It seems I’ve chosen one heck of a time to get involved in the Columbus history scene.

The city’s bicentennial has the whole region caught up in stories of yesteryear as we imagine what future we are building for our beloved city. Columbus is blessed with dozens of knowledgeable historians, and now we amateurs and enthusiasts are coming out of the woodwork to celebrate 200Columbus.

When I was hired last fall, I distinctly recall a member of the hiring committee telling me the first priority of my new job was to “connect the dots.” During an event last week, I felt as though the history dots were flying together in a kaleidoscope.

I’m a proud member of WOSU. I can’t live without my NPR. In fact, I’m a member of WCBE, too — that’s how addicted I am to National Public Radio programming.

I digress. I was invited to the Feb. 1 preview party of the “Columbus Neighborhoods: Franklinton and Downtown” documentary as a member of WOSU. As I walked up to COSI, the event venue, I was thinking about all of the ways one can say “thank you” to members. A little wine, a little cheese, a little documentary premiere — I felt valued as a member. Knowing that feeling and what it takes to create it for members is very important for me as director of the German Village Society.

That’s a dot: Treat your members occasionally. Little events and gestures can go a long way.

The first person I saw when I entered COSI was my colleague, program and operations manager Russ Arledge. Russ was there to help the Columbus Historical Society put the finishing touches on its move to COSI. He was called in to help on the project because he is one of those legitimate Columbus historians I spoke of earlier, and I thought how lucky German Village is to have him on staff. He brings to the job a lifetime in the village, along with a series of history jobs at the former Air Museum at Port Columbus and the Ohio Historical Society. He has tackled his role mentoring me on German Village history with aplomb.

A second dot: Appreciate the historical talents — Russ’ and many more — that German Village offers the city.

Before the producers rolled the film, COSI took a moment to show us its latest installation art piece. “Breath of Life” was created by New York City artist Stuart Williams and it is a light show that makes the façade of the old Central High School building appear to breathe. Standing next to my friend watching the “Breath of Life,” I asked her what Central High looked like when she moved to town as a high-schooler. She said it was an abandoned building. But look at it now.

Another dot: Columbus does not automatically knock over old buildings. Thanks in part to the emphasis German Village founders placed on preservation, Columbus embraces historic places and breathes new life into them.

Finally, it was show time on the giant screen in the John Glenn Theater. “Columbus Neighborhoods: Franklinton and Downtown” is a feast for the eyes and the ears, just like the episode featuring German Village. The stories about Franklinton’s founding and the flood that nearly leveled it in 1913 were fascinating. All of the old photos, the re-enactments by local talent performed at the Ohio Historical Society (wow!), old audio interviews and rich commentary from a dozen of those top Columbus historians — it all has such a richness. Then, the focus goes over the river to intriguing stories about a fire set in the archives, fights over moving the state capital to Columbus from Chillicothe, sepia-toned photos of a young Broad Street and High Street corridor and then a small mention of WOSU’s founding.

Here is the dot I took from that: I have just formed a group that is going to tackle research for new stories we can tell about German Village.

We want to give tour groups and individuals a fresh reason to come and visit us and learn about historic preservation. The stories shared in the documentary were inspiration — we are about to uncover a treasure trove of new, memorable moments about German Village that will enrich all of us in their retelling. That is an exciting prospect, and we have an opportune moment to get excited about history with the backdrop of the city’s 200th birthday celebration.

Shiloh Todorov is director of the German Village Society.