Column: Pat Mulso, Preserving the Past

By the time you are reading this article my family will have arrived in Albert Lea for our annual sibling reunion. The theme this year is “Christmas in July.” I have asked each of them to bring something they received as a gift for Christmas as a child. If they don’t have something, then they are to write a story about a special Christmas memory.

So my Christmas tree is up, and I have special gifts made for each of them to bring back memories of our past Christmas Eves together.

The miracle of Christmas is the birth of Jesus, the magic of Christmas is the love of your family and the happy memories you hold in your heart forever. As small children we didn’t receive expensive gifts, most of our gifts were made by Mom, a labor of her love for each of us. I remember when we got our Christmas tree it was usually pretty close to Christmas, and Dad would make a stand out of wood and do his best to make the tree look the best he could. He would put the lights on and the rest was up to us. We would string popcorn and cranberries to decorate the tree along with a few ornaments and lots of silver tinsel. I have always loved the lights — lights make the tinsel twinkle and I would imagine the sky full of stars and dream about my life in the future, but most of all I knew I was loved, I was safe and I have a family that cares for each other. Our parents gave us the most important ingredient for growing up — love and security. So even though it has been 40 years or so since we have shared a Christmas together, I am sure we will have some wonderful memories to share as we celebrate this weekend, the gift of family.

The museum will be hosting a four-hour defensive driving refresher class from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12. The cost is $19 per participant. Check with us on Tuesday to see if we have any seats still available. The next class date will be Aug. 9.

The Freeborn County Historical Society is having a Swiss Steak fundraiser on Friday, July 15, at the American Legion Post 56, 142 North Broadway, Albert Lea. We will be serving from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 and are available at the museum, from any board member, or at the door. Supplemental funding is by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Albert Lea Chapter 31179. Money raised will be used to replace the computers in our library computer lab. Please join us for a great meal and fellowship!

The Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, and Saturday, Aug. 20, for your convenience!

I have been asked if we will be open our regular hours during the state shutdown. Yes, we will be open. We don’t receive state funding for our operating budget. The only state funding we receive is through grants for special projects. And we don’t currently have any pending grants.

We are having another Library Lock-in on Friday, July 29, at the museum library. This class is already full, but if you are interested in attending a lock-in to receive individual help with your family research, please contact Linda in our museum library to get your name on the list for the next lock-in we plan.

We also have a historical bus tour scheduled for Aug. 18. Join us for a journey back in time as we visit rural Iowa towns and tour several historical buildings. Lunch and admissions are included in the cost of the tour. You must pre-register for the bus trip by stopping by the museum or calling us at 507-373-8003 by Aug. 10. The cost is $50 for FCHM members and $55 for non-members.

Have a great week and remember, what happens today is history tomorrow.

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