Event Schedule

All events are free of charge and held in the Lorenzo Cultural Center unless otherwise noted. Pre-registration is required for all events, excluding exhibits and video showings.

Event Registration

Spring 2010

And Still They Prospered: Living Through the Great Depression

February 27 - May 8, 2010

More information on exhibits

March

Early Years of the Great Depression

Wednesday, March 10 - 11 a.m.

Michigan State University professor Roger Rosentreter will detail the early days of the depression and how things went from bad to worse.

Working Detroit

Wednesday, March 10 - 1 p.m.

Author Steve Babson weaves together the broader historical realities, including the Great Depression and civil rights, to trace the ebb and flow of working class activity and union organization in Detroit.

Memories of the Great Depression and Detroit's Recovery

Thursday, March 11 - 11 a.m.

Author Michael W.R. Davis recaps the key events leading to the Depression, highlights what life was like in the 1930s, shares how the Depression touched his family and traces Detroit's economic recovery and its impact on other areas of the nation.

"New" Technology - 1930 vs. 2010: It's All Relative

Friday, March 12 - 11 a.m.

Also offered Thursday, April 15 at 1 p.m.

The Detroit Science Center presents a hands-on workshop demonstrating that people in the 1930s had much of the same technology as we do today, only slower and larger, showing how this has influenced us, and highlighting inventors and innovators who advanced technology in Detroit during the dark days of the Great Depression

Prohibition in Detroit

Sunday, March 14 - 2 p.m.

Author Armando Delicato profiles this dramatic and fascinating period in Detroit history. As an international border town with a waterway boundary and low support for Prohibition, the city became an epicenter for illegal liquor smuggling and related criminal activity.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Friday, March 19 - 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Historical re-enactor Michael Deren creates an interactive glimpse of the life that 3.4 million young men led who served in the CCC camps—President Roosevelt's "Tree Army."

The Food of a Younger Land

Saturday, March 20 - 1 p.m.

Author Mark Kurlansky unearths the never-published files of a late 1930s WPA Federal Writers' Project, America Eats, presenting remarkable stories, authentic recipes and an encyclopedia of American food and food traditions from coast to coast.

The "Detroit Industry" Murals and the Great Depression

Sunday, March 21 - 2 p.m.

Also offered Wednesday, March 31 at 1 p.m.

MaryAnn Wilkinson, an independent scholar and curator, examines the outpouring of American artistic creativity of the 1930s, starting with the Diego Rivera murals painted at the Detroit Institute of Arts from 1931-33.

Saving the Soil at the Grassroots: Michigan's Dust Bowl, 1937-41

Thursday, March 25 - 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Matthew Lawrence Daley, assistant professor of history at Grand Valley State University, discusses the history of soil conservation efforts in Ottawa County, Michigan, during the Great Depression.

Art Deco in Detroit

Saturday, March 27 - 1 p.m.

Rebecca Binno Savage, writer, preservationist and board member of the Detroit Area Art Deco Society, surveys the wide-ranging examples of Art Deco in Detroit, from famous landmarks such as the Fisher and Penobscot Buildings to commercial buildings, theaters, homes and churches.

Mickey Cochrane

Sunday, March 28 - 2 p.m.

Award-winning author Richard Bak highlights the Detroit career of manager/catcher Mickey Cochrane, who was hired from the Philadelphia Athletics before the 1934 season and led the Tigers to the American League pennant in 1934 and a World Series win in 1935.

The "Detroit Industry" Murals and the Great Depression

Wednesday, March 31 - 1 p.m.

Also offered Sunday, March 21 at 2 p.m.

April

"Factory Workers in the 1930s and Today - This is Not Your Grandparents' Depression"

Wednesday, April 7 - 11 a.m.

Michael W. Kerwin looks at how the Depression affected factory workers and their reaction, including the formation of the UAW and compares their situation to what factory workers are facing today.

Staying Alive and Fight to Survive: Detroit in the Great Depression

Thursday, April 8 - 1 p.m.

Also offered Saturday, February 27 at 1 p.m.

Hollywood and the Tumultuous '30s

Friday, April 9 - 11 a.m.

Ed Rice, instructor of history at Macomb Community College, provides an overview of films, stars and movie industry of the period, including how it was impacted by the political climate of the time.

Eliel Saarinen and the Building of Cranbrook: 1925-42

Friday, April 9 - 1 p.m.

Gregory Wittkopp, director of the Cranbrook Art Museum, discusses the role and work of Finnish-American architect and designer Eliel Saarinen in the development of the Cranbrook Educational Community.

Jazz in Detroit During the Great Depression

Saturday, April 10 - 1 p.m.

Jim Gallert, veteran jazz broadcaster, researcher and writer, and Lars Bjom, professor of sociology at University of Michigan-Dearborn, highlight the 1930s Detroit jazz scene, covering what was going on in the world of jazz and the local social environment and describing the local jazz scene, including what kind of music was played in which venues and for what audiences.

Quilting in Detroit in the 1930s

Sunday, April 11 - 2 p.m.

Beth Donaldson, collections assistant at the Great Lakes Quilt Center at the Michigan State University Museum, discusses the vibrant quilt revival of the era and showcases Depression-era quilts from her private collection. Those attending are encouraged to bring their quilts from the 1930s for a show-and-tell.

Gone With the Wind: A Depression Phenomenon

Wednesday, April 14 - 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Kathleen Marcaccio, known as the Gone With the Wind (GWTW) Answer Lady, shares an overview of the life of author Margaret Mitchell including her youth, marriages and career, the writing of GWTW, her only published novel, Mitchell's death and the enduring legacy of the novel.

"New" Technology - 1930 vs. 2010: It's All Relative

Thursday, April 15 - 11 a.m.

Also offered Friday, March 12 at 11 a.m.

The Works Progress Administration in Detroit

Friday, April 16 - 11 a.m.

Elizabeth Clemens, audiovisual archivist at the Walter P. Reuther LIbrary, spotlights the work of the WPA in Detroit, from building schools and libraries, providing clothing and shelter and introducing groundbreaking cultural programs, to creating the infrastructure necessary for Detroit to take on the role of the "Arsenal of Democracy."

Compassion in a Crisis: The Fords and Philanthropy in the 1930s

Saturday, April 17 - 1 p.m.

David Janssen, vice president for internal operations at Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, looks at the fortunes and philanthropy of Edsel and Eleanor Ford as an example of how southeast Michigan's business leaders responded to the social and economic crisis of the 1930s.

Henry Ford Trade School

Wednesday, April 21 - 3 p.m.

Bob Kreipke, corporate historian for Ford Motor Company, traces the history of Henry Ford's novel approach to school&mdashwhere boys could earn while they learn, combining head and hand work. Starting with six students in 1916, the school flourished, moving to the Ford Rouge Complex in the early 1930s, with enrollment peaking at 2,800 and many of the students orphans or sons of widows.

New Deal and the Future of American Business

Thursday, April 22 - 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Karen A.J. Miller, associate professor of history at Oakland University, examines the role of the New Deal in improving the economic infrastructure of the U.S., emphasizing transportation and electrification.

How Nash Motors and the Hudson Motor Car Company Survived the Great Depression

Friday, April 23 - 11 a.m.

Charles K. Hyde, professor of history a Wayne State University, examines the legacy of these two independent automakers, their visionary leaders and notable contributions to automotive engineering and styling.

The Essential Henry Ford

Saturday, April 24 - 1 p.m.

Steven Watts, professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia and author of The People's Tycoon, traces Ford's fame and innovations, highlighting what made him the first tycoon to be a hero to ordinary Americans.

Detroit's Belle Isle: Island Park Gem

Sunday, April 25 - 2 p.m.

Author Michael Rodriguez, humanities librarian at Michigan State University, and Tom Featherstone, audiovisual archivist at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University, wlll showcase the park's role during the economic turmoil of the 1930s as an idyllic retreat for Detroit-area residents.

Packard Motor Car Company

Wednesday, April 28 - 11 a.m.

John MacArthur, president of the Packard Motor Car Foundation, discusses the Detroit-based luxury auto maker's Depression-ear strategies and car models.

The Unions' Role During the 1930s

Wednesday, April 28 - 1 p.m.

Marc Stepp worked for 19 years at the Chrysler Highland Park plant, rising through positions of union leadership and culminating in election as vice president on the UAW's International Executive Board in 1974. He presents an overview of union organization in the auto industry.

Motor City: The Story of Detroit

Friday, April 30 - 1 p.m.

Thomas J. Sugrue, professor of history and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and specialist in 20th-century American politics, urban history, civil rights and race, examines the rise of Detroit as the Motor City, the global symbol of modernity, of the power of American capitalism and the labor that built it.

May

Detroit: The Black Bottom Community

Saturday, May 1 - 1 p.m.

Detroit native and writer Jeremy Williams tells the story of the community, which became a social, cultural and economic center of strength and triumph as well as a testament to the tradition of black self-help and community building.

Detroit's Infamous Purple Gang

Wednesday, May 5 - 11 a.m.

Paul Kavieff, a recognized authority on the Prohibition-era Detroit underworld and organized crime historian, traces the evolution of the Purples from their days as a juvenile street gang through their rise to power and eventual self-destruction.

The Smithsonian Community Grant program, funded by the MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of these public programs.