Collections

Minutes and other records of the church's governing board; pastors' files, including sermons, addresses and publications; and administrative records of the church office, including reports, publications, treasurer's files, correspondence, and subject files; also photographs.

The records of Fountain Street Church are divided into three groups: (1) the files of the governing board, (2) the records of various pastors, and (3) the church's office files. Taken together these documents give an excellent view of the congregation's history since 1869. There is also a small series of photographs.

Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman and politician; correspondence, business papers; scrapbooks, and photographs.

The Frank D. McKay collection is divided into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Business and financial papers; Newspaper clippings and scrapbooks; and Photographs.

Affiliate of the National Urban League. Records include historical information file, administrative files, topical files, and photographs.

The records of the Grand Rapids Urban League document its activities as a civil rights and social service organization serving the African-American community in Grand Rapids. The records have been arranged into four series: Historical/Background Material, Administration Records, Topical Files, and Photographs. The series date from the organization's founding in 1943 up to the mid-1980s. There are numerous gaps in the files with the bulk of the records dating before 1970.

Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman and Republican politician. Correspondence, business records, speeches, and other papers relating to state politics, charitable and civic interests, banking issues, the Grand Rapids Varnish Corporation, the Michigan Trust Company of Grand Rapids, and the Ypsilanti-Reed Furniture Company of Ionia, Michigan; also materials on Albion College, the Methodist Church, the Ionia Free Fair, and Republican Party politics, especially the campaign of Arthur H, Vandenberg for the presidency in 1940.

The collection documents the business, civic, and political interests of Howard C. Lawrence. The series in the collection are: Correspondence; Speeches and speech material; Financial; Business Interests; Charitable and Civic Interests; Clippings; Miscellaneous; Photographs; and Notebooks.

Registered nurse and artist from Grand Rapids, Michigan and Tucson, Arizona. Letters exchanged with William Butler during their courtship and the first months of their marriage, 1923-1925; diaries, 1915-1979, detailing daily life and observations; subject files relating in part to her interest in nursing and sculpture.

The Irene Butler collection consists of four series of papers: Personal/Biographical, Correspondence, Diaries, and Artistic Endeavors. Together these series reflect Butler's lively mind and her awareness of the world about her.

Michigan newspaperman; correspondence and clippings of articles and columns.

The collection consists primarily of clippings of newspaper articles and columns. In addition there is a scattering of correspondence, certificates, and drafts of speeches. Many of the articles relate to Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, especially his campaign for U.S. Senate in 1966. Correspondents include: Robert Griffin, John B. Swainson and G. Mennen Williams.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, architect and planner. Correspondence, writings, working files, and photographs for out-of-state and Michigan projects, primarily in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, and East Lansing; professional materials relating to problems of urban planning, the design of department stores and shopping centers, his general interest in lighting designs, traffic patterns, and parking areas, and to his work with the Lake Michigan Region Planning Committee, the American Institute of Architects and the Michigan Society of Architects; also Welch family materials, including record, 1915-1925, of the Welch Manufacturing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Welch papers include a small amount of biographical and personal material, but the bulk of the collection documents his work on architectural, design and planning projects in Michigan and across the country - many having to do with shopping malls, business districts and urban redevelopment. The collection is arranged in eight series: biographical materials; correspondence; personal, financial, and family materials; professional information files; Michigan project files; out-of-state project files; articles and speeches; and photographs.

African American businesswoman from Grand Rapids, Michigan; correspondence, clippings, published materials, and photographs largely relating to her civic, political, fraternal, and church activities, especially her long-time involvement with the Order of the Eastern Star and with New Hope Baptist Church in Grand Rapids.

The Lillian Gill collection is comprised of the following series: Biographical and personal; Business career; Political and community interests; Order of Eastern Star, Free and Accepted Modern Masons; New Hope Baptist Church and other Baptist organizations; and Photographs. The great bulk of the collection details her Masonic responsibilities and her activities with her church and with her denomination's regional and state organization. Much of these series consist of printed material, including bulletins, brochures, programs, announcements, and the like. A smaller portion of the collection relates to her varied business endeavors as an insurance underwriters and as a salesperson with Amway. There is also slight material relating to her political and civil rights involvement with the local chapter of the NAACP.

President's correspondence, executive committee minutes, and minutes of annual conventions; also files on individual churches in the Synod, including clippings, reports, church histories and programs; and photographs.

The records of the Michigan Synod of the Lutheran Church in America include president's correspondence; executive committee minutes; and minutes of annual conventions; files on individual churches in the Synod, including clippings, reports, church histories and programs; and photographs. The records have been arranged into the following series: Organizational and Administrative Records; Archivist's files; Organizational units and programs; Lutheran Church Women; Printed material; Church files; Topical files; and Visual Materials. Most of the records prior to 1962 originally came from the archives of United Lutheran Church in America.

The papers of the Merriam family of Grand Rapids and Holland, Michigan, reflect chiefly the business activities and leisure time interests of Warren Sturtevant Merriam, plant manager of Baker Furniture, Inc. of Holland and member of the Macatawa Bay Yacht Club. There is also some material concerning his father, the Reverend Charles Wolcott Merriam, his mother, Julia Sturtevant Merriam, and his wife, Helen Bell Merriam.

The papers have been divided into nine series: Baker Furniture, Inc., Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, Warren Sturtevant Merriam, Helen Bell Merriam, Charles Wolcott Merriam, Julia Sturtevant Merriam, Park Congregational Church, Grace Episcopal Church, and Photographs and Slides.