“The Wicked & the Weird: Stories from the Quad Cities" at the German American Heritage Center -- October 26.
Sunday, October 26, 2 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
"Wicked" and "weird" are two words that can sum up various Quad Cities events and serve to define the region's past and present, and on October 26, historian, storyteller, and Eerie Quad Cities co-author John Brassard Jr. will share fascinating tales of our area history in The Wicked & the Weird: Stories from the Quad Cities, the latest presentation in the German American Heritage Center's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series.
Like the mighty Mississippi River that cleaves the Quad Cities, the region's history can trap the unwary in some unexpected eddies. In Eerie Quad Cities, which Brassard co-wrote with Michael McCarthy, readers are invited to peer through the fog of the past to catch a glimpse of the Tinsmith Ghost of Rock Island or the river serpent with a price on its head. They can get the backstory on the Banshee of Brady Street, and read the 1869 report on a Bigfoot sighting near East Davenport. They can even run the numbers on local UFO activity. From phantom footsteps in the Renwick Mansion to a mausoleum heist in Chippiannock Cemetery, Brassard's and McCarty's fascinating collaboration traces a path through the shadowy heritage of the Quad Cities.
John Brassard Jr. is an author, historian, and storyteller from Eastern Iowa. He is the author of three books, including the recent Murder & Mayhem in Scott County, Iowa, and has written several newspaper and magazine articles on Iowa history for publications including the Quad-City Times, North Scott Press, DeWitt Observer, Catholic Messenger, and Iowa History Journal. Brassard has given multiple presentations across the state, as well as given numerous radio and podcast interviews, and is the host of his own podcast The Kitchen Table Historian, a show about true crime, dark history, and the paranormal throughout the Midwest. He has also worked with the Scott County Historical Preservation Society, Central Community Historical Museum, Friends of Walnut Grove Pioneer Village, Catholic Historical Center, and Clinton County Pioneer Cemetery Association.
The Wicked & the Weird: Stories from the Quad Cities will be presented at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on October 26, with refreshments for this “Kaffee und Kuchen” event served at 1:30 p.m. and John Brassard Jr.'s program beginning at 2 p.m. Participation is free for Heritage Center members and $8 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.
