Lunch & Learn

Each month we invite you to join us for lunch and an informative presentation. Our presenters might be authors, historians, story tellers, or something entirely different! Topics and menus will change from month to month, but it is always a good time to meet up with area residents for some interesting information and a tasty lunch. Catering is provided by RPS Food Services. One entree item with side, drink, and dessert is offered. All efforts will be made to accommodate individual dietary needs by substituting with what we have available. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. (Pre-registration is required)

F26-5261A- THE RIDGE: Friday, September 18 $10
Presented by Jayson Otto. After the Great Panic of 1837, eastern settlers looked west for land. A year earlier, the Treaty of Washington was negotiated, ceding over a third of Michigan’s land mass from the Odawa and Ojibway people. This talk will focus on an important swath of land northwest of Grand Rapids, now known as the Fruit Ridge, or simply “The Ridge,” which was opened for American colonization following these historical turning points. With the help of some newly discovered letters by early settler Adelia Hills, Jayson will add to the fascinating story of this unique ecological and cultural place in Michigan, a space which went from a contested space of poor squatters, dispossessed indigenous farmers, and eastern Yankees to what is now one of the most productive apple regions in the country.

F26-5261B- BOMBS AWAY: Friday, October 16 $10
Presented by Ric Mixter. The Great Lakes have been home to military installations since 1755, and aircraft have flown from this region nearly since the first engined aircraft took to the sky. Selfridge Air National Guard (ANG) is named for the first casualty in powered flight, a young lieutenant named Thomas Selfridge who crashed while flying with Orville Wright. Selfridge was also home to the Tuskegee Airmen, an elite group of African American pilots who flew in World War II. Bombs Away chronicles the most famous missions of four air bases: Sawyer, Wurtsmith, Selfridge, and Kincheloe, which was home to nuclear-armed B-52s from 1961 to 1977. This base was also among the first in a missile defense network called BOMARC, which once shielded North America from Soviet threats. Ric’s lecture features the Tuskegee Airmen, bomber activity in Vietnam, and long-range missions that quickly ended the war in Iraq. Also highlighted is bomber production in Michigan, where “Rosie the Riveter” assembled B-24 Liberators used in World War II.

F26-5261C- LAKE MICHIGAN CIRCLE TOUR: Friday, November 20 $10 
Presented by Dianna Stampfler. Vacationers have been looping the lake for generations, but the official “Lake Michigan Circle Tour” route wasn’t established until the 1980s when the Michigan Department of Transportation teamed up with West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA) to create the route and its official guidebook. Along the way, find more than 100 lighthouses, countless islands, unique attractions, parks and natural areas, miles of glorious beaches, quaint harbor towns, an internationally-recognized urban center, and one “modern marvel,” the Mackinac Bridge. You are invited to take a virtual tour to some of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour’s well-known destinations and its best-kept secrets with Dianna Stampfler, who worked for 7 years at WMTA as a primary researcher and promoter of the route.