Most of the ancestral homes in Grand Rapids, Michigan are long gone.  I guess this is to be expected seeing how old they would be today.  The home where Jacob Derks lived on the west side of Grand Rapids is gone.  The home where his daughter Jessie worked and died - gone; has now been replaced by the Grand Rapids Community College.  The home of Frank and Francis Slooter still exists, but it is in a sad state of disrepair.  The Hendricks home is likewise missing.  The Old Church where the Kruizenga's were members has been replaced by the GRCC Student Center. 

Grand Rapids is a changed place.  It no longer resembles the old city any longer.  Sad.  These older homes mean nothing to many people.  They become eyesores.  But the memories once shared by people past... that is what they contain.  They have absorbed the laughter, the tears, the pain, the holidays, the many people who have come and gone. 

I was in such high hopes to find the place where Jessie died today.  My hopes were quickly extinguished when I saw a park.  I wanted to visit the home - to see where Jessie's body would have been lain in repose.  It's so sad.