Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 from 5:30PM - 7:00PM

The Detroit History Club, 3103 Commor, Hamtramck MI 48212

Doors open 30 minutes before the ticketed time. Parking is available free on the street.

In person attendance $15.00

Virtual attendance $5 per household 

Virtual attendance is available through our website, $5 per household or free for Detroit History Club members. To learn more about becoming a member of the Detroit History Club, please click here.

Stor·y time

noun: Storytime

1. a regular time at which a story is read aloud.

2. a time when a story is told to a group of assembled people.

   1. Storytime precedes bedtime for some children.

   2. Many public libraries offer storytime on a regular schedule.

Storytime for adults is just that- It’s an hour and a half to listen as an interesting person reads an interesting thing. We invite guests to BYOB (within reason), a small snack and coffee are included. As always, there will be a discussion and time for questions with the reader as part of the program. The reader is announced but their choice of book, newspaper, poems, script, or anything else is kept secret until story-time.

“Interesting People Reading Interesting Things” is a monthly(ish) series hosted by the Detroit History Club. For our 53rd installment, the reader is Jeffrey “Kos” Koslowski—a Claes Nobel/NSHSS Educator of Distinction, recognized for making history meaningful, relevant, and alive for his students. Since 2008, he has taught World and Advanced U.S. History at Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, uniquely situated on the grounds of The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, where his classroom often extends into immersive, place-based experiences.

Beyond the classroom, Koslowski is the former president of Westland Historic Village Park and played a leading role in curating the Eloise Museum, which opened in 2018. For this installment of Interesting People Reading Interesting Things Kos he will reflect on that curatorial work and on the broader significance of the Eloise complex in Michigan’s social and medical history.

Eloise—founded in 1839 as the Wayne County Poorhouse and Farm in what is now Westland—grew into a vast complex that included a general hospital and psychiatric asylum; in 1894 its post office adopted the name “Eloise,” honoring Eloise Dickerson Davock.

By the mid-20th century it spanned roughly 900 acres with 70+ buildings, its own utilities and farm, and housed/treated thousands, making it one of Michigan’s largest public institutions.

Deinstitutionalization and funding shifts led to phased closures (the psychiatric hospital in 1982 and the general hospital by the mid-1980s); most structures were later demolished or repurposed, with cemeteries and a few buildings preserving its history. Join the Detroit History Club gang for an evening that pulls back the curtain on the true history of this storied complex.

Remote Attendance is offered for this event: Attend from anywhere!

If you're unable to attend this presentation at The Detroit History Club in person but wish to join us virtually, we are thrilled to announce our livestream opportunities.  Free for Detroit History Club members or just $5 per household for non members, you'll be emailed a password to an unlisted page on our website where you'll be able to stream the presentation live, as it is happening, participate in the Q&A through texting, and spread the history fun to your home or office.

If you're unable to make the specific date and time, but wish to watch the presentation, the recorded video will remain available to those with the password for ten (10) days following the live event. Streaming works on tablets, computers, or phones that can successfully run any YouTube video.

For remote attendance the weblink and password will be emailed out 2 hours before the start of the event from Office@detroithistorytours.com.

In Person Attendance:

The Detroit History Club is located at 3103 Commor, Hamtramck, MI 48212. Free onsite parking is available along both Commor and McDougall Streets. The History Club is a former funeral home turned history-lover’s hangout.

Guests are welcome to BYOB (within reason).

Coffee and a small treat are included.