As students, we are exposed to the rich history of Marquette in a number of ways.

Downtown boasts a variety of historic buildings that include the Landmark Inn. The Jacobetti Complex sits on the site of the former Lake Superior Powder Company and later the New Process Metals Company. The first ore dock was built by the Jackson Company in 1856. And NMU was founded over a century ago.

Marquette, however, needs an opportunity to be recognized for its history from the eyes of the local citizens. This summer, NPR’s StoryCorps is providing due opportunity for recognition.

Beginning Wednesday, July 2, National Public Radio is hosting its StoryCorps Studio in Marquette for a month. They will be collecting and archiving interviews about the culture and the voice of Marquette citizens, to be preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

The lucky StoryCorps segments will be broadcasted on NPR’s Morning Edition, who has nationally broadcasted 496 of their oral history projects.

StoryCorps boasts archives of over 45,000 interviews and more than 90,000 participants in the 11 years since it began. Marquette’s historic stories will be told and placed in the Library of Congress. There will be stories from the local citizens, who have real insight on what the city has to offer.

In addition, StoryCorps will provide the city with records of the local interviews and stories. This will be a great contribution to the local community, and a way to show off the city from a citizen standpoint.

In the long run, the arrival of NPR StoryCorps Studio in Marquette will provide three principal opportunities for both the city and the Upper Peninsula in general: an opportunity to showcase Marquette on a national level, tell the city’s history from the city’s perspective and will provide Marquette with additional information for the town archives. StoryCorps in Marquette is a win-win-win.