people, but by all who kno 1n Muo-er;on and hin. 111 be drn1red, �PROGRAM FOR THE DEDICATION OF SCHOOL AND LIBRARY OF TEMPLE B'NAI ISRAEL SUnday November 14, 1948 J:15 P.U.. 1. 2. llATIONAL ANTHEM INVOCATION J. .GREETINGS 4. READING 5. THE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL 6. PSALM 1. SERMON 8. SEU SHORIM 9. POEM ON LIBRARIES f;\ 1J. 11. 12. 13. lh. 15. 16. 17. 18. MESSAGE SRMA PRAYER FOR GOVERNMENT OF UNITED STATES IN MEMORIAM EL MOLE ROCHAMIM KADDISH ADON OLAN BENEDICTION MAY THE WORDS CHOIR AND AUDIENCE RABBI SAMUEL UMEN MILTON STEINDLER Chairman MAX ROSENBERG Pres. Zionist Organization JEAN BERMAN Religious School Principal ELAINE PAGE RABBI SAMUEL OMEN CHOIR MRS. EDWARD KRAUSE CLIFFORD WHIGHTMAN -Chief Librarian- Hackley Library. CHOIR HORTENSE BERMAN SISTERHOOD PRESIDENT MILTON STEINDLER RABBI SAMUEL UMEN CHOIR CHOIR RABBI SAMUEL UMEN CHO+R �TEMPLE B'NAI ISRAEL Muskegon, Michigan Dedication Week ABRAHAM ROSEN LODGE NO. 818, B'NAI B'RITH Sponsor and Host for OPEN HOUSE AND MINISTERS' NIGHT . Tuesday Evening Eight O'clock November 16, 1948 PROGRAM Presiding Chairman ...................... Edward H. Krause Program Chairman ............ ............. Samuel Lawson Presentation of Colors Color Guard ................................................ . . . . . Abe Berman, Jack Steindler, Morton, Fogel, Sam Schumacher National Anthem ..................................... Audience Pledge of Allegiance .................................. Audience Invocation .................................. Rev. George A. Mooers Greetings to Guests ............................... Edward H. Krause President of Congregation ................................ Leo Rosen Rabbi of Congregation ............... ....... ... Rabbi Samuel Umen Response .................................... Rev. Glenn M. Sauder Main Speaker .............................. Dr. Duncan E. Littlefair Benediction .................................... Rev. Samuel Oliver Organist - Hubert Baker MOVIE - "THIS IS B'NAI B'RITH" RECREATION ROOM REFRESHMENTS TOUR OF BUILDING � 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 Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 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 DC-08_BI-ReligiousSchoolDedication Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Congregation B'nai Israel Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1948-11-14 Title A name given to the resource Religious School Dedication Description An account of the resource Materials on the dedication of the religious school and library of Temple B'nai Israel, November 14 1948. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/006d0e1f5dc0872c8ed24b89ec8bf43d.jpg e21ecf1ed3d6b60bbf8e0034060abbde https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/91ec98604473b31278dadccca877ae7e.jpg 82a629ca5675e95da37611e1302d12ef 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 Insel-Bücherei Series Description An account of the resource The German publishing company Insel Verlag was founded in 1899 by Anton Kippenberg in Leipzig. In its early years the firm only printed expensive, beautifully-produced volumes, until demand led to the publication of the more modest Insel-Bücherei series in 1912. Relatively inexpensive but with the same careful sense of design and typography, these smaller-format books reprinted shorter works from a variety of German, European, and world authors. The series numbers considerably more than a thousand titles and is still being issued. The Digital Collection contains the scanned covers of 140 titles held by Grand Valley State University Libraries. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1904-1987 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-05 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource ger Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-09-29 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 DC-05_IB0108 Title A name given to the resource Rembrandt Handzeichnungen Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">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 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-09-29 Description An account of the resource Cover of Rembrandt Handzeichnungen, by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, published by Insel-Verlag. Insel-Bücherei Nr. 108 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books. Insel-Bücherei. Z315.I5 B83 no.108 Language A language of the resource de Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/36a4764c23c47a0cd3aa772f0c163b84.jpg 404331f03088ca0ebad806df4122994e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/037ef1d9e5656ad8c2d4a82219b8379f.jpg 306da939abc7cb138bad44da5658847d 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 Civil War and Slavery Collection Subject The topic of the resource United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Slavery--United States African Americans United States--Politics and government--19th century Description An account of the resource A selection of correspondence, diaries, official documents, photographs related to the American Civil War and to the institution of slavery, collected by Harvey E. Lemmen. The collection includes a selection of documents from ten states related to the ownership of slaves and abolition, correspondence and documents of soldiers who fought in the war and from family members and officials, diaries and letters of individuals, and a collection of mailing envelopes decorated with patriotic imagery. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lemmen, Harvey E. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/472">Civil War and Slavery Collection (RHC-45)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/470">John Bennitt Diaries and Correspondence (RHC-43)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/471">Nathan Sargent Papers (RHC-44)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/478">Theodore Peticolas Diary (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/476">Civil War Patriotic Envelopes Collection (RHC-51)<br /></a><a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/479">Whitely Read Diary (RHC-52)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1804-1897 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg; application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image; Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1804-1897 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/. Title A name given to the resource Remember Ellsworth Description An account of the resource Design shows Elmer Ephriam Ellsworth in uniform. Ellsworth was a friend of Abraham Lincoln and remembered as the first Union casualty of the American Civil War. Design in red, blue, green, and brown on white envelope. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-49_PE002 Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Subject The topic of the resource United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Postal service--United States--History Covers (Philatety)--United States--History Patriotic envelopes Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/476">Civil War patriotic envelopes, (RHC-49)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b4f2d5998e348e4dee5c1abd28f9874e.mp3 898de4f0a619f4d4f3b5e96044022484 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/673ce979c4bcac903bf35974e4110c41.pdf edb5b06530ab89ee66deac8f8de89fcf PDF Text Text Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells Memorial Day Weekend Text: Psalm 84:2; I Corinthians 5:35-36; John 19:40 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan May 28, 2000 Transcription of the spoken sermon Memorial Day Weekend, a weekend in which we remember those that we have loved and lost a while. It is a civil holiday and, along with Thanksgiving, perhaps the civil holiday that has the deepest spiritual significance, a time to honor those who paid the supreme sacrifice to preserve our liberty and to keep our freedoms alive, and then from that, the custom generally of remembering those who have gone before us, of visiting cemeteries and adorning graves with flowers, a time to pause, a time to remember, a time to grieve and a time to give thanks. I remember vividly my first visit to a military cemetery. It was in the spring of 1984 in a little Dutch village toward Arnam. It was a British military cemetery and I think the village was Osterbaan. We visited a war museum there, and then we walked across to the cemetery. As I said, it was spring and the shrubs were absolutely splendid, and the cemetery was so obviously kept meticulously, with great care. I had never been struck before in the environment of a cemetery, but here I was deeply moved, I think for the first time existentially, to look across the field of crosses and stars of David, the names of primarily young men, the dates of birth and the dates of death indicating the brevity of life and the horrible cost of war and the price of preserving freedom and beating back the demonic darkness. It was a deeply moving experience; it was a spiritual experience; it was one of those moments along my pilgrimage way that I can remember that I really felt something very deep. In 1995, Nancy and I led some pilgrims over to Europe and there outside Cambridge, England, there is an American military cemetery. Again, one simply cannot come upon that scene without being moved. A field of crosses or stars of David in orderly rows, and name after name after name of the youth of the nation. A beautiful memorial wall, a striking chapel, and once again I felt how we have honored our dead. There has been that tradition; there have been those who have seen to it that those who paid that supreme sacrifice are not forgotten, and the very way in which it is all kept speaks of the dignity of the human spirit. Going to Normandy 50 years after the invasion, stepping on the beaches and looking on the cliffs, seemingly impossible to scale, set with concrete bunkers that © Grand Valley State University   �Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells Richard A. Rhem Page 2   seemed impenetrable with their huge guns facing out to sea, then moving up into the American cemetery there, one again feels the tremendous cost in which that battle was won that turned the tide of the war. Well, those experiences for me, I must admit, were the experiences that imprinted deeply upon my consciousness the importance of the dignified honoring of the dead, and of having an appropriate setting in which to remember, to grieve, and through memory to feel the connections once again, and to let the love of those we have loved and lost well up within us. The year 1984 was a significant year for me; it was the year of sabbatical, the first six months of that year, the first three months of which we spent in Schenectady where I was the theologian-in-residence in this great, old First Church in downtown Schenectady, and it was there that I was introduced for the first time to a Columbarium. Within that grand old building there was a room set aside, chapel-like, with a table and a candle and an open Bible, and one wall in which there were niches in which were the urns of those whose cremains were being kept. A sacred place in which the people of the congregation could come, sit, meditate, pray and remember, and could experience again the connectedness with those they'd loved and lost. In 1984 I came back in the fall to take up the task here once again and one of the things we did as a kind of exercise in renewal was to constitute eleven task forces in all aspects of our community life. One task force, at my instigation, was a task force to study the viability of creating our own columbarium. The conclusion of that task force at that time was not yet, not now. It may have had something to do with the fact that we included the local undertaker on the committee, I don't know. But, columbaria involve cremation, and in 1984 that was not as common as it is now. It is becoming a more common practice, for various reasons, reasons of space, ecology, economic considerations, and more. But, in any case, I think that it is time for us once again to have that option open to those for whom that is an appealing place in which to remember their loved ones. I entitle this message, "Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells," because it is very much my own personal perspective. Burial customs are a part of every culture and every society, and there are those who say that burial customs are the last customs that a people will change, it is so primal. It is written so deeply into our past. In traditional communities, there are ways that this is done that are simply taken for granted, as though that's just the way it is and the way it ought to be. I read that little section in the Gospel of John, the burial of Jesus. Whether the story was intended to be literal or symbolic is beside the point. I read it for that little phrase, "... according to the burial custom of the Jews," because every people have had certain rituals of death, certain burial customs, and this is not a matter of some absolute truth. It is not a matter of right or wrong. It has everything to do with a personal perspective or with a personal inclination. And so, on this Memorial Day Weekend which is a Memorial Day which doesn't have to share place with Pentecost, which happens sometimes, or Baccalaureate, which © Grand Valley State University �Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells Richard A. Rhem Page 3   happens other times, but rather is a weekend which stands alone, I thought it would be the right time for us simply to think together about one more option that is available to us as we deal with death and dying with dignity and with honor. There is, as I said, no right way to do this. When I began in the ministry, I used to conduct a funeral service with an open casket in the front, which I haven't seen for a long, long time. Those customs do gradually change. If we were an Episcopal congregation, the casket would be led in procession by the cross with the clergy reciting resurrection texts, a very nice ritual, actually. We have in this congregation a funeral pall which is a vestment cloth that goes over the casket, which I don't know whether we have used yet, just because when it comes to that moment, we haven't gotten into that kind of rhythm, but it's a very, very good custom because it puts a sameness on every casket, whether it is mahogany or brass or pinewood box, and a beautiful symbol of our leveling before the face of God. Whatever the customs of a particular community may be, if they are done with dignity and meaning and if they communicate that to those who are grieving, then they are good and they are right. But there is one word that I ought to address to this matter of cremation because it is my impression that early on it may have been practiced by those who were intending to deny the resurrection of the body. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. I'm sure that it was true that the Church reacted to cremation, sensing perhaps that it was a denial of the resurrection of the body. Paul's chapter on the resurrection, I Corinthians 15, ought to dispel any problem with the matter of cremation, for in that rather involved and torturous discussion of the 15th chapter, this much is clear - Paul arguing by analogy says that while there is continuity, there is also discontinuity, and that which is buried is not that which comes to life again, and it doesn't make one bit of difference whether the corpse is laid in the ground or the ashes placed in an urn. According to Paul's argument, you don't put a plant in the ground and expect that plant to come back. A plant bears seed, the seed is buried, disintegrates, dies and from it comes a new plant which is resurrection. He talks about a spiritual body, but how can you have a spiritual body? He's stammering, of course, because he's talking about the things about which we really don't know. But, what he was affirming was what he says I think even better in Romans 14, "Whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord, so whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." And his resurrection faith and hope was based in his trust in God who is the God of the living, the God who gives life and to whom we go when our breath returns to the one who gave it. So, as far as the manner of dealing with the body, it is a matter of indifference, a matter of personal preference, a matter of choice, and I think we are seeing a movement more and more toward the practice of cremation. © Grand Valley State University �Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Why here? Why in the environment of the Church? During that year, 1984, once again Nancy and I made a little journey northward to Friesland, to the North Sea seaport of Holwerd from which my mother's family immigrated, and in those little villages in Friesland in The Netherlands, and generally in Europe, the skyline is punctuated by grand bell towers. Driving into the village, making one's way to that tower, one comes to the village church and there around the church, mantling it, the old churchyard, was the cemetery which is the burial custom of Europe for years. We made our way through the gilded fence and there almost immediately I saw on the gravestones the names of my maternal grandparents, van der Houde and Posthumas, and it gave me a sense of connectedness. It made me realize how we are all bound together in the chain of the generations, bound together in the bundle of life, bound together in the communion of the saints. The old terminology was the Church militant and the Church triumphant, but, as a matter of fact, all one. It is not at all unusual here in the celebrations of baptisms or marriage or in the solemnity of the funeral service to have three and sometimes even four generations present, rarely five, with deep rootedness in this family of faith, this concrete congregation. With the mobility of people in our day you may say, "Well, there is no longer such a thing as the village church," and yet, I sense with our youth going out and having their children, more and more they are coming back here in their family sanctuary to the baptism of their children. Again, the title of the message, "Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells." This is where my heart dwells. This is where I have lived in community with you all these years. This is where my children have been baptized; this is where my children have been married, made their profession of faith, come back to have their children be baptized. It is here that I have family beyond my family. It is here that I have community, the bonds of love, and it seems to be that one of the finest, if the final, service that the Church can offer is the environment for the remembrance of those we have loved and lost a while. I have some logistics to work out and I know it will create some special circumstances, but I envision having the whole thing happen here - the visitation, service of worship, the gathering following, and for those who so choose, the burial in the Columbarium in the shadow of the Chapel, where one can come at any time to remember, to weep, to laugh and to give God thanks for life enriched by deep bonds of human relationship that death finally cannot break. Joshua said to Israel on one occasion, "Choose you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord." I would say to you, "Choose that which feels right for you, but as for me and my house, remember us where our heart dwells." © Grand Valley State University � 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Memorial Day Weekend, Eastertide VI Scripture Text Psalm 84:2, I Corinthians 5:35-36, John 19,40 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-20000528 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000-05-28 Title A name given to the resource Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 28, 2000 entitled "Remember Me Where My Heart Dwells", on the occasion of Memorial Day Weekend, Eastertide VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 84:2, I Corinthians 5:35-36, John 19,40. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Remembering https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/285ffa64475e4b871e28d333de0388e9.mp3 ad691fcbd7348b6e1979e6e9bab1c23c 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event New Years Eve Scripture Text Isaiah 43:1, 14, 18-19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-19941231 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-31 Title A name given to the resource Remember... Remember Not Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 31, 1994 entitled "Remember... Remember Not", on the occasion of New Years Eve, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 43:1, 14, 18-19. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4964082c199401e415991cb52df40760.pdf 320376909036e03bf2346fa1bc32a03e PDF Text Text Remembering Joseph Harry A Prayer for the Jellema-Harter Gathering Richard A. Rhem The Season of Advent 2004 With full attention, awareness, let us be conscious of our life, with breath, with spirit. That consciousness has been present from the beginning of the human story. The ancient poet expressed it in words borrowed by the biblical writer when he wrote of One in whom “we live and move and have our being.” In these moments we open our minds and hearts to that Mystery breathing through us, that Sacred Mystery before whom we stand in awe as we remember we are children of the stars, our being the emergence of a cosmic drama of billions of years in an expanse of space we cannot fathom. Humility befits us that the sacred source of Being should find expression in us, that we should be the conscious bearers of this incredible unfolding of Being. Sometimes it is a glimpse of the starry heavens in the dark stillness; sometimes the glistening whiteness of new fallen snow catching the sun’s radiance; sometimes the rush of a love that wells up from our depths; sometimes it is a pain so overwhelming, a grief so deep we can scarcely breathe, a sadness that permeates every pore of our being. This is such a time, for we remember a life conceived in love, anticipated with such joy and growing expectation, a life as yet all mystery, full of potential, this fragile child in the womb, Joseph Harry. © Grand Valley State University   �Remembering Joseph Harry Richard A. Rhem At such a time, time stands still and we become aware as never before of the mystery of Being from which our lives emerge. And those ultimate questions rise within us – Who am I? Why am I here? What is my life? What is the end of it all? Questions out of the depths, questions not reducible to mathematical equation or scientific formula; questions without verifiable answers; questions not to be answered so much as to be lifted up, to be contemplated. Is not our life a question you put to us, O God? And daily, weekly, monthly, as seasons come and go, we are living out our answers. Sometimes it seems we can begin to shape an answer; sometimes we simply must admit we haven’t a clue; sometimes our faith shines brightly and we have a kind of settled serenity about us; and sometimes the pieces of the puzzle we painstakingly fit together are scattered again, revealing no rhyme or reason. God of all mercy, God of all grace, it is as natural as breathing that we turn in these moments to you. Where else? To whom else should we turn? We come to the limit of our understanding; we come to the limit of our capacity to make sense of this fragile and vulnerable drama that we live. We do not know; we do not comprehend; our minds shut down, weary of thinking. We turn to you – not for cliché, some pious platitude that trips too easily off the tongue. © Grand Valley State University Page 2   �Remembering Joseph Harry Richard A. Rhem No, dear God, we turn to you because we can live without all the answers, if only we sense that in the darkness and the pain we are not abandoned, not alone, if only we sense your presence and your grace, your compassion and your care in the concrete community of human bonds of love. Here we are, deep Mystery of Being, becoming conscious in your presence. We trust, even though we know so little. We trust in your gracious grasp of the disparate strands of our lives because we keep encountering rumors of angels, moments of clarity, flashes of insight, experiences of deep love and grace beyond anything we could arrange. In this season of Advent, we wait, wait in expectation. Mystery beyond our capacity to comprehend, grant to these who grieve an Epiphany of transcendence as they gather to embrace one another in love and solidarity. Heal hearts so recently resonant with expectation and mantle them– parents, grandparents, friends – with peace, assuring them that all will be well; all will be well; all manner of things will be well – for Alles is Gnade – All is Grace. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 3   �Remembering Joseph Harry Richard A. Rhem Page two © Grand Valley State University Page 4   � 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf 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. Event Advent Series Prayer in memory of a child Location The location of the interview At a Family Gathering 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 RA-1-20041201 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Remembering Joseph Harry Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 1, 2004 entitled "Remembering Joseph Harry", as part of the series "Prayer in memory of a child", on the occasion of Advent, at At a Family Gathering. Tags: Mystery of Being, Grace. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-12-01 Grace Mystery of Being https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fcca773596086c525f761def2de68823.mp3 b26127c725ac1fcc85bbc64b32362991 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent I Series Remembering Jesus, Experiencing God Scripture Text Luke 22:14-23 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-20040229 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-02-29 Title A name given to the resource Remembering The Way He Was Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 29, 2004 entitled "Remembering The Way He Was", as part of the series "Remembering Jesus, Experiencing God", on the occasion of Lent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 22:14-23. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Historical Jesus Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4f66fe886c3ab110a0c13fbb92d40232.pdf 8da68481c26f5ff6d6409c7631671580 PDF Text Text I REMEMBERING THOSE WHO RESCUED JEWS FROM NAZIS WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press Holocaust survivors Abraham Foxman and Gisele Feldman reminisce Monday at the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith in Southfield over photos of relatives who died at Auschwitz. Tonight Foxman and Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers supporters will mark the creation of a state chapter and honor two families: the Termaats of Grand Rapids and the Chorazyczewskis of Hamtramck. Story, Page lB. � 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 Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Termaat, Adriana B. (Schuurman) Termaat, Peter N. Description An account of the resource Collection contains genealogical, personal, and family papers and photographs documenting the lives and interests of Adriana and Peter Termaat. The bulk of the materials are related to family history and genealogical research carried out by the Termaats, including research notes and materials about places in the Netherlands that were significant to the Termaat and Schuurman families, such as the city of Alkmaar. Other materials in the collection are related to the Termaats' experiences on the eve of and during the Second World War, especially the German occupation of the Netherlands and the Termaats' participation in organized resistance to the Nazis. Also included are materials that document the family's post-war life in the United States, including their public efforts to recognize, commemorate, and honor people and events significant to World War II. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1869 - 2012 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection, RHC-144</a> Subject The topic of the resource Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands Dutch Dutch Americans Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Image Type The nature or genre of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng nl 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 RHC-144_Termaat_NWS_Remembering-those-who-rescued-Jews-from-Nazis Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Archie, William Title A name given to the resource Remembering those who rescued Jews from Nazis Description An account of the resource Newspaper clipping of photograph of Abraham Foxman and Gisele Feldman for the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers. Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945 -- Jews -- Rescue Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Europe Jews -- United States Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eaa537749f04c3eeaeca69f88862b588.mp3 8d515eca4d4f974ca30c42ca31fba1b9 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 Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XVI Scripture Text Psalm 78:2-6 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI 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 KII-01_RA-0-19880911 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-09-11 Title A name given to the resource Remembering: The Foundation of Hope Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 11, 1988 entitled "Remembering: The Foundation of Hope", on the occasion of Pentecost XVI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 78:2-6. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d9628fe874e544f1e6f0158202d3843.pdf bfa88cd7910e0cf4b9901966f053c94e PDF Text Text I / REMEMBERANCE SERVICE II NATIONAL HOLOCAUST DAY" IN CONGREGATION AHAVAS ISRAEL, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN on APRIL 10, 1983. "Rabbi Lewis, Rabbi Weingarten, Distinguished Guests, Friends: First of all I want to thank the Men's Club of the Congregation of Ahavas Israel for inviting our group of Dutch people, to be here with you on National Holocaust Day. I speak for all of us, when I say that we are very honored and deeply touched, that so long after the war, you Friends here in a country far away from where we helped our Jewish friends, asked us to share this with you. Personally I am deeply moved by your Cantor, remembering my fiancee Hein Sietsma and his friend, Albert van Meerveld, the leaders of my group, who gave their lives in Dachau and Oranienburg. Holocaust Day. A day, which for all of us brings painful memories, which maybe we rather would forget and block from our memories. But, how much it hurts, this may NEVER be forgotten and we,who lived during that time)HAVE to tell it, especially to the younger generation, so that it will never happen again, but on this my friend Pieter Termaat will speak. I want to say a few words on "Why we did it". Although our group only mtt each other recently in Washington, I know that we all helped for the same reason. Rabbi Si gal wrote recently his fine article in the Press on the Pasover_ ., and he wrote: 11 The call of theology is for ACTION. Then he mentioned some parts of the beautiful book of Isaiah, and also a verse from the New Testament book of John, which reads: 11 If you say you know Him and do not obey His commandments, you are a liar. 11 • That is s6 true and we have to keep this in mind, for many horrible things are done in the name of religion and Christianity. After all, we know that Hitler himself was a so~called Catholic. He surely did not obey God's commandments and therefore he had no right to use that Name. We were also taught the Old Testament: God's love for the people He chose from -2- �2) among all the nations on earth, His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Genesis God says to Abraham:" I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you will be cursed and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you". We as Christians take this, that we are blessed through the Jewish people. They gave us so much, as w~ believe : Jesus~and also through the Jewish people we have ~ God's pr-ecious Word, which was our only strength during that horrible time. Therefore, when the war broke out, and believing all this, we just HAD to help. We said we knew Him and wanted to obey His commandments, which are:"Love thy God and they neighbor as thyself . II __ When Hitler started his unspeakable cruelty and the Jews had to r-eport for an unknown fate, with just one little suitcase, we were shocked. We did not yet kn6w what would happen to them. Many believed that it would not be all that bad, but those among us who had their eyes open, recognized the terrible evil and danger of the Nazi teachings and among those were my friends Hein and Albert. They started right away with whatever they could do. Soon I found out how it is, when you need a hiding place and you cannot find one: Six months after the German invasion, the Gestapo came already to arrest Hein, who, thank God, was not home. He was warned, phoned my parents house to warn us, for most probably, the Gestapo would come there also for him, but, we had to find a place for Hein before the 11 p.m. curfew. I was born and raised in the Hague, we had so many wonderful Christian friends there, so~confidently I hopped on my bike and started around 6 p.m . I remember how after hours and hours of asking everywhere, without results, with tears streaming down my cheeks there on my bike, I prayed, that God would provide a place for Hein , and I made then and there a vow, that if I ever could help people in the same circumstances, I would do whatever I could. And ... as a young girl, I was quite disap- pointed in my Christi'an friends who showed such a weak faith. I found a place just before 11 p.m. -3- �3) A year later, when Hitler ordered the Jews to report for 11 relocation 11 , I remembered my vow. We found a place on a farm for a young Jewish friend of ours and two weeks later we had a list of 60 of his relatives and friends, and the list grew and grew, till far past hundred. I am sure that my friends here in a similar way became involved. For the Christians, helping with this work>the Psalms of David became so very precious:" The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, Whom shall I fear?" We had to remind ours~lves of this, for often we were scared! After thr~e years, we were betrayed, the Gestapo came to my parents house and they knisw that we knew about the monthly attaches on German offices, where every month thousands of ration cards and blank identifi~ation cards were stolen. They wanted us. It was very serio~s and the Gestapo kept on coming to my parents house every 2-3 weeks till the end of the war, but of course we never went home again! We had to take false names, false papers. We had our wedding l ic.ense and my wedding dress was hanging in the closet, but we could not get married for the Gestapo kept their eyes on our families . . My work was to take care of all our Jewish friends in a certain part of the country: bring them mail, rat.ion cards and, when an address was in danger, to find a new place and bring them there. I walked and biked from village to village and often felt like David, when King Saul was after him.David wrote many psalms during that time and they became so alive to me! Like Tevye, in,,Fiddler on the Roof: I often had conversations with God during my walks and reminded Him of His promises: How wf break all ours, but that He never can break His, for He is holy! A year later the Gestapo caught Hein first and 2 weeks later me for unrelated ) things. While they had me in their claws on my false name, they were still searching for me on my real name at home! -4- �I was terrible scared that they would find out whom I really was and that they fi/ nally had me. That would have been the end of me. And then I thought of the beautiful story in the book of Kings, where the prophet Elisha prayed, when the enemy army of the king of Aram came to arrest him: 11 God blind their eyes", and God DID. I prayed and said daily:" Lord, You are the same from eternity, please do for me now, what You did thousands of years ago for Elisha, blind their eyes", and God DID. I dreaded the hearing, which I knew would surely come and thought that I would be paralized with fear. In prison I had scraped in the bricks of the wall with my bobby pin the words of Jesus: 11 Lo, -I am with you, al ways 11 • And when I was ca 11 ed and brought before 7 clean, well-fed Gestapo officers behind a large table, playing with their revolvers to intimidate me, instead of being scared,a great calm came over me and I remembered the words of David's Psalm:" If God had not been on our side, says Israel, they would have swallowed us alive". I KNEW He was on our side and what could these men, who thought that they had my fate in their hands then really do? I knew I was in His Fatherhand! Although I am fluent in German, I also had said when they invadedJthat I never would speak Gennan, till they had left our country, and during all these months, everything they said to me had to be translated. For I shrugged my shoulders, looked stupid and said that I could not understand them. During the hearing, although there was an interpreter, I understood every word they said. When, among other questions, they asked my religion and I told them "Christian Reformed" one of them said:" Schon wieder einde von diesen!" He said it really with contempt and scorn, but it made me s6 I happy for then I knew that in this camp there had to be many who were faithful and obeyed the Master. A miracle happened. I was let out a few days before this whole camp was brought . to RavensbrUck, where many died. You know now why we did it, and also, that all of us would do it again. we HAD to -5- �5) Would I like to have missed this part of my life? Although very difficult, I would NOT have missed it, because I KNOW now from experience that God keeps all His promises. He has never promised His people an easy life, but He HAS promised, as to Isaiah: 11 I will take you by the hand'~ And he DID. Many people feel, when difficulties and problems come, that it is a kind of punishment and say: 11 What have I done to deserve this? 11 My life has not been easy, but I like to think of God ·'s dear friend Job. Satan said to God: 11 No wonder he serves You, he has everything he can wish for, but wait and see what happens if you take everything - I away from him 11 • God was so sure of Job, that He allowed Satan to go ahead. Job lost everything, his 10 children in one day, everything he had, even his health, and we know what Job · said: ,The Lord has given, the Lord had taken, blessed be the name of the Lord". I have spoken for us who survived, that we never regret it and knew, we did the right thing. What about those who, after much suffering gave their lives? My friend Albert smuggled some notes to his young wife and in his last one he wrote: 11 Remember Psalm 71, verse 3. Which reads: 11 Be Thou to me a Rock of refuge, a strong Fortress to save me, for Thou art my Rock and Fortress 11 • And Hein? I knew he would never regret what he did, but I received a little note, written in pencil on a piece of toiletpaper which we sometimes got in the camps from the Red Cross. He threw it from the train when he was brought to Germany. It was his farewell note to me and he wrote in it: 11 Be courageous. Even if we would not see each other again here on earth, we will NEVER regret what we did .... 11 And, when after the war the most difficult time came .. of waiting who would come back, and week after week the Red Cross notices came: Dries was killed, Bouwe was killed, Aryen was not coming back, Piet was dead, Gerk was killed, Driek would not be back, Jan was killed and also Hein and Albert would never come back .... I did not want to live anymore! Why had I come through? For what??? -6- �- .. • 6..) I felt, like I was falling into a deep, black bottomless pit, without end ... And then I heard a sermon s6 beautiful on what Moses said to the tribe of Asher before he climbed mount Nebo to die~ "The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the EVERLASTING ARMS". These strong arms caught me. I want to end with another verse of a Psalm of David, that all of us survivors can say:" Praise the Lord o my soul, and forget not one of His benefits". Berendina R.H. Erlich 2610 Raymond Ave. S.E. Grand Rapids, Mich . 49507 � 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 Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Termaat, Adriana B. (Schuurman) Termaat, Peter N. Description An account of the resource Collection contains genealogical, personal, and family papers and photographs documenting the lives and interests of Adriana and Peter Termaat. The bulk of the materials are related to family history and genealogical research carried out by the Termaats, including research notes and materials about places in the Netherlands that were significant to the Termaat and Schuurman families, such as the city of Alkmaar. Other materials in the collection are related to the Termaats' experiences on the eve of and during the Second World War, especially the German occupation of the Netherlands and the Termaats' participation in organized resistance to the Nazis. Also included are materials that document the family's post-war life in the United States, including their public efforts to recognize, commemorate, and honor people and events significant to World War II. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1869 - 2012 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection, RHC-144</a> Subject The topic of the resource Netherlands Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945 World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands Dutch Dutch Americans Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-144 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Text Image Type The nature or genre of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng nl 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 RHC-144_Termaat_WRI_1983-04-10-Speech-Erlich-at-Ahvas-Isreaal-347 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Erlich, Berendina R. H. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983-04-10 Title A name given to the resource Remembrance Service Address Description An account of the resource Address delivered by Berendina Erlich at the Remembrance Service on National Holocaust day in Congregation Ahavas Israel, Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 10, 1983 Subject The topic of the resource Holocaust Remembrance Day Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Holocaust survivors Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/719">Adriana B. and Peter N. Termaat collection (RHC-144)</a> 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/07d1c65f07da54b10122bc292044eec9.jpg 2029b569b0e58ef1b955a1b3243a7d51 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 Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng 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 RemenapRandy_Photo1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Remenap, Randy Description An account of the resource Randy Remenap, Education Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College teachers Universities and colleges – Faculty Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright 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/93cfe22908ce7b35f8bab1564fa7a27a.jpg 231f3c78a57429262ed6fb0b2bbe75ae 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 Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng 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 RemenapRandy_Photo2 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Remenap, Randy Description An account of the resource Randy Remenap, Education Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College teachers Universities and colleges – Faculty Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright 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/846b541d97bdbc24abd6efee789b0b28.jpg 1d59069fbc956976e4c973b89cb3e01d 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 Faces of Grand Valley Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource University Communications Description An account of the resource A non-comprehensive collection of photographs of Grand Valley faculty, staff, administrators, board members, friends, and alumni. Photos collected by University Communications for use in promotion and information sharing about Grand Valley with the wider community. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960s - 1990s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived GV012-03. University Communications. Vita Files Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copryight Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University College administrators College teachers Colleges and universities -- Faculty Michigan Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng 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 RemenapRandy_Photo3 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Remenap, Randy Description An account of the resource Randy Remenap, Education Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History College teachers Universities and colleges – Faculty Michigan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University Communications. Vita Files, 1968-2016 (GV012-03) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright 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/5ea5564e83383a4290e27b1e647a9a57.m4v 0f146d1afa82b16732cb027fc90cf63c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/47bf2a90d879e0471cedb4b21aa22362.pdf 99f55b811684b711bca297ef11cebbd7 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II - WACs Lillian Remus Length of Interview: (00:09) DM: This is Douglas Montagna from Grand Valley State and I‟m here talking with Lillian Remus about her experiences during World War II. The first question is if you could speak a little bit about what you were doing before World War II. LR: Before World War II, I was in the restaurant business. And so I can remember the rationng that we had, gas rationing, and shoe rationing. Meat rationing. I can remember all that, but we had plenty because of being in the restaurant business. We were rationed but we had stuff. But I do remember that, I remember when war was declared, I remember being at bar where I was working, when that was declared. And so I remember quite a bit about the different things that was going on, at that time. (01:04) DM: Do you remember, did the Great Depression hurt your restaurant business or were you able to still do well during that time? LR: Well, I always thought the Great Depression was back in the „30s…see, we weren‟t in the restaurant business yet. See, I was a farmer, a farm gal. Because I graduated from high school in ‟36, and that was almost the end of the Great Depression. And I remember that being a farmer, and I say, my dad, he raised chickens mainly, and then the other, we always had food. We had fruit trees. We had an eighty-acre farm. We had fruit trees, vegetables, we always had food. It might be rice, applesauce, things like that, but we always had food. And we shared it with our neighbors that did not have any, I remember that so much. But, yes, I can remember the Depression, and how we felt, we had a lot. There were eight of us children. And we felt we were very well loved, very well taken care of. And that we did not miss anything. I guess we knew no better. Because we just didn‟t get to town, so we didn‟t know what was out in that wild, wide world. I think that‟s why, looking back, I think that‟s why I joined the WACs. To get out and see what‟s in the wide world. (02:35) DM: Do you remember Pearl Harbor and the day of Pearl Harbor, when you first heard about it? LR: Uh, I don‟t remember that much. I remember it happening and it coming over the radio. I remember that. And, say too much, now that, with the young men around, that was when, yeah, I would have been in the restaurant business already. Wasn‟t Pearl Harbor…I‟m trying to think what day that was… DM: December 7, 1941. �LR: Yeah, see, that was before…no, it wasn‟t. I was in business already, because I opened up in ‟38. So, yeah. And that‟s maybe what got me thinking more, yeah, that I could go out and do something else besides being in a restaurant like I was. (03:27) DM: Um hmm. Can you talk a little bit about the circumstances that most encouraged you to enlist and join the WACs? LR: I think I always was adventurous. I‟m always that type. Because when I was going to college, I took…I had one year of college. I was taking up home economics, cause I wanted to travel. I had said then, if I could get in with some company, do demonstration work, and travel. That was my main thing. So, then, when I had this other girlfriend that said she‟d like to join the WACs, how „bout me? And I said yes, but my folks were in Florida, who run the restaurant, and I did not ask them. I just joined up and went. And then they were notified, and then because of them, then I came back home after six months. But I‟d say it was wanting to get out. Wanting to get out and see more of the world. (04:34) DM: Do you remember if people around you, your friends, customers, co-workers, what did they think about you joining the WACs? LR: They wondered why I would go. They wondered why I would go, because some of them felt I had it made where I was at. And I did have… a lot of friends, a lot of support, but again, I‟ll say, I had no steady boyfriend and I was 23, and so I had no reason that I had to stay home. Cause all my younger ones, my younger sisters, were all gone, so I and my brother were the only ones living on a big farmhouse. Six bedroom farm house, where when Mother and Dad took off for Florida, we were the only two there. So I just wanted to get out, and see the other parts of the country. And I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it very much. I don‟t regret going at all. (05:38) DM: Do you remember what your parents attitudes were? LR: They were ah…they just wondered why I would leave. See…I don‟t know what the word is, but they wondered why I would leave and not stay home and support my dad. Because with him telling me that he would put up that ice cream place for me, if I would run it, and he would pay me, if I would run it, instead of going to college. And so he put up the restaurant for me. I did run it. They put it up and it opened in July of ‟38, and then I signed up in ‟43. So I‟d run it for quite a while. And had a very good business. And a lot of friends. But I just decided I just wanted to get out and see more of the world. And I will say, we have traveled extensively, my husband and I. We have traveled. We‟re not home people. We‟re busy people, out and going. (06:47) DM: And, then…can you talk a little bit about how you joined the WACs, and the process by which you got into it? LR: What do you mean, how I… �DM: Did you, where did you go to sign up for it? Did you go immediately? LR: Oh, oh. We went to Muskegon and then we were taken down to Detroit. I think it was Detroit. We had our physical at Kalamazoo, and then we went on to Chicago, I got. (lloking down at paper.) „Cause I got “On February 23rd, 1943, went to Kalamazoo for our physical and there was sworn in. Then we went to Chicago, and from there to Daytona Beach, and was down at Daytona Beach at the Clariton Hotel.” And, I got, “everything was running good.” But my girlfriend and I, we were put in different companies. We were put in different companies, so I heard from her for a while, but she stayed in. When I got out, she stayed in. (07:56) DM: What was the training like? LR: The training, I thought the training was great, because I enjoyed cooking. And I enjoyed experimenting. And I learned to cook with dried material. How to serve dried, and how to serve in big quantities. And how to do a lot of cooking, baking. And I kept recipes for a while, but I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed the cooking very much. DM: Did you do much of what we associate with men‟s basic training? Drilling, exercising, marching? LR: Yes. I enjoyed that also. Because I also did a lot of walking, biking, because… of course, I had a car when I was working, but before that I did a lot of bicycling with another friend of mine. We had our bikes. We had our rollerskates. We had that, being on the farm. We had things like that for amusement. And so I did enjoy the regimentation, with the marching. I did. (09:08) DM: And… you were in Florida. Did you stay…where did you stay? Did you stay in Florida your whole time? LR: Yes. We were at the Clariton Hotel, which was quite a place. We were at the Clariton Hotel, all the time I was there. All the time I was in, was at the Clariton Hotel, staying around there. And I said, it was in dormitories, but it was just in big rooms, there. At the hotel. It was great. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the comradeship with the other girls. And wrote to them for a while. I just always have enjoyed being out like that. I like to be disciplined. I mean, I can see discipline and I can give it. I can take it and I can give it. (10:05) DM: So you were mostly training, learning how to cook dried food and so forth. LR: Yes. Yes, I mostly learned how to cook. DM: Now, had you stayed in, what were some of the things or places you could have gone, the things you could have done? �LR: I was going to go out as a mess sergeant. See, this is what they had told me. That if I stayed in, you will be going out as a mess sergeant. But, again, they did not say where I would be going. If I would be given a choice. But I would be going out as a mess sergeant. (Interruption from outside room.) (10:54) DM: Was there any sense of danger among the people that were in the WACs? I mean, was there any sense that something dangerous, that you could get killed or injured? LR: No, not as far as I was. Because we were still in training, you see. If someone went out afterwards, yes. DM: Then there was… LR: Yes. Again, I was in training. And it wasn‟t that great, yet. Things weren‟t…because we were not in the Army. See, we‟re just auxiliary. DM: Even if you had become a mess sergeant, would you have been in the Army, then, or would you have been auxiliary? LR: Yes. Yes. Cause you see, I would have had to sign back in, and say, on this certain day in August, that you had to go out the back door, from what I remember, come in the front door, and sign up. And my superior, I don‟t know what her name was. I know I got a picture of her. She advised that I did go home, as long as my parents needed me so bad. That I did go home and help my parents. Instead of staying. So that‟s about what I did. (12:03) DM: Was there anything in your six months in the WACs that you remember as being especially interesting, or anything noteworthy that happened while you were in the WACs, or pretty much routine? LR: No. Pretty much routine. Pretty much routine. I can remember sitting on our cots. I can remember sometimes going into town, like we did. To go along with the trucks, go in town and that. But as far as doing much, no. We were right there. We were right there. DM: Okay. Then your parents helped convince you to go back and help with the family business? LR: Right. Correct. If it wasn‟t for them, I would have never gone back. I would have stayed in, and wonder what would have happened. You can always wonder, what would have happened had you stayed in. (12:54) DM: Was that a tough decision for you at the time? �LR: Uh…yes, I think it was. I was going to say, yes and no, because I did appreciate my parents and I knew how much they needed me at home. But I was giving up my life for theirs, more or less. For what they wanted. And that‟s what some people still do. You give up what you really want to do for … your parents. DM: For family members, yeah. (13:23) LR: That‟s what I did, yeah. DM: Were they… with you gone, did they have a hard time replacing you? LR: Yes, they did. Yes, they did. Although my dad always told me that everybody can be replaced. In some way. But they did not make the pies in the way that I made. I remember when I got home a big, big sign on the window, of the dairy bar, “Lillian is back! Her pies are back!” And so I must have made special pies, I don‟t know. But I must have. And so, that‟s what I would say, I was very much appreciated. That I came back. That I come back. So, I was glad that I came back. And I will say that when I got home, then here was a letter from this guy, that I had met years earlier, hadn‟t gone with him. Met him. And for some reason, he had carried my address with him. So here was a letter that he wrote, I think he was in Sicily or some place, and wanted to know had I married the guy I was going with. And this and this and this. (14:35) LR: And then I corresponded with him for two years, until he come home. And then we got married. DM: So it‟s possible if you had stayed in, you never would have pursued your relationship? LR: Yeah. You don‟t know. He would have been in, I would have been in, what it would be. One never knows. (14:55) DM: And, then, when you got back, were you still, did you still pay attention to the war? Did you follow the war on the news? LR: Yes. Yes. Very much. Very much so. Because, especially, writing to him. Then you followed it quite close. Then I followed it close, yeah. And then, things were not that good as far as your rationing. Your food. Things going like that. You had to have all of that, from what I remember. Plan all of that. DM: And then could you…just briefly talk about what you did later on in life, after you got out of the WACs and went back to the restaurant business for a while. (15:41) LR: Well, after I got out, when I was in the restaurant business for a while, and then got married. And as far as never having any children, always had been active…I took care of children in my �home for a while. I worked at a Y(WCA) and taught crafts. And then I started hiking, a hiking group. And my picture‟s in the paper, three years ago this fall. When I was 87 years old, they thought that was old for still leading hikes in a state park. And I was still doing that, I still am doing that, and so at my 90th birthday, there was quite a party for me, again. For leading hikes, leading them and having the people come out. I had thirty-five of my friends come out for my 90th birthday, for the park. So, ah, I have been very active with the public. Very active with the public. Right now, we are raising monarch butterflies and black swallowtails and painted ladies butterflies. And we had people come in yesterday, we had a mother come in with extra girls and to show the butterflies, how they‟re raised, from their eggs…and, so I still teach and be very active with the children. (17:14) DM: Sounds… LR: So it‟s great. We enjoy it. DM: Okay. Is there anything else to say, or… LR: No. I think that‟s about it. (17:23) � 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 Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. 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 RemusL Title A name given to the resource Remus, Lillian (Interview transcript and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Remus, Lillian Description An account of the resource Lillian Hansen grew up on a farm in Michigan during the Depression and graduated from high school in 1936. She then worked in her parent's restaurant for a few years before enlisting in the Women's Army Corps (WACs) on February 23, 1943. She trained at a hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida and cooked for the troops. After training Lillian returned home to help her parents run their business. She began writing to Raymond Remus, an old friend from high school, who was fighting in Italy. They got married when he returned 2 years later. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Montagna, Douglas (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army. Women's Army Corps Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Women Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-08-12 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e2ce5c8ed45ef94fb3cad9479e08f4cb.mp4 5107ecce3d93426a3c644c6a5dda4f9b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6a5567e5840ffe718c1433edb04a7fa4.pdf b78f0d8a19f7410cf369cbd654c7073d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Name of Interviewee: Ray Remus Name of War: World War II Length of Interview (00:39:24) (00:04) Pre-Enlistment • Worked at an ice cream place, making ice cream in the Muskegon area. (00:10) o Moved from Illinois to find work with his sister who owned the ice cream place. (00:33) o Grew up in Gilberts, IL (00:52) o Was rejected from the draft the first time due to his eyesight. (01:04) o Brother got him a job in a grocery store in Florida. (01:16) o Returned home in 1942, received a second draft notification to get another physical examination and passed. (01:25) o Learned about Pearl Harbor while at a bowling alley in Florida and decided to return home. (02:01) (02:55) Basic Training • Was in about six different camps before departing overseas. (02:55) • First went to Fort Warren, WY. (03:05) • Basic training included a lot of drilling and rifle practice. (03:22) • Went to Camp Crowder, MO after basic training. (04:07) • Then went to [Tennessee Maneuvers], between Nashville and Chattanooga. (04:12) • Continued to Camp Pickett, VA for more training (04:23) • Sent to the Mohave Desert in California. (04:34) Returned to Camp Pickett, and then went to Fort Pierce, FL to practice amphibious landings for the invasion of Sicily. (04:40) • Went back to Camp Pickett before heading overseas. (04:55) • Despite rumors, they had no idea where they were being sent. (04:58) • Was not very fearful at the time, figured he would make it out one way or another. (05:24) Service in Italy (05:48) • Outfit went into the town of Scoglitti and eventually through Sicily and into northern Italy. (05:48) • Landed on D-Day after infantry had gone ahead. Remembers seeing several dead Italians alongside the roads. (06:46) • At this time, his job was to drive the ration truck. Had to travel to the Depots at night. Didn’t have much to do during the day. (07:14) • Was never a target, but remembers an explosion at a bonfire. Two men were killed and several were injured, but most had left when the ‘chow whistle’ blew. (07:44) • Went into Italy as far as Rome. (09:05) �• Outfit was a labor battalion, responsible for repairing roads. (09:13) • Worked as a mail clerk for awhile. Considers himself very lucky because he didn’t have to do any heavy labor. (09:22) ‘ • Troops received mostly C rations, which was typically a stew. Wasn’t very good, but it was something to eat. (09:41) • Outfit traveled to Naples to repair the air fields that had been bombed. Some men went to fix the harbor. One of the men had been an engineer and designed a ramp to go over the sunken ships. (10:54) • Were supposed to live in vacant buildings that had been available for a big national fair. However, the Germans eventually bombed them. Describes his experience. (11:47) • Germans had a strong presence in the air during the entire Italian campaign. (13:40) (13:54) North Africa • Outfit was in Naples for about a year before leaving for North Africa by LST. (14:10) • Describes conditions on the LST during their one week trip. (15:52) • Traveled for ten days across North Africa by train. (16:22) • Arrived in the same place they had been to organize their Sicilian invasion around August, 1944. Planned to head to southern France. (17:05) (19:21) Service in France • Traveled up through central France as far as Lorraine, cut into Germany, then headed south near the Bavarian and Austrian boundaries. (19:27) • Unit was behind the lines repairing roads, hospitals, and air fields. (19:47) • Had to travel to various towns as a mail man and company clerk at this time. Was never shot at. (20:21) • There were several air raids, even in France. (20:41) • Didn’t get to meet many civilians because they didn’t speak the language. (20:57) • Had no idea who had the upper hand in the war. (21:28) • Describes his experience being invited to join a French family for dinner. (22:11) • Describes visiting the family 32 years later. (22:48) • Routine didn’t change after VE-day. (27:26) • Left France within a few months of the war ending. Outfit was near the Austrian border when the war ended. Traveled to La Havre to depart. (28:15)(30:24 Post-Service • Got married once he returned home. (30:30) • Went to a trade school in Chicago for two years. (30:42) • Graduated and began working in refrigeration in Elgin, IL for about a year. (31:24) • Moved in with his brother in Florida, working for $1/hour during the winter. (31:57) • Returned home to work in refrigeration for a man that his wife had known. Worked for him for 15 years. (32:27) • Took over the refrigeration business when his boss passed away. Ran the business for 10 years. (32:52) • Was appreciative that going into the service gave him an opportunity to go to �school. (33:07) • Describes revisiting Hitler’s ‘Eagle Nest’ in the Alps, which had been made into a fine restaurant. (35:15) • Has been involved with the VFW Post in Muskegon for two years. Describes his volunteer work. (36:03) • Doesn’t know what he would’ve had without the service, because it gave him the opportunity to get an education, a steady job. (38:40) � 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 Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. 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 RemusR Title A name given to the resource Remus, Ray L. (Interview outline and video), 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Remus, Raymond L. Description An account of the resource Ray Remus, from Gilberts, IL, served in the army during World War II as a mail carrier and company clerk in an engineer unit. His unit traveled throughout Italy, France, and North Africa working to repair roads, hospitals, and air fields. He was in the service for three and a half years, which gave him the opportunity to get an education and a steady job. Today, he is involved with his local VFW Post in Muskegon. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Montagna, Douglas (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-08-12 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ff2301ab38fe167a02578bf71fa7e4b6.jpg 6c4c365e691226b82e55d19b364c77b8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f21331223023940f06de0886096650ab.pdf d48349224aeba5586ffea907fbba05f8 PDF Text Text Living with PFAS Interviewee: Renae Mata Interviewer: Danielle DeVasto Date: December 11, 2025 Dani DeVasto (DD) (00:00:03): I am Dani DeVasto, and today December 11th, 2025, I have the pleasure of chatting with Renae Mata and Lynn McIntosh. Hi Renae. Renae Mata (RM) (00:00:13): Hello. DD (00:00:14): Um, Renae, could you tell me about where you're from and you currently live? RM (00:00:20): I was born in Grand Rapids in 1973, so I'm 52, which will, the age thing kind of comes back around later in this interview. Um, till I was about 18, I lived, um, pretty close to downtown Grand Rapids, uh, Boston Square area. Then, um, moved with my parents to Standale. Spent a little time with my sister in Moline, Michigan, and a couple seasons in Idaho. And now I live in Plainfield Township. DD (00:00:52): And how long have you lived in Plainfield Township? RM (00:00:56): Um, well, let me say, let me go back a little bit. Okay. I got married in 2001. We bought a house in Alpine Township near the Plainfield Township border. Um, so from 2001 to 2019, we lived on Bertha Street in Comstock Park. And then in 2019 we moved to a larger house on the other side of Division, um, in Plainfield Township, still Comstock Park. DD (00:01:30): Okay. Can you tell me a story about your experience with PFAS or with PFAS in your community? RM (00:01:40): Oh, yes. All right. Here we go. Um, so I always used to love reading the Grand Rapids Press. I miss the paper and, you know, the permanency of it and, um, you know, kind of extraneously kept an eye, you know, tabs on what was going on locally. Um, but I was busy raising a family. I figured out that my boys were 10 and 13 in the year 2017, which was the big PFAS year. Um, so I had a lot of distractions going on. And, um, so let's just start at 2017, I guess 'cause that's when I got kind of pulled in. Um, I was working as a home healthcare aide and, um, met Lynn McIntosh through her mother. And, um, took care of Maya from 2013 to 2019. RM (00:02:46): 1 �And very part-time 'cause I was, um, raising my kids. But, um, so I knew Lynn for a few years before, um, she asked me a curious question and was that like summer probably? Summer of 2017. So I was there taking care of her mom and kind of randomly, I'm not quite sure how it came out, but it was just random, I guess to me. <laugh>, she said, so Renae, do you, do you live in Plainfield Township or something like that? And I was like, no, Comstock Park. Um, I prob, you know, I said Alpine Township, you know, she's like, oh, okay. And I don't recall if it was the same, that same conversation or a little later. Lynn McIntosh (LM) (00:03:32): I believe it was a little later that you brought up to me that, but you had Plainfield Township water RM (00:03:40): Yes. So Alpine Township does not have their own water source. Um, so we've drank Plainfield Township water since we moved in in 2001. LM (00:03:51): Knowing you, you probably looked up something because I had asked about RM (00:03:55): Well, I think that's where the Press came in. Garret Ellison's article, but that wasn't till fall. I'm not quite sure. LM (00:04:06): Well, his first article came out at the end of August. RM (00:04:09): Oh, August. Yeah, I guess it was around that time. Um, and I ended up calling you, which we didn't talk as friends at that point. We were just more, it was a business kind of relationship. I mean, we were friendly and friends as much as you can be in and out like that. So I called her and I don't remember exactly how the conversation went, but I, I said, you know, I, I am interested in what's going on with, you know, Plainfield Township, water, whatever. And, um, yeah. LM (00:04:38): 'cause you told me, by the way, I do live in Alpine Township, but I drink Plainfield Township water. RM (00:04:45): Yes. LM (00:04:45): And then I finally opened up to you RM (00:04:48): And you told me the whole spiel. 2 �LM (00:04:50): Yes, About my other life. RM (00:04:52): Yeah. DD (00:04:52): Because at that point, did you know what Lynn had been involved with? LM (00:04:56): Not at all. Nothing, not a word RM (00:04:57): She kept it to herself, LM (00:04:58): And I kept it from my mother, even at the till the very end RM (00:05:02): And I, I would've always been with your mom when I saw you too. LM (00:05:05): Yeah. Nope. Never shared it with anybody. I, I had <laugh>. Yeah. I, I didn't, I especially didn't want my mom to worry about anything. DD (00:05:14): So that must have been a revelation. LM (00:05:16): <laugh>, It was huge. It was like my double, it was like a double... RM (00:05:18): Yeah. It, it explained a lot of things though. 'cause I was, you know, like she seems all rather distracted all the time. You know, piano lessons must be very taxing. <laugh> RM (00:05:28): No. But, um but, uh, yeah. So, um, yeah, LM (00:05:33): I was living a double life here, <laugh> triple life RM (00:05:35): 3 �And that's, that's why I did bring along my little kind of resume because then all these different ties, like this web of like, I wasn't, you weren't just Maya's daughter and I wasn't just your mom's caretaker. No. I was like, by the way, I have, I have this other life that I used to lead. LM (00:05:52): Yes, that's right. Yeah. Your, your other life. RM (00:05:55): My other life. 'cause um, so I went, I graduated from Grand Valley, um, in 97 LM (00:06:04): Where Rick was a teacher. RM (00:06:06): Yes. Um, biology major and a Natural Resources Management minor. Um, and I worked as a student assistant at Water Resources Institute where Rick, I wasn't really under Rick, he was doing more of the chemically stuff and I was doing more field work, but I knew who he was and he didn't remember me. But, you know, there's students galore, you know. And, um, so I'm like, Hey, I have this past life in, um, this is why I'm extra interested in it. So, um, with water resources. And then, so that was around mid nineties. And then in '95 to '98, I worked for Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Environmental Response Division as a student assistant. And I was actually working, I wrote here 35 hours a week. I didn't realize that I worked that often that much because I was taking a full, pretty full course load too. Um, but that is where I met, I'm gonna just call him Dave O'Donnell 'cause I know he wouldn't like that. He likes David. <Laugh> And, um, Abby Hendershot. And, um, I, I didn't work in the same office as Janice 'cause ERD's building was actually in Wyoming because they didn't, they had run out of room downtown. So we were in a totally different building. Um, but I had heard of Janice. I had maybe had seen her or whatever, but, um, um, and then also a woman named Heather Hopkins who was in charge of the Whitehall Tannery. LM (00:07:39): That's right. Yeah. She worked with Rick over there. RM (00:07:43): She worked with Rick? LM (00:07:44): Yeah RM (00:07:45): Oh, interesting. LM (00:07:45): I tried to get her, I was hoping she would be the one who would be the contact with this tannery. RM (00:07:50): 4 �With a tannery background. Yeah. Okay. So, um, in that job I helped, you know, take samples from monitoring wells. Um, I did some GIS type geographic information system mapping 'cause at that time they were, they were trying to get the city of Grand Rapids to put some a, um, I dunno what the word is, like a restriction or a, that you can't use Grand Rapids water. Like, people might still have private wells. They didn't want people using those for anything, I guess. So I helped map all the different contamination hotspots in the City of Grand Rapids. RM (00:08:33): Um, and I got very proficient at spreadsheets, <laugh>. So, uh, I did a lot of spreadsheeting there, which I love by the way. Like, if life were a spreadsheet, you know, if I could, you know, without the grays of black and white, it goes, okay, it goes in that cell and that cell only, you know, I would be a happy camper. Anyways, so that's, that tells you a little bit about my analytical, kind of data oriented side, so. Okay. So, um, I graduated in 97 and wrapped up my time as a student assistant with the DEQ. Um, went off and had a couple adventures, which you're supposed to do in your twenties, right? I worked seasonally for the Forest Service, the first season as a forestry technician. So, um, I was hiking around measuring old growth pine trees, like, you know, literally like that big, you know, very large, um, that year. RM (00:09:34): And then the second season I got a bump up to, what I really wanted to do is a biological technician. So they paid me to, um, monitor a bald eagle's nest and, um, do birds like track down, um, some certain raptors. And, um, yeah, Idaho's a beautiful state. I loved it. But I, um, let's see, that was till '99. And then I met a guy <laugh>. So, and I never planned to not be away from Michigan. I mean, Michigan's beautiful. I'm, I'm not a big fan of winter, but all my family's here, so I, that was, you know, my adventure. And, um, so I came back and met a guy and, um, got a job with King and McGregor Environmental, which mainly, um, they do permitting working with the DEQ. So back, you know, kind of come around there working on the, the other, the other end. But working with DEQ to get the permits that our clients wanted for housing developments and such. RM (00:10:43): Um, so I worked there for almost seven years until 2007 where I got laid off 'cause that was the recession. And a lot of our majority of our clients were developers and stuff, stopped developing <laugh>, like, um, that's also right before I had my first, no second son, sorry. Um, so yeah, I met, you know, prince Charming, married him in right after, right after 9-11, 2001, had my first son went parttime at King and McGregor. Yeah. And then, um, three years later I had my second son. I have two sons that are now 18 and 22. RM (00:11:32): Um, so that's when I had the career change, which that kind of leads into how I met Lynn. I wanted, you know, my kids were young enough that I still, I knew I didn't want a nine to five job because, um, my husband was working second shift at the time, or No, he was, he was second shift then. He was a, then he went to first shift. Um, so we were, I wanted something opposite him. And, um, so we wouldn't have to worry about too much daycare other, you know, other than my mom a little bit here and there to cover. So, and the state of Michigan actually paid for my nurse aid training because I was, um, a displaced worker as, um, laid off 'cause of the recession. So, um, and actually when I went, when I, when I went to Grand Valley initially, I had got accepted into their nursing program. I thought I'd become a 5 �nurse, decided I didn't wanna wipe people's butts. But then I found out the nurse aids are the ones that do that. DD (00:12:30): <laugh> <laugh>. RM (00:12:31): But, um, <laugh>. LM (00:12:33): That's a brilliant, RM (00:12:35): Yeah. Anyways. Um, but there's a place, there's a, there's a need for that. So I, um, anyways, the flexibility is what I was looking for and, um, and helping, you know, 'cause I'm a caretaker type helper personality too. So I got a job working very part-time at a retirement community. And then when I had worked there quite a few years and the burnout's real and my back was, you know, feeling it, I wanted something a little more laid back, which was more one-on-one, you know? LM (00:13:10): More companionship care. RM (00:13:12): Yeah. And, um, so then I, in 2013, got hired on by the, the personal care company that Lynn had found. DD (00:13:23): Leaves Personal Care. RM (00:13:24): Yep. And, um, got matched up with, with Maya because she was on the north end of town, same as me. And, um, looking for evening hours, which was my availability. I was homeschooling my boys at the time, um, during the day. So that brings us back to, um, 2017. So 2013 I started working with Maya. Four years into that I got introduced to, um, Lynn's "Gal Noir" <laugh>, LM (00:13:59): My spy life. RM (00:14:00): Yes. Her "put the hush and hush puppy" she was, you know, and, um, she kind of pulled me in as kind of a little her Dr. Watson to her Sherlock, right? LM (00:14:10): Probably so <laugh> 6 �RM (00:14:11): Yes. And um, okay. So... DD (00:14:19): What did you, what were you like thinking or feeling as you were putting together these pieces of "I drink Plainfield Township water, I'm seeing these things in the newspaper, I'm talking with Lynn," like this is kind of what were your, like, do you remember your thoughts, your reactions? RM (00:14:37): Um, well, I've always been a bit of a tree hugger too. I mean, I got a natural resources management minor and worked in that field for quite a while. So, um, definitely concerned. But I have a friend who works at Prein and Newhof lab and the fact that Plainfield Township was always bragging about how they won these best tasting water awards. LM (00:15:07): Oh yes... RM (00:15:08): So going by the taste and even the labs really at that time, because they didn't test for PFAS LM (00:15:18): They didn't start testing that till 2013. RM (00:15:21): Yeah, because of...? LM (00:15:24): It was like an emergent emerging contaminant concern. RM (00:15:28): Yeah. Okay. So not directly, but you were bringing your samples to Prein and Newhof at some point? LM (00:15:33): I was. RM (00:15:34): around that same time. LM (00:15:35): Yeah. Right around that same time I was, yeah. It's interesting though. What, what be interesting to add on this was that my city manager talked to the director at Prein and Newhof and told them, you may not interpret her results because we, uh, it was the city's water. I was still, they could do the sampling for me, but they would not, they could not give me any interpretation. 7 �RM (00:16:02): Oh, so you would get the results Just no... LM (00:16:04): No interpretation. Which, which like, I, I did not want. Why would a city manager, what what right does... So I decided to, I went to Muskegon, then RM (00:16:13): Just changed labs LM (00:16:14): All the way I drive over there, like get into different county <laugh>. RM (00:16:19): yeah, it's too bad about that. Yeah. LM (00:16:22): Trace Analytical. DD (00:16:24): You were saying that you had a connection with Prein and Newhof and I was kind of asking generally like your reaction to finding out. RM (00:16:31): Yes. Back to that. Um, so I did buy an under sink water filter after that. But a lot of it is, um, you know, hindsight, I'm like, oh, you know, we've been drinking this since 2001. My first son was born in 2003. So, um, I guess the fears came out because, um, I drank it while they were in utero. They had it in their bottles. I didn't have the best milk production, so not a ton in my breast milk, which there might be a tie with. LM (00:17:09): I remember you mentioning that. Yeah. They're finding ties with that. RM (00:17:13): Yeah. And then, um, you know, they drank water in their sippy cups, you know, and not like, I didn't wanna give him juice and thought that was the healthy thing, you know? And so, and, um, but I obviously we're not able to get a whole house filter. And then supposedly the levels were lower than say, a private Well, but, um, LM (00:17:41): Isn't that also when Demand Action started to come into gear too? RM (00:17:44): 8 �Yes. Okay. So I'm pulling out one of my spreadsheets and, um, not that I got involved with Demand Action specifically, like, um, but, um, kept tabs on what was going on. So. DD (00:17:59): Just for the record, can you explain what demand action is? RM (00:18:04): Yes, it is my understanding that the main guy, Travis Brown LM (00:18:10): Yeah. And then, and there was another guy, Angel somebody. Angel RM (00:18:15): Yeah. LM (00:18:16): Last name is Angel. RM (00:18:17): Anyways, I, I don't know. That would be another good one to actually interview. He's very vocal on Facebook. I'll, you heard... DD (00:18:24): I think I've seen his name. RM (00:18:25): Yeah. Yeah. LM (00:18:28): Corey Angel. RM (00:18:30): Corey, yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I, yeah. 'cause he actually ran for, um, a township position once too. Yeah, LM (00:18:36): I think he did. Yeah. They, um, they, they, they formed probably because Corey and Travis, you know, both shared concerns and Travis knew a lot about Plainfield Township's miserable reputation. I mean, he knew about, he had some degree in water chemistry and knowledge and a lot RM (00:18:58): A lot of health issues too. LM (00:18:59): 9 �He had a lot of health issues and he was very upset about state disposal site where they used RM (00:19:05): On a, on the East BeltLine. That super fund. Yeah. LM (00:19:07): They used air strippers 'cause there were leaks going there. And, uh, he kept track of their miserable records of like, Plainfield Township was advised not to put in the North Kent Landfill there. And they, Prein and Newhof, advised them to do it. RM (00:19:25): And his research goes all the way back to like the sixties. LM (00:19:27): Yeah, a lot of good input that they, a lot of good input that was objective. They ignored. And actually they followed a lot of the advice from Prein and Newhof and Waste Management division. So he was very upset. He knew so much. And, and Corey Angel was a lot more measured, but also very smart. And they got this Demand Action. They had 2000 followers on their Facebook, and they are the ones who, RM (00:19:57): They really got the word out. LM (00:19:59): They're ones that got the word out. They were at the point where they were even calling on the, some of the commissioners to resign. They put the pressure on. And, and had they not, I don't think the word would've spread out nearly as much RM (00:20:12): <affirmative>. And that's how I knew about it. LM (00:20:14): That's how a lot of people knew about it. RM (00:20:15): Yeah. The pressure there. LM (00:20:17): Yeah. But DD (00:20:18): You weren't really involved with...? RM (00:20:19): No. 10 �LM (00:20:20): But it educated you. RM (00:20:21): It educated me. Yeah. Definitely. 'cause um, I had gathered Plainfield Township Municipal Water, um, news articles starting in, um, 2016, most of them are 2017, 2018. And, um, Grand Rapids Press, Fox 17, WZZM Wood TV, Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy. Um, Michigan Radio. And, um, so yeah, that got my ball rolling. As far as, um, like learning more, I'm very, I much consider myself selftaught in a lot of ways. It's like I'm a researcher type of personality. I just kind of jump in with two feet. That's, DD (00:21:11): And this, you're, you're referencing your spreadsheet right now? RM (00:21:14): Yes. DD (00:21:14): One of the spreadsheets, that was something that you decided to do on your own, just to start tracking? RM (00:21:18): I don't...I love spreadsheets. I don't remember you ever asking anything like that. I just started, and actually, um, when I worked for the, uh, for King and McGregor, um, I kind of, um, started a spreadsheet that was not related to PFAS, but, um, I just decided, decided to create an organizational spreadsheet because, you know, there was, um, too much stuff scattered around. So I, that's my, my nature to just like, to compile, you know, and, and then to be able to educate people more easily that way too, instead of going, you know, this, you know. So LM (00:21:52): Would you say that Demand Action was like, accelerated your education in certain ways to Plainfield? Or not necessarily? RM (00:22:03): Yeah. I don't think, like, I'm just counting how many, um, of these news articles have Demand Action ties so, um, let's see, October, 2017, trustees in Plainfield Township hear concerns about water contamination. I'm sure that was Demand Action. Um, so October, November, December, January 7th, 2018, residents, Plainfield residents say township board is practicing intimidation. Um, "you owe us more." Residents tell Plainfield Township. So, yeah, I'll, like, if they hadn't put the heat on, The pressure, they, it would still, they, you know, until they get the heat, they're not, you know, they're not gonna, LM (00:22:50): They wouldn't have that filtration system if the citizens hadn't put the pressure on. RM (00:22:53): 11 �Yeah. Right. LM (00:22:56): But then just, just to bring up, it was interesting that as part of CCRR, you also talked to Plainfield Township in 2017. We talked about that earlier with AJ. RM (00:23:09): Oh, yes. That, um, the small little boardroom meeting. Yes. I'm picturing a bigger one. Yes. Yeah. DD (00:23:17): So you, I'm just thinking about this in time. So you're, you've had your conversation with Lynn. You've learned about PFAS work and concerns about Plainfield Township water. You're starting to educate yourself and track these newstories. Yeah. Then what? RM (00:23:36): Let me look at my notes here. LM (00:23:39): How afraid were you at that point? RM (00:23:42): Um, I don't think, I, I don't think fear would be a good word. Um, I do remember you, there was something about a FOIA in City of Rockford once you, you had asked me to get involved with like, and I was like, you know, I'm okay to do this, but Lynn, the cat's pretty much out of the bag. You know what I mean? I don't think we need to be secret. You know, you were so used to being secretive about everything. And just like, I think another one of the interviews that you did, somebody said the genie was outta the bottle, you know, and cat outta the bag. And, um, I ended up, well, can maybe somebody else do that? You know, <laugh>? So, um, yeah. At that point, once the cat's outta the bag, then the, the fear thing isn't an issue. It's more like, all right, what do we do next? Let's fight it. I guess LM (00:24:32): I meant for your children, RM (00:24:33): Fear for my children. Um, I think when we went to the pediatrician, I, I educated, I, I'm very much a realist, so I don't, you know, there's a fearmongering. I don't get into too much, but I am also a realist. And I know stuff happens. I work in cancer data. I wear my fight to end cancer t-shirt to, um, fight to end blank fill in. You know what I mean? But yeah, when we went to the pediatrician, I was like, by the way, they've been drinking PFAS, um, all their life, including when they were a few cells old, you know? And, um, my husband happens to have cholesterol issues, which probably exacerbated, um, potentially by the PFAS we drank. But, um, also some genetic factors there, as you know. But as far as my boys inheriting some of that familial stuff, but, um, so yeah, testicular cancer is a cancer generally of younger men and teenager teenage boys. So, um, I was definitely making my, their pediatrician aware that. You know, want you to be extra vigilant and, um, yeah. Uh, I guess that's all I can think at the moment for the boys. Yeah. Okay. Let me look at my notes here. Highlight some of the things I've already talked 12 �about. So I, um, um, and if we have time, I'll get into the Parkinson's thing. But I mainly wanted to focus on Plainfield Township Water. RM (00:26:37): And City of Rockford Water. Have you interviewed anybody that drinks City of Rockford Water before? What is it, 2000, 2001, where they switched from the Rogue River? Do you interview? DD (00:26:49): No, I have not. RM (00:26:50): Oh. I'm also advocating for them too. It's just like Lynn advocated for Plainfield Township. Um, I got the okay from my friend Megan Force and her mom, Dawn Force. They grew up in the city of Rockford. She's a little younger than me, probably, um, maybe four years younger, I would say. And she happens to be my hairdresser. That's how I know her. Me and me and the boys. Um, yeah, let's just jump into the city of Rockford thing. Since I talked about Plainfield. We can come back around to Plainfield, but, um, sounds good. Um, yeah. And Megan okayed my use of her name. 'cause you never know how private people wanna be or, um, you know, litigation or whatever out there. RM (00:27:36): So, um, Megan in 2016, in her, that was probably her early forties or late thirties, um, she was diagnosed with a rather nasty thyroid cancer, which I believe Sandy Wynn Stelt also had thyroid cancer. And now, just in the last, um, six months, Megan's mother, Dawn has also been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which I see, you know, when PFAS has talked about, where they talk about thyroid disease, but I don't know that I've seen thyroid cancer. Yeah? Okay. It is a definite, yeah. Um, so in 2000, not 2001, 2000, the city of Grand Rapids, city of, sorry, Rockford switched from drawing their drinking water out of the Rogue River, which was just downstream of the tannery, 300 yards down, the, in the inlet to suck the water to their treatment plant. LM (00:28:48): Never treated. RM (00:28:50): well, they treated it to some degree. They didn't just. LM (00:28:53): Yes. They never treated for PFAS. RM (00:28:55): Right. Because it wasn't really, it wasn't a thing, even though Scotchgard was invented. I looked this up in 1956, and they had been using it since probably this. LM (00:29:05): 58. 13 �RM (00:29:06): 58. Okay. LM (00:29:07): Yep. That's when they started, RM (00:29:09): that's when the, the hush puppies basically, or whatever they were making at that time, LM (00:29:13): Yep, the year I was born. RM (00:29:14): Oh, that was your birth year, <laugh> '58, huh? So, um, Megan being born in the late seventies, it must be, she drank it, it for her growing up years. And she lived downtown uh, near downtown Rockford. Um, and then she, she told me, you know, as she's my hairdresser, so you talk, you know, you talk about stuff like that. And she knew my background. Um, she said, the surgeon said it was one of the nastiest looking growths, obviously not just some slow growing, you know, like something caused that nastiness to yeah. Just, you know, and especially I think, I don't know exactly how old she was, but, um, like I said, late thirties, early forties, I have to do the math. But, um, uh, definitely a tie there, I'm sure. And, um, so as, as far as I know, Lynn has advocated for Plainfield Township, and she's attempted to advocate for City of Rockford people. But because it was so long ago, is that the bigger issue, or ? LM (00:30:41): Well, Dani and I, I just wrote a note, I wanna get this to her, but the city of Rockford did not express any curiosity or, or concern about, they never pushed to learn more. They just, and there's another whole little story there with both city managers. RM (00:30:59): Ignorance is a bliss sort of thing? LM (00:31:02): Yeah. They, they did not come alongside and express concern. Like, well, that was in the past. But what's been heartbreaking for me is knowing people in my neighborhoods who have suffered some of these. And I see it more RM (00:31:17): Cancers mainly. Are you...? LM (00:31:18): Yeah. And I, I tried, I don't know if you went with me, we went to a few events together, but you remember you went to that one with that person. I'm talking about the, the one who had colon cancer. We met at the library. We were wearing the same blue shirts, and we went there and she was trying to garner interest in, in educating people about it. And she kind of was involved for about a year. And she 14 �wrote a letter to the editor, challenging Rockford's attitude about, ignorance, laissez fair, and all that. And I, I have to get that contact information, but I remember attending that with you. And I remember there was a, a representative there too, Deb Avens who was running to be a Kent County commissioner, because she had to have her thyroid removed. 'cause she lived in Plainfield Township. RM (00:32:17): So, and remind me, was it Courtney Carrigan or was it another different Courtney that also...Because I haven't listened to her, um, interview yet, but I'll have to LM (00:32:26): No, I'd like to get you to another person. RM (00:32:28): She, she grew up in rockford? LM (00:32:31): No, it was, it was the one you and I that I, whose name was like Briana Mezuk. She's the one who grew up in Rockford and believes that she got cancer in her thirties because of drinking the water. Yeah. So she was, she minced no words at the first public meeting. In fact, there's an article about that first public, second public meeting at the high school. I think she was quoted in that. And then her letter to the editor, which weigh in on someone who has a background in, you know, um, at, um, what's the word for studying...Epidemiology? Yes. Someone who grew up in Rockford attended, drove over from across the state to attend this public meeting, made public comment, followed up with a letter to, to the editor, then followed up with trying to organize that one event. Do you remember the, the audio-visual wasn't working and it was a while back. RM (00:33:28): At the library? LM (00:33:29): Yeah, at the, at the, uh, middle school we went. RM (00:33:32): Middle school. LM (00:33:33): And you went with me. RM (00:33:35): Wasn't it on your birthday or something? On your birthday? LM (00:33:38): 15 �No, on my birthday was when Michigan, we made public comment about the MCLs. This was earlier than that. It was probably 2018. And she was trying to generate interest locally about this issue, about Rockford's drinking water, trying to get some traction. RM (00:33:53): Have you, have you heard any...that she kind of... LM (00:33:56): I need to get back to her. I, yeah. And it's on my list right now. Yeah. For Dani, because I think it's important to acknowledge that Rockford really the laissez fair attitude. It's like, let's just move on. Yeah. DD (00:34:16): So you are, you know, it's 2017 you found out about the water. You've started doing some of this research on your own at home and educating yourself. Um, what else were you up to? What happened with and after that? RM (00:34:32): Well, I'm, I'm glad Lynn was here to remind me about various, um, meetings I went to with her and, um, and one at Plainfield Township without her. Um, that was a pretty important meeting 'cause AJ, the lawyer and Rick Rediske, um, I lent them the credibility of being the Plainfield Township resident of like, alright, it's not just outside people creating trouble. Um, and I remember I had printed up an article, I had found, um, because the township was still saying, oh, we're still looking for a new well field still. We're looking for a new well field. And I'm like, it seemed pretty obvious to me that they weren't gonna find it. You know what I mean? So I was more on kind of on the filtration, um, aspect in this paper. I brought, I, I was gonna try to find it, but didn't have time. RM (00:35:27): Um, it just, it talked about how many thousands and thousands of not just the PFAS family, but of chemicals that, you know, you don't necessarily test for. You don't even know the, how, you know the specifics about them. 'cause, um, and the article was something about 10,000, um, chemicals that aren't even tested for. You know what I mean? So it's like I was, I, I handed that to them and I said, you know, even if you get this PFAS thing under control, what, what's the next thing that you're gonna find that you haven't, these filters aren't pulling out or whatever. So to be more vigilant on, um, being up on what the newest nasty out there that's either a new chemical or one that they're just realizing is, you know, like asbestos, they thought it was this great insulator and working in cancer data, they found out, you know, it gives you mesothelioma, lung cancer. RM (00:36:29): Um, so that, I thought that was a pretty important, um, meeting. And they did end up getting the grant and spent some of our tax money, you know, 'cause I've seen my water bill going up over these past few years too, because the grant doesn't cover everything. And, um, yeah, it's the citizens that end up picking up the, uh, the bill for this sort of stuff. So, DD (00:37:01): and the grant is for looking for a new well or...? 16 �RM (00:37:04): The grant was for the fancy filters that they put on. Yeah. And then, then they had a lot of visitors from other, um, cities, states, and even out of country to look at this filtration system because, um, realizing that, you know, they say how ubiquitous is the word that PFAS, et cetera are, there's really not clean water left is my, you know, like if it ubiquitous is a pretty big word. RM (00:37:36): You know, and if the polar bears in the Arctic circle or whatever have PFAS, then um, we just have to filter it. And like at a different township meeting, I did a that's right. I did get up there and um, I made a public comment about my children having drank this water since in utero in the water, in their bottles and et cetera. Like I said earlier, as you know, my impact statement basically. And, um, and uh, like switching to Grand Rapids water isn't a solution either. 'cause then the township supervisor said, well, they Grand Rapids. It kind of opened my eyes. I hadn't really heard much about microplastics. So that's the newest thing I educated myself on. 'cause he's like, well, Grand Rapids has their own issues like microplastics. And I'm like, microplastics? You know, and 'cause that's really come about in the last how many years? RM (00:38:29): Few few years. Pretty recent. Pretty recent. And how they, they think the average person has a credit card's worth of plastic in their brain. Have you heard that stat? DD (00:38:39): That's awful. RM (00:38:40): Yeah. So I don't like to hyperfocus on just one bad guy. You know, I, the big, I'm kind of a big picture person. Um, you know, like Lynn's mentioned before, you know, they originally were looking at chromium or, you know, these other tannery associated chemicals, which can be just as bad, you know, maybe not last in the body as long, but they can, you know, it's, um, it's not just PFAS. It's basically, you know, we're talking about PFAS here because it's, um, different than a lot of these, you know, with a, such a long term effect. And, um, yeah. When it's called a forever chemical that is fear producing, you know, so. DD (00:39:28): Did you keep drinking Plainfield Township water once you knew that there was a problem? RM (00:39:36): Well, we got one under sink filter for the kitchen, um, you know, separate little spigot, and we used that for our drinking water for the most part. But, you know, we maybe still fill the spaghetti pot from the regular filter. I mean, this, um, you know, before they put the fancy filter on, it's not like we were buying drink, um, bottled water. So it's like, what's your choice? You know? And then you find out that bottled water has PFAS too, and probably microplastics. And so, um, that's, that's not an answer either. So, um, yeah. So we had a three stage Aquasana water filter. I forgot what year we installed that. Pretty, pretty quickly after all this. And then, um, but you know, of course, you know, we were still showering and their skin and, um, laundry and you know, we, like I said, we just had the one undersink filter, so 17 �DD (00:40:36): You've, you've mentioned that you had spoken about concerns for your children. Did you ever have concerns for yourself? RM (00:40:45): Well, that's a good segue, <laugh>. Thank you. Um, you know, now I'm 52 and I, you know, I feel like I've, I've lived a good share of my life. Of course I'm not old, but, um, whatever your definition of old is, <laugh>. But, uh, it keeps getting pushed back farther and farther. But, um, yeah, always have been pretty healthy. Not never on meds or have any health issues that really caused me any major. You know, I just went for my yearly physical and had, um, uh, no concerns really. I mean, I figured it was probably too little too late anyways, because by the time I'd been drinking it since 2001 and all my other environmental exposures that, um, you know, just living in a developed country, you know. Um, but okay. Here's our segue to, um, if you had done this interview with me before March 25th, 2025, I would've pretty much been done with what I wanted to say for the most part. RM (00:41:58): But that is the date that I was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's Disease. And, um, I am a realist, like I mentioned before, and I, I just tend to jump in with two feet. And, and actually I had, I had actually jumped into the Parkinson's thing a few years ago because I have a very strong family history of it. So I was already fascinated with kind of like maybe the genetic, um, factors there. My dad had it, his sister, um, their mother, my grandmother had essential tremors. So when I got a tremor a year or two ago, I was really hopeful it was an essential tremor, you know? 'cause sometimes people just get a little shaky, you know? Not necessarily at age 50 or 49, however old I was. But, um, you know, I always kind of half joked between the three of us siblings, you know, probably one of us is gonna get Parkinson's, you know, um, and I won the lottery there. Hopefully my other two older siblings don't get it. Um, so I have a, a strong family history. So, um, um, so how that ties in with PFAS. RM (00:43:14): So in, um, in 2019, I, I, I, um, 2018, I, I got a, I kind of changed careers from the, um, nurse aid thing 'cause burned out in my body, you know, I knew I couldn't do it for the rest of my life. And so I got a, went to Ferris and got a certificate in cancer Information management. Always been fascinating 'cause who hasn't been affected by cancer. Um, my husband's, uh, 28-year-old brother died of a rare sarcoma that may or may not have been from, um, pesticide exposure 'cause they grew up, um, in migrant housing and up north. With pesticides and such. Um, so I, you know, I've always been kind of concerned for my husband with, he was out weeding fields from age 10 and up, you know, um, that exposure. And, um, so how that ties in, you know, so I was a researcher for cancer and, you know, I'm looking at people's medical records all day and, um, educating myself, and not just cancer. RM (00:44:20): And, um, and just recently since I was invited to do this interview, kind of arranged with Lynn's help. Thank you, Lynn. And, um, I've just kind of delved into this. I work with cancer registry. So in 1971, Nixon passed, you know, kind of a law like the war on cancer, which there's been different, there's a war on, you know, war on Parkinson's or war, you know, sort of thing too. Um, that's been more recent. But, um, so hospitals and such are required to, to report their cancer cases to state and national registries. So that's what I deal with. I deal with pulling that information out of people's medical records and putting it, you know, it's not even, it's sort of de-identified, I guess, you know, the, when it, when it gets to 18 �public, um, access of that sort of statistics. But, um, so that got me thinking about, um, cancer isn't the only thing out there that's caused by environmental contaminants. RM (00:45:40): That's, it's been established with Parkinson's that, um, that they, they actually know, they figured out that it's actually a higher number than they thought was genetically related. So I did do some genetic testing, which surprisingly came back negative for the known monogenic causes of Parkinson's. So there's like top seven mutations that, that is a definite connection with getting Parkinson's, especially like young onset. Um, and, um, I did, I tested negative for those, and then they did an additional panel of like 21 additional genes that are associated with Parkinson's, Parkinsonism, whatever you wanna call it. And that was also negative, but educating myself, I've always been fascinated with genetics, you know, and the epigenetic thing is that those top seven singular genes that I could have inherited, which, you know, I could, there, I could have one bad guy that they just haven't discovered yet. RM (00:46:46): Because even with cancer, they find different mutations, not just the BRCA, the BRCA is the main, is the well-known one, but. With cancer. Um, so yeah, I could potentially have, you know, since I have such a big family history, potentially have an unknown bad guy or, um, there's, it could be polygenic just in, like my husband has high cholesterol that runs in his family. He, you know, when his twenties, you know, kinda a younger onset of high cholesterol and all the stuff that comes along with heart disease. And, um, so I may may very well have two genes working, what's the word? Um, together, together in tandem. Yeah. Together, um, to cause my trigger to get Parkinson's to be more sensitive to environmental contaminants. Um, genetically predisposed. Yes. So, I mean, and I had looked into it. My dad was officially diagnosed, I think in his early seventies, but I'm sure he had it at least 10 years before that he didn't have, have really have a tremor. RM (00:48:03): So if I hadn't gotten my tremor, I would, I, right now I could be sitting here not knowing I had Parkinson's because I didn't give the tremor. But all this other stuff that I've been chalking up to perimenopause and long COVID and like, 'cause I lost my smell with COVID. So I'm like, well I've, maybe it's just long COVID all this more cognitive and mood issues that I was dealing with. 'cause it's not just a tremor. Um, so, you know, to turn my lemons into lemonade, I've gotten involved just in the, it's not even been a year yet, you know, nine months or whatever that since my diagnosis with, um, kind of educating and not really the advocating yet, but the educating of others. First of all, what Parkinson's is, being not just a tremor, like my, I sent you that, the iceberg, because there's so many, um, symptoms that of course, you know, I'll, if you have 'em, you don't necessarily have Parkinson's. RM (00:49:09): But, and there can be overlap, but people with Parkinson's can have a lot more than meets the eye. I don't know if you have any family members with Parkinson's or know...? DD (00:49:21): I don't have any family members with Parkinson's. RM (00:49:23): or know anybody closely? 19 �New Speaker (00:49:25): Yeah, I do know a few people. New Speaker (00:49:26): Yeah. So, um, I've done a little writing, which I don't consider myself a writer. I love more technical stuff, but I've, I apparently have a little bit of a flare for it. You know, I sent you the one article, but more nuts and bolts and, um, so the lemonade, lemons into lemonade, um, this interview and kind of like, well, is there a Parkinson's registry? You know, like cancer registry? And, um, I sent you that. I found out just right before I sent that to you, I'm like, oh, California, Utah and Nebraska have Parkinson's registries. RM (00:50:02): And California specifically had talked about Parkinson's hotpots, and I'm like, with cancer, cancer clusters. I'm like, Hmm. And, and somebody offhandedly mentioned to me at some Parkinson's gathering, they're like, oh, so maybe that's why there's so many people in West Michigan with Parkinson's. And I'm like, wait, what really? What, what did you just say? You know what I mean? So that's kind of whet my Sherlock Holmes, I guess of like <laugh> my, my data mind, um, to go Well, um, I listened to Kevin Elliot's, um, interview that you did, and he said, he talked about substantial scientific uncertainty. You know, they base, you know, the, of course the essence of science, there's always gonna be some sort of uncertainty, but substantial, I guess was the key word. So if you're gonna use the excuse of no data, let's try to fix that. You know what I mean? RM (00:51:06): Like, oh, it might be tied to Parkinson's, you know, PFAS tied with Parkinson's too, but the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. So how can we get the evidence, the data, um, because when somebody says there's no reported problems, that's not good enough for me. You know what I mean? Like, um, I, uh, yeah, we talked about how these government people like kind of fein or the lawyers or whatever, whoever you're talking about, fein ignorance or, or they, well, we don't know. You know, that's, I'm not the type to just be, oh, we don't know, then just stick my head in the sand. You know, it's like, yeah, it sucks to have Parkinson's and I, I maybe overanalyze it, but at the same time, just like Lynn, maybe people thought she was overanalyzing what was going on with Wolverine and so forth. RM (00:52:13): Um, it just seems like a no-brainer that, um, PFAS in Parkinson's needs to be delved into more deeply. DD (00:52:28): The role of PFAS? RM (00:52:29): The role of PFAS, especially since it's such a forever chemical and it's shown to be a neurotoxin. Um, and one of the things I've researched for one, one of the articles I wrote was about brain first versus body first origins. And, um, that was eyeopening to me because, you know, you assume it starts in the brain, you know, maybe a lot of Parkinson's people lose their sense of smell from Parkinson's, like the olfactory bulb. But there's lots of research lately about how it could start in your gut and then travel up your vagus nerve to your brainstem. Yeah. So poor gut health, leaky gut, all that. And what if you're putting in 20 �your gut could affect getting, you know, the incidence prevalent or whatever incidence of increasing your risk. RM (00:53:19): Especially, you know, if you have that genetic predisposition. I'll have to send you that article. DD (00:53:24): That's wild. RM (00:53:26): I know. And then there was another article I haven't even read, it was quite long. I haven't read about how your gut microbiome is. So they, they're just learning so much about how instrumental those are in your general health. You know, not you just, you think of them as digestion, but, um, some of them might help take PFAS out of your body or some, you know, if you have poor gut health, you know, or low by low amount of the good bacteria. And, um, you're more susceptible for, um, nasties to maybe travel up your vagus nerve to your brainstem, for example. So, um, DD (00:54:12): So you've been kind of throwing yourself into this new research project, it sounds like. RM (00:54:16): I tend, I tend to do that, which isn't always necessarily good for my physical and mental health, but, DD (00:54:25): And is this this kind of been since your diagnosis or were you starting to do this work before? RM (00:54:32): Not in relation to PFAS, but actually, um, I like to promote Michael J. Fox has a data study called PPMI. Um, I could look up what exactly that stands for, but basically anyone, any adult can join it. And I actually joined it in 2022. Um, I think that's around the time that I noticed a twitch behind my right knee. And I, I didn't necessarily, you know, a lot of it's hindsight, you know, like Huh. Subconsciously or whatever. But I had looked into, um, you know, 'cause Michael J. Fox has helped just bring the, the Parkinson's to the forefront, just like with Lynn and PFAS here in this area. And, um, so since 2022, I've been, um, taking data surveys every three months so they can, um, track progression. Like, 'cause so I, I started it when I wasn't diagnosed. Then there's like, you know, you keep asking you every time, "Have you been diagnosed?" RM (00:55:29): No, no. And then finally I said, yes, you know, 'cause I got diagnosed and my got my sister to do it. She hasn't been diagnosed. And hopefully it won't be, but to compare, you gotta have your control of who doesn't get Parkinson's. So if, if you'd like to join PPMI, I can send you info. 'cause um, they need that, you know, kind of, you know, the, the non-Parkies that, um, uh, and actually that that ties in like jumping in with both feet. I joined a clinical trial, which, um, they actually compare their, the date of their, um, they compare what they're finding out from my blood tests or brain scans and comparing it to 21 �some of the data that's been gathered through PPMI to say this, I'm taking a neuro antineuroinflammatory pill that's hopefully will slow my Parkinson's, but that's kind of subjective, you know. RM (00:56:38): So they do, they do draw blood to see if my inflammasomes, you know, these inflammatory markers, how they respond or don't respond. You know, like it could be on the placebo too. It's one of those. So, um, but the PPMI is helpful to have something to compare, you know what I mean? Such a big data set to, um, to know how people tend to progress. But my neurologist said, if you've seen one Parkinson's patient, you've seen one Parkinson's patient. Because it's so variable. And that's the tricky part of Parkinson's is like young onset generally progress slower, but not always. So, um, and DD (00:57:19): Then I'm sure if you're trying to link in PFAS, it just makes it all the trickier. RM (00:57:24): Yeah. And like, and I kind of put PFAS to the back burner, you know. But now this is kind of brought it to the front burner, which it, you know, like it is what it is. And I'm, like I said, I'm a realist and, um, yeah, I went, I went through the stages of grief and probably still am going through a, a, you know, potential loss of abilities and, and a lot of hindsight stuff like, oh, that's why I, you know, it wasn't just necessarily like seasonal effective disorder, why I'm, my anxiety and depression have increased and, you know what I mean? 'cause of my, my dopamine, my serotonin, my norepinephrine, um, I showed, I showed Lynn this graph, which she's like, oh, you have to need to unsee that. And I'm like, yeah, I wish I could. It says that by the time you have your motor symptom, you've already probably lost up to 70% of your dopamine producing neurons. DD (00:58:18): Wow. RM (00:58:18): Yeah. So it's not just like, oh, you get a tremor. Oh, now you have Parkinson's, you've had Parkinson's, and now it's just finally enough death of which I was thinking that Parkinson's is almost like a reverse cancer in a way, because instead of cells proliferating these alpha nucleon misfolded proteins are going in your body and killing off stuff and causing a tremor causing, um, my right leg. I don't, I don't take as big of a step with my right leg. And, um, when I, when I walk without thinking about it, my right arm doesn't swing. And, you know, my loss of smell might be from the Parkinson's also, even though my husband can't smell either from the COVID from in 2021. But, um, anyways, to kind of wrap up, um, what my newest, I guess not really tangent, um, about how, I dunno, what, what was your, your wrap up question of, um, I think you kind of asked it already, but DD (00:59:27): What concerns do you have about PFAS contamination moving forward? RM (00:59:30): Moving forward? Um, yeah, Lynn's comment about, I don't know, I think she maybe maybe said it off the record, but, um, about like Tobin's family thinking that, assuming, you know, that terrible word of 22 �assuming that their treated Plainfield Township water after they got put on that expensive, you know, extension of Plainfield townships, um, waterlines. Assuming that first of all, that government's gonna take care of you to the extreme. You know, they, they, you know, that's not a, not a thing. And, um, just to be more aware and, and, uh, and you can't, you can drive yourself crazy with like, oh, should I eat this? Not eat that, drink that, not drink that. And that's no way to live either. So it's a balance. It's definitely a balance. Like just with my Parkinson's, it's like I really shouldn't be eating sugar and carbs. 'cause you know, especially gluten, it's a, it's an inflammatory substance. RM (01:00:41): Do I still eat some, I eat a lot less of it, but I put sugar in my tea. And, um, so that's still a struggle for me. I don't, you know, especially with being only 52 and I have potentially 30 some years, my dad passed away when he was almost 86 with Parkinson's, so it's won't necessarily shorten my life, but do I even wanna live till I'm 90 with being stuck in a nursing home? And like, he, it was a very traumatic time with my dad being stuck in a nursing home during COVID. Didn't get to see him butt through a window for a year. So I could, I, I won't go down that rabbit hole, but, um, DD (01:01:23): Well maybe thinking about rabbit holes, is there anything else that you want to touch on or go back to before we wrap up? Or things that we didn't get to bring up? RM (01:01:31): Right. Um, let me just look at my notes RM (01:01:40): Because one of the things with Parkinson's is it can affect, not necessarily your long-term memory, like Alzheimer's, but, um, I remember Googling adult onset ADD before I was diagnosed on like, what is going on? Like, I felt like I was getting ADD and I'm like, isn't that usually, you know, you get diagnosed when you're hyper kid or whatever, but like, especially with women, a lot of times, you know, I'm probably, I might have some ADD too, but it's more of a mental ADD, but then add in Parkinson's and I'm gotta refer to my notes and cues and such. RM (01:02:17): You know, I've pretty much touched on all my notes. I guess getting back to Parkinson's registry and like how finding Parkinson's hotspots, like I think it was, um, Bob Delaney that was talking about his interview about autism along highways. I'm like, that, that was eyeopening to me. So I'm very interested in maybe advocating, and I'll probably jump in with two feet and like advocating for a Michigan Parkinson's registry like California has. And, um, of course that takes money, you know, money, you know, as much as we hate, you know, oh, evil corporations and blah, blah, blah. You know, money does make the world go round in some respect. Obviously some, um, CEOs take it to the extreme to, like, money's more important than people's health. Um, but, uh, yeah. So I, I'll I'll keep you updated on that. <laugh>. DD (01:03:19): please do. RM (01:03:21): 23 �so. Um, oh, 'cause oh, and ADD 'cause you know the autism and like ADHD, um, ADD has also been linked to dopamine issues and surprisingly enough, so I dunno if you've heard that. Hmm. So it is a dopamine thing potentially, or part of it with, um, ADD. So, um, you know, the explosion of autism and ADD, you know what I mean? Like ADHD, uh, then we have, you know, putting kids on all these meds 'cause I've, I've never been a pop a pill person and I'm a little conflicted about this clinical trial, but I'm like, Hey, if it'll slow my Parkinson's, why not throw, throw the kitchen sink at it, sort of thing. So, yeah. RM (01:04:08): Yes. So I think that's, I guess my, my last little note I said, um, had a little flow chart of, um, you know, just like my little Plainfield township, Lynn's city of Rockford and private wells, and then, oh, that's, we don't have time to get into this, but, um, the health study that they did. That's Lynn really advocated and I, I, I volunteered for it too. I really wanted to be a part of that. This, it was a few years ago now, right? And, um, there's, I think there's still a place for the 40,000 people that have been drinking Plainfield Township water, um, to have participation in some sort of study. Um, obviously you have to, you have to cap it somehow, you know, and, but, um, but again, they're data, right? Like, just like money makes the world go around in a lot of ways. RM (01:05:11): You know, if, if you don't have the data, then you, they throw up their hands and Oh, well we don't know. And I'm like, you know, that's... And I saw a little ad for, you know, these ugly Christmas sweaters and, um, this one said I was, I told my boys, I'm like, I would actually wear this sweater. It said, "this calls for a spreadsheet." And that's like, you know, if I could spreadsheet, you know, Parkinson's prevalence incidents and, you know, with, with geographic information systems, GIS mapping, hotspots, you know, just like with cancer clusters and apparently autism, you know, and, and now it was fascinating too about the upper class people getting, um, having more exposure to PFAS with the Scotchgarded carpets and such. But, um, yeah. So, oh, so my flowchart said, yeah, you start with township and city. Can I go to the county? 'cause that was like a Kent County. Um, did they limit that? Do you know much about that health study? I, I looked into it, but I've forgotten a lot of it. But I've. DD (01:06:16): They've done a couple different health studies... RM (01:06:17): North Kent. Yeah. There's been different ones, you know, and affecting Michigan and their governance. And then, you know, we've had, um, Italy and Japan and what other countries can you think of that have been...? DD (01:06:28): Australia. RM (01:06:30): Australia that's been very, um, 'cause besides Wurtsmith, um, this epicenter has really helped explode the testing and the knowledge. I mean, right? <Laugh>. DD (01:06:47): 24 �Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. RM (01:06:50): Yeah. So, so yeah. Alright. I guess that's about it. DD (01:06:56): Well, thank you so much, Renee, for taking the time to talk with me today. New Speaker (01:06:59): You're very welcome. 25 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/468d76fb663640a3710095dfd16ac3ac.mp3 0053b46eff4e1dd3b7ecd18dae7213be 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 Living with PFAS Interviews Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Devasto, Danielle Description An account of the resource Beginning in 2021, the Living with PFAS interviews were recorded to gather the personal stories of individuals impacted by PFAS contamination. PFAS, or per- and polyflourinated substances, are a large group of human-made chemicals used widely since the 1940s to make coatings and products resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and water. They can be found in countless household items, including food packaging, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant furniture, and water-resistant clothing. These chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily, can move through soils and contaminate drinking water sources, and build up in animals, plants, and people. PFAS have been linked to increased incidences of various cancers, increased cholesterol, decreased fertility, birth defects, kidney and liver disease, and immune system suppression, and thyroid dysfunction. It is estimated that PFAS are in the drinking water of more than 200 million Americans (Andrews & Naidenko, 2020). In Michigan alone, over 280 sites have PFAS contamination exceeding maximum contamination levels for groundwater (MPART, 2024). Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2021 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In copyright Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Motion Picture Text Sound Language A language of the resource eng Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. 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 PFAS0043 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mata, Renae Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025-12-11 Title A name given to the resource Renae Mata, 2025 (Interview audio and transcript) Description An account of the resource Renae Mata describes drinking Plainfield Township water for years before learning it was contaminated with PFAS and reflects on the health implications for her family. She also discusses her later diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s disease and the questions it raises about long-term environmental exposure. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource DeVasto, Danielle (interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Personal narrative PFAs (Perfluorinated chemicals) Groundwater--Pollution Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Living with PFAS (project) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/92ec703e17d2b1a349d4433c039df49d.mp3 d7d774ff0142f0a4f0c5ebe2b5ea865c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cb25224530b35bf708a1e126e8daf40f.pdf 3612d378096c4775d22155671d4a5a2e PDF Text Text Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 1 David Geen: My name is David Geen and I’m here today with Renee Zita at the old schoolhouse in Douglas Michigan on Wednesday, June 6th 2018. This oral history is being collected as a part of the Stories of Summer Project, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Program. Thank you for taking time, for the time to talk with me today I’m interested to learn more about your family history and your experiences of Summer in the Saugatuck Douglas area. Can you please tell me your full name and spell it? Renee Zita: Renee Irene Renaldi Zita. R E N E E I R E N E R E N A L D I Z I T A. DG: Thank you. So, first off is, tell me where you grew up? We’re going to talk about your time here in Saugatuck and Douglass but at first sort of how you got here and where you’re from, and how this all sort of happened. RZ: Sure. Um, I’m initially from the Southside of Chicago, Palace Heights. Grew up there, and um, my mother’s family had a summer cottage on Park Street in Saugatuck. Um, she had one sister, and two brothers and they divided the cottage up through the months of uh, July and August. Therefore, our family usually had two weeks of spending time at the cottage with my grandmother, uh, Grandma Rene, Irene…. DG: …Oh. RZ: …hence my middle name. DG: Uh, what year was it that you first came, or what year was it that? RZ: I probably came the year I was born, I was born in March, 1959 and that summer, I’m sure my mother brought me up there and up here and we spent uh, our couple weeks on the beach. DG: Great! Mhm, how was the beach then, was it the same then as it is now? RZ: [Laughs] Um, no. The beach, as I recall, there was a white, um, box structure that was the Beach House that um, had the best hamburgers that…. DG: …Oh! RZ: …She fried at the beach house and you could rent these big black inner tubes for 25 cents an hour, so that was a treat when we were able to get an inner tube to rent, we would, and it was a treat when we were able to go and get hamburgers at the Beach House, and the nicest lady, Menzie I think her name was, Lois Menzie maybe, um would be the lady and that’s how I met um, Rondy Riteman who would work at the beach house and um, they had the, I can recall the bathrooms were kind of grody but, they had these screen doors that would bang after you’d go out…. DG: Oh, yeah? �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 2 RZ: …of the restroom and uh, often one summer I got to spend, about four or five weeks up here because my mom had her two weeks and she became ill and um, my aunt had to take care of us, um, my sister and me for an extra two or three weeks and that summer um, I would practically walk, I’d climb up our since our cottage was on Park street, I’d walk to the beach because they didn’t get to the beach until late and we liked getting there around noon and so, we’d walk up Mount Baldy and climb down the hill to the beach, or go to the path um, back by Oxbow or the old harbor, or we’d walk up the beach road. DG: Yeah? Everyday? RZ: Practically every day. DG: That’s great. RZ: Got my steps in! DG: Got your steps in then, yeah. RZ: Okay. DG: Oh my gosh. Um, [pause] what was your favorite place to, to come to eat in the summer time? RZ: Um, probably the Beach House, because I love their hamburgers! Um, it was always fun uh, I can recall um, going to the um, the Root Beer Barrel um, and get foot long hotdogs. DG: Okay. RZ: That was always, uh, exciting, or…. DG: …and where was that sitting? RZ: That was on Center Street, probably between Blue Star and Ferry Street. DG: Oh, right there, okay. RZ: Yes…. DG: …Yeah…. RZ: …it’s original…. DG: The original location. RZ: …there’s aerial photos of where it was, so I remember that, and um, our other favorite thing would be to go get ice cream at the drugstore. DG: Okay, the counter in the back? �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 3 RZ: At the counter, and actually I can still recall the counter being in front. DG: Oh. RZ: Before it was put back there. I’m pretty sure it was [phone rings] I’m sorry, I’m pretty sure it was out front, um and then we, my cousins and us would often go there and have water fights and, um, back in the um, back in the um, the room, uh, and just getting ice cream, chocolate, my favorite was the Hudsonville chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge. DG: Oh my god, that sounds great. RZ: And that was a treat. DG: Yeah? RZ: So.. DG: Did you ever come over to Douglas at all or no? RZ: Um, yes. There was a donut shop in Douglas that I loved going to. DG: Oh! I never heard about this. RZ: It was where Wild Dog is now. DG: Okay. RZ: …and, it, they had the best glazed donuts, so we’d go over there sometimes to get a, donuts in the morning and it would frustrate me when, if you didn’t get there by 9 o’clock he was sold out and I would be like ‘Well why don’t you make more donuts!’ If you know you’re going to be, uh, on the weekends. You know? But anyway, they were, they were very good. So, um, and now my favorite place in the morning is to go to Pumpernickel’s. DG: Oh. RZ: Uh, my mom would always order uh, uh, a box full of uh, different sweet, sweets and Larry would be so funny he’d put um, ants on them sometimes as a, as a tease and uh, a surprise or bugs, or flies, whatever, so. DG: That’s fun. RZ: Yeah, that was always fun. He was, for some of his um, patron customers he would often play little jokes, he had a sense of hu-humor like that, so. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 4 DG: Oh my gosh, and so, how was the, how did you go from, like coming the for two weeks in the summer until, [pause] longer? [Inaudible] RZ: So, my mother loved it here so much that um, she wanted to, um spend the summer here. DG: Okay. RZ: So she branched off and bought her own place…. DG: …Okay…. RZ: …in 1983 probably as well as one of my other uncles, uh, Connie and Richard Vacco went off and bought their own place down on uh, Lakeshore Drive in Fennville. DG: Okay. RZ: …In the early 80’s um, so then my mom had her place and…. DG: …On Park Street…. RZ: …On Park Street and Perryman…. DG: ..Yep…. RZ: …and she, we spent more time there, but now I was starting a family myself, and um, my then husband John and I loved it so much and we were blessed enough to be able to afford a little home so we branched off and bought our own home…. DG: Oh. RZ: …On Campbell Street, which was Inez Campbell’s home. We bought it from her in 198 [pause] 6, ’87. DG: Okay. RZ: …and had that home for eight years, and came up here and summered all the time…. DG: Oh great…. RZ: …Ourselves, and then uh, from there we, we built a bigger home down on the Kalamazoo River. DG: Yeah. RZ: …and now, my current home, uh is on 98th by Park Street. DG: Back on Park Street. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 5 RZ: …Back on Park Street, where…. DG: …Where you belong…. RZ: …Where I belong. Where I belong, where my mother’s, unfortunately she passed a couple years ago, and her ashes are now spread, um, at her cottage and at our family cottage. DG: Oh. RZ: …and maybe a little bit at my house around a tree, so…. DG: How nice. RZ: Yes. DG: Yeah. Um, let’s see. Do you have any other special memories of this area that you’d like to talk about for the, for this, uh, interview? RZ: Well, my special memories are spending lots of times with our family and cousins and also my children, um, summering here with me and, um, they’re working. They worked at the beach as lifeguards…. DG: …Oh did they?.. RZ: …and um, they, it would be a lot of fun when we’d sit at the beach, and they would be, um, on rotation, and every, every twenty five or forty minutes they’d get a break and then they’d come sit with us and we’d bring them their hot dogs for lunch…. DG: …Were they, all three life guards?.. RZ: …Jason, Justin, and Jonathon at one time, yes, were all, so that’s how they all got to become good friends with Katie Frisk, or Katie Herber at the time, she was the beach…. DG: …She was a lifeguard…. RZ: … Well, she, she did the gatehouse. DG: Oh. RZ: So she would report to them when, ah, Denny, would, would, was showing up. Say get, get the…. DG: When the boss was coming. RZ: Alert! Alert! The boss is here. DG: Oh my gosh. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 6 RZ: They’d have their codes, but they’ve all become very good friends. DG: When did the Lifeguards stop on the beach? I remember first coming here and they were still there, but I didn’t know any of them… [Over RZ] were your sons. RZ: ..Probably the, [pause] in the 90’s, late 90’s. DG: I guess. RZ: Yeah. DG: Yeah. RZ: No! They did it all through High School, no, so, they finished high school in, the, maybe the early 2000’s. DG: The lifeguards stopped. RZ: Yes, probably because…. DG: Well, even your youngest was a lifeguard…. RZ: No, Jeffery was not, no, so, he didn’t graduate 8th grade until 2010 or so. DG: [Speaking over RZ] Too young. RZ: Right, so, um, yeah. DG: Well that’s fun. RZ: One of my memories is, getting all dolled up to go dancing at the Old Crow. DG: The Old Crow had dancing. RZ: The Old Crow, oh yeah. There was a line to get into the Old Crow back in…. DG: After the pavilion, of course. RZ: Oh, yeah! Way after. My mother would go to the pavilion, I would go to the Old Crow, and that was probably in the late 70’s that we were old enough to get in there, and some of us weren’t old enough.. DG: [Laughs] RZ: …would get in there too. There were multiple Renee Renaldi’s in there because I was one of the first ones to turn 18, and that was a paper driver’s license. So just brown hair, brown eyes and most of us Italian girls were brown hair, brown eyes. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 7 DG: So you would get dressed up to the Old Crow. RZ: Oh yeah, not so much to drink but to dance and meet boys. DG: Oh, fun. RZ: Yeah. DG: Yeah. Do you remember any specifically, uh, that you could tell us any of the boys that you, uh…. RZ: No, not from me, but my cousin Irene was madly in love with um, Mariano or some…uh, I forgot his first name. DG: Okay. RZ: She would be um, a good person to interview. DG: Oh, yeah, well that sounds like a story. RZ: Yes! Yes, so we’d always have to wait and um, there was always a bouncer party after the Old Crow would close. DG: Oh. RZ: …And Irene would be asking her dad permission to stay out, and that wouldn’t be until 1 or 2 in the morning. DG: Oh, late. RZ: …and my uncle was not too keen on that. ‘Please, dad can we go to the bouncer party!’. DG: The after hour’s party. RZ: [Laughs] Yeah, so…. DG: Oh my gosh. RZ: Yeah, so. DG: That’s in the Coral Gables, like on the, was it…. RZ: That was on the other building where, where um, what’s the long building? DG: The annex? RZ: The annex, yes. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 8 DG: It was in there? RZ: The bouncer party, I think it would just be outside the Annex or something. DG: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, like the after party. RZ: Yes. DG: Oh, fun. RZ: Yeah, so that was uh, my my, uh the, the guy I had a crush on was Johnny Fox. DG: Johnny Fox? RZ: …and he would, I met him at the beach. DG: Okay. RZ: …and his father was the um, do you know who he is? DG: No. RZ: Oh. He’s pretty reputable in the area, he’s an artist and…. DG: Okay…. RZ: ..he would come down to the beach, he had long blond hair and…. DG: Oh. RZ: …um, he ah, would surf at the beach and I don’t know we met him down there, and um, one day he, we, I don’t know, but I don’t know but I think maybe he might have had a crush on me but we went on the paddle boat together. DG: Oh! Okay. RZ: He kissed me on my cheek, so…. [Both laugh] RZ: That was big, that was probably one of my first kisses. DG: I, I wonder if he’s still around? RZ: He is! He lives up on, up on the hill. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 9 DG: Oh, okay. RZ: Him and his wife. DG: John Fox. RZ: Yeah. He did the Indian head at, at the school? He’s an artist here in town, and um, yeah! So that’s a memory. DG: That’s great. RZ: Aunt Marie, going to the Dutch Village and you know, going on the rides there and um…. DG: Fun. RZ: Going on the paddle boats, and the and back then it was not the Queen of Saugatuck but it was the Island Queen. . DG: Oh, yeah. RZ: …ran by Mr. Hoffman I believe, Dick Hoffman was his name I think, who ran that. Peewee golf, so those are all special treats when got to go peewee golfing and you know it wasn’t just…. DG: …Where was it, was there a little miniature golf here? RZ: Yeah! It was where um, the park is, um [pause] um [pause] Wicks Park, right there was a peewee golf…. DG: Oh. RZ: …area, yeah. DG: Okay, wow. RZ: So, and that’s where the Island Queen sat, right there, next to the ship and shore. DG: Oh, over there. RZ: On the opposite side. DG: Huh. RZ: Yeah, so. DG: Great. �Renee Zita - Interviewed by David Geen July 23 2018 10 RZ: Picture, I have pictures of that as well. DG: Well that’s neat. [Inaudible] DG: Um [pause] what else can we add, anything? [Pause] In what ways has the area changed over time since you’ve been coming here? RZ: Well, um, I think it’s become much more um, uh, well I guess been, always been a summer resort for people. Lots have changed, the structures, more restaurants, more shopping, I think there’s more people that have retired here. In fact, in our family, there’s my cousin Paula just retired here, my cousin um, [pause] Carla and her husband are now looking…. DG: …Okay…. RZ: with Bill at the homes, to retire here so, um I think it’s become more of a retirement…. DG: …more of a retirement place. RZ: Yes, and it’s just a wonderful resort area, with lots of wonderful people…. DG: …Mhm…. RZ: …and lots of nice shopping, and food. DG: Good! Um, well I think that’s everything that I have right now. Okay? Thank you. � 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 Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. 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 DC-07_SD-ZitaR-20180606 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Zita, Renee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Renee Zita (Audio interview and transcript) 2018 Description An account of the resource Renee Zita was born and raised in Chicago. In this interview, she recounts spending several weeks of every summer in the family cottage on Park Street in Saugatuck. As her own family grew, Renee remembers bringing her own children to the family home and ultimately deciding to become a full-time resident of Saugatuck. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Geen, David (Interviewer) Van Orsdol, Mollie (Transcriber) Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Outdoor recreation Dance halls Oral history Audio recordings Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Stories of Summer project, Kutsche Office of Local History. Grand Valley State University Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/64694bda2815d6befd0dbaeb13de9e5a.mp4 af6f2c935d4a0e94b7e30fcd3507091d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7fcc7a3a0403fecea14c9d1f6fec4833.pdf 09d812f9aa0a2273d73cf1d35b456e0f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Vietnam Mike Renner Total Time – (01:25:00) Background • • • • • • • • • He was born in Sigourney, Iowa on October 1, 1950 (00:22) His father held many different jobs and his mother cleaned homes He graduated in 1968 (00:54) He played football in high school and had a job at the local grocery store (01:27) He had four sisters and a brother growing up His father was in the Coast Guard during World War II (01:57) o His father was from Iowa as well When he was in high school he knew a lot about the war (02:55) o It was extremely difficult to get away from the war o “It was everywhere” (03:10) o The news of the war was always on the television Many of the kids that he knew growing up were getting drafted He knew he would not get drafted for quite a while so he decided to enlist (03:44) o There were fourteen boys out of roughly fifty in his graduating class that were involved in the war Enlistment/Training – (04:12) • • • • He enlisted for a two year enlistment (04:20) o He enlisted in the infantry He was put on a bus and was taken to Des Moines, Iowa until he reached Fort Des Moines Station (05:24) o He was processed there for one night o He received his physical there as well  There were many draftees at the Station alongside the enlisted men (05:45)  He did not notice any soldiers trying to get out of the service When he was processed through, it was basically just a physical examination (06:39) All of the branches of the military were in Des Moines (07:22) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • He was then sent from a plane to Fort Polk, Louisiana (08:14) The soldiers landed at Fort Polk around 02:30 A.M. (08:20) When they got off the plane there was a man screaming at them to get in a “Police Call” (08:24) They were forced to march to the processing center o Later they were put into their companies for basic training (09:01) In his company there were five platoons (09:17) o He was in the fourth platoon o There were twenty to twenty-five in each platoon o The entire fifth platoon was Texans (09:35) His school teacher was in his basic training company o He was in the third platoon The racial composition was mixed (10:40) o There were whites, blacks and Mexicans o The majority of the men were draftees (11:03) The morale of the men in the platoon was great (11:34) He was in basic training for eight weeks (11:45) o He learned how to fire a weapon, how to tear the weapon apart, bayoneting drills, and a lot of calisthenics (11:50) He enjoyed basic training There were not any parts of basic training that were particularly difficult (12:15) o The P.E. Test was a little more difficult He trained on the M14 and M16 (13:09) o The soldiers had to qualify for the M16 One of the men went AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) during basic training (13:37) o He was having marital problems There were soldiers that were in poor shape o There was a “Fat Farm” where they would send the soldiers having problems with the physical training (14:14) All of the drill instructors were extremely serious (15:01) There were mock Vietnamese villages set up during basic training (15:36) After the eight weeks of basic training are over he was assigned an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) (15:58) o He received the 13 Alpha MOS  It was an artillery assignment He graduated from basic training in the middle of August (16:40) When he went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he asked to be changed to infantry (17:35) o He was told that he would remain in the artillery assignment o He had knowledge about the infantry and wanted to have that assignment instead (17:58) His reception at Fort Sill was similar to Fort Polk The next morning they were assigned to their positions o He was assigned to Echo Company 61 (18:43) His training at AIT (Advanced Individual Training) �• • • • • • • • • • o He trained on a 105mm split trail howitzer  When he was in Vietnam he was put on a 155mm split trail and they were extremely different (19:02)  He only had one day on a 155mm during basic training o He enjoyed basic training much more than AIT (19:22) AIT consisted of preparing a howitzer, firing it and closing it back up (19:41) o There was no hands-on training with artillery positions  There told what the positions were but received no actual training (20:01) o There was a lot of boring classroom training  He did not feel that it was relevant (21:01) He graduated on October 10, 1969 He was sent on leave for roughly twenty days before leaving for Vietnam (21:37) His time at Fort Sill was pretty relaxed Many of the men got in trouble because they had so much time on their hands o Soldiers were able to leave the camp around the sixth week there (22:27) He reported in Oakland, California (24:28) During his travels he did not recognize any anti-war protests (24:41) o He did not understand why anyone would want to hassle a soldier (24:58) o He did not understand the hippies – “They thought they had a tough day. They should have been in ‘Nam one day. That’s a tough day.” (25:05) His orders for Vietnam were simply to report and not specific to any unit (25:21) He stayed in Oakland, California for three days doing random activities He flew from Oakland to Hawaii, unloaded and stood at attention, got back on the plane and headed to Vietnam (26:18) o They landed in Long Binh, Vietnam (26:30) Active Duty – First Impressions & Various Firebases – (26:35) • • • His first impression of Vietnam was that it was smelly and hot (26:39) o There were barrels that were burning [human waste with diesel fuel] that smelled terrible o He remembers seeing a small Vietnamese child that had his leg blown off (27:05) o He thought, “What in the hell is this?” When he was at the Replacement depot he was assigned to a work detail o He had to cut Elephant Grass with a machete (27:49) o His name was then called for the 101st Airborne Division (28:00) He was then sent to Phu Bai for SERTS training (Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School) (28:05) o SERTS training taught them how to identify the enemy, booby-traps, how to keep you alive, guard duty, and many more activities o The training was extremely beneficial for his time during the service (29:34) �• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • He then traveled to Camp Eagle, Vietnam (29:54) o He stayed at Camp Eagle for a few days before being sent to Firebase Rakkasan (30:14) At this point he is assigned to a 155 Split Trail Howitzer Unit (30:23) The artillery battery that he was a part of consisted of six 155’s, FDC (Fire Direction Control), Captain, Lieutenant, Gunners, and Assistant Gunners o There were six men for each gun (31:08) o The FDC would call down firing data for gunmen (31:27)  They called on a field telephone No one had any concerns that they had not been officially trained on the 155’s (32:10) The rounds weighed 98lbs. and a firecracker weighed 118lbs. The ammunition was stored in a bunker (32:38) Firebase Rakkasan had the 105 battery, the infantry was around the perimeter, and mortar men (33:13) The ammunition was brought in by a Chinook (33:27) Every soldier had an M16 – there was an RPG and a M60 machine gun for every gun section (33:53) They served on a two man guard rotation o Everyone except the Section Chief would have to do guard duty The responsibility of the gunner was to set up the right section and quadrant for the gun (35:34) o The gunner had the responsibility to make sure the gun was not fired until he was fully prepared Every gun crew had a Section Chief He left Firebase Rakkasan at the end of February, 1970 (36:15) After he left Firebase Rakkasan he was sent to Firebase Jack (36:18) o The sun was out only one time on Rakkasan o They were extremely wet from the rain o When they were at Firebase Jack, the soldiers were able to dry out and see the sun (36:42) The battery would move by helicopter – they moved by truck one time o The Chinook would pull the guns (37:23) o The units would ride on separate choppers They were on missions nearly every night (37:39) o They shot a lot of H and I’s [harassment and interdiction] and Delta Tango [defensive fires] fire missions (37:55) There were very few times where the infantry units engaged with the enemy The Delta Tango’s were defensive units There was no significant contact with the enemy when he was at Firebase Jack (39:00) He was hit with shrapnel on May 18, 1970 o They had a twenty-four hour ceasefire on this day because it was Buddha’s birthday o The ceasefire was to honor their Vietnamese counterparts (39:33) �• • • • • • • • o Some of the NVA violated the ceasefire and sent RPG’s against the Firebase The level of activity was similar at Firebase Jack (40:13) o They would shoot 40 rounds between five targets – they were always shooting the enemy o There were not many incoming attacks (40:40)  On Firebase Granite there was an attempt by the NVA to take control of the American Firebase (40:53) • There were nine Americans killed in the fight His unit was typically paired with a 105 unit (41:19) At Firebase Granite, the NVA had breached the perimeter (41:28) o The Americans captured an NVA soldier and found out that there were four hundred enemy soldiers preparing to attack the Firebase (41:38) o The Americans called in ARA and Cobra’s They would shoot flares to light up the area (42:30) He did not use a Howitzer His injury from the shrapnel at a previous Firebase was not very serious (43:45) When his wound was being checked out, a Major told him to take five days and go with other wounded soldiers to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam (44:36) o In Cam Ranh Bay, he relaxed, watched movies, ate three meals a day, body surfed, and enjoyed himself On the firebases he would occasionally get hot meals (44:24) o The other meals were C-rations o There were no mess facilities on the firebases Active Duty – Firebase Ripcord – (46:44) • • • • • • After Cam Ranh Bay he rejoined the battery on Firebase Ripcord (46:48) There was a lot of shooting on Ripcord every day and night While on Ripcord he would shoot over 100 rounds on each mission (47:34) o There were always a lot of rounds to shoot When they first arrived on the firebases, the soldiers would have to build the bunkers and all other facilities (48:21) o They would fill empty 105 ammo boxes with dirt and stack them, place a band over top and then place sand bags on top of that His first impression of Ripcord was that it was “just another firebase.” (49:33) o They “shot and shot and shot” until July 1st when they started receiving returning fire (49:51) o It continued to get more and more intense They shot a lot of high angle rounds (51:12) o The high angle rounds were able to hit the reverse slopes of surrounding hills �• • • • • • • • • • The ammunition was brought into Ripcord by a helicopter and was dropped as close as they could (51:52) o Through July, 1970, they would face heavy fire (52:14) o Every man from his gun would hump ammo o Every morning they would have to clean up and clear away the extra powder (53:09) He was hit by shrapnel when he was taking extra powder to the dump He noticed Firebase Ripcord to increase in activity in the very beginning of July (55:01) o They received incoming rounds on July 4, 1970  They were receiving a lot of mortar rounds (56:10)  There were mortar rounds that landed in their battery area o It was constant mortar rounds He would have to pull perimeter duty when he was on the firebase (56:51) o The crewing was at the six level o Four of the six men were eventually medevaced out His gun was disabled towards the end of July (57:39) o They lost two men in their battery unit The enemy was wearing down the strength of the Americans (58:35) o The soldiers were becoming hungry, thirsty, and angry o The soldiers averaged “cat-naps” (59:01)  There was too much to do to sleep The soldiers did not have a shower for twenty-three days (59:23) His gun was hit after he had been hit with shrapnel for the second time o He was going to dispose of extra powder when a mortar round blew material from the dump (01:00:00) o The material hit him in the arm o He did not have to be medevaced  The doctors were extremely busy (01:00:40) He was chewed out by his sergeant when the mortar destroyed his artillery weapon (01:01:25) o He was yelling at him about “preventative maintenance” o There was not much that he could say to him (01:01:55) o While he was being yelled at, a mortar round hit nearby and killed some of his friends  He pulled one of his friends out of a bunker and found out that he had been killed (01:02:39)  He then saw another friend, picked him up and ran him over to the aid station (01:03:12) o His gun had been completely destroyed o Because many of his men had been medevaced, he stayed and helped carry many of the wounded (01:03:52) There was a Chinook that was hit by a 51 caliber machine gunner and crashed on the base o When it came down, it crashed on a load of ammo (01:05:06) o The fire from the crash destroyed six guns [the entire 105 battery] �• • • o It was a mess (01:06:24) Once his gun was disabled and helped in the aid station, he talked with a captain that told him they expected to be overrun (01:07:23) o They emptied the ammo supply bunker  The attack never came  They were extracted the very next morning (01:07:46) He served as a director on the lower pad of the extraction area (01:08:13) o He told the men to get ready to leave o When the chopper touched down, other men were evacuated instead of him and his men o He later found out that those men had been killed (01:09:30)  One of those men [Lt. Colonel Andre Lucas, the infantry battalion commander on the base] had been given the Medal of Honor He was extracted later that day (01:10:48) o It was July 23 (01:11:30) Active Duty – Remaining Service Time – (01:11:35) • • • • • • • • • From Firebase Ripcord, he ended up at Camp Evans (01:11:40) He was then sent to Camp Eagle (01:12:02) o There was a big party at Camp Eagle  There were dancers, steaks, and ice cold beer  He and some other men grabbed some beers and went to sit on some sand bags (01:12:35)  They did not even want to get drunk • “There was too much to figure out” His battery reorganized at Camp Eagle (01:13:07) He went to Sydney, Australia for R&R o It took him a while to remember how to walk on concrete sidewalks (01:13:39) o He felt like he was losing his mind o He remembers running into one of the chopper pilots at an Australian bar that helped his men off of Ripcord (01:14:22) At the end of his R&R, he was getting bored and wanted to go back to Vietnam Once he returned from R&R he jumped around a few firebases with his battery (01:15:42) In November of 1970, he extended his tour by seventy-five days so that he could get a six month early out o November and December were awful with the monsoons (01:16:26) He was sent to Camp Eagle to process out (01:16:40) o He never had to do the full seventy-five days After he left Camp Eagle, his plane stopped in Japan where he bought a 35mm Canon camera (01:17:27) o They then flew to Fort Lewis, Washington (01:17:37) � They processed in Fort Lewis o He flew from Seattle, Washington and flew home to Des Moines, Iowa on December 22, 1970 (01:18:08) After the Service – (01:18:17) • • • • • • • • • When he returned, he “bummed around and didn’t do a lot of anything” (01:18:43) He slowly eased back into society He was not welcomed home by a lot of people (01:19:02) o Any job application where he wrote that he was a veteran, he would be declined the position (01:19:17) o When he was asked if he was a veteran, he would respond that he was. They would respond with “Well, we just can’t use ya.” (01:19:41) He worked construction for his career (01:20:08) He owns his own construction company o His sons work with him As he reflects on Vietnam, he believes that it taught him to be himself (01:21:08) Vietnam defined his entire life (01:21:42) It took him a long time before he told anyone about his experiences When he went to join a veterans organization, one man said, “I’ll tell you one thing you little son of a bitch, at least we won our war.” (01:23:39) o He immediately left the building � 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 Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. 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 RennerM1449V Title A name given to the resource Renner, Michael (Interview outline and video), 2012 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Renner, Michael Description An account of the resource Mike Renner was born in Sigourney, Iowa. He enlisted in the Army in 1969 to stay ahead of the draft. After training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was sent for artillery training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Sent to Vietnam in early 1970, he was assigned to Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, a 155mm howitzer unit in the 101st Airborne Division. He served on several different fire bases in the northern part of South Vietnam, including Ripcord, where he served during the siege that took place in July, 1970. His own gun was destroyed by enemy mortar fire during the siege, but he helped out as best he could until the base was abandoned. He remained with his battery for the rest of his tour, and returned home in 1971. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource McGregor, Michael (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-10-05 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bab65f4978f0d1a7a4c0d18166221d81.jpg 04078204dc8b32f82870a923ad9ac2e2 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 Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 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. Source <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</a> 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 RHC-50_1226 Title A name given to the resource Renown British battleship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource Renown British (battleship), October 1, 1947. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy Military education Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Slides Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947-10-01 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives