Cheesehead connection
A man is visiting 65 major U.S. cities to make city-specific mementos, including a Cheesehead in Milwaukee.
A baseball bat in Louisville.
A model car in Detroit.
A street sign in Indianapolis.
These are just a handful of mementos Daniel Seddiqui has made in recent months on his quest to explore the “unique craftsmanship” that depicts the culture, industry or history of about 65 major U.S. cities.
“It’s a piece of that city — I’ll always have that connection with,” he said.
Seddiqui — who lives in Bend, Oregon — has already hit more than a dozen places for his “A Piece of Your City” project, and is aiming to make it to the rest by the end of 2021.
“The reason I’m doing it is because people are eager to travel again — that’s one — including myself,” he said. “And then two, people have lost that connection with people and I think this is a great way to travel. To make really meaningful connections with people and the locations by having these type of hands-on experiences.”
While an expedition of this magnitude might sound daunting, Seddiqui is no stranger to it. “A Piece of Your City” is actually his fourth nationwide exploration.
And on Aug. 9, he’ll reach the Milwaukee part of his journey.
What he plans to do in Milwaukee
So far, Seddiqui said, he’s going to be making a foam Cheesehead at the Original Cheesehead Factory of Foamation Inc.
“Of course, being in Dairyland, that made sense,” he said.
He also plans to learn how to polka at Lakefront Brewery and find out more about Cream City brick from an etcher.
“I’m trying to tackle a lot of what identifies the city’s uniqueness,” he said.
A look at his nationwide journey
While Seddiqui has previously been to every city he’s visiting on this tour, he said this project is allowing him to really focus in on the cities themselves.
While planning out what to do at each stop, he said he’s “constantly thinking creatively” about tying together making something with what makes sense for specific locations.
He said he often works with visitors bureaus, including VISIT Milwaukee, for ideas on what to do while he’s in town and for sponsorship.
“They need to find ways to get visitors in and have them have unique experiences,” he said. “I feel like what I’m offering is a unique approach to traveling and connecting . ... I wanted to create these types of experiences that are meaningful and memorable.”
Seddiqui is breaking up his journey into different jaunts based on region.
The first was the Northeast, which included New York City, Boston and Philadelphia. His second, “the industrial Midwest,” featured Cincinnati, Louisville and Indianapolis.
Milwaukee will fall under his third region, with Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago, Oklahoma City and others.
Seddiqui has been to Milwaukee about four times in the past, and remembers being a fan of its layout, lakefront, beer and dairy industries, and “Midwest kindness.”
Turning itineraries into book
So what is Seddiqui doing with all the experiences he’s collecting? He blogs about each one on his website, livingthemap.com.
With the itineraries from this journey, he plans to compile a book. He’s also been filming his excursions, and wants to eventually turn that footage into YouTube videos.
“These are just things that can inspire people to do different types of traveling,” he said. “These hands-on things are going to be more meaningful, in my opinion.”
Seddiqui grew up on maps, atlases, globes and baseball cards.
“It’s something that’s been ingrained in the way I was brought up,” said Seddiqui, who was raised in the San Francisco Bay area. “I’ve always been curious about America, even as a little kid.”
Seddiqui graduated with his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Southern California in 2005. When he didn’t find full-time employment by 2008 after going through about 120 rounds of job interviews, he decided to try out 50 different jobs in 50 states.
“That was a journey born also out of curiosity, but also desperation to find work during the recession,” he said. “That journey really opened my world up. I have just been, ever since, wanting to learn about people — different things that identify us in unique ways.”
In Wisconsin, he worked at Widmer’s Cheese Cellars in Theresa.
He turned his adventures into the book “50 Jobs in 50 States: One Man’s
Journey of Discovery Across America,” which was published by Berrett-Koehler Publishing and released in 2011.
Now, Seddiqui works full-time, helping students find jobs after graduation.
‘This is my passion’
One of his other projects was learning about different social epidemics, including obesity and unemployment, in the “hardest-hit communities” in the country.
He turned those experiences into the book “Going the Extra Mile: One Man’s Curiosity Through America Leads to Compassion.”
“That was an incredible, humbling experience,” he said. “I wrote that one because I wanted to create compassion or inspire compassion of one another . ... We could all be born in different circumstances . ... I just wanted to put myself in their shoes.”
He also embarked on an “American Bucket List,” participating in “culturally unique” events or activities in all 50 states. He sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Utah and attended Oktoberfest U.S.A. in Wisconsin.
In addition to his day job, writing and travels, Seddiqui is a speaker, an athletic coach and father. In the future, he dreams of starting his own boutique travel business.
“This is my passion — to learn about people — especially America,” he said. “We’re incredibly diverse, and I think we need to get back to being prideful of America and what we have achieved in terms of these amazing things we’ve created.”