From: Mikki Maddox <mmaddox@necedahschools.org> Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:29:27 -0500 Message-ID: <CADSqQZAMLVHBMSsgeX4ZpAjnT+C0Mvi+A9hR=2d=P628WocjNA@mail.gmail.com> Subject: looking for partners for guest speakers
Hello there,
Mikki Maddox, teacher here at Necedah Area High School. I am also on the
executive board of the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies,
Wisconsin's state social studies teacher organization.
For the past several years, I have accumulated a list of guest speakers I
would like to invite to speak for my students and community here in
Necedah, but putting forth the effort (for them and me) as well as the cost
and some logistical issues to get them here to little Necedah and then
directly home are a little difficult for just me on my own. I have
contacted some potential partners, but have never gotten anything back, so
as I was attending last week's Local History and Historic Preservation
Conference, I thought maybe I could find some partners on this listserve!!!
I am planning some local history projects in conjunction with America250,
highlighting local people, places, and events that had regional, state,
national, and global impacts. My goal is to create travel exhibit panels
for each of the things I want to highlight and have a lecture or
information night that is open to the community. In addition, I would work
with the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies to be able to share these
events virtually, through a zoom link, making them accessible to social
studies teachers (and the public). After each session, I would like to be
available for a pedagogy session to discuss how teachers could apply some
of the history or concepts to their own local contexts. So, in essence, to
make this less community-focused for non-local audiences, I would have
guests emphasize common themes or show how specific people or events could
be instructive case studies for other communities.
To that end, here are at least two people I am interested in scheduling.
(I have a list of others, but these two I have gotten the closest to
booking).
*USS Houston WWII speaker*
I would like to book John Schwarz of the USS Houston Survivors Association
<https://usshouston.org/>. Mr. Schwarz is the son of a survivor and he
shares the story of the USS Houston through his father's point of view.
The Houston was sunk in the Java Sea March 1, 1942. The survivors spent
the rest of the war as POWs. One of my Necedah people was a survivor. I
tried to identify potential community partners from looking at the survivin
g
crew list <https://usshouston.org/crewlist/crewroster.htm>. It appears
that most of the Wisconsin members of the crew were from the Southeast part
of the state--Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, thereabouts. Talking to Mr.
Schwarz, he is very excited to be able to come to Wisconsin and tell the
story. At the time I talked to him, he was willing to pay for his own
airfare to fly from PA to WI to share his story with students. He would
like to fly in to Milwaukee on Southwest, have a day to do a speaking
engagement or so and then overnight or whatever to fly out of Milwaukee.
So, I would be looking at folks to help me pay for a hotel room and
possibly with a little transportation. Let me know if you might be
interested. Here is a blurb below from their website.
*"All of these young men spent the next three and a half years as prisoners
of war. Many were used as slave labor on the infamous Death Railway project
in Burma and Siam (Thailand) of 1942-43. Others were sent to Japan to be
utilized as forced laborers in hazardous jobs for the enemy war machine. A
handful remained on Java, where they worked as clerks and typists for the
occupation bureaucracy, while a trio of others ('the three Harolds') were
shipped over to Borneo as prisoners. Regardless, their treatment was harsh,
unpredictable and existence was never easy. When the Pacific War ended with
the Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, most surviving Allied POWS could
finally see light at the end of an exceedingly dark tunnel. However, by
that time only 291 USS Houston crewmen and 218 sailors from HMAS Perth were
still alive."*
*USS Eastland speaker*
Another speaker I would like to book is connected to the USS Eastland
Disaster in Chicago 1915. His name is Ted Wachholz and he is part of
the Eastland
Disaster Historical Society <https://eastlanddisaster.org/>.
Wikipedia: "SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for
tours. On 24 July 1915, the ship capsized while tied to a dock in the
Chicago River.[1] In total, 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was
the l*argest loss of life from a single shipwreck on the Great
Lakes.[1][2]"*
The local connection for me is that we had two Bohemian families in Necedah
who lost daughters in the disaster. I did a quick Newspapers.com search
and there were other communities in Wisconsin who also lost people. And
some claim that Bob LaFollette's Seamen's Act ironically helped contribute
to the disaster as the extra weight of the lifeboats contributed to the
ferry being top heavy.
Ted has mentioned he is willing to waive his fee to speak to students at
our school, but would need funding for transportation. Once again, we are
several hours away and it seems crazy for him to come all this way (3-4
hours) for maybe an hour presentation. So, if I could collaborate with
some other interested parties, we could partner on some costs and make it
more worth his while.
I have a handful of others, but want to test the waters with these folks
first. Let me know if you might be interested and maybe we can chat with
each other and see what might work.
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Mikki Maddox
-- Mikki Maddox Social Studies/English Teacher Necedah High School 1801 S Main St. Necedah, WI 54646 608-565-2256,x230 mmaddox@necedahschools.org2022-23 Wisconsin VFW State Teacher of the Year
*“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. *
Margaret Mead