Deidre Vick-Froehlich has retired from the Marquette Depot Museum and Information Center after 15 years of greeting visitors and imparting knowledge about the area.

An Aug. 30 event at the Depot celebrated her retirement, and Monday, Aug. 31 was her final day.

Vick-Froehlich said it was the need for a job that first drew her to the Depot.

“I read the ad and thought, ‘Well, I live here. I know some of the history.’ It just sounded ideal,” she recalled.

Even though she grew up in—and was still living in—Marquette, Vick-Froehlich acknowledged there was a lot she didn’t know. So she read all the historical information in the museum at that time.

“All the flippers,” she said. “And I read the Marquette book, which I reread every year because, as you age, things get fuzzy.”

Vick-Froehlich spoke with other long-time residents too, including Marquette Historical Society leader Terry Sharp.

“I had a lot of mentors,” she quipped.

Now more confident, Vick-Froehlich herself has become a source for those seeking community history.

The Depot was smaller back then, before the expansion that improved the restrooms and storage and added considerable space for historical displays.

“It was just this room—the gift shop—and one bathroom,” Vick-Froehlich said, as well as the information center with its racks of tourism brochures and one room for the museum.

She called the addition “a dream—a big improvement.”

While working at the Marquette Depot Museum and Information Center, Vick-Froehlich greeted guests, tracking the number of visitors and where they were from. She answered questions, assisted those making purchases in the gift shop, collected donations and posted on social media.

“But just talking to people was the biggest part of it,” she said. “I make it a point to greet everybody who comes in here. So far this year, I’ve only missed two or three.”

“If I’m helping somebody in the gift shop or just talking about things, and I see someone come in and go on into the museum, then I’ll chase them down. I just want to welcome you to Marquette,” she joked.

Vick-Froehlich enjoys sharing how much the McGregor-Marquette area has to offer, as well as the Marquette (formerly North McGregor) and railroad history packed into the museum.

“People are always surprised. Some of them say, ‘Well, we pass by here a lot, but we never stop in.’ I hear that a lot,” she said. “They don’t know there’s so much history here.”

Over the years, Vick-Froehlich loved telling stories. She also loved hearing them.

“I’m going to miss the tourists. They all have stories, and some will share their vacations. Some will share something about where they’ve come from, and some will share about what their history is here. ‘Can you help me find my grandpa who worked on the railroad?’ Sometimes I can help them and sometimes I can’t,” she said. “I just have fun with people.”

If the retirement party, online well wishes and flurry of visitors on her last day were any indication, Vick-Froehlich’s efforts did not go unnoticed.

She said people’s kind words and appreciation mean a lot.

“I wasn’t anticipating it,” she said.

While she’ll miss her role at the Depot, Vick-Froehlich is looking ahead as well.

“I’m leaving a good chapter of my life, and I’m leaving it when I should,” she said. “I know what comes next will be good, too. Cause I’ll make it good.”