Column: Pat Mulso, Preserving the Past

Today would have been my dad’s 97th birthday. I think of him often even though he passed away more than 43 years ago. I think about him when I cook, as he was a fabulous cook, when I watch or read a good mystery because we both shared that love and in fact, the last night he was alive, we watched a Perry Mason mystery on late night television.

When I helped my granddaughter put together a jigsaw puzzle earlier this month, I thought how much he would have enjoyed his grandchildren as he loved children and was so patient with them.

I thought of him as we recently remodeled one of our bathrooms, as he was a great carpenter, knew how to do plumbing and could have done all the work needed to complete our project and would have enjoyed doing it. He was an individual who could figure out anything and just had a knack for fixing, building and making things work. He was a natural at sports, too. I remember his older brother telling me that my dad lettered in every sport with little effort.

I often wonder what Dad’s life would have been like had he not had rheumatic fever as a child leaving him with heart troubles his whole life. Yet he never complained. He did the best that he could do to provide for his family, he loved us and instilled in us the power of a positive attitude and the ability to see the good in life and to deal with the bad in a positive way if at all possible. He was a kind man with a gentle heart and was a friend to all who knew him.

How will your family and friends remember you? You can have a positive impact on future generations if you so desire, and you can also share your dreams with them. Whether you do so by having those conversations face to face or choose to write them down to be shared now or later, whatever your choice may be, think of how it might shape the future. What happens today is history tomorrow, and you are a part of that regardless of whether you choose to be or not.

When the museum hosted the “Electrifying Minnesota” Exhibit and the Freeborn Mower Cooperative Services Exhibit showing their 75 year history we had more than 500 students who toured to see these two exhibits.

One of the questions I asked them was had they discussed the 1991 ice storm with their parents. Most had not and when we discussed it some were amazed at the hardships that people endured such a short time ago and how others came to our aid to help restore energy to our region. We need to share our experiences with our youth if we want them to have an understanding of the past and knowledge to draw from if they live through a natural disaster.

The museum will host a four-hour defensive driving refresher class from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 3. The cost is $19 per person, and you must pre-register.

We will also be co-hosting with the Albert Lea Public Library an author visit on at 2 p.m. March 11 at the museum. Doug Ohman will be joining us to speak on school house memories. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this entertaining afternoon. This event was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

We will also be hosting an open house to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts in the next month. Please watch for details soon and if you have Girl Scout items that you would be willing to let us use for a special display, please contact us at the museum 373-8003.

If you have not renewed your annual membership at the museum, now is the time. We want to thank all of you who have already done so and encourage the remaining few to do so soon to avoid being dropped from our membership. The cost of a household membership is only $25 and any donation over that is tax deductible.

The museum would like to extend best wishes and congratulations to Farmers State Bank; they just celebrated their 100th anniversary. History is all around us if we just take the time to see.

 

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