Been busy

Again, I apologize for not getting a post up here as soon as I should have. I have not been fallow though.

I would like to point you to a web site I have started with a couple of high school friends of mine, Kevin Walsh and Peter Kalinski. Please take some time to check out diggingDetroit.com .

The three of us were raised in the small Detroit suburb of Clawson and all three of us have great interest in the history of the region's hub: the city of Detroit.

Kevin has spent his career as an educator; initially as a high school teacher in Royal Oak and West Bloomfield and currently at University of Phoenix teaching video production. Pete worked as an archivist at the Henry Ford for several years and currently teaches history for Oakland Community College. Me, I'm an amateur historian interested in Detroit's history that isn't cars and Motown.

We've started a history blog covering interesting stories in and around the city; stories people don't know about and wouldn't expect out of the "car capitol of the world" and the cradle of Motown music.

Check out our first episode on Tommy's Detroit Bar & Grill. A cool little establishment down at Fort and 3rd Street in the space between Fort Street Presbyterian Church and Joe Louis Arena.

I have also started a Brownie troop and launched a write-in candidacy for Clawson School Board.

Lastly, I have started an entries for Shouldn't Be Secret on Upwardly Global and Arts and Scraps. Two really cool nonprofits looking to improve our communities in radically different ways.

Please stay with me, I haven't stopped this blog, just got a little distracted.

--Thomas J. Reed, Jr.
Chief Grant Consultant
Third Coast Consultants, LLC
thomas.reed@me.com

More coming

September was a busy month and it has bled over into October.

More good news on the work of nonprofits is coming, along with a video blog I am working on with some partners. Our focus for our vlog, Digging Detroit, is historical nuggets from the fascinating 300+ year history of our fair city.

Hopefully, we will be introducing you to stories from our past that just are as well known as more celebrated historical assets like Motown and the auto industry. There's lots out there that huge swaths of the public aren't really familiar with: the cigar industry of Detroit (once known as the "Miami of the North", the stove industry, how we temporarily misplaced the remains of Hazen Pingree, etc.).

So, to recap...I am already working on a new entry for the Shouldn't Be Secret blog and will soon announce a project examining the deep and varied history of the city of Detroit.

Thanks for your patience.

--Thomas J. Reed, Jr.