Column: Pat Mulso, Preserving the Past

It’s certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas with the snow and beautiful holiday lights around town. Have you taken time to stop by the Freeborn County Historical Museum to see our many decorations inside and out? The lights in the village are on by 5 p.m. daily. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Admission is $5 for adults, $1 for students and members and children under 11 are free. Stop by and see our many new exhibits, and if you can correctly identify the number of Christmas trees on display inside the museum I will have a gift for you.

The museum will be closed from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3 for the holidays. We hope that you will all have a safe and happy Christmas holiday season.

We want to say thank you to the more than 250 members who have already paid their 2011 memberships and encourage those of you who have not yet purchased a membership for 2011 to do so. A household membership is $25 and any donation above $25 is tax deductible. Membership donations of $100 or more are recognized on our membership donor board at the museum. We also have membership gift certificates if you would like to buy a membership for a gift. The museum depends on memberships to pay our operating expenses, and we appreciate the support that the community gives us so that we can continue preserving the history of Freeborn County and its people.

FCHM is moving forward with the fundraising phase of our building expansion project. If you are a business or individual that would like to make a tax deductible donation to the FCHM building fund before the end of the year, please give us a call at 373-8003 or send your check payable to FCHM at 1031 Bridge Avenue, Albert Lea, MN 56007. Watch for an article coming soon that will give more details and a timeline of our building expansion project.

We hope everyone who attended our Christmas gathering on Dec. 5 enjoyed the day. A special thank you to all the volunteers who made the day possible, such as those who baked cookies, served or worked at the gate as well as those who helped to decorate inside and out. Everyone enjoyed the music and many sang along with our volunteer singers. We have nearly 180 volunteers who help throughout the year in many different ways. We appreciate all of you who help us to keep the museum a place that is a valuable part of our community and one that we can all be proud of.

As we come to the close of another year we are busy planning the activities for the new year. Next year will be a year filled with our annual events as well as some new programs and projects. We are looking forward to another exciting year and encourage you to be a part of preserving your history!

Remember those less fortunate than yourself and the joy you can bring to others. May the joy and peace of the season be with you now and throughout the new year.

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