Preserving the Past by Pat Mulso

The museum has had a busy month with lots of activities happening in our meeting rooms and now we are busy taking reservations for many Christmas parties and gatherings.

We have begun our Christmas decorating inside and out and will continue into November to complete our extensive decorating for the holidays.

Be sure to visit the museum room at the Country Inn & Suites for the Power 96 Hotel Halloween Carnival today. We will be giving away a free one-day family pass to the museum to each child that visits our room. We would like to thank Troy Thompson, from Troy Thompson Insurance Agency, for sponsoring our room.

Please stop by the museum to see the new additions to our military exhibits and our new temporary exhibit on the upper level of the museum, as well as additions to some of our existing exhibits. Hattie will be working this winter to revitalize our existing exhibits with new items and to create some new exhibits as well.

The museum will host its next lecture at 9 a.m. Nov. 8 in the museum meeting room.  The title of this lecture is “The Russian Immigrant Experience.” Please plan to join us for this hour lecture followed by time for questions and discussion. The lecture is free to all museum members and $5 for nonmembers.

Since we are not open on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, we would like to extend an invitation to any and all veterans to visit the museum on Nov. 12 as our guests in appreciation for their service to our country. We are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The museum will be hosting a smart driver safety four-hour refresher class from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 22. The fee is $20 for AARP members and $25 for nonmembers. This includes the AARP course materials as well as an administrative host charge. Your driver’s license number is needed at the time of registration and AARP number if you are a member. Registration is required. You will receive your certificate the day of the class.

We began our annual membership drive in September and want to thank the 160-plus members who have already renewed their annual museum memberships. Membership renewals are a big part of our budget and help us to plan for the upcoming year. If you are not currently a member, now is a great time to join because you get the rest of 2014 as well as all of 2015 if you buy a membership now. Individual memberships are $25 and family and household memberships start at just $35.

Any donations above those amounts are tax deductible.

A special thank you to the 4-H Club members who helped to bag leaves at the museum this month. Your time and efforts were greatly appreciated! Happy Halloween!

 

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