Monday, October 03, 2022

With the midterm elections just around the corner and the next presidential campaign season about to begin, get ready by learning the History of Presidential Campaigns during History at Home.

Local historian Tom Kitchen will visit the Fond du Lac Public Library on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. in the McLane Room.

From artifacts to anecdotes, Kitchen will trace the development of presidential elections from the founding of the Republic to recent campaigns. He will display historic memorabilia for guests to view as well as a presentation on the evolution of political campaigns, highlighting some of the interesting elections, events, methods and tactics used.

A native of Fond du Lac, Kitchen is a graduate of UW-Oshkosh and served as a history teacher at St. Mary's Springs High School for 37 years, retiring in 2016.

He was president of the Fond du Lac County Historical Society from 1987-1992, is a past member of the Fond du Lac Historic Landmarks Commission & Historic Preservation Commission, and was a member of the Wisconsin delegation to 10 political national nominating conventions.

History at Home programs focus on stories about the area's past every month. Programs are held on the second Thursday of every month at 6 pm in the McLane Room. The programs are free; no registration is necessary to attend. Those who are unable to attend in person may watch live via Facebook at facebook.com/FDLPL. Many History at Home programs also are captured on video and shared on the library's YouTube channel.