It's been a long time

I haven't written an academic paper since 2011, so it's quite a formidable task to gather sources, write citations, and assemble everything in a way that's easily digestible. I've been poring over old papers I'd written, MLA style journals, and as many other sources I can find, but it's still tough. The cool part is that I'm not bound by the expectations or schedule of a professor, but the flip side is that I have no specific rubric to adhere to. I'm quickly understanding how Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts stretch to 8 hours or more: It's not just the topic at hand, it's all of the events around the topic at hand, the hows and the whys, and the greater historical context that gives your readers (his listeners) the best understanding. And, to reiterate my intro post, I'm simply looking for light, fun topics! I have no desire to write volumes on World War I, like Carlin does. I'm looking for something a little deeper than "Holland's worst-kept secret, the Itty Bitty Bar," but not too much deeper. And, that's the difference: Context.

In a classroom setting, you've got the context of the lesson plan. When I studied History Of The UP at Northern Michigan University, the one-page history digests that we wrote were presented in the context of the class. I needn't have gone into extreme depth explaining the whos, whys, and whens, as we'd already covered all of that. All I needed to present to my professor and classmates were the hows and the whats. But, with this blog, I myself am learning quite a bit, so I need to assemble who, what, when, where, why, and how for myself.

Hang tight, actual content is forthcoming as soon as I can get it wrapped up.

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The Cedar Swamp Village

Holland has only been a settled city for a little over 170 years. But, it's got a dense, unique history. I took an interest in local history during my college years at Northern Michigan University, and was able to take that interest back home after graduation. Recently, I began researching for this blog, and hanging out at the library, poring through the Local History section. I found an old, forboding looking book, entitled Memorials Of The Grand River Valley, flipped open to a seemingly random page, and read the passage "The Indian village, near the southeastern limits of the city,w as also a prominent landing-place. The log-houses, built by the Indians, were of great service to the newly arrived immigrants; and, as it appears, there never has been any trouble between the Red man and the Dutchman." This piqued my interest, as I live near the southeastern limits of Holland. Was there an Indian village in my own neighborhood that history forgot? Memorials ad...

Merry Christmas from Tulip City!

I don't have a full article this week, but here's a little bit of trivia for you: While Holland is a predominantly Christian Reformed city, it was the early Methodists that sprung the Christmas spirit. While an 1867 Sunday School Christmas Program drew nearly 150 youngsters to Hope Church, it was several generations before the Reformed church allowed even Christmas trees into their sanctuaries, as Christmas trees were seen as Pagan symbols. Early Methodists adopted the 19th Century American spirit, and welcomed things like Christmas trees and even Santa Claus into their sanctuaries. I tried to determine exactly how long "several generations" were using Dr. Swierenga's book (and the sources he cites), but could not ascertain the exact time. It's almost certainly somewhere in the vicinity of 50 years (before the Christian Reformed Churches allowed 'pagan' Christmas symbols), which would put their allowing of such things into the early 20th century, but ...

The Ghost Town in Hudsonville

When the term "ghost town" is brought up, one doesn't usually think of modern subdivisions and upper-middle class suburbs. The classic "ghost town" is usually applied to a town that was abandoned when a major industry dries up, leaving crumbling shells of buildings, maybe some artifacts, and nothing but memories. You know the drill, overgrown storefronts, smashed windows, tumbleweeds, maybe a hobo or two. Briefly, there was an interurban rail system all around Western Michigan in the late 19 th and early 20 th century. I won't go into details, as the whole system is well-documented elsewhere, but the electric train systems allowed for the transportation of people all around the major metropolitan areas in West Michigan...Grand Rapids was a major hub, and they had lines going to Grandville, Jenison, and Hudsonville along Chicago Drive; south to Kalamazoo; and as it pertains to this story, to Holland and Saugatuck. The branch between Grand Rapids an...

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