This entire issue of the Joint Archives Quarterly is devoted to the great sport of baseball and its part in Holland’s history as written by one of Hope College’s very own baseball stars, Michael Van Beek. After Michael spent many hours with us in the reading room preparing to write this story for a history class, I asked him to donate a copy for the archives. After reading it I knew it belonged in our next newsletter, and we are pleased to share it with you. Along with some great photographs from local collectors Randy Vande Water, Lois Jesiek-Kayes and the Grand Rapids Public Library, the story of baseball in Holland comes alive. The footnotes have been removed due to space, but feel free to stop by the Joint Archives to read the paper in its entirety.
The Joint Archives of Holland was recently honored with the May 13th television broadcast of its latest video production, Tulip Time in Holland, on the local Public Broadcasting Services station WGVU. This video could not have been completed or reached this level of excellence without the help of Hope College’s Dr. David Schock, students Jason Kehrer and Daniel Morrison, and local videographer Phil Blauw. Future video projects include the Latino experience in West Michigan and the history of the pleasure boat building industry in the Holland area.
Geoffrey Reynolds