Volume 42, number 8
May 2021
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society
A Grand Rapids Meteorite Inside this issue:
By Nan Schichtel, GRHS Secretary/Trustee
Cover Story: A Grand Rapids Meteorite Letter from our President page 2 Archives Against the Grain page 6 Tracing the Steps of Lottie Wilson Jackson page 6 Photo Sleuth page 7
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Grand River Times
The Kent Scientific Museum, predecessor to the Grand Rapids Public Museum, created a Lantern Slide of an 11-inch chunk of the Grand Rapids Meteorite, as part of an astronomy slideshow. Identifier: 2021.6.15.26 Photo courtesy of the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
Recently, I serendipitously discovered a scholarly article about the Grand Rapids Meteorite – and while it was from 1884, it was news to me! The iron-rich meteorite was dug up during a construction project in Walker Township, west of the then Grand Rapids city limits, and weighed almost 114 pounds. Ever curious, I started digging (pun intended) and was surprised where the research took me. Let’s start with a definition: the Dictionary of Astronomy defines a meteorite as a “natural object from space that hits the surface of the Earth or other planetary body.” (Ridpath) Continued on page 3 1
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Dear GRHS Members,
The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, published six times annually. Established in 1894, the Grand Rapids Historical Society is dedicated to exploring the history of West Michigan; to discover its romance and tragedy, its heroes and scoundrels, its leaders and its ordinary citizens. The Society collects and preserves our heritage, passing it on to new generations through books, lectures, and education projects. Executive Committee: Gina Bivins, president Matthew Daley, vice-president John Gelderloos, treasurer Nan Schichtel, secretary Board members: Charles Bocskey Angela Cluley Thomas Dilley Matthew Ellis Chris Kaupa Gordon Olson, emeritus Wilhelm Seeger, emeritus Jeff Sytsma Julie Tabberer Jim Winslow Jessica Riley, editor Grand Rapids Historical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Website: www.grhistory.org Email: grhs.local@gmail.com Grand River Times
Our program year came to an end with our April presentation On the Street Where You Live: Down the Block and Through the Years in East Grand Rapids given by Mary Dersch. It was excellent as were all of the offerings since September. Six of the programs from this past year are available on the Grand Rapids Historical Society YouTube channel for now. I encourage you to watch those that you may have missed. They are all informative. The Program Committee did an excellent job of locating speakers on a variety of topics. They are hard at work putting together a selection for the next program year which will start in the fall. Is there a topic you would like to know more about? Let us know soon, and we will work hard to find just the right speaker. Contact us by email at grhs.local@gmail.com or find us on Facebook and leave a comment. I would like to thank the Board of the Society for all their hard work this past year. What a year it was. I am so thankful that we have a hard working board and that all contribute their talents to making the organization run smoothly. I have to extend a special thanks to Julie Tabberer for taking on behind the scenes work of getting the programs “on air”; to Matthew Daley for acting as host and moderator at several times and presenting the September program; to John Gelderloos for keeping the books; to Nan Schichtel for writing a great series for the Grand River Times and arranging the surveys so we can better serve you; to Chris Kaupa, Chuck Bocskey and Julie Tabberer for all the program arrangements, and for being so agile when the best laid plans fell through; to newest board member Angela Cluley for jumping right on board the Program Committee wagon and helped pull it along with fresh ideas; to Matthew Ellis for his work on the Marketing Membership committee as well as writing A Short History of Pets for the Grand River Times; to Jeff Sytsma and Jim Winslow for working on the Marketing Membership committee and monitoring the website grhistory.org and the Facebook page; and Tom Dilley, who remains an influence in our deliberations. Continued on page 5 About the Grand Rapids Historical Society. The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight programs each year, beginning in September and running through May, including lectures, audio/video presentations, demonstrations, collections, or special tours. Membership. Membership is open to all interested persons with annual dues of $30 per family, $20 for seniors and students, or $400 for a lifetime membership. The membership year runs from May to the following May. Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society receive eight newsletters each year. Members also receive a 20% discount on books published by the society as well as books published by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. Change of Address. If you will be permanently or temporarily moving to a new address, please notify GRHS before your change occurs. Let us know your new address and the date you plan to leave and plan to return. Email to grhs.local@gmail.com, or mail to Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 2
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Continued from front page During a September 1883 trip through Grand Rapids, and after reading a Daily Morning Democrat article (Mystic Stone) about a “strange, heavy, metallic mass” on display in C.G. Pulcher’s store, prominent astronomer Dr. John Robie Eastman, USN, was able to obtain a very small portion of the find for further study. In 1884, Eastman provided the first scientific notice of the Grand Rapids Meteorite. (Eastman) The land upon which the “mystic stone” was found was owned by the recently-established Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, for the benefit of St. James parish. St. James, which served a predominantly Irish population living on the West Side, was located at 225 W. Bridge at West Broadway, now numbered 733 Bridge NW at the renamed National Avenue. Before I spotted a copy of the Mystic Stone article on C.G. Pulcher’s Find-a-Grave (Cronk), I surmised, rightly, that the Pulcher connection was through St. James’ founding pastor, Fr. James C. Pulcher; the priest and Celestian G. Pulcher, whose wine, liquor, and cigar store was on Canal Street, were brothers. The location of the find has interested many through the years, and has been disputed. The Meteoritical Society website provided a compilation of those locations and research relating to the meteorite, including that of Dr. Clarence Menninga, Professor Emeritus at Calvin University. Menninga identified the geographic coordinates of 42° 57' 32"N, 85° 41' 55"W the most likely general location of the meteorite, using Kent County records. That puts the center of the Fitzpatrick parcel described below near 242 Valley Avenue SW, east of John Ball Park, as noted by the asterisk on the map, based on the following: “A search of the records in the office of the Register of Deeds of Kent County uncovered a deed whereby ownership of a parcel of 18 acres along Butterworth Avenue was transferred from the owner listed on the 1876 map, Agnes and Michael Fitzpatrick, to the Roman Catholic Church, Detroit Diocese, on February 12, 1877. The description of the property is “the East half of the Southeast quarter of the Southwest quarter of Section 26, Township 7 North, Range 12 West, (Baseline 1815, Michigan Meridian, U.S. Government Land Survey System), excepting 2 acres lying south of Butterworth Avenue. (Kent County, Michigan, Register of Deeds, Liber 82, Page 490) Grand Rapids Meteorite Map, noting different locations believed to be where the meteorite was uncovered. Identifier: ME1102. The asterisk denotes Professor Menninga’s research. Map courtesy of the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
Continued on page 4 Grand River Times
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Continued from page 3 That same property was transferred from the Detroit Diocese to the newly formed Grand Rapids Diocese by quit-claim deed on May 4, 1883 (Kent County, Michigan, Register of Deeds, Book 151, Page 83), shortly before the discovery of the meteorite. A portion of that parcel remained in the possession of the Grand Rapids Diocese at least until 1907, as listed on the 1907 map of that section of the city of Grand Rapids. Today the entire parcel has been developed for residential use.” (Meteoritical)
A year after the first meteorite news, the meteorite is reported to have been acquired by the “National Museum” - the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution – and Robert Riggs of the US Geological Survey conducted a more in-depth analysis. (Riggs) Since its discovery, the Grand Rapids Meteorite has been studied at museums and scientific institutions worldwide. Portions of the mass were distributed to institutions including: Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History (11.2 kg), New York (8,375 g), Smithsonian Institution, Washington (3526 g), Arizona State University’s Center for Meteorite Studies in Tempe (1538 g), London (1442 g), Amherst (1246 g), Harvard’s American Museum of Natural History (1008 g), New York City College (965 g), Vienna (706 g), Yale University (679 g), Budapest (339 g), Calcutta (235 g), Vatican Collection (198 g), Sydney (194 g), Stockholm (141 g), Bally (140 g), Rome (121 g), Prague (102 g), St. Louis (102 g) (Buchwald), and closer to home, Grand Rapids Public Museum and Michigan State University, among others. (Buchwald, 606) Articles, museum catalogs, and inventories exist that refer to acquisition of portions of the Grand Rapids Meteorite for and from these collections. The masses indicated are not necessarily those still owned by the institutions, as specimens were frequently sliced off and used in exchanges for other desirable meteoric specimens. Today a large specimen from the Grand Rapids Meteorite, the first scientifically authenticated meteorite discovered in Michigan, can be viewed at the Grand Rapids Public Museum where it is on display outside the Planetarium entrance. Owned by the Field Museum, this large specimen is on loan to Grand Rapids. A smaller piece, shown in the photo, is owned by the Grand Rapids Public Museum, which is collaborating with Calvin University on a forthcoming exhibit that will include the locally-owned specimen.
Continued on page 5 Grand Rapids Meteorite specimen owned by the Grand Rapids Public Museum. 2021 photo courtesy of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, Science Curator Cory Redman.
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Continued from page 4 Enquiring minds still want to know: •
Was the original meteorite sold or donated outside of the area, and, if sold, did St. James parish benefit?
•
Why was Michael Clancy excavating the former Fitzpatrick property on which the meteorite was found? It seemed too far away from St. James church to be much use, except as a potential source of real estate income to benefit the parish. The Catholic parish closest to that location is Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first Sacred Heart building was a combined school-convent-church which went under construction in 1904. The current church for this historically Polish parish is located at Garfield Avenue and Park Street SW and construction started in 1920.
•
The newspaper article refers to a potential early lawsuit involving Clancy and ownership of the find. Is there anything more to find about that?
•
Why was Dr. Eastman, a prominent astronomer based at the Washington D.C. Naval Observatory, travelling through Grand Rapids? Is it possible there is a tie to the Eastman family of Eastmanville? —Riggs, Robert Baird. (April 1885) Article XLI: The Grand Rapids meteorite. American Journal of Science and Arts. (3rd Series, v. 30, p. 312) —Buchwald, Vagn F. Handbook of Iron Meteorites, Volume 2 (Goose Lake - Grant) p. 606-607. —Chamberlain, Von Del. (1968) Meteorites of Michigan. Geological Survey Bulletin 5. —Cronk, Michael. Celestian G. Pulcher. Memorial # 64214540. Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64214540/ celestian-g.-pulcher —Mystic Stone. Daily Morning Democrat. Grand Rapids, Michigan (16 Sept. 1883, p. 3, col. 5) —Eastman, John Robie. (October 1884) Article XXXVIII: A new meteorite. American Journal of Science and Arts. (3rd Series, v. 28, p. 299-300.) —Farrington, Oliver Cummings. (1915) Grand Rapids. In Catalogue of the meteorites of North America to January 1, 1909. (p. 215-216) Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences. —Grand Rapids Public Museum. Identifier: ME1102 and Identifier: 2021.6.15.26 meteorite. In Ridpath, I. (Ed.), A Dictionary of Astronomy. Oxford University Press. Meteoritical Society. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=10955
Continued from page 2 We will be bringing on a new board member who you may remember doing the two part program on the history of South Division Avenue. There will be more about him in a future newsletter. I would be remiss if I did not thank Jessica Riley for all of her hard work putting together the Grand River Times, getting it to the printer, keeping our membership rolls up to date, and all the other little (and not so little) things she does. For those of you who want more history, the GRHS pays for an annual organization membership to the Historical Society of Michigan. This allows our members to attend some of HSM programs for free and some for a reduced rate. These programs are, at present, virtual. I encourage you to go to hsmichigan.org and take the time to explore what they have to offer. If you personally join the MHS you will receive their bi-monthly Michigan History magazine which has a variety of articles about the history of Michigan. This is a great asset if you like learning the history of place as you travel our wonderful state. Finally I want to thank you for being a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Society.
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Archives Against the Grain In Winter 2021, the Kutsche Office of Local History at GVSU launched the Archives Against the Grain series featuring historians, archivists, scholars, and those who are passionate about archival materials. This series highlights how we can read "against the grain" to find the stories, voices, and people who may not be typically found in the historical record. Dr. Delia Fernández highlights how she used the Grand Rapids Police Department's Fingerprint Identification Cards and the Grand Rapids City Directories to tell the stories of Latinos in West Michigan. Chris Byron and Gina Bivins also discuss how they engage archival materials to help tell West Michigan history. May 10, 2021: Christine Byron, Retired local history librarian and author on the basics of what you can expect to find in a local history archive and how to look for stories and materials that are often left out. May 24, 2021: Gina Bivins, Board member of Grand Rapids Historical Society on the role museums and museum collections can play in recognizing and correcting archival gaps. Enjoy these pre-recorded programs online, at your convenience. Programs debut on the Kutsche Office of Local History YouTube page at the dates above. Dr. Fernández’s program is already available to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/channel UCyU8Ld2w5AQzC9DsW-E098w
Tracing the Steps of Lottie Wilson Jackson May 20, 2021 7:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m. Via Zoom: https://grcc.zoom.us/j/99376667258? pwd=MklKcHR4WjJRaUlvNmRaakYvSmpFUT09#success Lottie Wilson Jackson (1854-1914) was a well-known artist, activist, and self-made African American woman who defied difficult odds during the Progressive Era. Along with her eye-opening portraits of famous Black Americans, this talented artist became one of America’s prominent Black suffragists. During the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) convention in 1899 at St. Cecilia Music Society in Grand Rapids, the delegate Jackson challenged NAWSA to condemn the treatment of Black women in the South. Her resolution was addressed and tabled by Susan B. Anthony herself. Join us to learn more about Lottie’s journey. Sophia Ward Brewer has worked in libraries for over thirty years and is currently a librarian at Grand Rapids Community College. She also serves as an elected director of the Grand Rapids Public Library board and as recent co-president of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council. Sophia loves to research and is a regular historical columnist in the Grand Rapids Times and Women’s Lifestyle Magazine. Grand River Times
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOIN THE GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY OR GIVE A MEMBERSHIP AS A GIFT The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight lectures each year. Members of the society enjoy these benefits:
The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society. Published and mailed to members eight times a year, it includes current items of historical interest, details of upcoming lectures, historically relevant activities, and short articles.
20% Discount on all books and other items published by the society.
Please enroll me as a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: ____ New ___Renewal ____Gift
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$400.00 one-time fee
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Name: Address: City/State/Zip: Email: Please make check payable to the Grand Rapids Historical Society and mail it with this form to: Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY PHOTO SLEUTH Our May Photo Sleuth selection comes from the Robinson Photo Studio Collection. This photo is dated June 17, 1946 and shows swimmers at Franklin Park (now Martin Luther King Park). If anyone in this picture looks familiar please email the Grand Rapids Historical Society at grhs.local@gmail.com Grand River Times
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Non-Profit Org. U.S. postage PAID Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 234
Grand Rapids Historical Society, Inc. c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY INSIDE THIS ISSUE Cover Story: A Grand Rapids Meteorite Letter from our President page 2 Archives Against the Grain page 6 Tracing the Steps of Lottie Wilson Jackson page 6 Photo Sleuth page 7
For more information on Historical Society programs, please visit www.grhistory.org Grand River Times
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