Residents can take a 139-year tour through local history with Campbell Councilman Michael Kotowski on Oct. 21.

Kotowski is hosting History Happy Hour, a monthly event put on by Campbell Historical Museum and Ainsley House for attendees 21 years or older.

Kotowski will share information about the first railroad line that ran through Campbell how the city developed from that point. The councilman will detail what the area was like long before trains and cars, when horses were the main mode of transportation. He will also present his original train-inspired artwork, art prints, maps and other historical publications he has illustrated.

Even going back to his youth, trains have been a big part of Kotowski’s life. When he isn’t managing his consulting business, tending to council duties and sitting on numerous boards of directors, Kotowski focuses on his love for pairing art with railroad history.

“I had been drawing pictures of trains since I was 3 or 4,” Kotowski said in an interview with this newspaper. “My parents had a victory garden during World War II along the railroad tracks. I was always there every day, waving to the engineer on the train.”

While Kotowski didn’t achieve his childhood dream of becoming a locomotive engineer, he still found a way to incorporate his love for trains and local railroad history into his advertising career.

For 17 years Kotowski drew illustrations of trains and railroads for Orchard Supply Hardware’s calendars. At History Happy Hour he will give away prints of his illustrations. Kotowski has even illustrated covers for books, many of which sit in his home library.

Kotowski will term out fof his council seat in December. He will still run his visual arts design consulting business and serve on historic train and museum boards as well as the Friends of the Heritage Theatre nonprofit. He said he’ll also find time to work with model trains and even build a miniature railroad in his back yard.

Kotowski is also an avid runner, and says he’ll be able to log a few more miles in his post-council years.

“I’ll have time to run three times a week instead of once,” Kotowski said.

He ran competitively in college and in his Air Force days during the Kennedy Administration. He currently runs in local races and fun runs for charities.

Registration is required for History Happy Hour. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a walk through the lower level of the Ainsley House. 300 Grant St. Tickets are $15 per person and include drink tickets and snacks. Identification is required for entry.

Registration can be done online or by calling 408.866.2104.

For more information, email Kerry Perkins at kerryp@cityofcampbell.com.