Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American; United States. Army
Les Dykema was born in 1949 and few up in Hudsonville, Michigan. He tried college, but did not do well in his first year and in 1968 went ahead and enlisted in the Army and get some choice of assignment rather than wait to be drafted. In basic...
Jose Jimenez was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico and lived in Chicago. He discusses his experiences as the leader of the Young Lords and an activist for Latin Americans.
Mark Connorton is a mathematics major at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He discusses his alcohol and drug addiction issue and how it affected his relationship with his parents.
Philanthropy and society--Personal narratives; Charities--Michigan; Grand Rapids (Mich.); Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership; Women;
Donna Van Iwaarden, former director of the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University discusses her early life, education, family, and work at the University of North Carolina, Grand Valley State University’s School of...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives; Baseball for women--United States; Baseball; Sports for women; World War, 1939-1945; Baseball players--Wisconsin;...
Katie Horstman was born on April 14, 1935 in Minster, Ohio. Before joining the All American Girls Professional Baseball League she played baseball with her brother John. She started playing softball with the Catholic Youth Organization (CYI). At...
Michigan--History; Local histories; Memoirs; Oral histories (document genre); Grand Rapids (Mich.); Personal narratives; Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.); Grand Valley State University
Siegel Judd was born Siegel Wright; after his parents died, his father's sister and her husband adopted him. Mr. Judd attended Dartmouth College and served in the navy during WWI. He married Dorothy Leonard in 1898. He went to law school,...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans ; Video recordings; United States. Marine Corps; United States. Navy; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Richard Jakubczak is from Grand Rapids Michigan and was born in May of 1946. After high school he worked at Lowell Engineering and as a farmer. He briefly attended Kendall School of Design, but dropped out in 1966 and he and his brother joined the...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); United States--History, Military; Michigan--History, Military; Veterans; United States. Army; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Video recordings
Steve Janicki served in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd (Red Arrow) Division, during WW II. His history includes some colorful accounts of his joining the guard and going through basic training (he was 16 at the time, and not even shaving yet). ...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives; Baseball for women--United States; Baseball; Sports for women; World War, 1939-1945; Baseball players--Indiana;...
Lois Youngen was born in a small town in Ohio in 1933. She grew up playing baseball with boys from her town, and played on a boys’ team for several years before switching to a girls’ softball team while in high school. She learned about the...
Philanthropy and society--Personal narratives; Charities--Michigan; Associations, institutions, etc.--Michigan
Russ Mawby discusses his youth on a fruit farm and involvement with 4H and the Boy Scouts, his agricultural studies at Michigan State and Purdue Universities, and his military service in the US Army. He reflects on the history of the Kellogg...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives; Baseball for women--United States; Baseball; Sports for women; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives,...
Kate Vonderau was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1927. She grew up playing ball with her brothers. She learned about the AAGPBL when the Daisies came to Fort Wayne, and tried out for and made the team in 1946. She was a catcher, and eventually...
Anna Fisk was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is an advocate and activist. She discusses growing up being lesbian in a Christian household.
Michigan--History; Local histories; Memoirs; Oral histories (document genre); Grand Rapids (Mich.); Personal narratives; Heritage Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.); Grand Valley State University
Lowell Blomstrom was born on 22 March 1893 in Grand Rapids. His father was an inventor and pioneer in the automobile industry. In 1904 Carl Blomstrom introduced the Queen Automobile produced in Detroit by the Blomstrom Motor Company. Lowell...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives; Baseball for women--United States; Baseball; Sports for women; World War, 1939-1945; Baseball players--Indiana;...
Mary Lou Caden (née Studnicka) was born in Oak Lawn, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She grew up in the Oak Lawn area and started playing softball with the neighborhood kids and transitioned to playing for local teams. She played as a short-stop in...
Oral history; Veterans History Project (U.S.); Video recordings; All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--Personal narratives; Baseball for women--United States; Baseball; Sports for women; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives,...
Jean Faut was born in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, in 1925. As a teenager, she shagged flies and pitched batting practice for a men’s semipro team, and was spotted by an AAGPBL scout and recruited into the league. She played from 1946 through...
Philanthropy and society--Personal narratives; Charities--Michigan; Associations, institutions, etc.—Michigan; Women
Virginia Esposito (Ginny) is the Founding President of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. She discusses her early life, education, and work as teacher and administrator at the Council on Foundations, and CEO of the National Center for...
