Jeffrey B. Schmidt

I started exploring ghost towns when I lived in Kansas nearly 30 years ago. These places are so different than where I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. Like time capsules, ghost towns reveal what life was like long ago. Visiting a ghost town or vanishing town, I think about the better days; I wonder if it’s possible to return to days when the stores were open, the schools were bustling, and the post office was the center of life.

When I’m not visiting, researching, or writing about ghost towns, I am a faculty member in the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma. I conduct research, write, and teach in the areas of marketing and innovation.