Preserving the Past by Kim Nelson

We just finished up our annual Christmas gathering, but there is still time to come check out the decorations at the museum.

Speaking of still having time, we are still taking membership renewals as well as new memberships for 2017. A membership to the museum would be a great Christmas gift idea for family, friends or even a neighbor. Give the museum a call today at 373-8003 to get your 2017 membership!

At the museum we rely on grants to help with special projects. Recently we finished up with a grant we received for preserving community records. We will have a community presentation on Friday for the public. The presentation will be at the museum and is free to the public. This grant was made possible through SELCO, the Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment and the Minnesota Library Legacy. We are excited to show the public what we have done.

Looking ahead to 2017, the museum is excited to announce it will offer activities in the children’s learning lab the third Saturday of each month starting in February. The February event will be called Fair in February and it will kick off our emphasis on life-long learning by providing activities for our youngest citizens. Come join us on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 18. We will have great activities, including face painting, a balloon artist, photo booth and a magician.

Make sure to mark your calendar for the Eddie Cochran celebration June 16-17. This is the third weekend in June and will be an awesome event. We are looking for volunteers who would like to help the museum and the community put on this fun event. Please contact me if you are interested in helping.

Remember to check us out on Facebook and make sure to follow us to get updates on the museum. Also, you can hear me on KATE radio every Sunday morning for updates from the museum. I love visitors, too, so come on in and see me. We are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

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