Happy Easter from the Freeborn County Museum, Library & Historical Village!

It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming in the New Year and now here it is almost the middle of April. Where does time go? As the executive director of FCHS, I am a member of C.L.O.V.E. (Council of Local Organizations for Volunteer Effectiveness) and next week, April 19-2, is National Volunteer Week. We will be participating in the volunteer fair at Northbridge Mall on Wednesday, April 22, from 3 to 7 p.m. We invite everyone to come to the fair and check out the many volunteer opportunities available in Freeborn County. There will be entertainment and door prize drawings. The event is sponsored by C.L.O.V.E., Riverland Generations Project Go — Golden Opportunities and Riverland Community College. We want to say a special thank you to all the volunteers that help us at the museum throughout the year.

There are many organizations that would not be able to exist without their volunteers and this is just a small way to say thank you to those that help make our community a better place to live! We would also like to say thank you to our sponsors, to those who donated door prizes or gave discounts or have helped in any way with our volunteer recognition. We have a very generous community; both the volunteers and businesses have made this event possible. Hope to see you on April 22 at Northbridge Mall!

The museum will be hosting a four-hour AARP refresher defensive driving class on Thursday, April 23, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $19 and you must pre-register for the class. You will need your driver’s license number and your AARP number (If you are a member) at the time of registration. You need not be a member of AARP or the museum to take the class.

If you have ever thought about being a tour guide at the museum, now is the time to stop by or give us a call. We will be hosting a tour guide orientation this Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. and welcome you to come. Please RSVP if you plan to attend by calling 373-8003.

We are busy preparing for our many school tours and Discover History Days and are glad that it is finally showing signs of spring as we have been struggling to keep three of our four furnaces running this winter. We will be having two separate furnace fundraising projects. When I wrote the first grant I thought we would only be replacing two furnaces, but we will need to replace three furnaces and add one air-conditioning unit for the library. So, if you would like to make a donation to the furnace or air-conditioning fund, please make check out to FCHS and mark “Furnace Fund” in the memo section and mail or drop off to FCHS, 1031 Bridge Ave., Albert Lea. We appreciate all donations. We hope to complete both of these projects this summer.

As we have completed the numbers for the first quarter of our year our attendance at the museum is up 36 percent over last year for the first quarter! This is so exciting, because we were up last year, plus the first quarter is normally our slowest time. We have had visitors from many states and foreign countries already this year. We have many tours, reunions and special events booked for the summer and are looking to have another record breaking year of attendance. If you have not taken the opportunity to visit your local museum, library and historical village, we encourage you to do so — we have many interesting exhibits behind the doors of the Freeborn County Museum, Library & Historical Village just waiting for you to explore.

My granddaughter, who lives in Rapid City, S.D., e-mailed me last week and said they were having a real blizzard out there. She said the snow was so high that if they climbed on the snow it would take them right to the roof of their school. WOW, I’m glad I’m here! Have a great week!

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