And the Nominees Are...

I just got off the phone with Steve Harold, the director of the Manistee County Historical Museum. I'm so excited that I can hardly sit still, which is why I'm writing in my blog rather than doing my job. As part of my classwork for this semester, I have to write a nomination for the National Register of Historic Places. It has to be a real nomination. I can't just make something up like I did for my museum project a few years back. So, my original thought was to nominate my brother's building. He bought a historical building (what was a stable back in the 1880s) a few years back to remodel into a garage of sorts, where he could work on cars to his heart's content with all the equipment he could dream of. It was such a huge undertaking, and I'm so proud of what he's accomplished with it, that I wanted to honor that by getting it listed on the Registry. Unfortunately, he's done too much work on it, and it's historical integrity is now lost. At least, so says my professor who made a stop in Manistee specifically to see it.

Bummed though I am that I can't do that building, a call to Steve Harold has changed my spirits. He has a project that the research has already been done on...a high-end Victorian neighborhood on and around Cedar Street. For those of you not familiar with Manistee, and I'm sure there are many, check out this map. I will be going home for a few days in March to get the research, see the sites, and fill in any of the gaps that might be there. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! I'm actually doing something real with my degree, and I don't even have it yet!