Last Sunday, during our Boy Scout 100th anniversary celebration, we had visitors from Janesville, St Peter, Austin, Alden and Albert Lea. We were very pleased with the attendance and comments. The special exhibits will be available for viewing during regular museum hours through March and by appointment for groups needing a special time. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped to make the day a success by baking or helping out the day of the special event.

I am pleased to say the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts attending the event were very well behaved and quite interested in the history of the organization and our special exhibits. A special thank you to Paula Nuessmeier of Blue Earth, the district executive of the Southern Trails District of the Twin Valley Council. Also thanks to the Hagens from Pack 113 for loaning some of their Scouting items for one of our displays. We hope to continue our relationship with Scouting by offering assistance with merit badges such as genealogy, history or museum programs.

The Freeborn County Historical Society will host a four-hour AARP defensive driving class on Saturday, March 20, 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 (1031 Bridge Ave.) for details. You do not need to be a member of AARP or the museum to participate.

Thank you to the 74 members who have sent in their memberships since our January membership calling campaign. If you have not paid your 2010 membership by the first week of March you will not receive our March/April /May newsletter. We depend on memberships to help defray the cost of operating the museum, continuing programs and providing services for the community. We appreciate the support of each and every member. Thank you to those who have sent a donation larger than in the past to help us make it through a difficult year due to the loss of city funding. Every amount, large and small is appreciated.

We are preparing for our school tour season. During the month of May, approximately 2,000 students will enjoy tours at the museum and historical village. We will have a tour guide orientation in April. If you would like to become a tour guide, please give us a call for further details.

We are also preparing for Discover History Days, which will be a little earlier than usual this year. They will take place the last week of April. So in just a few short weeks, three of the 11th-grade humanities classes will begin their research for the presentations they will make to area fifth- graders at the end of April.

Other events we are working on are activities for this summer are day camp, bus tours, echoes from the past, Swiss steak fundraiser, just to name a few. Watch for details in the near future as our calendar is completed.

As you read in the paper early last week we have received a grant in partnership with the Albert Lea Public Library and are anxious to begin this very important project to preserve the memories of our residents as an oral and video history of special events during World War II. Applications will be available at the Public Library and at the Freeborn County Museum, Library & Historical Village. The museum and library are open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Each and every person may have a different memory of the same event, depending on their age, their involvement, and other factors, all memories are important and we hope to capture a wide range of memories from our community members. We hope you will enjoy the end product by either accessing the web sites of either the public library or the museum or by visiting either location to view and listen to the end results which will be available this summer.

I am continuing to write additional grants and I am always looking for new grant opportunities to make your local historical society a better and more interesting place to visit.

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