Midland library celebrates Grace A. Dow’s legacy

By RJ Murphy

MIDLAND – The Grace A. Dow Library in Midland celebrated the 150th birthday of the woman the library was named after: Grace Anna Dow. 

Old photos, documents and informational diagrams were on display while guests were served cake and punch. Afterwards, the guests climbed up to the mezzanine where Tawny Ryan Nelb, historian/archivist, gave a well-researched presentation on Grace’s early life, which began in 1869.

After graduating from high school in Midland, Grace would re-enroll to receive a postgraduate degree in 1888. She then began working as a librarian at the Union School, and would later become a teacher.

Herbert H. Dow started the Midland Chemical Company in 1890 — which is now Dow — the same year Grace passed the teachers exam. Although it is unclear when the two first met, they quickly shared amorous feelings towards one another. Grace would marry Herbert in 1892. 

Grace was remarkably devoted to the Midland community. Grace started the Herbert H. and Grace A. Foundation in 1936 after Herbert died. The foundation has “charter goals to improve the educational, religious, economic and cultural lives of the inhabitants of the city of Midland and of the people of the state of Michigan.”

She contributed to several different projects throughout the city. The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation website states: “She was an active member of several civic organizations including a women’s study club, the Monday Club, for which she served two presidencies: co-founder of the John Alden Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and she served for 42 years on the Midland Library board.” 

Grace was the mother of the highly acclaimed architect Alden B. Dow. As head of the Foundation, Alden wrote a letter to the City of Midland expressing the foundation’s wish to build a new public library. They wanted it on the family’s apple orchard, which was situated at the corner of Eastman Road and St. Andrews Drive. 

The library was named the Grace A. Dow Library, after the woman who endowed the project. Sadly, she died in 1953 before construction ever began. The library finally opened to the public in January 1955.

A library for modern explorers

The mission of the library is to inspire lifelong learning by connecting people and resources. The library offers a long list of services and resources beyond books, including e-books, DVDs, computers and free rooms to use. The full list is available at www.gadml.org under the “About Us” tab. 

The library also hosts events such as Battle of the Books, computer classes, free film showings and numerous arts and crafts activities. Midland Community Television (MCTV) is housed in the basement of the library.

Miriam Andrus has been serving as the library director since June 2019. One of the new services the library recently started includes the online learning platform Lynda. 

“With your library card, you can log on to the website and learn anything, from how to use Microsoft Office products to building a website,” says Andrus. “They even have stuff on how to manage your time better or be more mindful. It’s basically courses you can take online and it’s all free through your library card.”

Another new service the library offers is the video streaming product Kanopy which, according to Andrus, is the “Netflix for libraries.”

The library also has subscriptions to more than 100 e-magazines which are available for download to the public. 

“We are able to offer so many services,” says Andrus. “Unfortunately, I think that if people haven’t set foot in a library for a while, they think that the only things there are books. Libraries have so much more now.” 

Andrus encourages anyone who wants to take advantage of these services to stop in and sign up for a free library card.