It was mentioned, when I was hired as executive director, that I could receive a call in the middle of the night if the alarm system was activated, but I didn’t think it would happen so quickly.

The museum was hit by lightening early on Sunday morning, Sept. 25, and I received a call

around 3 a.m. to let me know what was happening.

We were really pretty lucky; we have the phones, computers, and the P.A. system all working again. So I guess I have been officially initiated.

The museum has been buzzing with visitors young and old as we have had many tours squeezing in before the village closes for the winter.

The kids have enjoyed shelling corn and sitting on the old tractors and hearing about the different kinds of milk, while older visitors have enjoyed sharing stories of when they were young as they see items that spur their memory.

History came alive this past week as the juniors from Albert Lea High School Humanities classes presented Discover History Days at the museum for area fifth-graders.

This was a learning experience for the juniors, the fifth-graders and me, as this is one program I have not been involved with before.

It is exciting to see the ideas come to life and how the younger students react with the juniors.

The village is a great place for such an event.

We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful opportunity available to our youth.

A special &8221;thank you&8220; to all the volunteer mentors.

They work with the students to help them prepare for their presentations.

Another exciting event that happened this week was the arrival of the proof of the book, &8221;Glimpses of Freeborn County 1930 to 1980.&8220;

Corrections have been made and it is back to the publisher for the final stages of the project.

If you have not reserved your copy, you should do so now by stopping in at the museum or send your order by mail.

You won’t be disappointed. It is a great book!

As we move quickly into the fall season, the leaves are turning colors and the air is turning cool.

It is a great time

to visit with an older relative or friend and ask them what they remember about the season.

Take some notes and begin that family history.

When I think of fall I remember the leaves falling.

We would spend hours raking them into a huge pile and then we would jump in the leaves and have fun until Dad got home.

He would then burn them in the barrel on the end of the driveway.

I can smell the leaves burning and picture how the neighborhood appeared with the leaves off all of the trees.

I remember going on hayrides and bobbing for apples; drinking apple cider and carving pumpkins.

Playing our last games of hide and seek or kick the can and maybe getting in a few last games of baseball or taking that last long hike along the creek for a picnic were a few other things we generally tried to achieve during my childhood before the first snow fall of the season.

The summer and fall were a busy time for women in our household as we canned green beans, froze corn, on and off the ear, made apple sauce and sliced apples for pies and cooking, froze strawberries, cherries, peaches and raspberries, made grape jelly and strawberry-rhubarb jelly.

My mom made most of our clothes.

She was a whiz at sewing, she could make anything &045; a casual dress to a formal; a jacket or an overcoat.

Those were the days!

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