Cheers to the New Year 2023! I have several new projects in mind for the coming year. I still plan to continue my work on the YouTube channel to bring local history videos, however, I am going to be introducing a new series of videos on shorter individual historical profiles this year. I have come to realize that not everyone has time with their busy schedules to watch a twenty or thirty minute video. So I plan to introduce a series of shorter history videos featuring the lives of fascinating individuals who lived in Battle Creek and surrounding areas that I uncover in my research. Expect to start seeing those in January.
On my podcast, Tales of Southwest Michigan’s Past, I plan to continue the same variety of history topics about the regional history. However, from time to time, I may bring on more guests or co-host on a topic to see if we can make it more interesting and informative. I have also have been in discussions about introducing a second podcast on statewide history with another co-host.
I am also working on many more amazing projects at the Battle Creek Regional History Museum this year. I will be making some announcements on that later on, as more details are worked out on the calendar. However, one of the tasks I am going to take on is writing at least one book, or perhaps two, on local history. I have a total of three separate book projects I have been compiling information on over the past two years, and it will soon be time for me to take action and release some of these stories in book form.
One book I have planned will be on True Crime from the 1800’s in Southwest Michigan, which is a compilation of many stories I have researched in the past two years. Another book I am organizing is on the subject of Spiritualism in Southwest Michigan, which will include a great deal of the story about the lost village of Harmonia outside of Battle Creek. There is another project I have planned as well, which will be a collection of some amazing stories I have researched over the past two years. It will involve a mix of profiles of amazing people and events in this region. It has been well over seven years since I have published anything, and these will be the first projects in the history category for me. I am very excited about expanding my research on these topics.
2023 looks to be a very busy year ahead, and although I may only publish one book this year, I plan to at least accomplish that between all my other activities along with my podcast, YouTube channel and my volunteer work at the museum. Stay tuned for more updates.
