Our Stories

Geologist Mary Jane Dockery (1927-2020) built a legacy in Blandford Nature Center in beginning and developing it. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2012.

For decades Mary Jane gave geology tours around downtown Grand Rapids. In September 2017, she took a look at an exciting find of a 10-year-old 5th grader who loves dinosaurs and fossils. Mary Jane finally gives her the answers she wants... a coral polyp colony. Animals carried down here by glaciers. Horn coral. Cup coral that grew in brackish water.

Coral polyps are tiny, soft-bodied organisms related to sea anemones and jellyfish. At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs. Reefs begin when a polyp attaches itself to a rock on the sea floor, then divides, or buds, into thousands of clones.

Prior to starting Blandford Nature Center, Dockeray in the 1950s-60s was curator of natural history at Grand Rapids Public Museum. She also taught at Michigan State University & Aquinas College. Mary Jane continued to be at Blandford Nature Center regularly into her 90s, including when we caught her at her limited office hours in 2017, when she explained this fossil to us.

#NatureTour #CityTour #Fossils #ExperienceGR #GrandRapids #community #GirlPower @WestMichigan #BlandfordNatureCenter #ExperienceLife

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Have an extra minute downtown Grand Rapids? Step into the historic Pantlind Lobby in Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. It's a jaw drop moment.

Pantlind Hotel lobby, opened in 1913, was once the city’s most elegant hotel, including being named one of the Top 10 Finest Hotels in the nation. Amway Corporation bought the neglected Pantlind Hotel in the late 1970s & spent $24 million restoring it to its gorgeous historic glory! Original chandeliers of Czech crystal, one of the largest golf-leaf ceilings in the world, and so much more.

We talk about the historic Pantlind on #ToursAroundMichigan #CityTour #HistoryTour #GhostTour #RiverfrontTour & #ArtTour. It's also an amazing stop during the holidays when it's all dressed up.

#WalkingTour #GuidedTour #CityTour #HistoryTour #HistoricHotels #HistoricBuildings #GhostTour #HistoricFountain #ExperienceGrandRapids #PureMichigan #ArchitectureTour #ToursAround #ExperienceLife

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St. Mary Catholic Church feels like stepping back 150 years. The intimate, Gothic-style parish built by German immigrants is much like it was when its doors first opened. Colored light streams through windows designed by the oldest stained-glass workshop in Germany, and a restored organ brings music lovers from around the state to hear it. St. Mary’s history in the community is also its own story, with records of pastoral visits to people with conditions like consumption and dropsy, culturally based tension as those it served expanded, and its unique diversity today to help all feel welcome.

#ChurchTour #VirtualTour #PrivateTour #GuidedTour #CityTour #Religion #GermanImmigrants #PolishImmigrants #RebellionOf1863 #CatholicChurch #Immigration #HistoryTour #ToursAroundMichigan #ToursAround #ExperienceLife

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While the 1848 St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is the oldest public building in the city, it’s also one of the few physical representations left of the limestone rapids that gave Grand Rapids its name. As oxen dragged river boulders up a muddy hill, woodcarvers crated art that’s still inside the building today. This iconic building is where city founders gathered, a top ranked U.S. hospital was conceived, and an infant President Ford was baptized. The families in this church not only lived history, they created it.

#ChurchTour #VirtualTour #PrivateTour #GuidedTour #CityTour #Religion #ExperienceGrandRapids #HistoryTour #ToursAroundMichigan #SpectrumHealth #GeraldRFord #PoliticalHistory #MilitaryHistory #ToursAround #ExperienceLife

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Sacred heart of Jesus Church is the story of poor immigrant gypsum miners so devoted, they sacrificed everything to build a home worthy of their faith. Following the original plan, this church was built in stages over nearly 100 years, as parishioners could afford the next step. With the first service in the basement as the chapel rose above it, the plan for Sacred Heart was not complete until a few years ago, when frames hanging empty for decades were finally filled with paintings of angels. Parishioners’ devotion even took them to World War I to defend their homeland as the first soldiers to fight under the colors of Poland since 1813. Sacred Heart’s story is proof of how people working to survive can still do big things together.

#ChurchTour #VirtualTour #PrivateTour #GuidedTour #CityTour #Religion #ArtTour #PolishImmigrants #ItailianImmigrants #RebellionOf1863 #CatholicChurch #BlueArmy #WWI #Immigration #HistoryTour #ToursAroundMichigan #ToursAround #ExperienceLife

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What began as a Native American chapel in 1833 led to St. Andrew Church’s designation as the seat of the diocese. It grew into the current cathedral, built in 1879, bringing memories of its previous “old stone church” to merge into its home today. In sharing its story we’ll gaze at the constellations painted on its vaulted ceilings, hiding charred beams from a destructive lightening strike. St. Andrew has overcome many challenges, including clashes with city founders, fires, and murder. We’ll explore the inside and outside of Cathedral of St. Andrew, including the famous “Snowshoe Priest” who founded it.

#ChurchTour #VirtualTour #PrivateTour #GuidedTour #CityTour #Religion #ArtTour #CatholicChurch #WWI #Immigration #HistoryTour #Baraga #CulturalTour #ToursAroundMichigan #ToursAround #ExperienceLife

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