IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church
Gerald R. Ford is Michigan’s only President of the United States. Though born in Nebraska, he spent most of his 93+ years either in Michigan or representing the state in Washington, D.C., before becoming vice president and then president. He eventually retired to California, but his presence continues to be felt in our state, especially in his home town of Grand Rapids. Through photos and documents Ken Hafeli will share his accumulated knowledge of our nation’s 38th president, emphasizing Ford’s close ties to Michigan. Kenneth Hafeli holds an undergraduate degree from Michigan Technological University in Houghton and a master's degree in history from Wayne State University. He retired in 2016 from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor after 39 years. For the last 20 years he held the position of Senior Photo Archivist and was responsible for cataloging, arranging, and preserving President Ford's White House negatives, as well as the Ford family’s personal pre- and post-presidential photographs.
