“Grand Rapids Women & Their Work During the Great War,” ends the 12th Annual Kutsche Local History Roundtable during March. The Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council’s Katelyn Bosch VerMerris will examine both the paid labor and volunteer contributions of women in Grand Rapids during WWI. Utilizing rich primary sources, this presentation will provide a singular look at women’s desires as well as their actual navigation of the war industry. Women used the upheaval of wartime to balance their work as citizens—they organized a home defense and contributed to wartime industries–but they also used the emergency to advance their personal training and implement their own goals.