Column: Pat Mulso, Preserving the Past

Spring is going to be a very busy time at the museum. We are getting prepared for Discover History Day, school tours, our annual meeting, tour guide orientation, Eddie Cochran Weekend, and a Style Show Luncheon fundraiser for the building expansion fund and the list goes on and on. We will also be having a Library Lock-In later this spring, watch for dates and times in the near future. The museum will also be hosting a couple one day bus tours this summer and a bus trip to Kansas City in November or December. There are plans for another trip to Salt Lake City this fall also, but a date has not been secured yet. Also watch soon for details on our Swiss Steak fundraiser to be held at the American Legion Post 56 located at 142 N. Broadway Ave., Albert Lea.

The Freeborn County Genealogical Society and the Freeborn County Historical Society are working jointly to help with the indexing of the 1940 Federal Census. If you are interested in being a volunteer for this project please call or stop by the museum for details. Volunteers will work independently on this project from their own computers.

The museum’s board of directors will be hosting an open house at the museum from 2 to 4 p.m. April 14. We are inviting the general public as well as our members. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to visit the museum, check out our exhibits, visit with board members and see firsthand how very much we are in need of space to be able to continue to protect and preserve the history of Freeborn County and its people. We plan to break ground on the museum addition this spring/summer and need your help to raise additional funds. This open house is free; we hope to see many of you at the museum on April 14. You may enter through the front door or through the gate by the fairground’s arches for this special open house.

Village clean up day is April 21 from 8 a.m. to noon. If you would like to help with this project, please contact the museum by phone at 507-373-8003 or stop by at 1031 Bridge Ave. prior to that morning to get your name of the list. The clean up involves cleaning each of the buildings in our village. Work needed includes sweeping, dusting, washing windows and more.

Our annual tour guide orientation is scheduled for at 1:30 p.m. April 26. If you are interested in being a tour guide please call to RSVP for this orientation. Our phone number is 507-373-8003. Our school tours are held mostly in the month of May. We usually have 20 to 30 tours during this month and each class group is divided into smaller groups of 8 to 10 students per guide.

We provide you with an outline of what each group is to see, according to the age or grade they are in, and the time they are allotted to be at the museum. The students really enjoy their visits to the museum and you will enjoy their enthusiasm as you share your knowledge and experiences with them.

The museum will be hosting a four-hour defensive driving refresher class from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. May 8. The cost of the class is $19 per participant and you must pre-register for the class. (The class on April 10th is full). Stop by the museum during our regular hours to register, we’re open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please have your driver’s license with you and if you are a member of AARP we will also need that membership number.

Remember, what happens today is History tomorrow! Happy Easter from your friends at the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village.

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