Final Hear, Here installment focus of tours this weekend

The last of the entries of an award-winning oral history project in La Crosse get highlighted during tours this weekend.

The Hear, Here project started four years ago as a way to share personal histories of La Crosse.

Staggered tours in downtown La Crosse related to the oral histories run from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday (details below).

The project has gone well above the number of stories UW-La Crosse history professor Ariel Beaujout originally planned. Asked why she thought there has been so much interest, she said, “I think that people like to have their stories heard.

“I think that we don’t listen to each other very often in the world in general,” Beaujout continued. “In particular, I think it’s hard to be able to tell strangers our story — this is what happened to me here, this is who I am, this is me making my mark.

The final 17 installments of Hear, Here will highlight submissions from the perspective of Ho Chunk, Hmong, African American, Latino, LGBTQ+ and people who have experienced homelessness.

It will bring to 70 the total number of oral histories told through the project, and walking tours in downtown La Crosse this weekend will highlight the last installments.

“For me, having a series of stories from people who we don’t usually hear from, is a very important element of this project,” Beaujout said. “It helps us understand our community in a much broader sense.”

All the stories can all be found here or accessed by dialing numbers on signs posted through the city’s downtown.

Eight different tours will depart every 15 minutes from Downtown Main Street, Inc. (500 Main St., La Crosse). All tours will take about an hour. The event begins at 11 a.m. with opening remarks at 11:15 a.m. The event is free and includes food and coffee from Jules Coffee House.

Walking tours:
11:30 a.m. — Ho-Chunk Monuments
11:45 a.m. — La Crosse racial injustice
Noon — The Purpose of a Park
12:15 p.m. — Lost Architecture
12:30 p.m. — LGBTQ+ La Crosse
12:45 p.m. — Bottoms Up: Bar Culture
1 p.m. — Red Light La Crosse
1:15 p.m. — Taking a Stand: La Crosse Protests
*Participants should bring mobile phones to hear the stories.