Tuesday, 10/15

Well, it looks like 2020 is already coming into focus for History Jim. And it's gonna be another busy year.

While most of it isn't firmly set yet, it looks like I'll have a Kaufman show, two walking tours, an indoor show, hosting their annual trivia contest, and five or six newspaper articles for the Marquette Regional History Center. If nothing else, they're really getting their money out of me.

Or, that is, they would if I didn't do this all on a volunteer basis.

I'm not gonna mention the walking tours or the indoor show until next week, when their dates will be firmly set. And since I just (as in yesterday) finished writing a newspaper article for later in the month and have no idea yet as to what the next one will feature (although I do have quite the long list of topics about which to write), I'll concentrate on the one thing that does have a firm date, if not quite a firm title yet.

And that would be “General Jim's Battle of North & South (Marquette)”

Or, at least, that's the working title Jack came up with for our annual Kaufman extravaganza. I'll be combining the ultra-successful south Marquette walking tour I did a few months ago, combined with stories from north Marquette I gathered for a walking tour eight or nine years ago, and (hopefully) have Kaufman rollicking with laughter and oohing over amazing pictures on Thursday, January 23^rd, 2020.

That's the plan.

I'm hoping we can repeat what we did this year with “What's Up Dock” and sell the place out. I mean, if 250 people showed up to just walk around south Marquette, think of the people who might show up to sit in semi-comfy seats and listen to stories. Plus, by including north Marquette (bitter “enemy” of south Marquette) we double our potential pool of not only audience but of rollicking stories. That's a good plan, right?

Jack's on board because I have all the stories; all he has to do is dig up and show the pictures. And the History Center's on board because they're still getting people asking 1) if we'll be doing the south Marquette tour again and b) if we'll ever do one for north Marquette. I actually DID do a north Marquette tour, as I said, eight or nine years ago, but it was scheduled on a night where it turned out to be 92 degrees And as it turns out, I'm (apparently) one of the very few people who enjoys spending two hours walking around Marquette when 92 degrees out.

So think of all the people who's never heard some of the stories we'll be telling.

The January date means I have three months to change a walking tour into an indoor show, which means that (among other things) I need to get my butt over to south Marquette sometime soon and take a few pictures of things before the snow flies (or, in our case, flies again). After all, it's not like I can just point out something to the group as we're walking past. I'll actually have to have pictures taken to provide a little context.

If you know what I mean.

So that's what History Jim's doing first in 2020. As for details on the walking tours and everything else...well, once I know for sure when they are for sure, you'll be (among) the first to know!

(jim@wmqt.com)