Column: Preserving the Past, by Pat Mulso

We had a great trip to Montana to see our newest granddaughter, Kepler Ann, now 3 months old. She is such a good baby and has her grandpa wrapped around her little finger with just one visit. While there, we enjoyed the view of the snow-capped mountains, the beautiful big Montana sky and were able to enjoy a visit to a small town that was having a Christmas festival. Their small museum was open, and we visited that also. They had crafts in the school gym, hot chocolate and cookies in the church basement along with crafts and face painting for the children. We missed Cowboy Claus, but visited the general store, fire hall and ended our visit with a great meal at their small café.

We had a nice, but short visit during our round trip that netted just over 2,600 miles in the six-day trip. The weather was good with just a little snow in Montana and Wyoming on the way home. We did have a close encounter with a deer on the way to Montana, but avoided contact. This made us more alert to our surroundings the rest of the trip.

We had received a call the first day of our vacation of the death of a family member; the funeral was put off until the day after our trip. These circumstances bring to light the fact that we never know what the day will have in store for us and should cause us to put in perspective what is important and what is not.

As we enter the Christmas season, be thankful for your blessings and don’t put off things you should do or showing someone you care about them. This is the perfect season to give from the heart and make the difference in someone’s life. Remember those that are less fortunate than you. Simple acts of kindness are never wasted. Don’t be the person that looks back on their life and wishes they had done this or that; be the person that looks back on their life and says, I’m glad I took time to do this and that and share those memories with your family. I’m glad that I spent the last night my dad was alive watching Perry Mason with him on late-night television. In fact, I watch the reruns of Perry Mason most week nights at 10:30 p.m. and remember the conversations we had and how we would try to figure out the plot before it was revealed to us.

The museum will be hosting a four-hour refresher defensive driving class from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2013. The cost is $19 per participant. You must pre-register for the class. Call or stop by the museum to register. We will need your driver’s license information at the time of registration. A four-hour refresher course is needed every three years after the initial eight-hour class, in order to continue receiving a 10 percent discount on your auto insurance.

Thank you to the more than 200 museum members who have already renewed their museum memberships for 2013. To the rest of the residents of Freeborn County, I encourage you to renew or become a member for the first time to help us continue to protect and preserve the history of Freeborn County and its people now and for future generations. Household memberships begin at just $25. Any donation over that is tax deductible.

The museum addition is taking shape. The roof is on and the heating units will be installed soon, and then the work will begin on the inside. Consider making a donation to the building fund so we can get the inside completed and begin the transition of moving certain exhibits into the new addition and then being able to add new exhibits and better organize our archives. It is an exciting time for us. Be a part of history and help us complete this project.

The museum and library will be closed from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1, 2013. We will re-open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2013.

 

Pat Mulso is the executive director of the Freeborn County Historical Museum in Albert Lea.