DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — Door County 'History Days' are back for their fourth year, celebrating the stories and places that have shaped the peninsula. But why does historic preservation matter? Members of the local historic community weighed in to help answer that question.
- Different sites featured throughout the History Days event
- Joe Taylor with the Door County Museum and Archives explains why events like History Days are important
- Myles Dannhausen Sr, of the Heritage Alliance of Door County, talks about how they continue to connect people to the Peninsula's history
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Door County's History Days began Monday. It's a week-long celebration of the peninsula's rich history and heritage.
NBC26 GOT TO VISIT SOME OF THE SITES AND TALK WITH LOCAL HISTORICAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO FIND OUT MORE:
"We have a fascinating history, it really is. We're kinda unique being a peninsula," Joe Taylor, the manager and archivist at the Door County Museum and Archives, said.
Though 'History Days' span just one week, Taylor says the impact sticks much longer.
"That's kind of the nice thing about History Days. This one week of the year really gets the word out for the whole year," Taylor said. "People come in, in January, and say 'Oh yeah, I remember seeing your stuff on History Days.'"
This year's theme is preservation not just of the 28 historic sites featured across the peninsula and all the way up to Washington Island, but of the stories and traditions behind them.
"If we didn't preserve the history here, all those stories just get lost in time and we don’t learn the lesson from them," Taylor said.
Myles Dannhausen Sr. of the Heritage Alliance of Door County explains that while some preservation efforts are visible to the public, most take place quietly behind the scenes.
“It’s been going on for a long time. It’s just been unheralded," Dannhausen Sr, said.
A new Destination Door County pass allows visitors to explore historic sites, supports History Days, connects people with the past, and helps keep those stories alive.
"History doesn't change, it is what it is, but sometimes we find new ways to focus on it," Dannhausen Sr said.
The next event for History Days will be on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Door County Library's Sturgeon Bay location
