Preserving the Past by Pat Mulso

Sunday is the last day of “The six best days of summer” — the Freeborn County Fair.  The museum will be open from noon to 6 p.m. If you haven’t made it over to the museum during the fair, Sunday is your last chance. We have a special exhibit in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. We have a 1933 Harley on exhibit in our foyer courtesy of Bergdale’s Harley-Davidson. We also have some great photos of motorcycle events in Albert Lea from the 1930s and 1940s. From the Hill climbing race in the ’30s to the Turkey Run in the ’40s and there was also motorcycle races at the fair in those days. We also have a few photos from South Dakota from the 1940s.

We have two special events taking place in August. The first is our annual “Echoes from the Past: A Journey into History” which is Aug. 19 with special guest star, Marion Ross. She will be portraying the life of Sadie Bliss Cox, a music teacher and much more! Our other re-enactors will be Dylan Kaercher portraying Anders N. Teslow, Gary Schindler as George Briggs and Elizabeth Harty portraying Martha (Partridge) Robson Gibbs. Please plan to join us for an enjoyable evening and a chance to learn the history of four individuals who helped to form our local history. After the presentations the Sons of Norway will provide refreshments for all attendees.

Tickets are available at the museum at the price of $7.50. Seating is limited so don’t delay in purchasing your tickets, we have a very limited number of tickets left for this event.

We also have “An Evening with Marion Ross” event which will take place on Aug. 20. This is a limited-seating event and will include a social followed by dinner and interview with Marion Ross discussing events from her life growing up in Minnesota as well as her life as an actress. Tickets are $20 each or $35 for two tickets. Tickets must be purchased at the museum by Aug. 15.

The museum will also be hosting a SELCO library legacy listening session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24. This is open to the public and will be an opportunity to hear about Legacy projects and partnerships.

The museum will host a four-hour defensive driving refresher class from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The cost is $20 for AARP members or $25 for nonmembers, which includes the class materials and administrative fee. You must resister for the class and will need your driver’s license to do so. The refresher course is needed every three years after the initial eight-hour class is taken to continue receiving a discount on your auto insurance.  Call or stop by the museum to register during our regular business hours.

The museum will feature some special exhibits throughout September as part of ACT’s 50th anniversary celebration.  We have just a few props on exhibit now to give you a little peek into more exhibits coming soon.

Save the date, our annual “Autumn in the Village” will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 20. This is a family event filled with demonstrations, music, activities and food.  Hope you will plan to join us for this special event.

Our Historically Speaking… Lecture Series will start again at 9 a.m. Sept. 12. The topic will be announced soon. There will also be lectures in October and November on the second Saturday of each month.

 

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