MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – August 19, 2024 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: severe weather underscores urgency of Pavilion repairs, Swedish Genealogy Workshop, $6,500 technology grant, and more!

In our weekly update, keep up to date on what staff and volunteers at the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum are working on to lift up the history of Lindsborg and the surrounding region. This weekly update both looks back at what happened last week and looks ahead at what’s coming.

For August 12-18, 2024:

- We are still just shy of the halfway point (49%) on fundraising under the Community Service Program (CSP) Tax Credits through the Kansas Department of Commerce. Read about all the latest here and let us know how much you are interested in contributing: www.oldmillmillmuseum.org/save-the-pavilion!
  We’ve had 28 individuals, families, and businesses contribute to this progress to the tune of $117,300. We need about another $50,000 before the funding for the essential structural repair is secured.
  Why is it so important to have these contributions so we can make structural repairs as soon as possible?
  Consider the number of near-miss severe weather events we have had this summer: winds up to 77 mph in Salina and in McPherson on June 15, an official weather disaster with winds up to 95 mph in Salina at the end of July, and winds up to 80 mph in McPherson last week! Had any of these wind speeds been a direct hit on the Swedish Pavilion before we had been able to make the necessary structural repairs, the likelihood is high that they would have destroyed the historic structure. This is why we desperately need the remaining contributions to make the repairs as soon as possible.
  Any Kansas resident can qualify to receive back a 70% fully refundable tax credit on their Kansas return with a donation of $250 or more to the project! The available tax credits will be used to enhance fundraising efforts for the Pavilion Restoration & Improvement Project. The credits are expected to raise $238,000 in donations, which will fully cover critical stabilization repairs to prevent collapse of the historic structure and will partially cover installation of a new, more historically accurate roof.
  This will be a successful initiative only if individuals, families, and organizations step forward to give under the program’s tax credit opportunity. Please carefully consider your own ability to give to this project, and to share this opportunity with your own friends and family!
- Our next online Swedish Genealogy Workshop is scheduled for October 26 and is now open for registration HERE. The popular workshop has four sessions and runs $50 for non-members and $30 for members. Registration is limited to 100 attendees, so register today!
- Our next presentation in the Historical Speaker Series about Alma Swensson will be on Saturday, September 14.
  The Historic Speaker Series is a set of online talks in partnership with the Smoky Valley Historical Association featuring great historical figures in Lindsborg and Smoky Valley History. Registration is completely FREE to the first 100 to sign up and is made possible with a grant from Humanities Kansas. Registration is open now online at: www.oldmillmuseum.org/historical-speaker-series/#AlmaSwensson
- We learned from the McPherson County Community Foundation that we have received a $6,500 grant that is marked for a number of important technology needs at the museum, including: upgrade to a more efficient and more cost-effective color laser printer, upgrade of the museum’s internet firewall, expansion of WiFi access to the Old Mill, and purchase of tablets and a charging station to support the museum’s upcoming augmented reality tour of the Old Mill. Our thanks to the foundation for helping us cover this important needs!
- Aubrey Wheeler – as the new museum Executive Director – along with Lenora has started meeting with multiple community stakeholders.
- Lenora is working along with volunteers in selecting new images for renovations to the museum’s immigration exhibit.
- The Svensk Hyllningsfest committee has donated several boxes of historic materials for our Hyllningsfest historic preservation project. Initial sorting and organization of the materials has started.
- Our thanks to the Salina Post and Ad Astra Radio for carrying the story of Aubrey starting as Executive Director!
- On Friday, Adam gave a guided tour to visitors from Concordia OCCK!
- Aubrey set up the baseline work to manage memberships and financial campaigns in the museum’s Past Perfect software.
- Adam worked on creating a mailing list to select CPAs and other financial managers and advisers and sending them information about the opportunity available through the Community Service Program tax credits!
- Adam created an in-person progress chart for display in the museum gift shop tracking giving under the tax credits program to the Swedish Pavilion.
- Prepped and sent postcard invites for an upcoming Volunteer Social.

NOW OPEN: “Skeleton-Of-Dog… Selected Geology & Natural History Artifacts from the Bethany College Collection Archives” is a temporary mini-exhibit at the museum featuring some unique artifacts not seen in public for decades!
Our Endowment Campaign 2025 is ongoing to add $1 million to our endowment in supporting our annual operational budget to make sure that not only do we preserve these historical treasures, but we can also “keep the lights on.” Read more on the flyer and giving form below, or visit to www.oldmillmuseum.org/donations to learn more!