As we begin a new year, it is common to reflect on the year that has just come to an end. The museum year was busy; we again had an increase in visitors over the prior year with an increase of 8.6 percent over the 26 percent increase of the year before. We had visitors from 36 states and 16 foreign countries and had more bus tours than ever before. Our membership was steady with about the same number as the year before and we continued to have all of our regular events such as spring school tours, Discover History, several library lock-ins, nine four-hour AARP defensive driving classes, Eddie Cochran Weekend, special hours during the county fair, Echoes from the Past, historic bus tours, Swiss steak fundraiser, Autumn in the Village and our annual Christmas gathering.

The Freeborn County Genealogical Society holds its monthly meetings at the museum and the Golden K II Kiwanis Club holds their weekly meetings there also. We hosted meetings for the Halling Lag and Vestlandet Stevne (Norwegian groups). We had several class reunions hold receptions and or tours at the museum/historical village and hosted catered luncheons and tours or programs for several others organizations and groups. There was a wedding in the village church as well as a church service for a family reunion. Many committee meetings are held at the museum for historical society committees as well as community organizations. The Riverland leadership class met at the museum and we hosted several events for area nursing homes.

We are always looking for new ways to engage the community in events that bring them to the museum and give them the opportunity to learn about the history of Freeborn County and its people.

We also look for new ways to generate money to help reach our budget goals. This past year we served sandwiches twice at the farmers market and were happy to receive the proceeds of “An Evening Tribute to John Denver” by David Courey and Beth Crosby.

I continue to apply for any and all grants that are appropriate for our organization that I am aware of or that others tell me about. For those of you who are not familiar with grants they usually have very specific guidelines and each is unique to their own company, organization or foundation vision or policies.

We replaced three furnaces and added one air-conditioner in 2009. We received money from two different grants to help with this project and by doing so should save 40 to 45 percent on our utilities. This is just one way we are being proactive in controlling our expenses. We have other steps we will be taking as we are able to fund other projects.

During the Christmas holiday I spent many hours on the internet updating the information in one of my family history books. I found dates for 85 deaths that occurred in this line of my family since my book was published in 2000. I also found a third cousin who had posted some information on this line and we were able to visit and exchange information through e-mails. She is from Florida and we have never met, but it didn’t take long to form a bond. After all, we’re family.

She shared a story that was passed down in her line. A young mother raising four children after her husband died had remarried and the step father was a less than desirable step father. The young mother died shortly after of cancer, leaving these young children. After the funeral, the children borrowed a wagon, packed up their belongings, rolled the drunken step dad off the couch and loaded it and moved into a house they had rented and began working for a local fruit producer.

The oldest child at this time was 12 years old.

Wow, what an undertaking for such a young lad to take, caring for his younger siblings at such a young age. I have a feeling he had been doing it for awhile anyway, with his dad having died when he was only 7 years old and then his mom taking sick shortly after and dying just five years later. I believe the baby might have been taken in by some other relative, but I have not been able to verify that yet; my newly acquainted cousin was not aware of the youngest child.

Stories like this help us to understand where we gain our strengths and what makes us what we are today. We could get up each morning and feel depressed, but there is always someone else that is having a rougher time than we are, if we just look around. That’s why it is important to be thankful for what we have and appreciate those around us.

We are hosting a library lock-in on Friday, Jan. 29, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at the museum library. The cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members. If you would like to register or have questions about the program, please give us a call at 373-8003. This could be the opportunity for you to connect with a long lost relative or find some interesting fact about your family that you did not know existed. You will receive one on one help with tracing your family history and organizing the information you have or find. The class is limited, so register soon.

The new winter museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy New Year!

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