It's graduation time and it seemed an appropriate time to share some of my grandparents' educational accomplishments, and more interestingly, just what they got to testify to their achievements. One is for Albert Stevens, graduate of Fremont High School in Michigan, Class of 1920, and the other for Angelyn Bouwsma, graduate of Calvin's preparatory school in 1919. Impressively illustrated, to get the full impact of these diplomas you have to visualize them filling half a wall-- each one is 17x22, too big for me to scan so I've done my best to photograph them. (Click to Enlarge).
By the time Albert had graduated from Calvin College proper, the diplomas were still huge but not at all so impressively embellished.
As a bonus, I am throwing in here, the magnificent 1892 20x16 marriage certificate of Angelyn's parents, Jochem Bouwsma and "Hilda" Kolk. I'm guessing they were never keen on displaying this glorious document due to the clerical error of mistaking Hilda for Hillegien. Perhaps Aunt Mary can identify the pictures which would have been in the insets.
This tintype is very similar to an image appearing in A Stevens Line which AK estimated was taken in 1870. Jan Hinderick Stevens was born in 1841, immigrated to the US in 1865 and died in 1874, survived by one son, Willem, AK's father. Note the faint pink tinting on the cheeks. (Don't forget to click to enlarge.)
Chris asks in comments to this post if the building visible in the third picture is the same as the school A.K. and the other Stevens children attended near Fremont, Michigan and which Chris and I, with Mom and Mary, visited in 1996. Below is a picture of the school around 1913 with various Stevens children in the assembly. This photo is also in One of Ten (p. 40). In addition, the Newaygo County Historical Society has a collection of Roottown School pictures which can be found here (enter search word 'roottown'). By the way, in case you don't keep your copy of One of Ten with you at all times as I do, the Newaygo folks have scanned a few of its chapters, including the one describing the school building, for your online reading pleasure. (And did you know you can even buy an extra copy from Amazon!) I do wish the NCHA had given better attribution to the document.
Click to enlarge. The key below will help you find the Stevens children.
Here is a slideshow of our field trip to the Stevens farm. Photos of the school appear near the end.
This photo is from "Aunt Tena's collection" and the note on the back suggests that these might have been her students. In the photo below, Mom thinks the woman in the back on the right smiling proudly may be Tena [Stevens]. The other ragamuffin photos provide no clues to their origin, but perhaps they belonged to the same collection? Additional insights appreciated! (Remember to click to enlarge!)
