Finishing the Story: Doc Heide’s Long Journey to Belgian Hell – Door County Pulse

Researching Belgian Roots

Heide’s work on the new play didn’t end there. He has a Ph.D., after all, so he takes his background studies seriously.

“I did very extensive research for that show, interviewing lots of folks from the Belgian-American community here,” he said.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the state has the largest Belgian-American community in the country, comprising over 60,000 people. And they’ve done a good job preserving their culture.

“UW-Green Bay, where I got my undergraduate degree, has an enormous Belgian-American Research Collection on the 7th floor of the library,” Heide said. “They have recordings of hundreds of hours of interviews with Belgian farmers and Belgian community members. I was able to go up there and spend many, many hours transcribing tapes and writing down authentic expressions and linguistic styles – there are so many really fun ways that they use language. I had not been aware of this, even though I had grown up in Wisconsin.”

“I interviewed farmers here and even went to Belgium to do deep background,” Heide continued. “I went to the cathedral in downtown Brussels and asked the priest what he expects happens in heaven. And he said, ‘Well, when we get to heaven, we’ll eat saffron rice with golden spoons.’ That’s such a beautiful phrase.”

Read the full piece below.

Source: Finishing the Story: Doc Heide’s Long Journey to Belgian Hell – Door County Pulse