Secrets of the Sea: Inside the Marquette Maritime Museum

And I feel like we did lose a lot of respect from community

2

members because of what happened.

3

When people have seen what's happened

to the museum, we really cleaned it

4

up Inside outside looks fantastic.

5

We're really really trying to

do things for the community.

6

It's just really important

to me that we look good.

7

And we look appealing.

8

And tourists want to come here.

9

And even local people want to come here.

10

So it took a lot of work And it took

a lot of money slowly over the years

11

to sort of build that trust back.

12

I think.

13

Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone and

welcome back to Total Michigan where

14

we interview ordinary Michiganders

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

15

I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.

16

So it's summertime and that means

we are traveling and one of the top

17

destinations in Michigan that people

like to go is the Upper Peninsula.

18

And I'm very fortunate because I've been

spending a lot of time in Marquette.

19

And the more time I spend here with

the locals, the more I'm loving it.

20

One of the things that I always love

to do when coming to a new town is

21

talk to one of the local museums.

22

Because they really know the history

and the story behind the town, and

23

can really help shine a good light on

what it is that people here are doing.

24

So with that being said, today I'm

at the Marquette Maritime Museum.

25

With executive director Hilary Billman.

26

Hilary.

27

How are you?

28

Hilary Billman: I'm great.

29

Thank you.

30

Cliff Duvernois: Why don't you tell us

what is the Marquette Maritime Museum?

31

Hilary Billman: Well Well, Marquette

started out as a shipping port town.

32

And so in the 80s, there was a group

of people that decided that we really

33

needed a maritime museum to interpret

and preserve the maritime history of the

34

area, which is shipwrecks, lighthouses,

fishing, anything to do with that

35

beautiful lake that we're right next to.

36

Cliff Duvernois: with the museum,

this was, this primarily started

37

off as just a shipping port.

38

Hilary Billman: Yes.

39

So iron ore was discovered in

40

And they had to get the ore out

of Marquette and get it down, you

41

know into the lower Great Lakes.

42

43

And we just became a big shipping

port on lake superior to get

44

the iron ore out of Marquette

45

Cliff Duvernois: So Hilary, let's take

a step back here for a second and let's

46

talk a little bit about your journey.

47

So where are you from?

48

Where did you grow up?

49

Hilary Billman: I grew up in St.

50

Louis, Missouri.

51

And, yeah, my, my

parents are from England.

52

And they, my dad ended up coming

to University of Missouri, St.

53

Louis to work as a chemistry professor.

54

And they ended up going back to

England to have me their last child.

55

But yeah grew up in St.

56

Louis and had a great childhood there.

57

Cliff Duvernois: So what

brought you you to Marquette?

58

Hilary Billman: Marquette

59

My husband and I, I'm

married to John Billman.

60

He's a writer and a professor

at Northern Michigan University.

61

We've lived in a lot of different places.

62

We've traveled around a lot.

63

And then we had kids and decided

it was time to settle down.

64

So we moved here from Oklahoma.

65

We've been here this will

be our 11th year here.

66

We were looking for just a great

place to raise our children.

67

And we found it in Marquette.

68

Cliff Duvernois: Now did was

is this one of the situations

69

and you said here you go, or

70

Hilary Billman: Yes.

71

No, this is where we wanted to move here.

72

There was a job opening.

73

And he applied right

away, and he got the job.

74

So we were very lucky that way.

75

So yeah, he's in the English department

at Northern Michigan University.

76

Cliff Duvernois: So you said something

here I would like to explore.

77

but you said this is

where you wanted to go.

78

What was it about Marquette in

particular that attracted you to it?

79

Hilary Billman: Well, we like snow, which

you have to like if you live in Marquette.

80

So, like, we love to cross

country ski and outdoor.

81

I mean, we live in a log cabin

just off the Chocolay River,

82

about 10 miles south of town.

83

It just hit all the, the

boxes that we wanted.

84

So now did you go to university?

85

Yes I went to DePaul

University in Indiana.

86

And then I have a Master of Fine Arts in

Creative Writing and a Master of Arts in

87

Technical Writing from Eastern Washington

University in Spokane, Washington.

88

And that's where I met my husband.

89

Cliff Duvernois: You have been all over.

90

So then, with your background,

Wow, so that's a lot.

91

Let's step back.

92

How did you get involved with the museum?

93

Hilary Billman: So when

we lived in Wyoming.

94

See I told you we lived everywhere.

95

We lived in Wyoming.

96

And we lived in a small town that

was mostly coal mining and my husband

97

was teaching middle school there.

98

And there weren't very many jobs for

people that weren't either teachers

99

in the schools or, coal miner.

100

And they have a small museum

there that they decided they were

101

gonna hire a full time director.

102

And they wanted somebody

that could write grants.

103

So I applied for the job.

104

And I got the job.

105

So it was coal mining,

bootlegging, and prostitution.

106

and so I started out at this museum.

107

And it's I learned as I went and, figured

out how to write grants, how to do the

108

exhibits and different things like that.

109

And we were there almost seven years

until we decided that we actually

110

needed better health insurance.

111

And things for our children.

112

So my husband started applying

for university jobs at that point.

113

So we did move out of Wyoming,

but yeah, I started out not

114

knowing a lot about museums.

115

And now it has become my career.

116

Cliff Duvernois: I know that,

because I know you said you didn't

117

start out knowing a lot about it.

118

So during all of the college classes

that you took, there was nothing about

119

Hilary Billman: No.

120

I

121

No, I don't have history.

122

And I don't have any history background.

123

But I've always been fascinated

with history, so that's

124

always been a hobby of mine.

125

Everywhere we go, we go to museums.

126

Sure.

127

You know, and I love

finding out about places.

128

And then grant writing, grant

writing's, grant writing.

129

You just, you learn the

basics of grant writing.

130

And that was just my step into that world.

131

And, I learned everything from

that, just from that point on.

132

Cliff Duvernois: So now you have made

the move from Wyoming to Marquette.

133

Your husband's got the job

teaching at the university.

134

You got better health insurance.

135

How did you get involved with

the Maritime Museum here?

136

Hilary Billman: Okay.

137

Yeah.

138

And I will also say that in

between Wyoming and Marquette,

139

we lived in you ready?

140

New Mexico, Iowa, and Oklahoma.

141

And then Marquette.

142

So, yeah.

143

So, and ask me the question one more

time, because I got sidetracked with the

144

Cliff Duvernois: okay.

145

So now your husband has moved

from, where was the last place,

146

Hilary Billman: Yeah, Oklahoma,

so how did I get the job?

147

Is that what you were asking?

148

Yeah, yeah, so I just they

were looking for a director.

149

There had been some issues

with the previous director.

150

And she wasn't working here in any longer.

151

So they were looking for a director.

152

And I a friend of mine knew my background

and told another friend who knew a board

153

member who contacted me and said You know,

why don't you send in your resume and, you

154

know, we'll try to get it set up so we can

come in and talk to some board members.

155

And that's where it happened.

156

Cliff Duvernois: So what I would like

to do is I would just like to take just

157

a quick minute or two to talk about

what happened before you came on board.

158

Because I think that's instrumental

in how what a big success this

159

museum has come to this day.

160

So why don't you talk to us a little

bit about the circumstances that

161

brought you into this position.

162

Hilary Billman: Right, so when

they hired me, basically the

163

museum had no money in the bank.

164

And the board was doing everything because

the previous director had embezzled funds

165

and pretty much emptied our bank accounts.

166

And there were a lot of things going

on that the board didn't know about

167

that they very quickly became aware of.

168

And so they were looking basically for

somebody to come in and at first just keep

169

the doors open and just keep it going.

170

Try to get as many volunteers as we could.

171

And so they hired me and I, it was

basically like starting over here.

172

We did a lot of cleaning

updated a lot of exhibits.

173

I started writing grants.

174

Saving a little bit of money.

175

So slowly our bank account got a

little bit better and healthier.

176

Today we're in a great place where

if there's actually something that we

177

want to do, we have the funds to do it

And it's our board is really strong.

178

Made our board even stronger I

mean they figured out a little

179

bit even more about things that

they had to do to run the museum.

180

And they've always been a working board

But boy, they really had to dig their

181

heels in and get us out of that hole.

182

But yeah, it's been a journey, but

we're in a great place right now

183

Cliff Duvernois: So, why do you think it

is that, cause with the previous director

184

coming on board and seeing how, in what

poor shape the museum was in financially

185

speaking, exhibit wise, I can imagine

a lot of trust with the community.

186

So why is it that the board

decided to keep pushing through,

187

keep this open rather than say,

you know what, it was a good run.

188

I think because it

189

Hilary Billman: I think because

it is so important to Marquette.

190

Preserving the maritime history.

191

We are a maritime town.

192

And everybody that's on the board.

193

We tend to get board members that

aren't just looking for volunteer work.

194

They feel very strongly

about the organization.

195

Some of them are shipwreck hunters.

196

Some of them are former scuba divers.

197

Teachers artists, all kinds of

different backgrounds, but they

198

all, they really love this place.

199

And they want to see it do well.

200

We have one of the original six board

members that actually started the

201

202

So there's, I mean, there's a lot of

community collect connections here.

203

So it was just they felt they

feel something for this place.

204

Cliff Duvernois: And then I can imagine

too with you having built that museum

205

essentially from the ground up in Wyoming.

206

Coming here, you were able to

bring a lot of that skill set here

207

Hilary Billman: Yeah, but they're

both small, non profit museums.

208

And, there you rely heavily on volunteers,

So it's recruiting volunteers and,

209

knowing how to treat your volunteers.

210

So they want to keep coming back,

just all those lessons that I learned

211

in Wyoming were instrumental here.

212

Cliff Duvernois: And you said

something else, too, that really

213

kind of struck my curiosity, is

that a lot of the board members you

214

were talking about seem to have a

connection somehow with Lake Superior.

215

Like you were talking about shipwreck

divers and things like that.

216

How important is that for them to

have that connection to Lake Superior?

217

That's

218

Hilary Billman: I think it's very

important because it helped me

219

even more because when I first

was hired here I mean, I can

220

look up the history of the area.

221

But I've really had to learn it as I go.

222

And now I'm I'm not an expert yet,

but I'm getting really close on

223

some of the details I mean, I have

all these dates shoved in my head.

224

But they were really helpful.

225

Anytime I have a question I can ask

any of them on you know They all have

226

their own little area of expertise.

227

Cliff Duvernois: Was

228

Hilary Billman: And it was

really helpful to be able to ask

229

them for help when I need it.

230

Cliff Duvernois: And then one of the

things I would like to explore real quick

231

is that, after the previous director left.

232

And now you have come in and you're

working on building this place up and

233

getting money in the, in the checking

account, updating the exhibits.

234

One of the big factors that kind

of gets tarnished in this is

235

the reputation of the museum.

236

And I can imagine a lot of people

were probably pretty upset because

237

they've been coming here for years.

238

They brought their kids here who

are now bringing their kids here.

239

And now all of a sudden boom this

hits and I it was probably big news

240

in the area when this came out.

241

How do you go about building

back that trust with the public.

242

Hilary Billman: Right.

243

Well, it was interesting because I

remember reading about it in the paper

244

before I'd even considered the job here.

245

And I remember thinking,

wow, look what happened here.

246

That kind of that rumor mill thing.

247

You're like, wow, that's crazy.

248

But it is.

249

We did lose some members.

250

And I feel like we did lose a

lot of respect from community

251

members because of what happened.

252

Because even though in some ways a

lot of it, you know we didn't do it.

253

Somebody else did it.

254

It's you know the accountability for it.

255

Um, When people have seen what's happened

to the museum, we really cleaned it

256

up Inside outside looks fantastic.

257

We have brand new windows.

258

We were just able to fund a new roof.

259

It just we're really trying to

do things for the community.

260

where we're placed in the community right

next to the lakeshore on the bike path.

261

It's just really important

to me that we look good.

262

And we look appealing.

263

And tourists want to come here.

264

And even local people want to come here.

265

So it took a lot of work And it took

a lot of money slowly over the years

266

to sort of build that trust back.

267

I think.

268

Cliff Duvernois: Yeah, and you,

the word that you used there that

269

really caught my attention is slowly.

270

Yeah.

271

Because it's not something that

you can just fix overnight.

272

You know, it's showing up

a day after day after day.

273

And just keep putting that, that

honesty forward, So to speak.

274

And one of the things I know

before the microphones went

275

hot, you And I had discussed it.

276

But one of the things you talked about

making the board stronger, right?

277

I think that's the term that you

used earlier in the interview,

278

making the board stronger.

279

One of those was creating

a position of treasurer.

280

I have never heard of

before in a nonprofit.

281

But I think that's an excellent idea.

282

Hilary Billman: Yeah, They had to

redo everything with the finances

283

on just so nothing happened again

ever and nothing, there's so

284

many steps we have to go through.

285

And it did.

286

I mean, it made us financially very

strong now because we have to be so

287

much more accountable for everything

that we do, every penny that comes in.

288

But everybody took a different task.

289

And worked on it when they had to rebuild

and we had a brand new board member that

290

came on as a treasurer and just took a

whole new approach to how we do things.

291

Um, you know, We got outside

accountants to look at things and

292

all the things that, probably should

have done, but had been done before.

293

But, I, for whatever reason.

294

It hadn't occurred to some of them to

do it that way, but now we're doing it.

295

Cliff Duvernois: For our audience

we're going to take a quick

296

break and thank our sponsors.

297

When we come back, uh, we're going

to talk about, uh, how the museum has

298

improved some of the exhibits that you

can see when you come here and what

299

you can expect when you come here.

300

We'll see you after the break.

301

Cliff DuVernois (2): Are

you enjoying this episode?

302

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303

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304

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307

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310

Cliff Duvernois: Hello everyone and

welcome back to Total Michigan, where

311

we interview ordinary Michiganders

doing some pretty extraordinary things.

312

I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.

313

Today we're at the Marquette

Maritime Museum with Executive

314

Director Hilary Billman.

315

And Hilary before the break, we

were talking about how the museum

316

is basically weathered this storm.

317

No pun intended.

318

And it's starting to come

back better than ever.

319

What I would like to do is I

would like to talk about, because

320

there's so much stuff here.

321

This place is like densely packed.

322

It's almost a little bit overwhelming.

323

But the exhibits that you got here, all

of the, All the goodies that you got here.

324

Where did that come from?

325

Is it just is it private donations?

326

Is it how does that work?

327

Hilary Billman: work?

328

So most of the items that we

have, most of the artifacts are

329

donations, private donations.

330

We do have some loans from like

the United States Coast Guard

331

on some of our bigger artifacts.

332

Um, We try not to do a lot of

loans just because we're not, we

333

don't have a lot of storage area.

334

So it just, if we have to store

things for people, it doesn't

335

really work that well for us.

336

But yeah, most of the stuff has been

loaned from people throughout the

337

338

Cliff Duvernois: then how do you go

about adding this stuff to your exhibit

339

because every museum's got a flow to it

340

So, the amount of square footage you

have in here is at a premium, so until

341

you buy another building You kind

of have to work with what you got.

342

Hilary Billman: Yes.

343

Cliff Duvernois: how do you work

work to get in these new exhibits

344

or these new donations that

people have got that come in?

345

Hilary Billman: Right, so if we

have something that comes in that

346

we want to immediately exhibit, then

we have to take something else out.

347

It all becomes just figuring

out, how we're gonna rotate.

348

A lot of the things that we have

in here, we don't rotate just

349

because they're so important.

350

Like, our Fresnel lens collection is

one of the best on the Great Lakes.

351

We've got a diorama of the

shipwreck of the Maryland.

352

And A couple of really important

shipwrecks that we have.

353

We also have exhibits

dedicated specifically to them.

354

But other than that, there are places

where, like from last year, if you came

355

back like we're sitting right next to

a case right now where this is a case

356

where I can easily pull things out

and put things back in if I need to.

357

But, and we also have a exhibit

space right next to our children's

358

corner where I can change things

out every year if I want to.

359

Um, And so I try to do something really

different than what we're doing with

360

the rest of the museum in that space.

361

Cliff Duvernois: space.

362

Now, it's not just the museum,

but you also have a lighthouse.

363

Hilary Billman: We do.

364

Yes.

365

Yes.

366

The lighthouse is actually

owned by the city of Marquette.

367

It was previously owned by the Coast Guard

368

But we have been doing tours of

369

Even when it was Coast Guard property.

370

We had special permission to go through

the Coast Guard grounds and do the tours.

371

We do three tours a day.

372

Tuesday through Sunday, closed on Mondays.

373

And those are done specifically

by our amazing crew of volunteers.

374

We have volunteers that have

been coming back for years just

375

to do the lighthouse tours.

376

Now, in the lighthouse, there is, you can

go on the first floor of the lighthouse,

377

where we have a lot of exhibits.

378

There's also a little basement space.

379

Just this past year, the city has redone

the second floor of the lighthouse, which

380

has not been open to the public in years.

381

So we kind of have the second floor

of the lighthouse is a blank slate

382

of all these empty rooms right now.

383

They just finished painting it.

384

And they're going to be

doing the floors soon.

385

So we're actually, we do have more exhibit

space up there that we're going to do

386

take some of the things from the museum.

387

And some of the things from the first

floor in the lighthouse that sort of

388

we can dedicate into specific exhibits

on shipwrecks and families in the

389

lighthouse and that kind of thing.

390

Yeah, we're very lucky to be able to

have this lighthouse to tour also.

391

Cliff Duvernois: Now because you've

got all this unfettered access to

392

it, and now the second floor is open,

The question for me then is that,

393

does this give you another place to

put all these historical artifacts?

394

Hilary Billman: It does.

395

One thing about the lighthouse

though is there's no heat up there.

396

And so anything we put up there has to be

able to withstand, no heat kind of thing.

397

And although, so we're a maritime museum

too, which means a lot of our artifacts

398

can withstand, you know, weather.

399

Which is the point of the maritime.

400

Yeah, so we think about that

when we redo that second floor.

401

We'll think about, how we're

going to do that with the no

402

heat and keeping things up there.

403

And sometimes if you have like photographs

and things, it just means you have to,

404

get new copies of the photographs and

change them out every couple of years.

405

Cause, it's humid or, or

something up there, there's no

406

humidity control or anything.

407

It's, it's really just an old

lighthouse that you get to walk through.

408

Cliff Duvernois: And somebody

lived in that at one point

409

Hilary Billman: Oh yeah, yeah,

there were two apartments.

410

And there, it's 45 steps to

get up into the lighthouse.

411

And the Coast Guard families that used

to live there right before they stopped

412

having them live there used to have

to carry their groceries up 45 steps.

413

And they didn't like that and,

you know, it's kind of an old,

414

damp building and so, yeah,

415

Cliff Duvernois: Yes.

416

Hilary Billman: wasn't the most

popular place to live towards the end.

417

Cliff Duvernois: So let's talk a little

bit about because one of the things,

418

you know, with museums is you, you make

it a point to have rotating exhibits

419

through here throughout the years,

probably, talk to us about what are some

420

of those exhibits that are going on now?

421

Hilary Billman: Probably our most

famous exhibits that we have in

422

here now are the Fresnel lenses

that we have in our main gallery.

423

So we have a collection of Fresnel

lenses, which are the original lenses

424

that they used in lighthouses that

are made of glass in France from,

425

426

We have the number two Fresnel

lens from Standard Rock, which is

427

a huge, beautiful piece of artwork.

428

That's one of the artifacts that

we have that belong to the U.

429

S.

430

Coast Guard that's on

permanent display here.

431

So, we try to change out the exhibit

that's around the Fresnel lenses

432

because those aren't going anywhere.

433

So we can update some of the things

going on with the lighthouses or every

434

once in a while, we'll get another

type of lighthouse lens that we can

435

add to the collection to show how

they've progressed through the years.

436

So we're always trying

to do that kind of thing.

437

Every year I come in here.

438

And I look around and I think,

okay, what needs to be updated?

439

What haven't we done in a while?

440

What needs to be updated?

441

And like We're sitting right

in front of an exhibit that we

442

updated just a couple of years ago.

443

If you would have seen what the

walls looked like on this exhibit

444

about five years ago, This would have

been your first choice to update.

445

They were, it was not very pretty.

446

And so one of our board

members is a mural artist.

447

So she came in and just,

painted some, yeah, yeah.

448

So we, we're so lucky she comes in

and does some of that stuff for us.

449

So yeah, we just, we try to update

everything at least two exhibits

450

a year is how we try to do it.

451

Cliff Duvernois: To go back to the

Fresnel lenses, because I'm really

452

intrigued by this whole concept, So

for somebody who might be listening

453

to this, what is a Fresnel lens?

454

How big are they?

455

And you talked about how

they came from France.

456

Hilary Billman: Yes, so the

Fresnel lenses were the original

457

lenses that were in lighthouses.

458

Now they have the LED lenses

that you don't need to tend to.

459

You just go and check to make sure

they're turned on or whatever.

460

So the Fresnel lenses used to be sometimes

they used whale oil to keep them lit,

461

sometimes kerosene and then gasoline.

462

And eventually they were electrified.

463

But they were all made

especially for in house lighting.

464

each lighthouse that they sat in.

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So they came in six sizes.

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One is the largest.

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Six is the smallest.

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There were no number

ones on the Great Lakes.

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So number two is the biggest

one on the Great Lakes.

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Ones are usually on the Atlantic seaboard.

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So we have a number two

Fresnel Lens in our collection.

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We have a three and a half.

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And we have a four, and the four that we

have is the exact same one they would have

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had in the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse.

475

So they don't make Fresnel lenses anymore.

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So there aren't very many of

them in the world anymore.

477

So if, if we have them,

you're lucky to have them.

478

So the fact that we have

three, we feel very lucky.

479

And people come in here and don't

understand exactly what they are.

480

But it's just stunning when

you see it for the first time.

481

Cliff Duvernois: the first time.

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How big is

483

Hilary Billman: They come in

different shapes and so it just

484

depends how big the light is that,

I mean, they're not specific sizes.

485

It's just, you know, that like,

so Number one is the biggest.

486

Number six is the smallest.

487

And they're made to order to

fit in the certain lighthouses.

488

Cliff Duvernois: Okay, and then if

somebody were to come here, they've never

489

been here before, talk to us about what

they can expect when they come here.

490

I know you talked about

the Fresnel lenses.

491

What are some other things that you

think that people, if they were going to

492

come here, make it a point to see this?

493

Hilary Billman: Right, so we have two

other exhibits that I'm really proud of.

494

The first one is right

when you walk in the door.

495

We have it's called the Darter Dace Annex.

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We had a captain from World War

II named David McClintock, who's

497

from Marquette, who was the captain

of a submarine called the U.

498

S.

499

S.

500

Darter.

501

And he was really instrumental in the

United States winning the Battle of Leyte

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Gulf in the Philippines in World War II.

503

And we have an entire

room dedicated to that.

504

The exhibit includes a working periscope

in the middle of the room so you can look

505

in the periscope and do a complete 360.

506

Like we just had a field trip in this

morning and the kids can find the

507

lighthouse and then they turn and they

say, Hey, Oh, look, there's somebody

508

walking on the bike path and they, yeah.

509

So it's really fun to look

through the periscope.

510

Cliff Duvernois: you say

it's functioning it's

511

Hilary Billman: functioning periscope.

512

Yes, it's great.

513

Yeah.

514

Yeah.

515

So that's one thing

that people really like.

516

And I don't think people

understand really how instrumental

517

McClintock was in this battle.

518

I mean, even people from Marquette

haven't really heard of him in that sense.

519

And so it's nice to be able to

give him credit where it's due

520

for everything that he did.

521

We also have a fantastic exhibit

on Lake Superior shipwrecks and

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Marquette shipwrecks with maps and

details about different ships that

523

have gone down and some that are still

out there that they haven't found.

524

And ones that they have found

including some ship models all kinds of

525

different things that you can look at.

526

Cliff Duvernois: It's interesting you

say that because I want to say that I

527

read somewhere that the Great Lakes has

got the greatest number of shipwrecks.

528

Hilary Billman: Yes so the,

They actually don't even know

529

how many shipwrecks there are.

530

There may be in, in Lake Superior,

there may be 600 that they know

531

about and know, and just because

there's a shipwreck doesn't mean

532

that there's still something to find.

533

There could be a shipwreck and

then they recovered the ship.

534

But a lot of times there are still

ships at the bottom of the lake.

535

Like we have an exhibit on the Henry B.

536

Smith, which is a ship

537

And it took them 100 years to find it

because it was 500 feet down in a place

538

where they weren't expecting to look.

539

I mean, it's a big lake.

540

Lots of different depth changes.

541

And so there are places in the lake

where there are lots of rock shoals,

542

and all kinds of things going on,

and there's shipwrecks everywhere.

543

Cliff Duvernois: Hilary, if somebody

is listening to this and they want

544

to come and check out the museum,

they're coming to Marquette to visit,

545

Hilary Billman: live

546

Yeah.

547

Um.

548

Cliff Duvernois: how can they find you?

549

Where can they go?

550

Hilary Billman: We have a

pretty prominent Facebook page.

551

If you look up Marquette Maritime Museum.

552

We also have a website, mqtmaritimemuseum.

553

com, which has got basically

everything you need to know.

554

There's a plan your visit page on

there that where you can figure

555

out ticket prices and everything.

556

But we are open from

mid May to mid October.

557

So we are seasonal because

of the weather in Marquette.

558

And we are closed Mondays.

559

But that doesn't mean

we're not busy on Mondays.

560

Usually on Mondays we're doing

like kids art history workshops

561

or something like that.

562

But we do have a calendar of events.

563

It's on our website and

on our Facebook page.

564

We have all kinds of things going

on in the summer still to come.

565

We do evening lighthouse tours.

566

We do sunrise tours.

567

We have a paranormal team that

does lighthouse paranormal tours.

568

And you can actually do

paranormal investigations.

569

It's a great group that has

been doing that for us as

570

fundraisers for a few years.

571

And it's, it's really fun.

572

In the winter months, if you happen

to be visiting Marquette in the winter

573

months, we do a series called Maritime

History on Tap at one of the local brew

574

pubs, the Ore Dock Brewing Company.

575

So once a month you can come and get a

beer and listen to some maritime history.

576

Usually some kind of slideshow

or presentation or a musical

577

Cliff Duvernois: musical.

578

That is

579

Hilary Billman: fun.

580

Yeah.

581

So it's a way to stay

involved in the winter.

582

Keep our name out there.

583

It's fun.

584

Cliff Duvernois: excellent.

585

Uh, Hilary, so much for taking time

out of your schedule to chat with

586

us today really do appreciate it

587

Hilary Billman: I love

talking about this museum.

588

It's a great place.

589

Cliff Duvernois: And for our audience You

can always roll on over to Total Michigan.

590

com click on Hilary's interview And get

the links that she mentioned earlier.

591

We'll see you next time when we

talk to another michigander doing

592

some pretty extraordinary things.

593

We'll see you then