Hey there, did you know that a team of over 40 local writers, app developers, and GIS professionals have joined forces to bring the rich history of towns in the Great Lakes Bay Region to life? This state-funded project is inspired by the 1930s Works Project Administration (WPA) efforts and aims to highlight the significant role this area played in shaping Michigan. Sam Fitzpatrick, a local historian and contributor to Route Bay City, is part of this exciting project. He’s been working on historical narratives for Bay City and Saginaw, points of interest, and even authored the Saginaw story map.
This project is all about unearthing hidden gems and telling the untold stories of Bay City, Mid-Michigan, Flint, and the Thumb. The team is working on a website, apps, and tours to bring these stories to life and showcase the area’s vibrancy, strength, and beauty. The project is also set to highlight forgotten stories from Bay City, Mid-Michigan, Flint, and the Thumb.
The Great Lakes Bay Region is filled with vibrant small towns, strong urban cores, picturesque lakeshores, thick woods, and stunning agrarian scenery. Yet, it’s often overlooked. This project aims to change that narrative through a series of printed materials, story maps, and an interactive app full of information about the region.
The project draws inspiration from the 1930s-era state guides put out by the Works Project Administration’s (WPA) Federal Writers Project under the FDR Administration. The WPA has been re-imagined as We Poke Along, a website where story maps from the pilot project are made public. Currently, there are five story maps available focusing on Saginaw’s history, Shay Lake, Owosso’s history, the Eastside of Flint, and a kayaking journey throughout the entirety of the Flint River.
Dr. Mary Jo Kietzman, Associate Professor of English at the University of Michigan-Flint and a published author, leads the WPA project. She’s an avid walker and focuses her teaching on public and environmental humanities projects. Kietzman is passionate about changing the reputation of our cities from being dangerous or ugly to vibrant and beautiful.
The project will result in a guide that offers suggestions for things to do, walks to take, bodies of water to paddle, scenic drives, and much more. It will also feature local stories of the land and the people who stay. The Michigan Humanities Council grant paid stipends to young writers in the region to gather information and materials in the spirit of the original Federal Writers Project.
Zach Scott, a Midland native now living in Metro Detroit, is developing the “MIPilgrimage” app to function as an exploratory game for downtown Flint-area tours. The app aims to make the experience more fun and encourages users to forge their own paths.
Elise Sturgeon, a Flint native, joined the project as a GIS technician to work on story maps. She has created story maps through a digital platform provided by Esri and UM’s GIS programs. Sturgeon hopes the story maps will allow users to explore at home before embarking on foot.
Kietzman hopes the finished product will bring people into our region’s cities, towns, and rural areas. She wants more people to live lightly, pay the bills, but reserve time and freedom to enjoy their chosen location.
In a nutshell, this project aims to shine a light on the overlooked but rich history of the Great Lakes Bay Region. Through narratives, tours, story maps, and photos, the team hopes to showcase the key role this area played in creating Michigan and unearth hidden gems. So why not take a virtual tour and discover the untold stories of Bay City, Mid-Michigan, Flint, and the Thumb?
#GreatLakesBayRegion #UnearthingHiddenGems
See the original post at [Unearthing Hidden Gems: Exploring Untold Stories of Bay City, Mid-Michigan, Flint, and the Thumb](https://thumbwind.com/2023/03/21/great-lakes-bay-region/).
