Caitlin Donnell, a museum specialist at the Birmingham Museum, is the host of “Birmingham Uncovered.”
By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published April 18, 2023
BIRMINGHAM — The Birmingham Museum is introducing a new way for residents to learn about their community’s history through their podcast, “Birmingham Uncovered.”
This podcast was made possible by a public, education or government-access cable grant from the Birmingham Area Cable Board for equipment.
“We are hoping to explore some of the diverse lives from Birmingham’s history and also what they can tell us about not just Birmingham, but also the larger context of their time,” Birmingham Museum specialist and “Birmingham Uncovered” host Caitlin Donnelly said.
The first episodes of the podcast will uncover the stories of Imri and Elijah Fish. The brothers made history in Birmingham, but for very different reasons.
Imri Fish committed the first murder prosecuted in the Oakland County court system; Elijah Fish became a famous abolitionist who was involved with the Underground Railroad.
“We thought that was really interesting and explored how both of their lives kind of went off in these very different tracks, and we explored what their lives can tell us about the history of not just Birmingham, through the early 1800s, but also Michigan and larger trends across the United States,” Donnelly said.
Birmingham Museum Director Leslie Pielack said that “one of the great things about historic content is that people in the past are not that different from people in the present. Caitlin, in particular, has developed some stories that are just amazingly entertaining and interesting.”
Another story the museum plans to cover is the story of Rhoda Bingham Daniels, who moved to Birmingham in the early 1800s with her husband. The Birmingham Museum cites letters written to her from her family, particularly her grandfather, who was a famous Puritan minister, about her infertility and miscarriages. Her story includes themes of life, loss and religion during that time.
“It is a really good opportunity for us to highlight some of these stories that do not quite make it into our exhibits,” Donnelly said. “Maybe they are isolated stories that don’t really make sense in a wider context, or maybe it’s just really interesting, kind of, side stories that don’t get the recognition that bigger stories or stories that have more of a narrative theme would get.”
Other stories to look forward to include the story of Margaret Prindle and her sisters, the man behind why Birmingham has so many parking structures, and the mystery of Robert Opdyke.
“We have our first season pretty well mapped out, and we’re going to start season No. 2 soon and come up with even more ideas,” Donnelly said.
“Birmingham Uncovered,” by the Birmingham Museum, will be available on multiple platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play. Each episode will be around 20 to 25 minutes.