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Grosse Pointe
Historical Society
established 1945
Winter 2007
Vol. 24, No.4
$20,000 Grant Helps Society Digitize Collection
The Historical Society's long-range goal of making its archives more accessible to the general public was given a
tremendous boost by a $20,000 grant from the Wilkinson Foundation, endowed by Grosse Pointe residents Warren and
Mireille Wilkinson.
“Mireille and I are very impressed by the way the Grosse Pointe Historical Society is run and the qualities of the people
involved,” Wilkinson said. The couple also donated the use of their gracious lakefront home for last summer's Soiree
Francaise fundraiser.
The grant will be used specifically to preserve deteriorating materials and provide access to artifacts and documents at
the Resource Center and on the Web for a much larger audience, according to Society curator Suzy Berschback.
Artwork, photos, documents, books, and maps will be scanned and then made available on the Society’s Web site,
www.gphistorical.org, through an on-line search engine. Additional Web galleries and exhibits may also be added to the
Web site.
“The tremendous generosity of the Wilkinsons will be a great start in helping us preserve our precious resources and
make them available to anyone with access to the Internet,” Berschback said. “We are delighted that many more people
will be able to learn about Grosse Pointe's fascinating history thanks to them.”
Grosse Pointe Goods Available On-line—in Time for Christmas!
Can’t get enough of Grosse Pointe history?
You might like a pair of boxer shorts emblazoned with the Grosse Pointe
Historical Society’s logo or a mouse pad with a painting of the historic Grosse
Pointe Windmill. How about a coffee mug with the Grosse Pointe ribbon farms
or a wall clock with an historic Grosse Pointe image?
Now you can adorn yourself, your home or office with items bearing images from
the Society’s extensive archives. They make wonderful gifts, too.
Grosse Pointe Goods are available through the Society’s new on-line store. You’ll
find dozens of unique gifts featuring the distinctive windmill painting and select
images from the archives. Some of the wonderful images include an antique map
of the area showing the original ribbon farms, a holiday ornament with the cover
illustration from Silas Farmer’s book
Souvenir of the Pointe
, and beautiful water-
colors and photographs.
Gifts include mugs, tote bags, pillows, wall clocks, journals, and even chef
aprons and hoodies and other clothing.
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