Towpath Radio 250th Lecture Series Bring Cold War Conversation to Town Hall
Written by Towpath Radio on June 16, 2026
The Grand Rapids Historical Society is excited to announce a 250th Lecture Series celebrating 250 years of American history. The programs arranged chronologically from Fallen Timbers to the Vietnam War will take place from April through October. The speakers will be featured in the auditorium of the Historic Grand Rapids Town Hall, 24282 Front Street.
The topic of the next program of the series will be the Cold War Culture presented by Dr. Steven Bare at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27th. He graduated from the University of Toledo in May 2019 with his Ph.D. in American History. Steve’s research focuses on Americans’ historical memory of their Civil War through World War I. Specifically, he examines the historical processes, and cultural production, regarding memory formation of the American Civil War through World War I. In particular, Bare looks at the processes of reunions, reconciliation, commemorative activities at sites of memory, patriotism, fidelity to the U.S. nation state, and the cultural production related to historical memory formation. In addition, Steve possesses academic training in public history and historic preservation. Steve has an article published with the Tennessee Historical Quarterly (Summer 2022) on Civil War veterans’ memory formation through joint encampments during reconciliation, the Confederate Museum, and the Spanish-American War. In addition, Steve is revising another article length piece for publication dealing with the concept of secular pilgrimages, and those conducted by Union veterans after the Civil War. When complete, the latter piece will be submitted to Journal of the Civil War Era and the Journal of Military History. Finally, Steve has reviewed a number of scholarly works for journals such as the Tennessee Historical Quarterly and the Journal of Military History.
Steve possesses over twenty years of teaching experience at the collegiate level. Prior to joining Defiance College, Steve taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor at UT. Steve lives in Sylvania with his dog.
Thirteen programs will be presented as part of this Lecture Series. Admission is free, and you are cordially invited to help celebrate this milestone birthday of our country by attending these programs.
