Preserving the Past by Pat Mulso

Spring has sprung and summer is right around the corner. Here we are at Memorial Day and I’ll visit the graves of my parents, two sets of grandparents, four sets of great-grandparents, numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives all in one cemetery in the small community where I grew up. To honor their memory and their service to the community in which they lived. My great-grandfather served in the Civil War and several of his children also served in the military through the years. Be sure to thank those individuals you know for serving our country and protecting our freedoms.

The museum will be busy through the end of May with school tours and will then jump right into June with a wedding in the village church, a graduation party in our meeting room and our first bus trip of the season, Eddie Cochran Weekend and our third annual style show. We will also have two defensive driving classes and have several other meetings held at our location. Here are details on the above listed events.

Forest City Bus Tour, June 10: Bus departs the museum at 8:30 a.m. and will return at approximately 4 p.m. We will tour the 1903 Waldorf Hotel, now part of Waldorf College, tour a local mansion and hear about its history in the community, and have lunch followed by a tour of Heritage Park. The cost is $55 for Freeborn County Historical Museum members and $65 for non-members. The fee includes the bus, lunch and all admissions. Join us for a day of adventure and leave the driving to someone else. You must register and your place is not confirmed until your payment is received. Limited space available, so don’t delay.

The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register at the reception desk.

Eddie Cochran Weekend will have some new aspects this year. The 28th Annual Car Show June 14 will be downtown to showcase the new downtown streetscape and let us try some new options in our normal routine. Car show participants will pay and receive their registration slip as they enter the event on Water Street by the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center. They will be directed to park their cars and then complete their registration inside the American Legion Club on North Broadway, where they will receive their goodie bag. Breakfast will be available in the lounge at the American Legion and our grandstand vendors will be in the American Legion dining room for spectators and participants to visit. Participant cars will be located on Broadway and Fountain Street. Food vendors will be in the North Broadway parking lot and then we have our local restaurants in the downtown area. The museum will have their famous root beer floats available downtown. Thank you to the local American Dairy Association for sponsoring us again this year.

Car registration is from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The award presentation will be at 2:30 p.m. on North Broadway near the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center. The show is free this year to all spectators.  We do request you to respect the car owners by not skateboarding or riding bicycles in the car show area.

We are bringing back the Eddie Cochran window contest to the downtown area.  Merchants and businesses will decorate their front windows with a 50s theme.

There are two traveling awards, first and second place. The winning windows will receive their award at 2:30 p.m. June 14 during the car show awards presentation.

There will be a shuttle bus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. from the downtown area to the museum. This will give participants and spectators the opportunity to visit the museum without having to drive during the show. Reduced admission to the museum that day will be $2. Members and children under 11 accompanied by an adult are free.

The 12-mile car cruise will begin at 4 p.m. and will depart from North Broadway in downtown Albert Lea.

Richie Lee will be performing at 7:30 p.m. June 14 at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center.

Cruise-in social starts at 6 p.m. June 13 and is sponsored by and held at Country Inn & Suites and Green Mill.

The museum and village will be open both Friday and Saturday during our regular hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We will have Eddie Cochran T-shirts and mugs available at the museum and downtown. Please plan to join us as we celebrate and honor one of our hometown heroes.

The museum will host a four-hour smart driver refresher class from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 9 and from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. June 26. The cost is $20 for AARP members and $25 for non-members, which includes an administrative fee. You must register for the class.

The third annual vintage style show brunch will be at 9:30 a.m. June 28 in Bethany Hall at First Lutheran Church. Tickets are $15 and must be purchased in advance. Save the date, more details will be in my next article.

 

Pat Mulso is the executive director of the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village, 1031 Bridge Ave.