880 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9bbcbdc2cc25f005faed2f99e457292b.jpg 21457fc9547c39ab103182b4d001aebd 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 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-07_SD-Pie-Factory-36 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lloyd J. Harris Pie Co. Title A name given to the resource Shelby C. Johnstone Description An account of the resource A black and white photo of Shelby C. Johstone, Vice President of Lloyd J. Harries Pie Co. Below his photo, it reads" "Started as a special delivery man and worked himself up to an officer and director of the company." Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Factories Bakeries Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng 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/50d68415c30a8b24a6603493eb883684.pdf d43d5e882eb8d73cd837cfaf35e6b56f PDF Text Text 1 Grand Valley State University Special Collections Kent County Oral History collections, RHC-23 Mr. George Shelby Interviewed on September 14, 1971 Edited and indexed by Don Bryant, 2010 – bryant@wellswooster.com Tapes #3, 4 Biographical Information George Cass Shelby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on 5 December 1878, the son of William Read Shelby and Mary Kennedy Cass. In 1903 George was married to Ann Miller about 1903. George died 31 August 1975 in Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids at the age of 96. Ann Miller was born in November 1882 in Grand Rapids. She was the daughter of John Miller and Martha Nicholson. Ann died 26 April 1941 in Grand Rapids and both George and Ann are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. The father, William Read Shelby was born 4 December 1842 in Lincoln County, Kentucky and died at his home at 65 Lafayette NE 14 November 1930. The mother of George was Mary Kennedy Cass, born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania on 22 March 1847. She married William Shelby on 16 June 1869 in St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Mary died in Grand Rapids on 3 May 1936. _____________ Interviewer: How long have you lived in Grand Rapids, Mr. Shelby? Mr. Shelby: Well, with the exception of about twenty years in California, I was near Fresno where I had an orange grove with oranges, figs and so forth. I had money saved up and there was an enterprise in Santa Fe for officers preparing for the retirement days, don’t you know. I had the several thousand dollars on hand and I bought the land, and there was a colony [Annandale?], that was named after my wife, and so I moved to California in about, between nineteen….I can’t remember the exact date either, I lived out there about twenty-five years, and left there about nineteen forty, came back to Grand Rapids and sold the ranch, and put my wife in a sanitarium, because the nurses were so kind. Twenty years before she might have died, in nineteen forty. Interviewer: So before nineteen… you were in California for about twenty-five years, so that means you left Grand Rapids somewhere around nineteen fifteen. Mr. Shelby: Well, a little later, nineteen twenty-four I think I left then, so the period would be from about nineteen five to nineteen twenty-four. I was trying to develop this orange grove, Allendale colony. Interviewer: Were you born in Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: Yes, yes, I was born on Fountain Street, the house up on the hill, you know. �2 Interviewer: What’s the address of that house, do you know? Is that house still standing? Mr. Shelby: Yes, oh yes it is. Last occupied by Mrs. Booth. Elizabeth Booth. Because it had many owners in the meantime after we sold it and we moved along to Lafayette—sixty-five North Lafayette. Interviewer: Was your father William Shelby? Mr. Shelby: William R. Shelby, yeah. Interviewer: He was involved in railroads, wasn’t he? Mr. Shelby: He was the vice-president-treasurer of the Grand Rapids-Indiana Railroad Interviewer: What was the Grand Rapids-Indiana railroad ? Mr. Shelby: It was part of the Michigan Lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad, extending from Richmond, Indiana to Mackinac Island, about six hundred miles. Interviewer: Did your father, how did your father happen to come to Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: Well, he moved from Kentucky up to Pittsburgh and then married my mother in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. My grandfather George W. Cass, who was vice president of the lines west of Pittsburg, sent him out here to be the head of the G.R. and I Railway, that’s Grand Rapids-Indiana. And as a boy I was sent out to St. Paul’s which I just went out to this reunion, my seventy-fifth reunion, and I was leading the procession there. Interviewer: Are you the only one left from that class? Mr. Shelby: No, there are two others, but they are incapacitated. Interviewer: That’s quite a photo. Mr. Shelby: Well, here’s a little bit better one. This came the other day, yes. Interviewer: Oh, yes, class from ninety-six—eighteen ninety-six. Grand Rapids go away to school? Did many young men in Mr. Shelby: No, it was rather unusual. Let’s see there, well, there were three or four other Grand Rapids boys sent to that school: Fred Gorham and Edward Boise, Dr. Boise’s son, he attended it, too, St. Paul’s in Concord, New Hampshire. It’s a very famous Episcopal school, a hundred and fifteen years old this year. Interviewer: Did your family build what is known as the Booth house? �3 Mr. Shelby: Yes, my grandfather bought those three lots; one on Fountain, and one on the corner of Lafayette and Fountain and next to it, the three of them. We moved from that one on Fountain Street to Lafayette see. Interviewer: Was that your Grandfather Cass? Mr. Shelby: Yes, my Grandfather George W. Cass, yes. Interviewer: Was he any relation to Lewis Cass? Mr. Shelby: Yes, cousin, I think. Interviewer: What was it like growing up in Grand Rapids, when you grew up here? Mr. Shelby: Well, it was, it was really interesting in politics in those days. The cities used to have those torch-light processions that formed, you know, people turned their coats inside out and marched under a banner, you know, screaming out the candidates’ names, and they used to circulate around the neighborhood leading this torch-light procession yelling out ”Uhl, Uhl, Uhl, E.F. Uhl [Edward F. Uhl]; Shelby, Shelby, W.R. Shelby:” And we youngsters all marched in those processions; the banner and then the torch-light processions were quite characteristic of politics in those days. Interviewer: Where would the processions take place? Mr. Shelby: Well, in the residential districts. The candidates, like Mr. Ford, there was a fellow named [Melborne] Ford at that time, was the candidate for Congress I guess or something of that sort. There was quite a high feeling amongst the Democrats. We were Democrats in those days, whatever they stood for. Interviewer: There weren’t many of those around, were there? Mr.Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: There weren’t very many of those around here, were there, Democrats? Mr. Shelby: Yes, they was pretty active here. And in the winter time, of course, Fountain Street was a great street for sliding. Every night in the winter why, it was black with people just sliding down the hill. Bobs [bobsleds] thirty feet long, you know, and single sleds was riding right along right in front of us. Naturally I was amongst all the other youths that enjoyed that pleasure. The only trouble was we were, was for the hacks [cabs] that we used to get in our way a little. Interviewer: Wouldn’t [they] close the hill off for traffic then? Mr. Shelby: Yes, and on holidays especially. On Christmas and New Years, Bridge Street was the steepest street, that was closed off, policed. The city was young, you know, compared to what it is now, and very compact. I think the city, you might say, as far as residents were �4 concerned, ended about Union Avenue, Union Street, you know. Beyond that began the scattered homes and so on -- the country. Grand Rapids at that time was about sixty thousand people, and you were really outside of the town then after six or seven blocks going east from Lafayette, you began to get into country, don’t you know. Interviewer: What was out there? Mr. Shelby: Oh, just occasional farms, and residences, things of that sort, brickworks. The brickyard used to be quite a notable setting out there around Bridge Street and Fountain Street. That was one of the big brick yards of the city. Interviewer: Were there many brickyards in the city at that time? Mr. Shelby: Oh, just two or three. Interviewer: That brickyard was out on Fountain Street, beyond Union. Mr. Shelby: Well, Bridge Street. Interviewer: Now, that would be on the west side of town then? Mr. Shelby: No, it would be east side of town. Interviewer: The only Bridge Street that I know in town is the one on west side, was there another one? Mr. Shelby: Well, there’s East Bridge and West Bridge, of course, the river divides the thing. Interviewer: Then that would be where Michigan Street is today? Mr. Shelby: Yes, that’s right, that’s right. Interviewer: What were the neighborhoods like at that time in terms of social relationships? Mr. Shelby: Well, there was pretty much the center, the finest part of the town I’d call it that, the Hill District. Interviewer: Did the families have a lot of interactions together? Mr. Shelby: Oh, to a certain degree, they were members of the same club, like the President’s Club, you know or one thing, the Kent Country Club, and we were owners of that, stock in that, you know, that was the, you know where it is now, the Kent Country Club. It was a private club, membership club. We had interest in stock, interest in it at that time, don’t you know, used to entertain out there a good deal. Interviewer: That’s where most of the socializing went on then? �5 Mr. Shelby: Well, a large, largely although there was frequently amongst St. Mark’s church was a center of many occasions at our home. my father was a vestryman in St. Mark’s church, during those many years and quite a few occasions were held in our home, don’t you know gatherings two or three hundred people. Interviewer: Two or three hundred? Mr. Shelby: Oh, yes, Jandorf used to do all the catering in town, you know. Interviewer: What was the name of the company? Mr. Shelby: Jandorf, he was a caterer, you know, provided the food. He took and moved into a home with his staff and prepared all the food for the groups. Interviewer: Using your kitchen then? Mr. Shelby: Oh, yes. Interviewer: How long would he stay? Mr.Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: How long would he stay? Mr. Shelby: How long what? Interviewer:How long would Jandorf stay? He moved into the home? Mr. Shelby: Well, his location on Monroe Street, but he would just move in for those occasions, and provide all the food for the house he took over, don’t you know. It would be too much for a hired cook and others. Interviewer: How many people would he have on hand for an occasion like that? Mr. Shelby: Well, he had maybe ten or twelve people, cooks and waitresses for the meals, and then they help with everything else. Interviewer: Was there any dancing at those affairs? Mr. Shelby: Not particularly, I don’t know, no there wasn’t any dancing. Interviewer: Not at the church affairs? Mr. Shelby: No, it wasn’t frowned upon, but there wasn’t any occasion for it, mostly chattering and visiting. Interviewer: What affect did the automobile have on society, when the automobile came out? �6 Mr. Shelby: Very pronounced, very pronounced, I think it scattered people for one thing. They began to have homes and places other than, you know, cottages to go to, homes at the lake, resorts. It had a very pronounced affect. Not everybody owned cars, you know. Interviewer: Do you remember when you saw your first car? Mr. Shelby: Well, it started during that period and, say nineteen fifteen, twenty, around that, and then it kept growing in numbers when people bought cars, you know. It had a very pronounced effect in every way. People circulated a lot more than they did by streetcar. That’s all they had was streetcars then, in those days. They ended it pretty much ended at the, well going north, ended at Sweet Street and then took a dummy from that point and, you go out on the streetcar to Sweet Street and then the dummy carried you to North Park where the street railway had a building, you know, resort for dancing and parties, and everything else. It was the same way at Reed’s Lake. You took— on Eastern Avenue, you went to this corral and got aboard the dummy, and you went two miles out to Reed’s Lake. That time they had a lot of the pavilions you know and entertainment, picnics, very simple compared with the way it is now. Beer gardens also, which they frowned upon. Interviewer: Why? Mr. Shelby: Well, personally I never liked beer, I liked wine. But anyways we suppose to be, it was supposed to be looked as a scandal, to be seen over in that beer garden. Interviewer: The one at Ramona Park? Mr.Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: The one at Ramona Park? Mr. Shelby: Yes, that was quite a big one in those days. The more sportier elements in the town patronized that. But that was a swamp, the entertainment was largely professional at Reed’s Lake, don’t you know the troupes were brought in and entertainers. So, if you had the time and the leisure, the desire, well you went to Reed’s Lake. It played a very important part in the life of the town, and for leisure moments, you know. Interviewer: The people that lived up on Lafayette and Fountain and that area around where your family lived were they mostly professional men? Mr. Shelby: Well, they were largely heads of businesses. There was Mr. Perkins, Gaius Perkins, the head of the School Furniture Company, they called it at that time. He was living on the corner of Fountain and Lafayette and then they were all prominent people, prominent in the city, lawyers, and doctors and railroad officials. It was fairly compact you might say. So we might say that it set it apart from the balance of the city. That was the fine homes were built within that area. Interviewer: Do you remember the construction of your home on Fountain Street? �7 Mr. Shelby: Well, just dimly, but I remember playing around it, yes. Interviewer: built better? How about the home, perhaps you could remember the home on Lafayette you Mr. Shelby: The what? Interviewer: The home on Lafayette. Mr. Shelby: Sixty-five Lafayette? Interviewer: Could you tell me a little about, how were homes constructed in those days? Mr. Shelby: Well, bricklayers were the great builders of homes in those days. Large, all brick homes, they’re very spacious and space, space was some families were fairly large with five or six children, don’t you know, and they wanted big homes, which they had. Lafayette Avenue is three stories and an attic, which children used to play on that, fourteen feet high, the attic you know, until it was finished off and then we’d made it into entertainment for dancing, you know, and you give parties. Of course at that time there were about two professional dancing schools, which we children were sent to, you know, Gage and Benedict, as I remember the names. I learned to dance at those places, along with the other bluebloods. Interviewer: What kind of dancing was there? Mr. Shelby: Waltz and waltzes and round dancing, do-si-do and you know, those figures I would think in color. When you, Mr. Gage and Mrs. Benedict were the two teachers, one was a little runt and the other was a tall woman and they wore costumes. And that, I think Saturday as a rule was the weekend was the occasion for going to the dancing school, you know. Interviewer: Saturday afternoon? Mr. Shelby: Yes, Saturday afternoon. Interviewer: Did most of the children of the prominent people living in the area go to the school? Mr. Shelby: That’s right. That’s right. Interviewer: Was the business, you’ve been involved in the business community all your life, is the business of that time, the pace of business and the…. Mr. Shelby: Well, furniture, furniture and railroads I think were the key main activities, so we had a half dozen of these very large factories making furniture, you know. Nelson-Matter was very famous throughout the country for fine furniture, and Century and Phoenix and half a dozen of them. School Furniture, the one I mentioned, you know Mr. Perkins is head of that. So that was one of the things that kept Grand Rapids growing at that time, the name Furniture City. We �8 had the skilled designers here, through those years, you know, and then we had the annual exhibitions, those people come later on from all over the United States and that was once a year. We were very much on the map. Interviewer: Have you seen any differences in the way businesses operated in that period compared to today? Mr. Shelby: Well, there’s more or less corporations now, the giant corporations. As a rule though they pretty much, there was the single city in making the furniture, and nothing but furniture. So we didn’t have very many metal plants here, I remember that, the metal business, there wasn’t much of that. Mostly furniture, wooden furniture, and we slaughtered all the timber from here to Mackinac over the years, you know. We wanted a freight with larger furniture. Heavy wood, you know. Grand Rapids was the furniture capitol of the United States at that time and later on, of course, Chicago took the wind out of our sails and built the buildings over there and then people instead of coming here, they went to Chicago. Interviewer: Do you think that one of the reasons for the furniture industry here was the accessibility of lumber? Mr. Shelby: The scarcity of lumber, well it gradually gave out. Interviewer: I mean, one of the reasons why the furniture industry developed here; was it because of the availability of lumber? Mr. Shelby: That would be the main reason, and then we had a large population of Dutch here that worked in the factories, you know mainly Dutch at those times; and they were skilled men and they were, that was their activity. We had almost, we had national fame, as well as you might say abroad, as the Furniture Capitol; the design and execution, production. Interviewer: Who were some of the lumber men? Mr. Shelby: Well, Gay was one, Widdicombe, John Widdicombe and Nelson-Matter they called them. They were very prominent, and later on other men came into Grand Rapids that weren’t necessarily Grand Rapids people, don’t you know. But it was the main industry for the town for many, many years. Interviewer: Did they ever bring logs down to the Grand River? Mr. Shelby: Oh, yes, there were log jams there at Leonard Street, and Bridge Street, that’s where a number of them. Baxter’s [history] will show that. Interviewer: Do you remember seeing any of them? Mr. Shelby: Yes, I do; they were very visible. Interviewer: What was it like? �9 Mr. Shelby: The river was just jammed with logs, and they spilled over the dams, you know. And, it was almost an annual affair, in the Grand River. Interviewer: Where would they take the logs out? Mr. Shelby: Well, up there where the Rowe Hotel is, there’d be, you know where that is. There was a big dam there, you know. You could see it from the top of our house, the whole river in front and everywhere, you know. West side was often under water, good share of the west side of the city. Interviewer: It was quite frequent then? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, I mean once a year, in the springtime. Interviewer: What could you see from the top of your house? How much of the city could you see? Mr. Shelby: Well, you couldn’t see too much to the east, but you could pretty well to the (wood pile?), I used to try and sneak and see Lake Michigan, but it wasn’t high enough, you know, you could look ten or fifteen miles. Oh yes. Interviewer: Do you think that a project like this is important; do you think it is valuable to go around and interview people that can remember those past days? Mr. Shelby: Well, I think that is a very interesting page in the history of the growth of the city, what causes it, what prevents it and where it reaches its summit, and then it sort of stagnates or goes downhill, you might say. Other types of this business come in like the metal, we didn’t have many metal industries as I remember, they decided to change over from wood to metal was gradual and persistent, and so we do have metal industries here of sizable proportion which we didn’t have in those days. Interviewer: Did many of the lumber barons and so on live in the Hill District? Mr. Shelby: Many of them? Most of them yes, yes, there was well along Fulton street and a where Mr. Blodgett lived on Cherry Street, yes, Cherry Street, Cherry and Madison, you know, and Widdicombe’s lived all along up on Fountain Street, just two blocks above us, you know. Interviewer: How did the lumber people, the lumber men, how did they manage to build their businesses? Mr. Shelby: Well, I’d say the distribution of the furniture you mean? Interviewer: No, how did they manage to get started and get concessions, for example, on land, for cutting timber? Mr. Shelby: I don’t remember other than, I couldn’t exactly describe how those started, except that the lumber was here, and building skill was here, the designers were here, and the money �10 was here, and so it became, it was a growth over the years, you know. It was the predominating industry of the city Interviewer: Why did the Grand Rapids-Indiana Railroad come into being? Why would they have tracks extending from Richmond, Indiana, to the top of Michigan? Mr. Shelby: Well, that was because there was business to be carried, The Pennsylvania Railroad felt it thought that there were opportunities to develop and get bigger, incentive in itself, but they were here because it was a natural location for them, nature furnished that, and so they centered here, don’t you see, and until later on, of course, and then part of their tonnage was agriculture, as a farm produced different crops, lumber was the principle commodity for many years, heavy commodity, don’t you know. I think the railroad has pretty well dominated the city for many years, with furniture, what they carried. Interviewer: Then your father must have been quite an important man? Mr. Shelby: He was.-About the head of everything you could think of. He took a great interest in the development of the city, he was a member of the board of Public Works, and he used to ride around in a hack, asking questions you know, seeing how things were going, that was a month or twice a month, that would occur don’t you know in the summer’s duration. Undoubtedly, his activities were important to the city in that time. He was a director of the Old National Bank, the old hostel, well, I guess we were the biggest customer there at the bank, the National Bank, became the [Old] Kent later on. I have a very good copy of the paper of my father’s and mother’s, and so on and so forth, grandfather, up to the house. Haven’t got it here, but I don’t know whether that would be interesting or not, Grant Schultz takes care of it. Interviewer: I’d like to see it sometime. Mr. Shelby: Yes, well, it’s right there. Interviewer: Did you go away to college? Did you go away to school, to college? Mr. Shelby: Yes, I went to St. Paul’s School, it’s Prep School in Yale. Interviewer: Did some of the other families send their young men off to school? Mr. Shelby: Yes, they did. Interviewer: Where did they go to college? Mr. Shelby: Well, some to Ann Arbor. I had one brother that went to Ann Arbor, one brother’s at Lehigh, because he was an engineer, and I went to Yale, I was of no particular bent, myself, just classics and languages and general education, you know. Interviewer: Did you return to Grand Rapids after college? Mr. Shelby: I came back here, yes, �11 Interviewer: What business did you go into then? Mr. Shelby: In the railroad. I worked in the treasury department. I was made assistant treasurer, assistant to the treasurer or whatever you want to call it. I found the work in subsequent years a little tedious and I got interested in California. I had the money, and I needed the break. [Side 2] Interviewer: What was this investment house in town? That you worked for, was that located, did it have an office here in Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: The what? Interviewer: That investment house? Mr. Shelby: Oh, no, they was national in Boston, New York, Chicago, those are the most prominent things… Interviewer: Well, where were you located with that company? Mr. Shelby: Here. Interviewer: In Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: Right. Interviewer: What happened to the company? Mr. Shelby: Well, I told you, Ivar Kreuger ruined the company by match-scandals… Interviewer: Could you tell me a little about that? What happened, and how it happened? Mr. Shelby: Well, it’s something, he committed suicide. He dealt on the New York-Chicago when this happened, there was panic in Chicago. I happened to go there that very night and there was panic throughout the exchanges when that occurred. Interviewer: What year was that? Mr. Shelby: It was in, I can’t be accurate about that, now. I’d have to look it up. Interviewer: Was panic the… Mr. Shelby: It was the stock exchange. It was, you know Ivar Kreuger. We’ve got plenty of sources that have written into that. Interviewer: What did, did that have an effect on Grand Rapids? �12 Mr. Shelby: Well, not exactly, no, I wouldn’t say that, although it did have an affect all over the United States, in the financial world. Quite a great affect. He was known as the Swedish match king. Interviewer: I’ve heard of him. Mr. Shelby: No, you don’t hear of them now, you know. I think ,as a matter of fact, I think one of his activities was making these, what do you call them, these university out east, you know, varsity-like these big football places and baseball places, you know. Interviewer: What do you mean stadiums? Mr. Shelby: Stadiums, yes. He was a brilliant, brilliant man in his day. That disaster ended him. It shattered a lot of people at that time. I was selling insurance stocks; someone came to me and thought I was a good material to sell insurance stocks, which I did. And then later when the Henry Higginson for Mr. Whitmer, was a prominent man in those days. You know I was associated with him and represented Henry Higginson. I made sales and often I would score in New York and so forth. Interviewer: What are some of the more memorable experiences of your youth in Grand Rapids? What are some of the things you remember most clearly? Mr. Shelby: Well, going to the circus was one of the things as a child, and the kind of got the city grew must have had one occasion when the city determined to pave Canal Street. Which was then nothing but dirt, you know. So Canal Street was paved, as a single operation, brand new to the city, don’t you know, and the whole town turned out at that time and went down and danced on Monroe Street, along Canal Street, they called it. Interviewer: What was it paved with? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: What was it paved with? Mr. Shelby: Pavement, you know, concrete. That was the first time that it ever had happened to the city? We had wooden sidewalks, you know on Monroe Street, wooden sidewalks. Concrete was just coming in, so they were gradually replaced. You know, right ahead on Monroe Street there was wooden sidewalks and one place I remember in particular the dairy there the milk was spilled over the sidewalks and the sun would make it stink, you know. Pretty loud smelling, so that, as the years went on that was the place for concrete. Interviewer: Why was the circus memorable? Mr. Shelby: Well, that was the chief public entertainment. Barnum & Bailey, and the half of a dozen of those, some local, but Barnum & Bailey was the big organization and that was that. We �13 also made a big deal over the Fourth of July that, we saved up our money and bought firecrackers and bombs, and pretty well turned the town upside down on the Fourth of July. Interviewer: How would the circus come to town in those days? Mr. Shelby: Well, they had their own wagons, the railroads transported them; they had them these big lots. There were several lots devoted to holding the circus, and of course in the morning what they would do is have a parade through the downtown section. Interviewer: Was that quite a big event? Mr. Shelby: Was for us; that was enormous. Interviewer: Circus Wagons… Mr. Shelby: Sounds rather primitive now to you, I guess, but it was for me entertainment then, for youngsters, you know, otherwise we made our own fun. Walking on stilts - I used to have stilts, with blocks that high, you know. The gang would go over on Saturday afternoon [and maybe along the D and M tracks,] go out and kill frogs; that was a big pursuit is frog legs. You see, it was all very simple. Interviewer: That sounds different to me, different age… Mr. Shelby: Sure. Interviewer: Do you think there was any one particular event that kind of ended that age? Mr. Shelby: No, it was gradual. I think one, I think later on the success of the movies they had a pronounced effect on people’s habits and thoughts and interests. Interviewer: How so? Mr. Shelby: Well, it was a new idea, don’t you know, in entertainment. Then theatres begun to be built, and people formed the habit of going to see these clever actors. The theatre was, the Powers’ Theatre of course was the fore runner of that and most prominent actors would come to Grand Rapids during the season and this is, we were all interested in that— good plays. That would be a cultural thing, I presume, you could call it that, entertainment. And then later on the movies, of course, was the enormous influence on people’s habits, because they were perfected and more enjoyable. Interviewer: Was opening night at the Powers’ Theatre, when a new act would come to town a big event? The opening night? Mr. Shelby: Well, I imagine yes, the actors did have an unusual prominence in those days in the entertainment field. It just wasn’t very much other than as a competitor, don’t you know? There was people interested in plays and their presentation and their skill and ability and entertainment �14 ability of the actors was very succeeding and greatness to be up there and play: All of us, if there was any interest at all. Interviewer: Did any actors come and visit you at your house? Mr. Shelby: No, no, we never had any. No, I wasn’t that intimate with them, but we were exceedingly interested in their playing and their ability. Interviewer: That’s a little different from today; almost everything in that way in entertainment is the movies? Mr. Shelby: Yes, it is vastly different. It was more of course, it was the only people in the upper brackets would sustain the theatre in those days, compared with today. It used to cost money to go to the theatre, don’t you know? And Powers’ Opera House was the very center, and they had a second-grade Redmond’s Grand Opera House on the corner of Monroe, and they were cheaper things, you know, these opera companies, they called themselves, just singing and acting, and that was during the summer, that was quite a feature of the city. And we had a very low-down place as you were, you weren’t supposed to look at… Interviewer: Where was that? Mr. Shelby: Smith’s, that was a block off of Monroe…you weren’t even supposed to glance that way. That was a, you know… Interviewer: Did you ever go there? Mr. Shelby: No. Interviewer: You never did? Mr. Shelby: No, I didn’t have the occasion to be ruined; never more than looked at it, I guess. Moving shipees they called them then. Of course the morals of the town then were pretty open, they were, oh, whole districts of houses you know, there was a, oh, lower part of the town now along the river, you know. Interviewer: Is that right? Mr. Shelby: Oh, yes, houses, public houses of prostitution. Interviewer: Were they tolerated by the police? Mr. Shelby: Oh, yes, there were a number of them, you know, yup, that’s where they got rid of their excess energy. Interviewer: That’s interesting. �15 Mr. Shelby: It was unmentionable part of the town, don’t you know? The characteristic of all the countries at that time. Interviewer: You know, you never read that in history books? Mr. Shelby: No, you…. Interviewer: Baxter never mentioned it. Mr. Shelby: No, no I guess that’s one of the things they ignore. As refinement came about that was put to one side. Interviewer: How do you mean refinement? Mr. Shelby: Well. I mean refinement in place, in the public; rough and ready stuff was all out; people became more cultured, more choosy. They weren’t necessarily aristocrats, but they were supposed to be a cut above the common herd. Interviewer: What caused that, what would cause the change in…? Mr. Shelby: Attitude of the public? Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: Oh, I don’t know, just a gradual interest in better things of life, more enduring things, less animalism, more intellectual pleasures, so on and so forth. Things that wouldn’t interest you anymore because they were too rough and ready, and too crude. It was the growth of refinement, which was common in America. It was changing; things that were once very popular gradually lose their force. Other things were adopted, people generally had broader life. They began to circulate more and form more interest in sports, you might say, tennis, and golf later. I remember the whole growth of golf, when it first came here I remember Yale, a very famous Scotsman came over and we watched his performance and then on why the growth of golf kept growing and growing. I never took it up, I don’t care for it myself, I liked tennis. But it did, it became a sport that was adopted from Scotland, wasn’t it? But baseball of course was and it still is the chief passion of American sport’s world. Baseball, football. Interviewer: Was there any tennis clubs here in town where you could play? Mr. Shelby: Yes, quite a number of them. Interviewer: Were there? Mr. Shelby: There was a Cardinal Mark with a basketball. Interviewer: Where was some of those Clubs located? �16 Mr. Shelby: Well, let’s see there, up there around the Hollister family had several courts up there they allowed you to used by those who played tennis and elsewhere, like the Kent Country Club offered them. Other Clubs…. Interviewer: Where did the Hollisters live? Mr. Shelby: Where did the Hollisters live? Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: Up on, between Fountain and Fulton, they were very prominent people here. Head of the bank, head of the Old National Bank, and leaders in Grand Rapids, the Hollister family. Interviewer: Well, I think that’s enough. If I think of anything else I’ll come down and talk to you again alright? Mr. Shelby: Alright [PAUSES THEN CONTINUES] Mr. Shelby: But I was born in the Booth house on Fountain Street, that’s where I was born, well, that was my grandpa that bought these three lots and then my father built the one on Lafayette and Mr. Wallen, my uncle built the one on Fountain and Lafayette. The Booth house it was later occupied by a number of different people over the years, five or six, would you believe. In fact it was the Saints Rest Club that one time when bachelors, five or six prominent men lived there in the house on Fountain Street, many years after we sold it. It had a ballroom, you know, a beautiful ballroom upstairs, it’s just as substantial as the day it was built. Interviewer: That’s the house on Lafayette? Mr. Shelby: All of them Interviewer: All three. Mr. Shelby: The same characteristics. Interviewer: Why did you sell the homes? Mr. Shelby: Why did I sell them? I had to settle the estate. Unfortunately, there was no price for real estate at that time. I only got five thousand dollars and I was asking seventy thousand for it. Interviewer: When was it that you had settled the estate? Mr. Shelby: Oh, gosh, I don’t know, I’d have to look it up. Interviewer: One of those houses has three apartments out of your one bedroom? You got it partitioned into three different rooms? �17 Mr. Shelby: No, it was one room, my bedroom. Interviewer: And what’s it like today? Mr. Shelby: What? Interviewer: What’s it like today? They partitioned your bedroom? Mr. Shelby: Yes Interviewer: They made three rooms out of your one room. Mr. Shelby: That’s right, well three pretty big rooms though. Well, for instance, from the end of the dining room to the end of the library was about eighty feet, down on the first floor cause the dining room was about thirty-five feet long, the library, the living room was equal with that, then the hall there in front was very big, that; then the maid’s room off of that, the dining room. A big house; big. Mr. Shelby: Where did you want to put this stuff? Interviewer: Well, what we’re thinking of… [END OF TAPE] INDEX B G Barnum & Bailey · 12 Benedict, Mrs. · 7 Blodgett, Mr. · 9 Boise, Dr. · 2 Boise, Edward · 2 Booth · 2 Booth, Mrs. · 2 Gage and Benedict · 7 Gage, Mr. · 7 Gay, Mr. · 8 Gorham, Fred · 2 Grand Rapids-Indiana Railroad · 2, 10 H C Hollister family · 16 Cass, George W. · 2, 3 Cass, Lewis · 3 Century Furniture Company · 7 J Jandorf · 5 F Ford, Melborne · 3 K Kent Country Club · 4, 16 �18 Kreuger, Ivar · 11 N Redmond’s Grand Opera House · 14 Rowe Hotel · 9 S Nelson-Matter · 7, 8 Old Kent Bank · 10 Old National Bank · 10, 16 Saints Rest Club · 16 School Furniture Company · 6, 7 Schultz, Grant · 10 Shelby, W.R. · 3 Shelby, William R. · 2 St. Mark’s church · 5 P U Pennsylvania Railroad · 2, 10 Perkins, Gaius · 6 Perkins, Mr. · 7 Phoenix Furniture Company · 7 Powers’ Opera House · 14 Powers’ Theatre · 13 President’s Club · 4 Uhl, Edward F. · 3 O R Ramona Park · 6 W Wallen, Mr. · 16 Whitmer, Mr. · 12 Widdicombe family · 9 Widdicombe, John · 8 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ff6713a3f6b8a6e44bb3fe13f1fd634c.mp3 27dd93a856f48df8c36d29ea00efebca 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 Grand Rapids Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Local histories Memoirs Michigan--History Oral histories (document genre) Description An account of the resource Taped and transcribed interviews conducted in the early 1970s primarily of the children and grandchildren of many of the founders of Grand Rapids, Michigan; many of whom were residents of the Heritage Hill neighborhood. Interviews were collected to develop a significant collection of oral resources that would supplement other primary and secondary local history materials. Initially funded as a private project, Grand Valley State College (now University) assumed responsibility for continuing the project until 1977. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/452">Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf; audio/mp3 Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text; Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-23 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1971 - 1977 Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. 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-23_3-4Shelby Title A name given to the resource Shelby, George (1 of 2) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shelby, George Description An account of the resource George Cass Shelby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 5, 1878. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan--History Local histories Memoirs Oral histories (document genre) Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Grand Valley State University 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 Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf audio/mp3 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1971 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/d80dba05d1a485f553694b36c2ab69a8.pdf da7dd9cb98f645e645040777501c0f1b PDF Text Text 1 Grand Valley State University Collections Kent County Oral History collections, RHC-23 Mr. George Shelby Interviewed on January 16, 1975 Edited and indexed by Don Bryant, 2010 – bryant@wellswooster.com Tape #46 (1:25:23) Biographical Information George Cass Shelby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on 5 December 1878, the son of William Read Shelby and Mary Kennedy Cass. In 1903 George was married to Ann Miller about 1903. George died 31 August 1975 in Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids at the age of 96. Ann Miller was born in November 1882 in Grand Rapids. She was the daughter of John Miller and Martha Nicholson. Ann died 26 April 1941 in Grand Rapids and both George and Ann are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. The father, William Read Shelby was born 4 December 1842 in Lincoln County, Kentucky and died at his home at 65 Lafayette NE 14 November 1930. The mother of George was Mary Kennedy Cass, born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania on 22 March 1847. She married William Shelby on 16 June 1869 in St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Mary died in Grand Rapids on 3 May 1936. _____________ Interviewer: This recording is being made the afternoon of Friday or no, excuse me, it’s Thursday, Thursday, January the sixteen, nineteen seventy-five, at the residence of Mr. George Shelby, a house at two nineteen Youell, spelled Y-O-U-E-L-L, Street, Southeast, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A, Mr. Shelby is, how old are you Mr. Shelby? Mr. Shelby: Ninety-six. Interviewer: You’re ninety-six years old. Mr. Shelby: December fifth. Interviewer: You’ve just passed your ninety-sixth birthday. Mr. Shelby: December the fifth. Interviewer: December the fifth? Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Interviewer: I see. You were born in Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: Yes. �2 Interviewer: I see. Do you remember, what were you, do you have any very early memories of, you know, what did you… Mr. Shelby: About Nursery you mean? Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: I think I went to Miss Reed’s Kindergarten. I remember that very well. It was up on the, on the north, Lafayette and Lyon Street, just beyond Lyon Street. I attended that. And also, a little place down there where that triangle where State and Portland… Interviewer: I know where. Mr. Shelby: Good. Interviewer: State and a… Mr. Shelby: Miss Reed’s. Interviewer: And Washington, maybe? Mr. Shelby: Yes, Washington. I attended kindergarten there. I mean, yes I was a pupil. Interviewer: Was Miss Reed at both locations? Mr. Shelby: No, I don’t remember the name of the kindergarten down there on State Street. Interviewer: I see. I want to turn it off and just make sure we’re recording right. Tell us about your experience at Miss Reed’s. Mr. Shelby: Well we were largely engaged in, making, recording maps of some sort, it was papery---weaving, making it into mats and designs of one kind or another. We thought were very good, very pretty. Interviewer: Like a mat of some sort? Mr. Shelby: We were commended for our stability. Interviewer: About how old were you then? Mr. Shelby: Oh I probably was, I don’t know whether I was three or four or five. Interviewer: Somewhere in there? Mr. Shelby: In infancy; I was surely an infant. Interviewer: Do you remember any other of the children that went there with you? �3 Mr. Shelby: Well I think Guy Widdicombe. Interviewer: Guy Widdicombe. Mr. Shelby: At State Street location. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: I think he was sent there too. Interviewer: That’s John Widdicombe’s father. Mr. Shelby: John, that’s right. Interviewer: Do you remember any other children in that— Mr. Shelby: No, I don’t. No, I don’t remember any other children. Interviewer: I see. How many children do you suppose were in the school? Mr. Shelby: Oh I think seven or eight. Interviewer: Where did you go after that? Mr. Shelby: Oh, I think Fountain Street School. Interviewer: Where was that located Mr. Shelby? Mr. Shelby: On Fountain Street and, Prospect is it? Interviewer: Uh huh. Mr. Shelby: Fountain Street School. Interviewer: They moved it later on as I recall. Mr. Shelby: Yes. Fountain Street School I attended. Interviewer: How long were you there? Mr. Shelby: Oh, then I moved over to Lyon Street where they, where the school is there, don’t you know? Interviewer: Oh yes, Central Grammar School. Is that what you call it? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, Grammar School. It’s right by where the doctor used to live, right across the corner from a, very prominent doctor lived there. What is his name? Interviewer: Dr. Campbell? No, no. �4 Mr. Shelby: No. Campbell was… Interviewer: This man lived across from the school? Mr. Shelby: Yes. He’s, his house is still there. He was one of our prominent surgeons at the time. Interviewer: Dr. Shephard. Mr. Shelby: No, it wasn’t Shephard. (A lady speaks in background) Mr. Shelby: Shephard lived, Shephard lived down, Shephard lived down on, Jefferson. Don’t you know where that restaurant is? The Dunham House was right next to the Shephards. Interviewer: The Holly house, oh yes, I see. We don’t, can’t remember the name of that doctor. Mr. Shelby: Famous doctor, a prominent surgeon in Grand Rapids at that time. He was right at the corner of Lyon and, Barclay, is it? His house is there now. Woman: Well, Dr. Smith, Dr. Smith’s father, Dr. Richard Smith… Mr. Shelby: No, I can’t think of his name. Interviewer: Maybe, maybe it’ll come back. Mr. Shelby: One of the, one of the most prominent physicians or surgeons in the city. Woman: I thought a, Dr. Richard Smith, haven’t you mentioned his brother? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Woman: Dr. Richard Smith? Mr. Shelby: No, no none of that element, that’s all later. Woman: No? Interviewer: Yes, oh yes. Were you living on Fountain Street or Lafayette at that time? Mr. Shelby: On Lafayette. Interviewer: On Lafayette. Mr. Shelby: We’ve sold that house, quite a number of people bought it, the man with the Alabasking company lived there for a while. I can’t remember his name. The Alabasking Company? Interviewer: Yes, I remember, yes. �5 Mr. Shelby: And then there was a club there of bachelors, and Fox was one of them, the Fox brothers, Charles Fox? Interviewer: Yes, on Crofton. Mr. Shelby: On Crofton. And then one or two others. One tall man, named Cook, he was about seven feet high. I know I used to watch him, you’d measure his height with a lamppost. What was his name now? Berguin. Interviewer: Berguin? Mr. Shelby: Berguin. He was seven feet two. And as he passed the lamppost his head was even with that. Berguin. Interviewer: About what year would that have been? Before the turn of the century? Mr. Shelby: It would, let’s see, eighteen eighty, eighteen ninety. It would be about seventy-eight, eighty. It was in the eighties. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: Eighteen eighty, around that neighborhood. Interviewer: What year do you think you moved to sixty-five Lafayette, Northeast? Mr. Shelby: I can’t remember exactly. Woman: How big were you? Mr. Shelby: In eighty eighteen (?). I was born in that house on Fountain Street. Interviewer: I see, you really were. Mr. Shelby: That was, Mrs. Booth asked me, do you remember that, this bedroom? She said. I said, Hardly Mrs. Booth, this is where I was born. That was also the Saint’s Rest Club, they called it. Interviewer: They called it the Saint’s Rest Club. I think I remember hearing about that. Mr. Shelby: That was, those were those bachelors. Interviewer: But they weren’t saints. Mr. Shelby: Yeah? Interviewer: Did they have a staff that took care of them? Mr. Shelby: I, they had a cook and maids, that’s all. Then later… �6 Woman: How old were you? Mr. Shelby:..they built the castle. Interviewer: The Foxes, the Foxes? Mr. Shelby: How old was I at that time? Woman: When you moved around the corner? Woman: Were you in school? Mr. Shelby: Oh I don’t know precisely. Mr. Shelby: Maybe seven or eight. I don’t remember elementary school precisely. I don’t remember exactly when Father, when we moved to Lafayette Avenue. And my aunt, see that property was bought by my grandfather for my father and mother. Interviewer: Your grandfather, grandfather Cass? Mr. Shelby: Yes, Grandfather Cass, George W. Cass, of New York. He at that time was a railroad president for the Pennsylvania from Pittsburg you see. And he bought the corner house and, for his son-in-law, Mr. Whalen, Henry D. Whalen. My Aunt Augustin, they lived there, on the corner house. That’s the one that --- is living in now. Then that was subsequently oh three, many people owned it other than that, the Rosenthal family moved in from Rochester. The clothing people. The tower clothing company, you know? Where the big clock is? Interviewer: Oh yes, yes, Rosenthal. Mr. Shelby: They lived there for quite a while, the Rosenthals. Interviewer: Tower Clock building is the building where Woolworths is now. Mr. Shelby: Where Woolworths is, yeah. That was one of the most prominent buildings in town. Interviewer: Let me just go on to another subject for the moment. I know that you went to St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, that’s correct? Mr. Shelby: That is right. I had two brothers ahead of me, my brother Cass, the oldest, and then my brother Walter. Interviewer: They both went to St. Paul’s? Mr. Shelby: To St. Paul’s. Interviewer: What, how old were you when you went to St. Paul’s? �7 Mr. Shelby: I think I was about eleven or somewhere around there. Interviewer: Really, that young? So you must have stayed there quite a long time. Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, I was young. Because I won a race there, there’s the cup. Interviewer: Is there a date on that cup? Mr. Shelby: That was about… Woman: He said he was a very lonesome little boy. Mr. Shelby: Cross-Country cup. Woman: He’s been back many times at his reunions and all. Interviewer: Yes, I know. Let me see if I can read it. It’s a pretty cup. Woman: It is. Mr. Shelby: Eighteen ninety-four, is it? St. Paul’s School. Interviewer: Well then you would have been about sixteen at that time? Woman: That was just before he went to --Mr. Shelby: Can you read that? Interviewer: I’ll try, let’s see. Woman: He went when he was about eleven. Mr. Shelby: That was a common, like at Oxford and Cambridge and English schools, there were copies of, the rector was a great admirer of England you know and English schools, so St. Paul’s was modeled after them. Interviewer: It says Easter, eighteen ninety-four here. And then it says, lower school. Mr. Shelby: The lower school was for the boys, only twelve and thirteen years old, it’s a, yeah. Interviewer: Well then it says, aaron hollenzs/hounds (?) Mr. Shelby: Yeah, that’s a typical English custom in school. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: Cross Country running. Interviewer: Do you remember the name of the headmaster? �8 Mr. Shelby: Aaron Hollenzs/Hounds you mean? Interviewer: No, the headmaster of Saint Paul’s. Mr. Shelby: Dr. Coit. Interviewer: Dr. Coit. Mr. Shelby: Henry Coit. Interviewer: Henry Coit. Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Interviewer: Was he there for quite a long time? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, he lived there and died there. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: About seventy-five. He had two brothers, Dr. Milner Coit who was a doctor, and one other one that was a clergyman too. It was very much of a church school, Episcopal Church school, modeled after English schools you know. Interviewer: What was your class at Yale? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: What was your class at Yale? Mr. Shelby: Nineteen hundred. Interviewer: Nineteen hundred. Mr. Shelby: It was when I graduated. Interviewer: Uh-huh. Mr. Shelby: eighteen ninety-six to nineteen hundred. Interviewer: So you went four years? Mr. Shelby: Yes, four years. Interviewer: Did you like Yale? Mr. Shelby: Did I like it? Interviewer: Yes. �9 Mr. Shelby: Yes, but I had a good time towards the last. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: I was, not too brilliant. I was just an ordinary pupil, don’t you know? Interviewer: Did you go back to your most recent reunion or? Woman: Yes. Mr. Shelby: I have been, yes. I have been, I guess maybe, how many years ago was it? Woman: Nineteen seventy. Mr. Shelby: Huh? Woman: You’ve been to every one for the last five years. Interviewer: Nineteen seventy. Woman: For about the last twenty years now. And quite a few before that. Interviewer: That would have been your seventieth reunion, right? Mr. Shelby: There’s no point in going back now because there’s nobody living but myself and Harry Wells, and he’s so lame he can’t navigate. Woman: Last time they sat Interviewer: Of course. Mr. Shelby: I think there’s about forty boys in my class, the class of nineteen hundred. Interviewer: Nineteen hundred. Mr. Shelby: Started in at that number, I think about thirty graduated I would think. Interviewer: Did you stay most of the time in New Haven or did you go to New York on weekends or what did you? Mr. Shelby: Oh, occasionally. They frowned on that sort of thing. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: They rather discouraged your leaving New Haven. I mean, other things being equal. You weren’t a prisoner, but the less you done ---, the more they were pleased. Woman: It’s different now I think. �10 Interviewer: I just wanted to ask you, going back to earlier days in Grand Rapids, I believe you’re a member of Saint Mark’s, correct? Mr. Shelby: Yes. Interviewer: Were you baptized in that church? Mr. Shelby: Yes. Interviewer: In those days did families have their own pews? Mr. Shelby: Yes. Pew 93. Interviewer: Pew 93. Mr. Shelby: Yes. Still have it. Interviewer: Did you have to pay an annual rental in those days? Mr. Shelby: Yes. Interviewer: Do you know what it was? Mr. Shelby: No, I don’t. My father took care of that. Interviewer: Well I remember it was customary in those days… Mr. Shelby: He was a vestrament (?) they called him. --Interviewer: Wasn’t he senior warden also? Mr. Shelby: Yes, senior warden, yes. Interviewer: Well now to go back again to your, to Grand Rapids, what did you, when you were a young person, what did you do for a social life in Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: We went to barn dances and dances, dancing school. Gage and Benedick’s Dancing School. Interviewer: Gage and Benedick’s.Yeah, where was that? Mr. Shelby: Miss Gage and Miss Benedick. -----and they were giving the hell to these arm wrists (?), they call them arm wrists the local cooks those arm wrists Interviewer: Yes. �11 Mr. Shelby: I think there’s one right, one was located about – opposite of Michigan on Ionia Street, where Michigan National Bank is right across the street or where Central Bank is, I think there’s an armory there. And later on, the St. Cecilia. Interviewer: Later on St. Cecilia. We’re going to talk about winter sports, what did you do in the winter? Mr. Shelby: Skating largely; sliding down Fountain Street. Woman: And Michigan. Mr. Shelby: That hill was black with sleds. We got so angry with the hacks, they’d get in the way you know, they were not supposed to be, a whole bunch of hacks lined up at the Morton House, outside the Morton House. Interviewer: Would they start right up at Lafayette? Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Interviewer: And how far down would they go? Mr. Shelby: To Division Street. Interviewer: All the way to Division? Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Depended upon the condition of the slide, of the board. There’d by thirty people. Ed Earl had a bob, bobs you know, thirty-foot bobs. Interviewer: That’s Mr. Edward Earl? Mr. Shelby: Edward Earl, the corner of Fountain and Lafayette. It was Ed, Ed, the youngest one, not Fred, not the father. He had a thirty foot bob ----. Thirty boys and girls. It was a pretty swift… Interviewer: I’ll bet it was. Mr. Shelby: We’d, it was so slippery, that they had to put sand on the, down where the Union Bank is, the foot of the street, so you wouldn’t turn into Monroe. That was some slide. Interviewer: Was there sliding on that hill too? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes. The dam, the reservoir, dangerous you know. Sure. Interviewer: Were there other hills? �12 Mr. Shelby: New Year’s Day the city had Mid Street, the streets were blocked off, and the hill was given to sliding. Interviewer: You’re talking about what we now call Michigan Street? Mr. Shelby: Yes. Interviewer: Where did you start? At the top or? Mr. Shelby: Right on, well about, I’d think Barclay about, seems I remember. Interviewer: Barclay, yeah. And how far down did they go? Mr. Shelby: They’d go down to where the hotel is. Interviewer: All the way to Monroe. Mr. Shelby: They’d put sand out to stop them. Those went down at a terrible pace; thirty people on those bobs you know. I wouldn’t say a mile a minute but, you know, seemed like it. They say forty miles an hour or something like that. Interviewer: I wouldn’t be surprised. Where did you do your skating? Mr. Shelby: At Reed’s Lake. Interviewer: Reed’s Lake. Was there a place out there where you could warm up? Mr. Shelby: Yes, there was. I’ve forgotten the name of the man that ran it. Yeah. It’s right where the Lakeside Club was later built. Interviewer: Let’s see now. Going back to social life again, were there any clubs for younger people, for younger men? Mr. Shelby: Saints Rest, you see I’m trying to think of… Woman: Something on the River that you spoke of--Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, Boat and Canoe Club; I belonged to that up at North Park. Interviewer: Do you remember some of the other people who were active in that? Mr. Shelby: No, I don’t. I don’t remember. It was quite a big club. It was located right before you get on the bridge, crossing the river, that was the headquarters. Interviewer: Would that be Ann Street perhaps today? Mr. Shelby: Huh? �13 Interviewer: That would be Ann Street today? Mr. Shelby: Possibly, I don’t remember. I wouldn’t want to say definitely. It’s right as you start across onto the bridge to cross the river. Interviewer: I know that in the old days the most common form of transportation was, well, street cars. Mr. Shelby: Well, but the dummies… Interviewer: But now that brings up a question: What was the dummy line or the dummy? Mr. Shelby: It was a, some sort of an engine, that pulled a so open car, where you sat, seats across seats you know. Interviewer: Was it a stream engine? Mr. Shelby: I think so yes. Interviewer: In other words, did the streetcar stop at a certain place and then you got into another kind of a vehicle? Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Same way at Reed’s Lake. Interviewer: Where did you change to get on the dummy there? Mr. Shelby: Right there on Eastern Avenue where that funeral parlor is. You corralled, it was fenced in there. That’s as far as the streetcar went, send you down on the dummy. Then you went down, straight down the street and then turned and went, headed for Reed’s Lake. Was about a twenty or thirty minute ride on the dummy to get to the lake. Interviewer: Was that quite a summer resort place too in those days? Mr. Shelby: Well, not exactly no. No. Interviewer: Did they have boats on the lake? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, they had amusements, yeah boats. They had, well Manhattan Beach they had boats across the lake. There were two boats and they were always fighting one another, bumping into one another, having battles. Woman: Big boats? Interviewer: Were they large boats? Mr. Shelby: Well, one was big, broad, broad one you know…Bud used to work on one of them. �14 Woman: What were those boats? The Watson? Interviewer: One of the last ones was the Ramona that I remember. And then there was one called the Hazel A and one called the Major Watson I think it was called. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, Major Watson. That Dago that owned, one day was having a battle you know, they wanted to run into, ram the Major Watson. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: He was a smaller, trim little boat. I’ve forgotten the name of the owner, the Italian, but his dock was –that way – Interviewer: Now your father came here with the, to be, to run the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, is that correct? Mr. Shelby: That’s right. Interviewer: And your grandfather Cass was president of the… Mr. Shelby: Fort Wayne, Cincinnati-Fort Wayne, Chicago-Cincinnati, yes, the Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago I think was the title. Interviewer: Were there other members of the family in that railroad? Mr. Shelby: No, no. Interviewer: I see. Tell me about your uncle, Mr. Henry D. Whalen Jr. Who, What did he do? Mr. Shelby: I don’t know, other than Grandfather bought that house on Fountain and Lafayette for Mr. Whalen and my Aunt Augusta. Henry D. Whalen is. And Michigan Iron Works is what he was head of, and my grandfather put him into it. It was a medium-size organization. And he was head of the Michigan Iron Works; he was the son-in-law of George W. Cass, as my father was. Woman: Did he go to Westpoint, your father? Did Henry Whalen, he went to Westpoint? Mr. Shelby: Did what? Interviewer: Did he go to Westpoint? Woman: Westpoint? The school? Henry Whalen? �15 Mr. Shelby: Oh, I don’t remember. Woman: I was wondering if he was in the army. Mr. Shelby: Very possibly he did. My grandfather went to Westpoint for sure. George W. Cass did. Woman: -and someone else did. Mr. Shelby: He was a mathematician. I missed out on the mathematics, I’ve had to contend with all my life. Interviewer: Do you remember your grandfather Cass? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes. Interviewer: Did he come to Grand Rapids or did you go to see him? Mr. Shelby: Occasionally. Interviewer: Did you go to visit him? Mr. Shelby: Yes, I remember him very well. He lived at 52 West Fifty-Seventh Street. Interviewer: 52 West Fifty-Seventh Street. Woman: In New York. Mr. Shelby: He was quite severe to me. Interviewer: Now, didn’t they have a home in S--- Pennsylvania? Mr. Shelby: Yes, that’s, yes he did. Interviewer: He had two homes then? Mr. Shelby: He had two homes, first in Allegheny and then in S---. C--- they called the name of it. Had ___, which is a suburb of Pittsburg. There is quite a noted author person who came and lived there. I can’t remember her name now. She bought it. Interviewer: I can’t remember Women: Mary Reynold Reinhart? Interviewere: Mary Reynold Reinhart perhaps? Mr. Shelby: Oh yeah. She bought it. �16 Interviewer: Now, did he have the house in New York at the same that he had the house in S_ikcley (?) Mr. Shelby: I’m pretty sure, I don’t remember about that one, no. Interviewer: But you knew the address. Mr. Shelby: Well 52 West 57th Woman: That’s where you used to go and visit. Mr. Shelby: Right across the street was the sonspace (?). Tall, long stone apartment which was called an apartment building, it was rather unusual because they weren’t many of them in New York at that time. Interviewer: What was the name of it again, please? Mr. Shelby: The sauncee I guess. I don’t know how to spell it. It was an apartment building. Interviewer: How little would you have been when you weren’t to go see your grandfather? Mr. Shelby: Oh, well I think it would be fourteen or something like that. Interviewer: I see, well, now… Mr. Shelby: Now we sent down by our grandfather’s casket, we’ll get a little culture, we were considered a little build raw and wild having gone from Grand Rapids. Interviewer: Well you were going to St. Paul’s and Yale, but that was… Mr. Shelby: Later on… Interviewer: right, that’s right. Mr. Shelby: Preceding that I was groomed to walk down 5th avenue and to look like I belonged. Interviewer: I see. Mr .Shelby: I still had what I was considered a little wild compared with my cousin Kenny Wallen. I was a little more aggressive. He was quieter and a little bit bored. He didn’t have the help as I did or the buoyancy. And I suppose Sunday is full with very impressive the procession on 5th avenue, of people going to churches and the various churches, the various clubs you know. Interviewer: Where did your grandfather go to church? Mr. Shelby: Christ church. In fact he was a vestament (?). What do you call them? Interviewer: Yes, vestament. �17 Mr. Shelby: Yeah you know he was, he bought a beard of course, I remember that. He could be very quiet and very severe, and make you feel like a, you know, a shrimp. I was taken out there to try to get a little bit of the western blood out of me, don’t you know. In New York you have to baby yourself. You walk very sedately; hold your grandfather’s hand. Interviewer: Did you know your grandmother too? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, she was invalid most of her life, but I knew her. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: Had nurses all the time and probably rubbings and you know…she was more or less in a state of invalidism. Interviewer: I see. Your grandfather lived to an advanced age? Mr. Shelby: Did he what? Interviewer: Did he live to an advanced age? Mr. Shelby: I think it was in the high 70’s I would say. Interviewer: High 70’s. I see. Mr. Shelby: Like 78 or some such… nothing like my father, my father lived to be 90, 89 really. Interviewer: 89. Mr. Shelby: My mother (life was)? Interviewer: Where was your mother’s, excuse me, where did your father’s family come from? Mr. Shelby: Kentucky. Danville, Kentucky. Interviewer: What about Shelbyville? Where does that figure? Mr. Shelby: Oh I think they just used them as names. They they they just liked the name Shelby. I don’t think it was… Interviewer: I see, so they are really from Danville, Kentucky. Mr. Shelby: Danville, yeah. Isaac Shelby was the youngest in Kentucky and he lived, I think in Danville Kentucky. Anyway, I’d have to…I’d been to that, to see the places over. Interviewer: Do you have any relatives left down there that you know or know anything about? Mr. Shelby: I don’t think so, no. �18 Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: No. Interviewer: Well now when, after you got out of Yale, did you come right back to Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: I went to Europe. Interviewer: Oh, you went to Europe. Well tell us about that. Mr. Shelby: Well we went out of Minneapolis. There was a boat that carried cattle. Took 15 days to cross and we were limited to about 15 or 15 or 20 people, 15 I would say, nice people. Interviewer: Did you go… Mr. Shelby: I mean I Interviewer: Did you go with your family? Mr. Shelby: No, just Harry Whittaker and myself and these people. There were some relatives of Yale families aboard this camp. She quite a stunning girl, I remember, she was a decent quarter camp she was very famous at Yale. Woman: I remember hearing about Walter Camp. Interviewer: Walter Camp, a big figure at Yale. Woman: A famous athlete, but I don’t know what sport. Was he football player, or what was he father? Mr. Shelby: Uh, I forget, yeah I think so. She was out there, and her mother. We had the whole ship the cattle were below you. You didn’t even know they were there. I mean there was, there wasn’t any contact with them. Interviewer: 15 days. Mr. Shelby: Yeah… Interviewer: Where did you… Mr. Shelby: Minneapolis Interviewer: Where did you land when you got there? Mr. Shelby: We landed in London. Interviewer: In London. �19 Mr. Shelby: In London. Then we had to take a tram up to London. Interviewer: Did you go, well maybe you landed in South Hampton? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, South Hampton. I think so, yeah. Right at the foot of the Themes River. Interviewer: Well, maybe you did land closer to London. Mr. Shelby: Once every 15 miles a trip up the tram was, they called it up to the town you know. And we walked right up to the Fogger (?) Square, I remember the hotel very well. North Umberland (?) Avenue. A very short street. There was a clubhouse across the street from them but it was a 7 story clubhouse I used to see club men go up in an out of that and that time I was there. So I went in there and I was, and at that time Harry’s sister, Mary and some woman from Kalamazoo had apartments up on one of the avenues. One of those fashionable streets, you know, up near the Arch de Triumph. Interviewer: Now wait, I lack, we got from London to Paris pretty quickly. How long did you stay in London? Mr. Shelby: Oh well I think we were there maybe 10 days or so before we went to Paris. Woman: They climbed up to the top of St. Paul’s and they… Interviewer: Now you, you went, you climbed up to the top of St. Paul’s? St. Paul’s cathedral? Mr. Shelby: Yes, yes we did. Both of us, that’s about 500 steps. Woman: Father, who was the man who took you around the dock? Where the… Mr. Shelby: Oh, oh that was later on when I was aboard a, I was on board one of these double decker buses you know, and a man sat down next to me and said ―You are an American aren’t you?‖ and I said, yes I am. Well he says ―I am William Louis‖, or what did I say? What did I say? Well he said ―I’m Good’s manager for London’s southwest royalty, perhaps you would like to see the London dock.‖ Yeah, then I said, yeah I certainly would. So he gave me a pass to go to the London dock. Which I did and everything under the sun that England brings by boat is stored there. Elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns, and hides and everything under the sun that comes from all over the world where England has got a count in it, there’s a store there on bond. You see and it’s drawn by order you know, the London dock can be very very expensive. Interviewer: Was this there, on the first trip you took? Mr. Shelby: Yes, this is then. Interviewer: You saw this on your first trip? �20 Mr. Shelby: Yes it is. There I was sitting on top of a bus when this man recognized me. I said, how’d you know? He said ―Well you are worried about both of you‖ he says, I saw that, a boater (?). Interviewer: Well then you went to Paris. Mr. Shelby: William Wilkins. Yeah, and then I went to Paris. And mother had a house there, and mother and my sister Violet had an apartment there too. But I spent my time in Paris roaming about the city like anyone would you know. Interviewer: You said that your sister Mary had a, no excuse me, Mr. Whittaker’s sister.. Mr. Shelby: Violet. My sister Violet. Interviewer: Your sister, but also Mr. Whittaker’s sister had uh... Mr. Shelby: Well she and a Mrs. from Kalamazoo, I can’t remember the women’s name had this apartment up near the Arch de Triumph right in the very center of Paris. Interviewer: And your mother and your sister also had a… Mr. Shelby: We were living on the West bank (?) Interviewer: Your mother and sister, were they there at the same time you were? Mr. Shelby: Uh, no later. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Woman: They were there when father was there though. They came over there. Interviewer: Did you Mr. Shelby: We were there in Paris for maybe a week or 10 days. We were booked for Howmagmiow (???) a fashion play down in Austria. And so Harry and I went to that and it was, and we had to go through Germany down into where the fashion play was. We saw that and it was all day long in the… Interviewer: Does that mean, would you have traveled all the way by train? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Munich. Not which I would recommend that name I remember. Interviewer: And after the fashion play where did you go? Mr. Shelby: Then we came back to Paris and… �21 Interviewer: And you returned to this country from France? Mr. Shelby: Yes, I came back with my mother and sister. Woman: You went to Holland. Mr. Shelby: No, Holland is where we landed. Interviewer: I see. Woman: Ok yeah. Mr. Shelby: On our trip out from here, when we came from this side. Woman: So maybe from England. Mr. Shelby: That was very customary, the fashion play was believe it or not, wasn’t an annual thing as I remember but it’s still going on I guess. Interviewer: Well now when you got back from Europe, what did you do? Did you go to work right away, or…? Mr. Shelby: We would work in Papa’s office in the treasury department. Interviewer: And how long did you stay there? Mr. Shelby: Umm, quite a good many years. Interviewer: Where was his office? Mr. Shelby: In the GR and I building, the railroad office on Ionia street. Interviewer: the _LAD plant? Interviewer: Was that the building that was torn down about 10 years ago? Mr. Shelby: Yeah yeah. Interviewer: I remember it. Mr. Shelby: I worked in that on the books you know, oh agents agents were___ I would take them down to the bank you know. All the money that would come in from the ticket sales all along the line, from Richmond down to Mackinac. Woman: Then you went up to Al Gold Mine(?) and built the railroad. Mr. Shelby: What? Woman: When did you go up to Al Gold Mine(?) ? �22 Mr. Shelby: Oh that was later on. Woman: Oh. Mr. Shelby: Yeah later on. Woman: That must have been hard. Mr. Shelby: Later on the Al Gold (?) had sent the railway it was formed by the Canadian people from the Pennsylvania railroad thought that we might have some connection with it so they suggested my father they, so they said send a representative up to see how the railroad was getting on, and I was the boy that went there. And I was landed in the Sault and I took a boat, I took a boat from the Sault to this point where Montreal was it Montreal river empties in to Lake Superior. From there I was dumped all into the steamer, and the steamer into about 6 feet of water. Like a dungeon. I am like soaking wet you know, I made that trip with an Indian and a squall and they were down somewhere further further in the steamer and then I had to walk from there to where the camp was, about 12 miles inland. Interviewer: What year, what year would that have been Mr. Shelby? Mr. Shelby: Let’s see… Interviewer: Near the 1900’s we know that… Mr. Shelby: Maybe 19-6 or so, something like that. After I had been to the GR. So that Mr. Mckray was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad at that time suggests to my father that someone will be up there looking after their interests, and I was the boy that was sent. Interviewer: How long did you stay? Mr. Shelby: Oh, I stayed until December. Interviewer: Was there a settlement up there, or a little town? Mr. Shelby: No, just the railway, just building the railway. Interviewer: Just the…I see, I see. Mr. Shelby: Laying the track. Interviewer: I see, actually building the railway Mr. Shelby: Right away, yeah Interviewer: mmhmm �23 Mr. Shelby: But it was quite picturesque spot right next to the Montreal River. They’ve since dammed it, to the lake there. But there was a waterfall right, we camped at a waterfall, we looked down the little waterfall. This you know, the Canadian engineer and his helper and I was timekeeper. I walked everyday about 10 or 15 miles to take the time of then on the job you know. Interviewer: Would this have been north of Lake Superior? Mr. Shelby: Yes on the north side of Lake Superior. Interviewer: mmhmm, mmhmm. Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Woman: There is a railroad there now an excursion. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, there is a complete railway now, it goes about 300 miles on the s---? Interviewer: Is that that new that excursion that goes from Sault Ste Marie? Mr. Shelby: Out over __ Hudson Bay. Interviewer: Quite popular now. Women: Quite mountainous. Mr. Shelby: Yeah we took we took last year a train there you know it was delightful. There’s a there’s a stone there’s …I think I picked up that stone at the canyon it’s over there that round, get it. Yeah that round stone. Well… Interviewer: Well we’ll turn it off… Mr. Shelby: It’s because I picked that up and bought a stone. Interviewer: That’s a very beautiful stone. Mr. Shelby: Isn’t it? I’m crazy about stones. It was from the ___ canyon. Interviewer: Does that weigh about 10 lbs? Does that weight about 10 lbs. Mr. Shelby: Yeah I’d say about that. They tell a story. That waterfalls and the cascades at that canyon. In fact I have got descriptive literature and pamphlets up here. Interviewer: Well now, were you married at this time? Mr. Shelby: I think so. Woman: Yeah if it was 19… �24 Mr. Shelby: No, no I wasn’t. Interviewer: Do you remember was it… Mr. Shelby: No, I wasn’t married. Interviewer: Do you remember the year you were married? Mr. Shelby: No, I wasn’t married at that time. I was single. Interviewer: I see. Were you married in Grand Rapids? Mr. Shelby: No, I’m not…I can’t remember… Woman: Was it Indianapolis? Mr. Shelby: …no I’m trying to… Woman: Anyway they went to visit that nice place down in Carolina. Interviewer: Well there are quite a few places. Woman: Ashville, Ashville. I don’t think they got married down there, I think it was someplace in Indiana. Interviewer: Where did you live after you were married Mr. Shelby? Mr. Shelby: Hmm, I was trying to think about it. Woman: Barkley, Barkley Street. Mr. Shelby: Oh yeah, on Barkley Street. That’s right. Interviewer: Whereabouts? Do you remember the number? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, well it was an apartment building. Did, did…a red brick apartment building. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: It was just a going down Fountain Street you could look glance up Barkley Street you could see the building from there. I wouldn’t know the number; it was a two story building. Woman: You have to take Clark to get there. Interviewer: Yeah, I think I know the building, right. Mr. Shelby: It’s still there. Interviewer: Mmhmm, yeah. �25 Mr. Shelby: You can see it if you walk up Fountain Street, you can see it. Interviewer: Yup. Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Interviewer: That was your first home? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, that’s right, that’s right. Interviewer: Well now, I understand you went to California. When did you go to California? Mr. Shelby: I’m not exactly, I’ve forgotten now. Woman: It must have been 1910. Interviewer: Was it about 1910? Mr. Shelby: I’ve forgotten exactly. Interviewer: Well… Mr. Shelby: I had gotten interested through the Santé Fe people in the establishment of a colony to grow fruits, you know? Interviewer: Mmhmm. Mr. Shelby: And they were retired to it later on. Then my money bought the tract. Out in Reedley California. Interviewer: Where was it in California? Mr. Shelby: Reedley. Interviewer: Where is that? Mr. Shelby: Well it’s right in the central valley, central to the San Joaquin Valley. Interviewer: How do you, how do you spell Reedley? Mr. Shelby: R-double E-D-L-E-Y. Interviewer: uh huh. Mr. Shelby: Reedley California. It was outside of that of a small town. Where the where the I named the tract after after my wife Annadelle Colony. And it was through, it was by the foot of Mt. Campbell was this tract of land, right at the foot of the high Sierras. Interviewer: mmhmm. �26 Mr. Shelby: The high Sierras began in the San Joaquin Valley right west of our land. You would look up at the high Sierras. Had a wonderful view of the mountains, the high Sierras. Interviewer: You raised oranges? Mr. Shelby: Yes, that’s what the idea, yeah, then… Interviewer: And how long were you there doing that? Mr. Shelby: Oh, say I was maybe 10 or 15 years I would say. Woman: 1922? Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: And those, Bill was born there, and Cameron. Woman: 1922? Mr. Shelby: But I was in charge, in charge of the development though you know this used to be Santé Fe employees when they retired would move out to their place to their rows and develop it. It was tracts you know, the colony was. Each owner. Interviewer: How much was it when you started? Mr. Shelby: I had 20 acres, and one or two men had 40 acres. Interviewer: Oh really? Mr. Shelby: But they. Interviewer: I’m going to turn the tape over. Interviewer: Now this is side 2 of the interview recorded with Mr. George Shelby on Thursday, January 16, 1975. Ok, you were talking about the grove, and you mentioned that you also grew figs out there. Mr. Shelby: Yes, 5 acres of figs, and 15 of oranges. Interviewer: Was there some sort of a central building, where people gathered? Mr. Shelby: No, no not... Interviewer: I see, your individual homes? Mr. Shelby: Individual homes. Interviewer: Mmhmm. �27 Mr. Shelby: There were 2 or 3 others that were small, we were cottages. I don’t think, that was our little house. Interviewer: I see it, yeah. Mr. Shelby: This was Mount Campbell. You can’t you can’t see the top of it. Woman: Many trees though. Mr. Shelby: That’s about a thousand feet high, and this is all level ground. And on this side there was another mountain, Mount Chomininee and there’s about, you go through the gap you’ve got the Fresno about 25 miles away that way. Interviewer: Hmm Mr. Shelby: And that’s Bill, Interviewer: That’s Bill. Mr. Shelby: and that’s Eleanor, and there’s County, the horse. Interviewer: Yeah. Mr. Shelby: And that was, that was that little house I put up and I think it was cost about 800 dollars. Interviewer: Really? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, put it up in about 2 days. I mean, the carpenters did it. Of course after that we enlarged it. We added a porch. Interviewer: Here’s another picture Mr. Shelby, Eleanor got. Mr. Shelby: Mmhmm, yeah. Yeah, that’s Bill, Eleanor and a little pool I built. Well, of course this after the first year and we kept embellishing it, all the time. Looks quite a finished place. Interviewer: How many people were there? Mr. Shelby: Nobody else at that time up until the time we left, except the hired men in the other 20’s and 40’s. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: They were there in the small houses you know. We were the only people who had a fairly sized place and kept enlarging it. Interviewer: In what year do you think you returned to Grand Rapids? �28 Mr. Shelby: Gosh, let me see. Interviewer: Sometimes during the 1920’s I would… Mr. Shelby: I think so. Woman: I think about ’22? Interviewer: Your daughter says… Mr. Shelby: My father and mother came out and visited me several times, but I find this sold out you know, can’t return to Grand Rapids and return to the railroads. Interviewer: How long were you with the railroads, again? Mr. Shelby: Oh let’s see, I can’t remember the dates. Well I remember we got them, I got to representing firms for insurance stock in Chicago. Billy Baker got me into that. I wasn’t doing anything for awhile. Interviewer: Who was Billy Baker? Mr. Shelby: Well he was just a Grand Rapids boy. Billy Baker, his brother was quite prominent. I don’t, they were in the brokers business. He got me interested, I represented, what did I do? The fire insurance you know that sort of stuff. Interviewer: Mmhmm. Mr.Shelby: Then I got into the investment business. Interviewer: Let’s go back to the your association with Mr. Baker, where did you have an office then? Mr.Shelby: In the Michigan Trust building. Interviewer: In the Michigan Trust building. Mr. Shelby: In the Michigan Trust building. Interviewer: Then you got into the brokerage business, or? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, I got into the, I can’t think of his name he was very prominent, he represented the LeeAgents (?) and Company, they were the top people in the United States in that in the brokerage business you know. Interviewer: LeeAgents and Company. �29 Mr. Shelby: They were nationwide. I mean, in the eastern part of the state. They, what killed them was the suicide of Iber Kreuger in Paris this was east liberty, between liberty and so Lee Havenson was ruined, and I’m trying to think of the man who got me interested in Lee Havenson. His son is also the trustee. What is his name? Tall, Arthur? What is his name? Funny I can’t think of it. Well anyway he he was a representative of Lee Havenson and he invited me to join them as a join representative of the Lee Havenson company. We were in the Michigan Trust building up on the 9th floor I think. And after this happened, when this man committed suicide, Lee Havenson finally went into bankruptcy I guess as a result of that, his suicide. Then a Mr. Mcmhoffan invited me to join their firm and I was there ever since. John Mcmhoffan invited me. Interviewer: Yes, John Mcmhoffan. Mr. Shelby: Mumbling. Interviewer: When did Sam Greenwalt join that firm? Mr. Shelby: When did what? Interviewer: When did Sam Greenwalt join the firm? Mr. Shelby: Well I guess they were original firm this, I don’t know that he joined it. He was he was the trader they called him, managed it. And John was the was the president he was vice president, Sam Greenwalt was vice president. Interviewer: Mmhmm. Mr. Shelby: I don’t know how many years they had been established when I joined them, but quite a few years, maybe 10 years. I think you could get some confirmation to that from Ms. Romence would know that. Maude Romence would know. Interviewer: Maude Romence? Mr. Shelby: Yeah Interviewer: R-O-M-A-N-C-E? Mr. Shelby: She would know all about it, she was secretary. Huh? Interviewer: How do you spell her name? Mr. Shelby: R-O-M-E-N-C-E Interviewer: E-N-C-E, oh. Mr. Shelby: She was secretary of the, Ray Brinn was the cashier, I remember him being small, short and dumpy. I can’t remember his association but he took care of the books. But anyway, I �30 was Mr. Mcmhoffan invited me into the firm and put on Greenwall’s told me which had been going maybe some 10 years maybe, I couldn’t tell you exactly when. Interviewer: Yeah. Mr. Shelby: …and I’ve been with him ever since. Interviewer: Where are they now Mr. Shelby? Mr. Shelby: Well Mr. Mcmhoffan, Interviewer: No, I mean where is the firm? Mr. Shelby: Oh it’s it’s, well it’s in the Michigan Trust building. In the old kindle. Interviewer: In the old kindle. Yeah. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, but it isn’t a firm anymore. We’ve off and died and sold us in. Suddenly it keeled over and…you know. Interviewer: I remember. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, very dramatically. And that’s the end of Sam Greenwalt and John. John got out of it and went south. John Jr. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: John Jr. So there is no one left there except Jim Short, who was a salesman, as I was, and started the railroads and other things, transportation largely. And of course I sold them into, I thought it was good, you know consumer’s power they chose it. But I specialized in the railroad and I still have them. And they are the best investment on the market today because they don’t have any packaging (?) laws. Because they, they got oil. Santé Fe, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific, all very prosperous I have 3 of them. Interviewer: Would you advise me to buy those today? Mr. Shelby: I certainly would. You couldn’t buy anything better. I just bought 10 more shares of Union Pacific. That’s about 70 years old of uninterrupted dividends. Interviewer: That’s pretty good. Mr. Shelby: Ha, can’t beat it. Interviewer: Who were some of the other tenants in that Michigan Trust building, when you worked there? �31 Mr. Shelby: Well there was that insurance office on the corner building. What was, who were they? Woman: Grenol Roll? Interviewer: Grenol Rol? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Who? Woman: Grenol Rowl? Mr. Shelby: Grenol Roll? Woman: Uh-huh. Mr. Shelby: I think they were. Well there were lawyers in there, quite a well Meryl Lynch was in there for awhile on the 6th floor. Until they moved over to that building next to the Prince Club, you know. It was full of lawyers and uh, let’s see, who else? Well there was the University Club, at the top. Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: Isn’t that the, Arthur Whitworth. That is the man who got me into the Lee Havenson Company. Arthur Whitworth. Interviewer: J. Arthur Whitworth. Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Interviewer: I remember I don’t remember him, but I remember the name Mr. Shelby: He wore a beard. Interviewer: Yes. Yes I think I do remember him. Mr. Shelby: That’s right; his son was made the vice president of the Michigan trust, very smart man. Well, no now it comes back clearly. I, Lewis Dewes was a small medium sized insurance company that Billy Baker got me connected with in Chicago. And I don’t know if… Interviewer: What was the name of that firm sir? Lewis… Mr. Shelby: Yeah… Interviewer: How do you spell it? Mr. Shelby: Lewis, Lewis. L-E-W-I-S. Interviewer: Yes. �32 Mr. Shelby: D-E-W-E-S, Lewis Dewes, they were an insurance business. And Billy Baker got me into going into that. I represented them for awhile in the insurance, selling insurance stock. And I had an office in the Michigan Trust on the 9th floor at the end of the building right next to the where Phil Fuller and other people were interested in the lumber business I and then I later on whatyama I just mentioned his name invited me in to leave. Interviewer: Whitworth Mr. Shelby: And I was with them until I was in South Bend stopping to see a friend there when I got the news in the elevator that Lee Havenson, that Koogerage had shot himself I mean. And then that came, and then after that it was a piece of chaos, gradually until the rest of them, they just simply knocked it all out. It was too big of a scandal worldwide you know. I think mother mother was in Europe at the time on some other trip. I’m not sure now. Interviewer: I called on your nephew Bud Kunuclip the other evening. Mr. Shelby: Oh yeah, Buddy. Interviewer: And he was, uh telling me that your father was had a nickname Dandy. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, that was just a pet name. Yeah. Woman: We all called him that. Mr. Shelby: He was just a marvelous man. My, wonderful father. There is a good picture of him. Interviewer: Yeah, I’ve seen, I saw the picture when I came in. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, he was a wonderful man. Interviewer: Were your parents quite active in society, or? Mr. Shelby: Yes, we… Interviewer: Or entertained the field? Mr. Shelby: We had a good many, we had a good many entertainments at Lafayette Avenue. And… Interviewer: What sorts of entertainments? Mr. Shelby: Well, uh reception was one kind of them, the connection with the art gallery, we we donated quite a number of things to the art gallery when my father died, which they have now. Some very handsome tables and things, mirrors. Interviewer: It was a big, big house. �33 Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, 12 foot high ceilings. Mrs. Young, Mrs. Sam Young bought those mirrors that were in the par, in the parlor. Those 12 foot mirrors, they came I think from New York, New York City, my Grandfather’s house in New York. Interviewer: Were these parties that your mother and father these receptions, were they very large affairs? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, yeah. Interviewer: How many people? Mr. Shelby: Oh 50,60, or 70. Interviewer: Mmhmm. And were they catered? Mr. Shelby: huh? Interviewer: Were they catered? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, they uh, what’s the name of the caterer? Woman: I remember, Jen Door? Interviewer: Dr. Jenoff? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, it had to be. Interviewer: Yeah. Mr. Shelby: Oh we had quite a lot of receptions. That was a big house. The library was 30 feet long and the dining room was 40. Interviewer: Ooh. Mr. Shelby: I mean the crossway. Interviewer: Yeah. Woman: I remember a couple…president. Mr. Shelby: 12 foot 12 foot ceilings that I love. Just think, I had to get rid of them and I got 6,000 dollars and they are asking 80,000 for it now. 80,000 is full like a rabbits worn it makes me sick… Interviewer: Who… �34 Mr. Shelby: …that a man would go buy it. Interviewer: ..were your neighbors on Lafayette Street? Mr. Shelby: The McNights. Interviewer: Yes, who? Mr. Shelby: Like Anna McNight. Interviewer: I remember her of course, but… Mr. Shelby: Well quite a number, what was the name of that big clergyman we had? Can’t think of it. His name was… Woman: Was it Campbell Fayer? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Woman: I’ve heard you speak of Campbell Fayer. Interviewer: Campbell Fayer? Mr. Shelby: No, he was he was back in the when I was a boy he gave me Baltimore. No, I…McKormick! Interviewer: Where did Mr. McKormick live? Mr. Shelby: He lived on Lafayette. Interviewer: I didn’t know that. Mr. Shelby: Yes, I think the church owned that building on South Lafayette. Interviewer: Oh, South Lafayette. Mr. Shelby: Quite a good size. Interviewer: Oh yes, I know I know where it is. Mr. Shelby: I think that is an Episcopal residence. Interviewer: Yeah, who who were some of the other people who lived on Lafayette, closer to you? Across the street for instance. Mr. Shelby: Next to us was the Gilberts. Interviewer: The Gilberts next door. �35 Mr. Shelby: The gas company. Beautiful home. Interviewer: And the Hazeltines? Mr. Shelby: The Hazeltines lived right on John street, right right through they’re joining our backyard. Interviewer: And you remember Dr. Hazeltine? Mr. Shelby: Oh, very well. Interviewer: Can you tell us a little bit about him? Mr. Shelby: He was a big old muffin top, I remember that. You know, size things you, he was a very closed mouth very severe type man. Dignified, you know. Stately, I’d say kind of a stately type. Interviewer: Was he tall? Mr. Shelby: No. Interviewer: He’s not tall… Mr. Shelby: Medium, we’ll say maybe 5 feet 9 or 10. Interviewer: Mmhmm. Mr. Shelby: No, he wasn’t a big man. He wasn’t big like my father. My father was, my father was 6 feet. No he wasn’t, he was medium height. Mrs. Hazeltine was a great beauty, very very lovely woman, beautiful too. He built that wall up that stone wall and then there was another house right at the foot where the elderly people Newman I think there name was. They lived there for years, a little wooden house. Interviewer: Would that be on Barkley? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, the foot of Barkley Street and John Street. Small,white house. Interviewer: You remember you spoke of Phil Fuller. Now he lived across… Mr. Shelby: Well, Phil Fuller lived across the street from us in a good size house on this way and the whole hold men came and galloped on the corner. Several families there, then the T.J. O’Brien house. Interviewer: Yeah, on the other side of the corner. �36 Mr. Shelby: Yeah on that side. Then the alley, and then the corner was John Lawrence, the lawyer. The house was still there with a bay window. I know of several people that have occupied that corner house on the, during the past 40 years. Woman: The family who was in the women’s city club they were doing so well? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Woman: The family? Mr. Shelby: No, the women’s city club belongs, who was that? Interviewer: Wasn’t it the Sweet family? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, yes. Woman: You would play in the attic with that peep hole? Mr. Shelby: Yeah, the peep hole. We used to play up in that. I did I used to play up there, you know build with building blocks and Mitchell was his nephew or grandson. He used to play up on that tower. Interviewer: Was his name Mitchell Sweet? Mr. Shelby: No, Mitchell was his grandson of the owner of it. Interviewer: Now, you must have known Thomas O’Brien well. Mr. Shelby: Oh, didn’t know anyone else better. He was the general counsel of the GR and I. Interviewer: Oh yeah. Mr. Shelby: Thomas C. O’Brien. And Catherine married a very old some old Englishman who lived inside the Orient for awhile. And Howard was and Howard and my brother Walter were great friends. Walter, Howard O’Brien and my brother Walter just my brother ahead of me, they were great friends. Interviewer: Didn’t Catherine marry… Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: Didn’t Catherine marry Sir Henry Kilton? I think that was his name. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, she married very well to a very prominent person. She was a lovely woman, Catherine. Interviewer: Can you tell me something about the Hope family. �37 Mr. Shelby: Well Hope wasn’t very popular with anybody. He was a very exclusive type of a person that thought a great deal of himself and I don’t recall him being particularly prominent or notable. He came from Kentucky, he was from Kentucky. He was a bit exclusive in his friendships and his manner of living and he was pretty well conceived by bushes over there. Otherwise I don’t think he was very well liked, he was kind of pompous and we thought he was not, well not worth all the agilation. Interviewer: But he was president of the country club for many years. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, yes. But he wasn’t a stockholder as we were. Interviewer: He wasn’t? Mr. Shelby: The O’Brien family and ourselves were the only stockholders. Interviewer: Oh really? Mr. Shelby: I didn’t get a penny for it, not a penny. And it was awfully extravagant and he drove it into debt, you know. Interviewer: What about Mrs. Hope? Was she…? Mr. Shelby: Mrs. Hope was very lovely but she had a lot of children and then Moosey was the name of one. I don’t know but they seemed to have a lot of 5 or 6 children there. But they lived by themselves and they weren’t friendly, not unfriendly, but they were just exclusive. They weren’t mixers. Interviewer: Well he was president for over 30 years at that club. You wonder how a man could be a president for so long. Mr. Shelby: Yeah I know. Well he had a good many dinners out there that I know. I don’t know I just have a feeling, just a little feeling I think between Mr. O’Brien and my father against Mr. Hope. What it was I don’t know. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: But socially why he was quite acceptable but exclusive. J.C. Hope. Interviewer: You mentioned the Earl family earlier. Mr. Shelby: The what? Interviewer: The Earl family. Mr. Shelby: Oh yeah. Interviewer: Tell me about the Earls. �38 Mr. Shelby: Well the, well I only got to know the Edward Earl who was and Fred was my brother Walter’s age. And Fred Earl had a big bob, about 30 feet long that we used to slide down hill on. And Mr. Earl was a quite type of man, a lawyer and they had proctor duty on their front porch in the summer time you could see them sitting there you know. Interviewer: That was Fountain and Lafayette? Mr. Shelby: Fountain and Lafayette yeah. Interviewer: Where the Davenport men’s dorm is? Mr. Shelby: Yeah Interviewer: Yeah I think it is now. Mr. Shelby: I I don’t know who is responsible for selling that. Interviewer: I don’t know either. Mr. Shelby: I said, I’m sorry that that residence is gone myself. Interviewer: It is a beautiful home. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, it’s spacious too you know. You know they had a stable in the rear of their lot. Interviewer: I called on Mrs. Knappen, Clara Knappen. Do you remember the Knappens? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, they lived right in the middle of the block. A Crosby home I think. Interviewer: Yes, mmhmm. Mr. Shelby: Yes, Mrs. Knappen, very well. Interviewer: Her husband was an attorney I believe. Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: Her husband was an attorney. Mr. Shelby: Yes, that’s right. Oh yes, I remember them. Stuart Knappen, wasn’t it? Interviewer: Yes. Mr. Shelby: Jim Crosby lived in that too and Raymond he was a weird boy. He used to walk in a very mincey way. I can see him now, I think people made funny of him of sort of a feminine, because he would walk… �39 Interviewer: Don’t trip over there. (muffled laughter) Mr. Shelby: He wasn’t a real man you know; he was a Yale man too. Woman: Well you knew Ralph Bolton. Was that his name? He was a Yale man. Interviewer: Yeah we, what about Ralph Bolton? Did you know Ralph? Mr. Shelby: Well Ralph was the kind of a boy odd man that was trying to make him, make him refine him a bit. He was simply a good German, son of a German successful merchandiser. He was sent to Yale. He was kind of an odd man. I didn’t think he belonged to anything, any particular mark. He was just simply was sent there, that was all. He wouldn’t be the type that anybody would take up with, that he would be very chummy with, you know? He wasn’t attractive enough, I would say. He came in to see me quite a number of times just to do it. But I don’t know, he was just Ralph boy that was all. I don’t, I kind of amused the people that make so much of that house architecturally I don’t think there is anything outstanding in it. It’s just a very sizeable, a good size American architectural home you know. I don’t think it has any merits architecturally. I wouldn’t say that it has, but they made it into a museum now didn’t they? Interviewer: Yes, yes. Mr. Shelby: Yeah well, let them do it then if that gives them any pleasure. Women: I think it’s a good idea. Mr. Shelby: I don’t know how they characterize it, as a typical Eng-, American home. Well built, well designed, but I don’t know that it has any charm to it. I never felt like it had. I think the house that if you watchyamacallit, go around the corner, oh what’s his name? Interviewer: Edward Low? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: Edward Low? Mr. Shelby: Not Edward. Some, it was right at the corner, at the very head of the street, it was the best looking house. Interviewer: Now which house was that? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: Which house are we talking about? Mr. Shelby: Well on the corner of, is that College Avenue? �40 Woman: College and Washington? Mr. Shelby: Washington Street? Interviewer: Yes… Mr. Shelby: Yeah, right at the corner there. Is that, they had a fire there once. Their horses were burned up. Interviewer: Now which house? Is this the house that Henry Idema lived at later? Woman: Yeah. Mr. Shelby: Possibly. Interviewer: Yeah. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, I guess so. Interviewer: If you go up the street it’s on the right. Mr. Shelby: It did, yes. Interviewer: Yellow brick? Mr. Shelby: Yes. Interviewer: I see. Mr. Shelby: Right on the corner. Interviewer: That house I think was built by Edward, by Edward Low. Mr. Shelby: Yes, that’s right. Than who was at the top of the hill, the big tall house? Woman: The Waters? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Woman: The Water’s house? Mr. Shelby: No, not the Waters. Woman: The Thistle house? Mr. Shelby: Thistle was it? Yeah. Edward(?) Thistle? Interviewer: Yeah. �41 Woman: That was a pretty house. Mr. Shelby: Yeah. Interviewer: Well, what do you think? Is it, what do you think is going to become of us with the economy going the way it is? Mr. Shelby: You mean the present state of the United States? Interviewer: Do you think we will ever pull out of it? Mr. Shelby: God, I don’t like making any predictions. Huh, as the President said last night we are in mull of a hess didn’t he? Something to the effect of that? Interviewer: I would say so, yes. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, I don’t know where it all commends to, and I don’t know how we are going to stop it. We have ample occasions all over the globe for one thing. I think we should stop underwriting events and I think we ought to, bring us into, closer into ourselves and stop spreading around the world. As big as we are, as rich we are, and as successful as we are, we are not big enough for that task. I think we’ve over, over we’ve overreached the mark. With our associations and we have taken on too big of a load. Interviewer: Now that you have lived in Grand Rapids 96 years what, do you think you chose a good place to be born? Mr. Shelby: Was it a good place to be born? Interviewer: Do you think you chose a good place to be born? Mr. Shelby: Well a very comfortable place, but I wouldn’t, not too inspiring. It hasn’t any features that would give me any thrill. Not any geographical features, like San Francisco, or well even like Chicago on the lake front. It’s just a very comfortable pleasant little town that’s all. Very Dutchy, too Dutchy to suit me…don’t say that though. That, Interviewer: It’s alright. Mr. Shelby: They won’t like it. I uh… Interviewer: Well you must have known Arthur Vanderburg. Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: You must have known Arthur Vanderburg. Mr. Shelby: Oh yes. �42 Interviewer: He was Dutch. Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer: Became very important. Mr. Shelby: He was, yes a little bit too much conceited I think. He was the top of a gang of men; probably tell them how to do the work. You know? That sort of thing. That was his, I think that was a characteristic of him, don’t you think, you know? He was, it was just an ordinary, it was well, I don’t know what streak of man that would be. If I saw a gang of men, uh 15 or 20 men doing a job on a hole, it wouldn’t be the last thing in the world that I would try and stop and tell them how to do to do the job better than they’re doing it. But that would be, he was a politician. He would draw attention to himself. I think that type of man, isn’t, is not very deep. He was too spectacular, and showy. Let me show you how to do that thing. That type, don’t you know? No don’t do it that way, is that the way to do it? He was that type of person. The ordinary conservative person wouldn’t just wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t expose himself maybe to ridicule. They wouldn’t wouldn’t mix up with such a situation. They wouldn’t and that’s a perfectly natural thing. If there’s a gang of men that are cleaning up out of there, leave them alone. They are doing the job alright. There’s no reason why I should give them any directions how to do that. I’m not a politician I’m not after the attention. So I wouldn’t be the person to stop and tell them how to do the job. I wouldn’t, it would be the last thing in the world that I would do. I think he was, I think he was probably the type of man that wore external, that would keep themselves prominent and then the in what’s going on in the role play. But there were such demonstrations of his ability to direct others on how to do things. I don’t know how you would estimate him. Interviewer: Now you had a rather important political figure in your own family. Mr. Shelby: Yes. Interviewer: A long time ago, I believe it was your great-grandfather Cass’ brother. A Louis Cass? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes. Well I can’t tell you much about him except I know that he was, and must have been an extremely capable man, for his time. For the first place I think he had considerable ownership of land in Detroit. That I am not sure of, don’t you know. But he was a man that had outstanding qualities of his make up or he wouldn’t have reached the prominent stage that he did. Interviewer: Did your family ever talk about him, or your father or grandfather speak of him, or? Mr. Shelby: I don’t remember, recall any specific discussion about him. No, I don’t think so. Interviewer: I think he was the first territorial governor. Mr. Shelby: Huh? �43 Interviewer: He was the first territorial governor. Mr. Shelby: Well I think that they just accept him and know that he was capable and the proper man to be in that situation. He had the qualities of leadership. But I don’t recall that we indulged in any praise of him or anything of that nature, or did any boasting about our relationship. Woman: That he was an explorer, he liked exploring. Interviewer: Well he came to Grand Rapids when he was quite elderly; I was reading about him the other day. He came here in 1855 and there was a big turnout, a big crowd. And that reminds me, when we were sitting here before I turned on the equipment. Tell me, tell us again about the torchlight parade that used to figure in the political life. Mr. Shelby: Oh, well it was a very noisy spectacular demonstrations that paraded through the streets of the resident centrally the calling out of the candidates to their front porch to announce what they stood for. And to advocate that they elect elect them. There was the crowd that gradually approved of their presence and made a big fuss about them when they came out and addressed the crowd. Then they came out and addressed the crowd and they told them what a good Republican he was or what a good Democrat he was and how they ought to surely choose them don’t you know. Interviewer: Would this be a big crowd of people? Mr. Shelby: Oh yes, maybe 3 or 4 hundred. Yeah. Interviewer: And where did they stop? Who did they stop to see? Mr. Shelby: Oh they would stop as soon as they got out of breath. Interviewer: No I mean what houses did they stop at? Mr. Shelby: Oh, I remember them more particularly the Fountain Street. That Fuel was very prominent for years at that time. Interviewer: Mr.Martin, Mr. Edwin F. Fuel Mr. Shelby: Fuel, yeah. And from there they came to our house and then they went down to the congressman’s house. They would carry banners over their shoulders and torch lights. Interviewer: Do you think the Congressman’s name was Ford? Mr. Shelby: Ford, Ford, M. Ace. Ford. Ford, Ford, M. Ace. Ford. Yeah, that’s right. Woman: Was Ford a good politician? Mr. Shelby: Right down about where the Michinmckormicks? �44 Interviewer: I see right in there. Mr. Shelby: He was the congressman. Well they felt pretty keenly about it and they Doanlab Doanlab, Charles B. Doanlab. That was another one, I have forgotten what position he was after or what he was. But there was a big interest in politics then. The town was smaller, you know. They didn’t spread from Fairview to way up out 34th street it was very compact you know. Hall Street was our and you were out in the country, when you got to Hall Street. It was miles, it was miles away! That’s where the first circus came. You know, before they had their parade. And Sweet Street was I don’t remember there being more to Grand Rapids at that time. Then you were getting into toward North Park. That would be where the DMN Depot would’ve been don’t you know. Interviewer: Well we have covered quite a few topics, is there something you would like to add? Mr. Shelby: Well you mean as for the p- I think it I have resented the outlying shopping centers. Interviewer: You don’t like those. Mr. Shelby: I think they ruin Grand Rapids, from downtown. I, I don’t think downtown is the sand stool so cold is sunken just 2 blocks, just 2 or 3 blocks. It will never come back. And these other things are vast sums of money have been invested by realtors 8 or 10, 15 miles out and they what do they call those things? Woman: Plazas, the Plazas. Interviewer: The malls, and plazas Woman: Yeah. Mr. Shelby: Malls, you know, and well definitely they are robbing downtown. Interviewer: Oh yeah. Mr. Shelby: A tremendous purchasing power, besides the time and effort to get there. I think it’s, I just don’t like it to tell you the to be perfectly plain truth, I don’t like it. I’d rather have it like it was. Interviewer: Grand Rapids had good stores when you when you were younger? Mr. Shelby: Yes. And I still, we had the new dish light___ none of the ones we still got. Yes, we had a good tailor store, a good tailoring shop, yes. Interviewer: Did you buy ready made clothes or tailored clothes in those days? Mr. Shelby: Oh I did both, depending on my finances. �45 Interviewer: Who was your tailor when your finances were in good shape? Mr. Shelby: Oh, who was it? Why, he’s still there, in his name is still in that store… Woman: Lloyd? Interviewer: Lloyd? Mr. Shelby: Huh? Interviewer/Woman: Lloyd? Mr. Shelby: Who? Woman: Ll-Lloyd. Lloyd. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, Lloyd. Yeah, he was my tailor. Interviewer: Oh yes. Woman: …he never worried much about clothes in fact. Mr. Shelby: I know my father had clothing made by Berkley R. Merlan in New York City. He was. Interviewer: Berkely R. Merlan. Mr. Shelby: Yeah, he, he was, at that time 100 dollars was some money. And Father had thse 100 dollar suits built just for him. He had the money and the, a place to appear well groomed. So he had these Me- Merlan suits built for him. So this has happened to Grand Rapids, we’ve got 2 shopping centers Plainfield Avenue was a section and I think that they take too much time and effort, too much money away from the town. I don’t approve of them, so there you go. That’s just my own feelings. Interviewer: Ok. Alright. Woman: He misses the train too, and a closer train station. Mr. Shelby: What? I don’t think there is any very attractive, I think its lonesome and unattractive place that they have artificially set up those costly places, and they keep telling you to go out and get something that you can’t get downtown. Interviewer: You got any plans for the future? Mr. Shelby: Hmm? Interviewer: Do you have any plans for the future? �46 Mr. Shelby: No, I don’t know how I could have much future, to the point of years. This time, my plans are to enjoy continuance of the things that I’m fond of: travel, and good books, and enjoyable people. Interviewer: And your I suppose. Mr. Shelby: My what? Interviewer: Your work, right? Mr. Shelby: Well, yes. I am invested in financial work and I like it. I think I know something about it and I think I know a doable way and what to take. But I don’t I am not aggressive enough to purge purge a program on you. Interviewer: Well I think we’ll end…right now. Mr. Shelby: I think that I I was if I have a sufficient contact and experiences with the leading railways, the leading banks, the leading institutions to be able to recommend investments that are safe and sound and of quality and of a high grade. Stick to that and leave the rest alone. I know nothing about speculative wealth, speculation, I’m not a type that would to take any chances, I’m too cautious. I am too much grounded in safety. Interviewer: Well I want to thank you Mr. Shelby for…. Mr. Shelby: I don’t know if I could tell anybody what to do, how they could change, alter or change their lives I think that it depends entirely by their means, the situation, what they are after. What their interested in is what they should do. I’m interested in quite a lot of things, that probably others would not be interested in. That would be in good books, and good companionship, and good quality of life. Of the finer things of life I enjoy, if I had any advice for anybody else. Interviewer: Ok, well we’ll we’ll stop at this point. INDEX B Baker, Billy · 29, 32 Berguin, Mr. · 5 Bolton, Ralph · 40 Central Grammar School · 3 Coit, Dr. Henry · 8 D Dewes, Lewis · 32 Doanlab, Charles B. · 45 C Cass, George W. (Grandfather) · 1, 6, 7, 14, 15 Cass, Louis · 43 �47 E O Earl, Edward · 11, 39 O’Brien Family · 36, 37, 38 F R Ford, Gerald R. (President) · 45 Fountain Street School · 3 Fox, Charles · 5 Fuller, Phil · 32, 36 Reed’s Lake · 12, 13 Reedley, California · 26 Romence, Maude · 30 Rosenthal Family · 6 G S Gage and Benedick’s Dancing School · 11 Gilbert Family · 35 Gold, Al · 22 Greenwalt, Sam · 30, 31 Saint’s Rest Club · 5 Shelby, Bill (Son) · 27, 28 Shelby, Mary Kennedy Cass (Mother) · 1, 6, 17, 18, 20, 21, 28, 33, 34 Shelby, Violet (Sister) · 20 Shelby, William Read (Father) · 1, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 28, 33, 34, 36, 38, 44, 46 Short, Jim · 31 St. Paul’s School · 7, 16, 19 Sweet Family · 37, 45 H Havenson, Lee · 29, 32, 33 Hazeltine Family · 36 Hope Family · 37, 38 K V Vanderburg · 43 Knappen Family · 39 Kreuger, Iber · 29 M Major Watson (boat) · 14 McKormick, Mr. · 35 Mcmhoffan, John · 29, 30 McNight, Anna · 35 Michigan Iron Works · 15 Miss Reed’s Kindergarten · 2 Mount Chomininee · 27 W Westpoint · 15 Whalen, Henry D. · 6, 14, 15 Whittaker, Harry · 18, 20 Whitworth, Arthur · 32 Widdicombe Family · 3 Y Yale University · 8, 9, 16, 18, 40 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e0bab304adc7229ca740bfa5fa377400.mp3 6f417cde375feb3deb9b3cd819c74b66 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 Grand Rapids Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Local histories Memoirs Michigan--History Oral histories (document genre) Description An account of the resource Taped and transcribed interviews conducted in the early 1970s primarily of the children and grandchildren of many of the founders of Grand Rapids, Michigan; many of whom were residents of the Heritage Hill neighborhood. Interviews were collected to develop a significant collection of oral resources that would supplement other primary and secondary local history materials. Initially funded as a private project, Grand Valley State College (now University) assumed responsibility for continuing the project until 1977. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Various Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/452">Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University 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> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf; audio/mp3 Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text; Sound Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-23 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1971 - 1977 Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. 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-23_46Shelby Title A name given to the resource Shelby, George (2 of 2) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shelby, George Description An account of the resource George Cass Shelby was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 5, 1878. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan--History Local histories Memoirs Oral histories (document genre) Grand Rapids (Mich.) Personal narratives Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) Grand Valley State University 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 Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf audio/mp3 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Grand Rapids oral history collection (RHC-23) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 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/0c9e75f3edbb84127fad22df5094c0f5.jpg 920ff84bf86537cac3b762739f041f52 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 ShellerRandy Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Sheller, Randy Description An account of the resource Randy Sheller Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History 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/9c1d6a608bdc26f81f329a8ac2b970e0.mp4 037974ae2b2b2e0527a0656750fe78c8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/919114b4f51d034d98f244ffa55188cb.pdf ce3001cd8386a49925f7c3f49260043d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veteran’s History Project World War II Don Sheridan Length of Interview (00:48:10) Background Born in Allendale Township, Michigan, lived on a farm; 1926 Attended Tuttle School until 8th grade, then to Allendale High School (1941), and Coopersville High School (1943) Had to ride with a cousin to Coopersville until they finally got their first school bus It wasn‟t uncommon for most kids to graduate in 8th or 10th grade; during the depression, more would drop out Had an uncle who had ten children and had their land foreclosed on them during the Depression; Sheridan had a brother and two sisters Farm was self-sustaining Would trade goods with stores for groceries Finished high school in June 1943 Had already signed up with the Navy before graduating Was aware of what was going on in Europe, but not deeply involved Remembers hearing about Pearl Harbor when in the barn listening to the radio Navy (00:03:30) Enlisted in his senior year in high school; Navy V-12  A program for graduating students, led to officer‟s training  Didn‟t go through with it, needed higher marks Went into the Navy  Was a member of the Sea Scouts in high school, had little boating experience After enlisting, sent to George Williams College in Chicago; YMCA college (00:04:45) � There for eight months  Training, basically, equivalent to one year in college  Still was in the officer training program, at the time  Much more confined experience  Did some physical training: marching, etc.  Others in the program were from the mid-west, right out of high school  His grades took him to boot camp Sent to Great Lakes for basic training  Since he grew up on the farm, acclimating to the early hours and physical training wasn‟t too hard  Discipline was never an issue Pre-schooling for Radio Technicians in the Naval Armory in Michigan City, Indiana; 4-week course (00:07:20) Was sent there even though his weakest subject was math Bottom third would be sent back to Great Lakes to choose another school Chose signal school, better at communicating Learned Morse code, Semaphores, flag signaling, etc.; mostly visual Radio was still in its early stages, no short range radio Primarily used Morse code (with a light) Had to be able to decode 15 words per minute Fall 1944, completed training �Assigned (00:09:20) Sent to another 4-week school for specialty training in Merchant‟s signaling system for convoys; in Great Lakes More specialized in civilian communication, different protocol Assigned a crew at the Armed Guard Center and sent to a ship at the harbor of a loading dock in Philadelphia Went to the armed guard center for about a week (Boston) Naval Guards performed gunnery and communications Needed to know codes for both merchant marine ships and naval ships, communication in a convoy S.S. John M. Harland, liberty ship: 450 feet long 10,000 dwt, “Kaiser Coffins”, mass produced (five days from start to finish), highly expendable (00:11:35) A new group of Naval Guards going in, about 12-14 men  Two 3inch 50 caliber machine guns, eight 20 mm anti-aircraft guns  Some other ships had heavier guns, 4 inch or 5 inch, with a crew of 20-25 people  Led by “90-day wonders” (Ensign or Lieutenant J.G); one was a lawyer and older gentleman  Four bunks in the compartment, not too crowded Went down the river from Philadelphia to Chesapeake Bay stayed there for three days to assemble a convoy (100 ships) (00:14:25) Early November, headed for Straits of Gibraltar; some of the stormiest weather when first heading out Fortunately Sheridan didn‟t get seasick, but most others did; not too worried about capsizing Had morning and evening watches, alternated signaling hours  Still on duty during storms; preferred being able to see the waves than feel the motion Remembers the crew being calm about it, was routine The rest of the voyage was relatively smooth afterward, no U-boat scares �Very little communication with the escort Would get messages, had to pass the messages „down the line‟ Ships were usually several hundred yards apart Middle East, North Africa (00:18:40) After the Straits of Gibraltar, the convoy broke up to sail independently Went through the Suez Canal, never lost steerage way until the Red Sea  Entered at Port Said, Egypt  Saw incredible sights of other smaller boats sailing, primarily skiffs and rowboats  Continued down the Red Sea Stopped at Aden, Captain and Lieutenant went ashore Proceeded around the Arabian Peninsula and into the Persian Gulf Made port at Khorramshar, Iran (Persia at the time) where cargo would be sent to Russia  Trucks, crates, lubricating oil, etc.  Everyone allowed ashore  Segregated from the civilian/local population, not a very populated location  Spent two weeks unloading Proceeded upriver Shatt al-Arab River (juncture of Tigris and Euphrates) up to Basra, Iraq and loaded barley destined for Sicily (00:22:18) Iraq was considered the „bread-basket‟ of the Middle East While there, the merchant crew demanded they be paid if they ran the life boat as a liberty launch Instead Sheridan steered the life boat himself Seldom went ashore (in Basra) Went reverse route and through the Suez again, never set foot on the African continent (Egypt) (00:23:50) �Sent to Catania, Sicily and unloaded barely, then to Palermo, Sicily where an Army Truck Tire Plant there Proceeded to North Africa, for one night, to load ballast; then home Catania [Sicily] was a lovely city, about the size of Grand Rapids, during spring Bum boats would buy cigarettes from the men for $20 a carton (they cost only 50 cents), had a lot of spending money Merchant marine sailors were a congenial crew, sometimes worked with them; 40 men Close to Mt. Etna, didn‟t do much sight-seeing Pacific Northwest (00:26:30) Went back to the States, picked up a convoy in Gibraltar  A routine voyage; when entering the Gulf Stream (visible due to the water‟s change in color), the convoy would move into a diamond-shape pattern due to its strong currents, then back to a square-shape pattern Back in the U.S. April ‟45, given a four-day leave; the ship had to be fumigated because cockroaches were in the barley Went to Norfolk Naval Supply Depot, to get essentials for the ship Back to a convoy down to the Panama Canal Three days west of the Canal when the War in Europe ended (00:28:25) Went to a Naval supply depot in Pearl Harbor, there for a week Back to the Pacific Northwest, Puget Sound area Started to load lumber around that area, several small towns Down to the Columbia River area, then in the Washington area 4th of July ‟45, headed west, again by themselves  Didn‟t have much to do as Signalmen Beautiful voyage, very peaceful, would sleep on deck on a hammock Didn‟t do much, had a record player, would read; nothing organized �All the stewards‟ crew was from mainland China (00:30:30)  Steward‟s Mate would deliver them food, would order food from them, as well; ate very well  Had a totally different culture from the other crew, but got along very well  Rest of the crew were generally Americans Took the lumber to Manila (Philippines) (00:31:45)  Arrived 1st August, went ashore  Anchored out in Manila Bay  Knew a high school buddy who was in the Army there; stayed with his bunch for a few days  Manila was badly damaged, Japanese snipers still there When the war ended, was a lot of commotion; bells, guns, etc. Unloading lumber (same night as the end of the war with Japan) and a ship across the pier was unloading beer (00:33:33) Had quite a party with them Didn‟t see much of the civilian population there, except when he was with his Army buddy A couple weeks afterwards, loaded Army equipment (trucks, tanks) and took it down to Panay Island in a city of Iloilo Then loaded 1500 troops with no provisions for passengers; soldiers had their c-rations and Lister bags  Took them Tacloban, Leyte; saw some of the biggest poker games with that bunch Took on some saltwater-ballast, then headed to San Francisco (00:36:30)  Tied up to the pier for 5 days, stayed on the ship Took the ship out to Anchorage, Sheridan wound up being the helmsmen on that voyage because the crew were on leave �Went home on 30-day leave  Had a good time, spent time with friends and family; very relaxed Discharged (00:38:15) Reported to Detroit then to a train in Chicago, then the Civilian Pullman Deluxe Train back to Seattle Bremerton Naval Operations in Puget Sound There for two a three weeks, put on the MA Force (police force in the Navy) Many men assigned to a Battleship Maryland, which was being mothballed (00:38:50)  Rated people usually don‟t do the work, but there were so many of them that they had to  There for a couple of months March (‟46), sent to Great Lakes to be discharged Civilian Life (00:39:40) Went to work for a cousin who was a plastering contractor after being discharged (‟46) Bought a ‟26 Model-T Sedan Saw a friend from the Navy (met in Honolulu), went to a high school baseball game Met his wife at that game, been married to her for 61 year Worked as a laborer in a Reynolds‟s Metals Company, Aluminum Extrusion Plant Crane-follower for a while, then Crane Operator Then went to another company in Coopersville (Air Control) after a strike in the previous closed it down Worked maintenance labor for the summer, then back to Coopersville Korean War broke out and Reynolds‟s reopened, worked as a Crane operator, 15 years Worked his way up to Production Scheduling, then Accounting 1963, offered to go to White Bear Lake, Minnesota as Management Opened the first production company for aluminum beverage cans �There for a year, then decided to go back home Big Dutchman, Purchasing Department Involved in the local schools; schools were trying to bring together a high school district Eventually it was passed, got bonds to build a school; Sheridan was put on the board Third year on the board, no administrative staff, asked Sheridan to come in for ½ days Began full days and became Business Manager and Treasurer for 20 years (public schools) Retired in 1991 Afterthoughts (00:46:15) Service made him more worldly and aware; at ease with people, broad education No individual incidents that stand out in his mind; very peaceful in the Pacific Saw many interesting things (Suez Canal, etc.); poverty in Middle East was more prominent � 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 SheridanD Title A name given to the resource Sheridan, Donald (Interview outline and video), 2010 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sheridan, Donald Description An account of the resource Don Sheridan enlisted into the Navy in 1943 after graduating from Coopersville High School. He eventually trained in becoming a signalman and served as part of the Naval Guard on a Merchant Marine cargo ship. His first voyage went to the Persian Gulf via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. His ship then went to the Pacific, taking a load of lumber to the Philippines and bringing soldiers home at the end of the war. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (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. Navy 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 2010-07-07 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/5657869871265adc27001d32a5ab41d9.jpg e0f9725384876b212a2a8da03dc32e30 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 ShermanHollyKaren Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Sherman, Holly Karen Description An account of the resource Holly Karen Sherman, Actor in Residence Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University – History 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/b59841c393dd98a0a35e08e469aa3cab.mp4 61418d345db0934577e957136e821571 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a10c748c7a458eaf1d5e819e1d1eeb79.pdf 0832626436167eeabb3fef08615941a0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Rachel Shilakes Total Time (01:05:55) Introduction (00:00:09)  Rachel was born on November 14th, 1983 in Rochester, Michigan and grew up in Romeo, Michigan (00:00:26)  Her immediate family included Rebecca, her mother, father and brother (00:00:36) ◦ She had always been intending to go into the military and in 2005 she finally joined; her brother, father, uncles, and grandfathers all went into the military- she joined the Army (00:02:14) ◦ She went directly into the National Guard; it allowed her to follow on with her civilian career as well as provide service (00:02:57) ▪ She worked with recruiters six months prior to starting basic training; there was a lot of useful learning she gained from this experience (00:04:26) ▪ She went through basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri in January of 2006- her Advanced Individual Training was done at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas (00:04:46)  At basic training the physical training was intensive but they started relatively slow and worked their way up (00:06:04)  She was in a unit that had both men and women and ended up working out very well (00:06:30) ◦ A third of her training regiment was female (00:07:02) ◦ Basic training lasted around eight weeks plus a week of ceremonies and such (00:09:02) ▪ Triage was one of the biggest focuses in Rachel's AIT at Ft. Sam Houston; it included how to deal with the severity of injuries (00:11:28) ▪ Rachel was assigned to the 1171st Area Support Medical Company out of Ypsilanti, Michigan (00:14:12)  Rachel and her unit provide vaccinations, health assessments for all soldiers, and soldier readiness; in addition, they are required to be prepared to be deployed and operate a field medical hospital (00:14:38)  She did that for about six months and was tasked out to a regional training institute in Battle Creek, Michigan (00:16:55) ◦ Rachel worked as the medical Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) in charge (00:17:09) ◦ She put herself on the National Deployment List in hopes of being deployed (00:17:44) ◦ In November 2007 she received notice to be deployed; she would be assigned to the 1463rd Transportation Company out of Wyoming, Michigan (00:18:01) ◦ Rachel did some refresher medical training for a little over a month before her and the unit flew out to Kuwait and then to Iraq (00:20:51) Iraq (00:20:51)  Rachel and her unit flew into Camp Bucca [?] in Iraq near the Kuwait border near the Persian � Gulf (00:21:46) The first two months their Rachel worked in a medical clinic for roughly 200 detainees by providing medical care, evaluations, medications for about ten hours a day (00:23:11) ◦ She had a pretty good relationship with her detainees as far as how they treated her went (00:24:09) ◦ Her living situation wasn't too bad she lived in 15x20 steel constructed pods with four to five other people (00:26:28) ▪ The local population understood the United States wasn't going to be there forever and the situation stayed the same for Rachel (00:29:09) ▪ Rachel spent about two months working with detainees then spent the rest of her time working for the Air Force on area security (00:29:35)  The hostile activity started to ramp up as Rachel was leaving but overall there wasn't much (00:32:33)  As a medic Rachel carried a M4 Rifle and a M9 Pistol (00:33:26) ◦ The local population was mixed on the United States being there as it wasn't uncommon for bricks or rotten food to be thrown (00:34:28) ▪ Rachel mentions that sometimes the local population although very poor were very hospitable and would offer whatever they had (00:36:36) ▪ Overall the morale of the American forces declined over time- she mentions the Air Force would come in very motivated and positive but the environment they were in wore off on a lot of people (00:37:34) ▪ Rachel had plenty of opportunities to speak with family and friends due to the availability of internet access (00:38:48)  To reflect on the decreased deployment numbers in Iraq, non essential personal were sent to Kuwait (00:41:23) Back to the United States (00:41:49)  Rachel went through out-processing in New Jersey for about two weeks; she had to go through extensive briefings, out-processing for medical and then she was sent home (00:42:17) ◦ After she went home, Rachel enrolled at Macomb Community College to get back into her civilian career (00:42:35) ▪ Rachel heard from a friend that the 507th Engineer Battalion needed medics for their deployment and was given the go ahead to go around early 2011 (00:43:32) ▪ They shipped out in late Spring of 2012 for Afghanistan (00:44:17)  The operation her unit was going on was to look for IED's and supporting the engineer companies (00:44:54) Afghanistan (00:47:07)  She and her unit flew out to Manas AFB in Kyrgyzstan and then to Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan (00:47:34) ◦ Within her battalion, the injuries were relatively low but their sister company did have a fatality and sent a couple out via medevac for blast injuries (00:49:54) ◦ The medics rotated on missions; on one of her last operations Rachel's vehicle rolled over a pressure plate IED and she was injured (00:51:17) ▪ All of the injuries sustained in that instance was from blast pressure and not from any foreign shrapnel or anything like that (00:53:33) ▪ Rachel was flown out from Kandahar AFB and eventually to Ft. Belvoir in Virginia for �surgery (00:55:08) Back to the United States (00:55:08)  Rachel was at Ft. Belvoir til June of 2013; she underwent therapy and a surgery while being in a wheel chair for two months (00:56:17)  Although she wanted to rotate back to her unit, the process is quite costly and the National Guard did not want her to (00:57:56)  Currently Rachel serves with the 1171st as a medic- she still goes to school and keeps in contact with the 507th (00:58:22) ◦ She comments that her life really started when she came into the military- the lifestyle and deployment changes people; she didn't come home as the same person and she'll never be the same person she was (01:00:45) ◦ Rachel comments that a lot of the flak the Veterans Affairs receives is quite justified and provides an example of that happening to her friend (01:03:08) � 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 ShilakesR1575V Title A name given to the resource Shilakes, Rachel (Interview outline and video), 2014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shilakes, Rachel Description An account of the resource Rachel Shilakes was born in 1983 in Rochester, Michigan. In 2005, Rachel joined the Army and went directly into the National Guard as it allowed her to follow on with her civilian career. She did her basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri in January of 2006 as her Advanced Individual Training was done at Ft. Sam Houston in Texas. Rachel was assigned to the 1171st as a medic for the Area Support Medical Company out of Ypsilanti, Michigan. She learned in November of 2007 that she would be deployed to Iraq with the 1563rd Transportation Company out of Wyoming, Michigan. They went to Iraq and were based out of Camp Bucca near the Persian Gulf and Kuwait border. After her deployment she returned home and enrolled at Macomb Community College. She joined the 507th Engineer Battalion and shipped out to Afghanistan in Spring of 2012. Her deployment was cut short as her vehicle hit an IED. She went through multiple surgeries to her feet and head. She rehabbed for about eight months at Ft. Belvoir in Virginia. She currently serves the 1171st as a medic. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, American Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American United States. National Guard 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 2014-03-08 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/91546849eaca390093aa9e41dc40ee5c.jpg e97119394e6256385acd6286f10936c4 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_LS00018 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1918 Title A name given to the resource Shinto temple Hachiman at Kama-kura Description An account of the resource Colored lantern slide of the Hachiman Shinto temple in Kamakura. The brightly hand-tinted slide is labeled "Hachiman tempe, Kama-kura" and was produced by the Baker-Coster Photo Co. of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Subject The topic of the resource Lantern slides Kamakura-shi (Japan) Temples Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/ac52c3d0786bb34971aa44fcba185b11.jpg f176a1ba555e69eacc4f14141cde39dc https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1014c8269a680e69a37d0163c291bf0d.jpg b5a621c756b7a764c9d3bc6e46da4f27 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 Ship with flag sails Description An account of the resource Handpainted design of ship with red, white, and blue flag sails. Embossed floral design on verso. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-49_PE054 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 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/df313830bd72e61ead7a95a3926a10ad.jpg 06b615e12a1f302b1c474edc05a51f94 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/60766767e6e16d37ca5ff8383d91db7b.jpg 92353d9ddd619883be9b066463227bda 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 Ship with flag sails Description An account of the resource Handpainted design of ship with red, white, and blue flag sails. Embossed floral design on verso. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-49_PE055 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 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/7745c137177f44e212c1ef6d3453e8c2.mp4 6412b530e74b213be76c6dfa15bc92d6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85416032e0d3f03a5969c47b205cd617.pdf 42b97b5585fe0ddd8574a90353c49f14 PDF Text Text John Shipley (7:56) -Served in the United States Army and the National Guard from 1971-2006 -Fought in Viet Nam, the Cold War, and Panama (0:30) Life Before Enlistment • He had been a student at Grand Rapids Junior College • John is from Detroit, MI (1:20) Reasons for Joining the Army • The timing was right • Many friends were coming home “in boxes” so he did what he felt was right • His father was in the Army in World War Two with General Patton (1:49) First Days in the Service • He was sent to Fort Polk in Louisiana for training • They were “fun-filled” days • This is when he first started spending time with people from other parts of the country • He found out that there was more to the world than just Michigan (2:15) Service • He was in the US Army and the National Guard, 3rd Battalion, 6th Infantry • He was in the 46th Infantry Brigade, Engineer Brigade from the 38th Infantry Division • He is now retired from the service (2:40) Most Memorable Moments • John enjoyed watching people whom he had mentored get promoted • He liked to see people succeed (3:03) How the Military Changed His Life • The service gave him great insight as to why the world is the way that it is • He learned about the actions of nation-states • He was educated on many other aspects of the world • He made many friends in the service (4:00) Duties in the Service • John started out as a combat medic in Texas • He advanced to the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps • He retired as the Command Sergeant of the Engineer Brigade, 38th Infantry Division (4:20) Experience with Combat • He experienced some combat �(4:40) Spending of Time • Many jobs were assigned to him that were extremely challenging • They spent 24 hours a day being busy • There was barely any free time, but when there was he liked to play poker • Often he trained and mentored others (5:15) Basic Training • Started in 1971 and there are many things from that time that are now out of date, such as hand-to-hand combat • He learned survival skills, how to work well with others, to respect others opinions and how to work well in a team successfully • The drill sergeants were mean (6:15) Most Important Lessons Learned • Respect others opinions • Everyone has a right to their own opinion (7:00) Post Cold War • He worked for a Michigan telephone company as a manager • He retired from that job just near the same time that he retired from the National Guard � 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 ShipleyJ Title A name given to the resource Shipley, John (Interview outline and video), 2007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shipley, John Description An account of the resource John Shipley was in the U. S. Army and National Guard from 1971 through 2006. He served as a Command Sergeant Major during Viet Nam, the Cold War, and in Panama. While John did not talk much of his 35 years in the service, he did say that he learned a lot about how the world works and about the behavior of nation-states. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kerr, Kathryn (Interviewer) Forest Hills Eastern High School (Ada, Mich.) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans United States. Army Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American Video recordings 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 2007 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/b3276e31f08e2d195ebdbb79481a8cbe.jpg 4ea3a549b77f05e2f3dafbaf6300ceb1 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 ShirleyGeorge Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. University Communications Title A name given to the resource Shirley, George Description An account of the resource George Shirley, Music 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/aa1d461a104769cb39b41aa4782a16f7.jpg 5210588b7c59802f33e7c66ee2c63dcc 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-3_006 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1931 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Elevated view of Shoemaker Ranch Station P looking north Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/5e6e89ce79dcd7ad02f160bcd697d683.jpg af02517b9525f9f7df6a2b2272101206 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-4_001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Shoemaker Ranch buildings and fences, looking southwest Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/df92062b1cac93044a9b172022b8e030.jpg 3aa1426420f6b6fbd1cc86cee10100eb 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-4_002 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Shoemaker Ranch, from 50' southeast of station W looking west. Tree covered hills visible in the background. Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/d1cfc043124c2c75eb5f0ad94723aa3f.jpg 5a25be7e02fb8cb3e643f366e9f9c6eb 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-4_003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Shoemaker Ranch, looking northwest. Tree covered hills and mountains visible in the background. Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/38bca01c39c346dafcbd20cd6f52e149.jpg e75a8290cc15d36b8fc67cd9acaeff8c 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-4_004 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Shoemaker Ranch, from sta. 40' south and 20' east of looking northwest. Mountains are visible in the background. Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/be0bc37278fc4858ecaddb8d776f9571.jpg f82591bbf22b0d4a9c17af9628aef43a 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-4_005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Shoemaker Ranch, looking north Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/de7d07b8ab663e97213355ba0943e6be.jpg f88af6bb81e18d85a4bdcb4b2ae30dcd 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-4_006 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-19 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Folsom, New Mexico. Shoemaker Ranch, looking northeast Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/cc53afdfa28d1eeac73951cd60c33713.jpg 0d8fae405ffc1a937a35d44f74c4fcd7 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-5_001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-21 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Shoemaker Ranch near Folsom, New Mexico looking northwest towards Red Mountain Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/0ccc8e52bbb32af48b5d83c1be8ee9e7.jpg 57551ed30a468d729020d044828f0a43 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-5_002 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-21 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Shoemaker Ranch near Folsom, New Mexico looking north Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/34bc8c5bce60707b53f4653e0f01591f.jpg 14bdb83e74cd09c243a3b7316fc9eb43 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-5_003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-21 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Shoemaker Ranch near Folsom, New Mexico looking northeast Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/41fbd255903212e0dcf0faa225e2edf9.jpg 18ddc87f541277080cb1fd34e6e049c9 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-6_001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-21 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Returning from horse-back ride from round-up along the north limit of Crowfoot Ranch, no regular trail--looking northwest towards Red Mountain Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 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/2230af17edbb92ec314995cdd610e19f.jpg d12df31358b4de3e2802c78536c459c8 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 Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. 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 Merrill_1931-6_002 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1931-07-21 Title A name given to the resource Shoemaker Ranch, Folsom Description An account of the resource Returning from horse-back ride from round-up along the north limit of Crowfoot Ranch, no regular trail--looking south-east towards Shoemaker's headquarters Subject The topic of the resource New Mexico Landscapes Ranching Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) 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 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives