The author of numerous articles and several books, Dr. Carl Bajema is a historian and retired Grand Valley State University Professor of Biology. During his more than 40 years at GVSU, Bajema spent much of his time studying the environmental history of Michigan, concentrating on the natural and cultural history of the Grand River Valley.

Utilizing microfilmed newspapers for his research, Bajema began to discover articles outside the scope of his original search, including articles on Civil War soldiers, African Americans, women, railroads, sports, and many other topics of historical significance. Arranging photocopies of these articles topically, Bajema would later donate them to Grand Rapids Public Library, with the newspaper clippings forming the Grand Rapids Public Library African American newspaper clippings collection (Coll. 290) and the Michigan soldiers reported in Civil War era newspapers (Coll. 244).

The Carl Bajema Michigan History collection is the result of over 50 years of research performed by the donor. Comprised of Bajema’s personal research copies of clippings, this collection covers a number of Midwestern topics from 1830 to 2000 related to industry, transportation, natural resources, and the environment.