Preserving the Past by Pat Mulso

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

We would like to say thank you to all the local businesses and individuals that were sponsors for our 30th annual Eddie Cochran weekend and car show, and for all the volunteers who helped with the events both Friday night and Saturday. A very special thank you to Jerry Monson for his dedication, persistence and attention to detail which made the weekend such a huge success. We were blessed to have one of Eddie Cochran’s nieces and her daughters join us for the weekend, as well as the girlfriend of one of Eddie’s band members. I think everyone enjoyed the event and the special music — Richie Lee on Friday evening and The Whitesidewalls Band on Saturday night — in Fountain Lake Park.

We are looking for people to adopt a building in our historical village. So far our school, church and hardware store have been adopted. If you are interested, please stop by and visit with us about a building. The buildings get opened and cleaned in April for the summer season, but we are looking for individuals or small groups that would adopt a building and care for it May through September. This would include occasional cleaning — such as sweeping, cleaning windows, painting and possibly minor repairs. The time commitment would only be about four to six hours a month. We’d welcome new volunteers to help us preserve our buildings for future generations. Our phone number is 373-8003 or stop by during our regular hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

The museum will host a four-hour AARP defensive driving refresher class from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. July 21. The cost is $20 for AARP members or $25 for non-members, which includes the class materials and administrative fee. You must pre-register 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. You will receive your certificate at the end of the class. The next class will be from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

If you are looking for a location for an event or meeting, be sure to check with us. We have meeting rooms to accommodate from 6 to 150 people and are available year round. You may have meals catered in or bring your own refreshments.

We also have several weddings booked in our village church. Our church will comfortably seat 70 guests and is available to rent from May through September.

We are moving forward with our Legacy Grant projects. As for the storage collection upgrade project update, the static and movable shelving has arrived and is installed and we have begun to move boxes already cataloged and started to inventory and catalog others. This will be completed by staff and volunteers. The Legacy Community Collaboration Grant with the city of Albert Lea has also started. We have purchased a new scanner and have picked up the first 24 ledgers to be scanned containing council minutes, resolutions and ordinances dating back to the 1870s.