Abstract The Charles W. Garfield papers were donated to the Grand Rapids Public Library History and Special Collections department by Elinor P. White, a relative of Charles Garfield. The collection consists of several portraits and photographs of the Garfield family, including a scrapbook of photographs of the family farm and a small album of personal photographs. The collection also includes a few personal papers and a memory book from an event held in honor of Charles Garfield at the Pantlind Hotel...

Abstract Mary E. Schroeder (1912-1987) was a neighborhood activist and environmentalist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her papers contain drafts of a manuscript for a historical novel “Journal & Journey of a Neighborhood,” detailing the history of Garfield Park Neighborhood, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. One chapter of this was self-published as "The Charles W. Garfield Story." A few family photographs and miscellaneous Grand Rapids ephemera also accompany the collection, including pages of Wurzburg...

Abstract This small collection contains documents of the history and development of the Playground Association, and subsequently the Grand Rapids Recreation Association, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These organizations developed in response to the perceived advantages of fresh air and exercise in combating tuberculosis. Playgrounds were also perceived as a way to prevent juvenile delinquencies in the growth urban environments. Charles W. Garfield is considered the father of the playground movement in...