We just had our annual “Autumn in the Village” and as you were able to see in last Monday’s paper children of all ages enjoyed the day. From the children that shelled or ground corn, participated in the spelling bee, or learned how to make rope to the adults that helped with the archaeological dig, the blacksmith and the guys in the woodworking shop experiencing how all the machinery worked. The weather was perfect, the food was good, we had beautiful music, the demonstrators were excellent, the volunteers were great and the fellowship of those attending were that of a big happy family. We hope that you enjoyed the day and will plan to attend again next year. We want to say a very special thank you to the 97 volunteers who helped to make the day a success by collectively volunteering 548 hours before, during and after the event to make it happen! We also want to express a special thank you to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Freeborn County Chapter 31190 for supplemented funding for this event.

I also would like to thank my family who came from Ohio to help with this event for the fourth year. This year there were five from Ohio and my husband, Arnie, who helped before, during and after the event. My brother, Larry, was the blacksmith and enjoyed working and breaking in the new hood on the forge replaced this past year. He noticed the outside of the building was just painted. My brother-in-law, Marty, was in the general store (he was impressed that his store had been recently painted on the inside); my niece, Jenny, worked in the general store and the photography shop; my sister-in-law, Sue, and my sister, Sandy, both worked in the photography shop. They liked that we had some additional clothing, hats and jewelry for use in the photos. Arnie worked as the cashier for the first two hours and then helped with other errands throughout the afternoon and all helped with set up and clean up for the event.

To add a little more action to the weekend. I planned a surprise 65th birthday party for Arnie on Saturday night. His birthday is actually not until tomorrow, but since my family was here, I thought it would be a great chance to surprise him. And surprise him we did, when he walked into the back room at the American Legion he was surprised to see friends and relatives here to help celebrate his birthday! Now he understands why I was having a hard time getting everything done at home before our family arrived, I was not only busy with Autumn in the Village, but with all the details of a surprise party too! The nice thing about family is that they love you and accept you the way you are. I kept telling him that as long as they had clean sheets, a clean bathroom and food they would overlook the dust! (And they did!)

I began my position as executive director of the Freeborn County Museum, Library & Historical Village four years ago this month.

Looking at next month, the museum will be hosting a four-hour AARP Defensive Driving Class on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $19 and you do need to pre-register for the class.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, the museum will be a hosting a bus trip, “Lefse and Leafing.” We will leave the museum at 8:15 a.m. and return at approximately 4:30 p.m.

We will visit a genuine lefse factory in Rushford and have a tour and lunch there. We will then proceed for a leisurely ride through the Root River Valley to enjoy the turning of the leaves and on our return visit an apple orchard. he cost for this trip is $49 for members and $54 for non-members. The price includes the bus, tour, lunch and a snack. We hope you will join us for the day. You must pre-register and pay to ensure a seat on the trip.

The Freeborn County Genealogical Society is having a Swiss steak fundraiser at the Albert Lea American Legion Post 56 on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. FCGS merged its library holdings with ours several years ago and are very supportive of the FCHS library programs and often donate funds to our projects. Please support its fundraising efforts by attending this event. The cost is $8 for adults and $4 children under 10.

The Freeborn County Historical Society announces an event at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Nov. 7: “An Evening Tribute to John Denver.” This will include an acoustic guitar performance by David G. Courey with special vocalist Beth Crosby. This concert is a fundraiser for the Freeborn County Historical Society. The doors will open at 7 p.m. with coffee and bars and the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $12.50 per person. We would like to say thank you to Farmers State Bank for being a sponsor for this event. Tickets are available at the museum, Chamber of Commerce and the CVB Office at the mall.

We have started accepting memberships for 2010. If you are currently a member of the Freeborn County Historical Society by renewing now it saves us time, paper and postage. If you are not currently a member, by buying a membership now you will get the rest of 2009 plus all of 2010. We appreciate the support of the community and our many members. Without your support we would not be able to continue all of our many programs and projects. Thank you for helping to preserve the history of Freeborn County! Hope you are having a great autumn and remember, what happens today is history tomorrow!

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