River transportation topic of library program

The program is part of the Grand River Greenway Celebration speaker series. It will take place in the library's Program Room A from 7-8:30 p.m.

Seibold's program will begin with how the Indians traversed the Grand River in dugout and bark canoes before the arrival of Europeans, who then used the river as a thoroughfare for fur trading between 1630 and 1830. His program will continue with the emergence of larger pole-boats and shallow-draft side-wheelers, and concludes with the river's last steamboat in 1917.

Seibold is a retired dentist, founder of the local historical society and author of books on local history.

For details on this free program, visit www.loutitlibrary.org; or call 842-5560, ext. 214. For more information on other Grand River Greenway Parks Celebration events happening in 2012, visit Ottawa County Parks' website, www.miottawa.org/parks, or call 616-738-4810.