It is hard to believe that we are almost half way through March of 2010. Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday we were worrying about Y2K and the turning of a new century?

The Freeborn County Historical Society is participating in the home show at the Skyline Plaza. If you have not stopped by the museum or public library for an application for the “See It Now … Freeborn County Memories” project, stop by the booth this afternoon. We will have applications available for you to pick up. This project is a joint venture between the Albert Lea Public Library and the Freeborn County Historical Society. We are looking for individuals that have memories of World War II, specifically the Attack on Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the death of FDR, Victory in Europe and Victory in the Pacific. This does not mean that you had to be serving in the military, just that you have memories of these important dates in the history of our nation.

This project is being made possible by an Arts and Cultural Heritage Library Legacy Fund Grant, which is with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008, which dedicated funding to preserve Minnesota’s arts and cultural heritage. We are very excited to be working on this important addition to our holdings to preserve the stories and memories of the residents of Freeborn County.

Since this project is being funded by a grant we have very specific guidelines and rules to follow in order to receive the funding. If you are not familiar with how most grants work, they have criteria and guidelines that you must follow, the money must be spent as you have outlined in the application and must be done within certain timelines.

We think this is a project that will be enjoyed by many generations now and in the future and no one can tell it better than those who have experienced it first hand. We salute you and appreciate your participation in this very worthy project.

The museum will host an AARP four-hour defensive driving class on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost is $19 and you must register for the class. Call 373-8003 or stop by the museum for details. You will receive your certificate the day of the class.

Many readers have asked how my son Matt is doing since his serious accident this past October. He is not back to work yet, but is continuing to improve with each checkup. With his head injuries, doctors are not able to put a timeline on when he will recover or how much of a recovery he will have. We feel very fortunate that he does not seem to have any problems with memory or brain functions, but there are still unknowns for the future such as when and if the headaches will go away, will he regain feeling in his head from the forehead back past the incision, will the flecks of light he sees in the eye that was affected go away, or will he continue to have problems in the future, and when will he stop feeling so tired.

All I know is God was watching over him that day and kept him calm and in control to make a four-hour trip that must have been unbelievably painful and scary without medical personnel and then to arrive at a hospital to be stitched up, given a CAT scan and then sent home not knowing how serious the damage was for a week, undergoing a major brain and reconstruction surgery and then being sent home within 24 hours.

I have faith that God has plans for Matt or he would have never come through what he has these past few months. And as a concerned mother, I probably wouldn’t have accomplished as much work as I have in the past few months, but when a mother can’t be with her child when she knows he’s hurting, we tend to work to keep our minds occupied. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and comments. They have all been appreciated.

The museum has many events for the remainder of the year that we are busy planning and will hope to have a list to share in the near future that will take us through the summer and well into fall. Some of the events were mentioned in our newsletter that went out last week. If you did not receive a newsletter stop by the museum to pay your 2010 membership and we will give you a newsletter.

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