MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – October 21, 2024 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Swedish Genealogy Workshop Saturday, new ADA entrance walk, windmill restoration nearing completion, 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 October 14-20, 2024:

- Our next online Swedish Genealogy Workshop is scheduled for THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 and is open for registration HERE. The popular workshop has four sessions and runs $50 for non-members and $30 for members (look for the code in a recent email). Registration is limited to 100 attendees, so register today!
- We are at 57% on fundraising commitments 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 34 individuals, families, and businesses commit to contribute to this progress to the tune of $137,634.25. We need about another $25,000 before the funding for the essential structural repair is secured.
  Any Kansas resident (or out-of-state resident who files a Kansas income tax return) 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.
- Work for creation of a new ADA compliant sidewalk to the main entrance of the museum has been awarded to Power Construction. This addition is being paid for with funds from the SPRINT Grant the museum received from Kansas Commerce.
  
  (White flags are lining the location of where the new walkway will be placed.)
- The Museum Handy Crew worked on detailed restoration steps for the Dempster Windmill on the Heritage Square, including stenciling on the vanes and restoration of the rotor. The work is very close to completion for restoring this historic windmill.
- “Old Family Photos: Trash or Treasure?” is an hourlong online presentation on photo identification and preservation planned for Saturday, November 2. Registration is $10 or free with code for museum members. Register at the museum gift shop HERE.
- The next presentation in the Historical Speaker Series will be Saturday, November 9 on the topic of Swedish Churches of the Smoky Valley and registration for the FREE presentation is open now at www.oldmillmuseum.org/historical-speaker-series/#Churches.
  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.
- Staff traveled to Manhattan for planning meetings with the K-State Milling program and to visit the Hoffman Mill in Enterprise.
- Adam processed two renewing memberships and one new membership. Total current active membership is 165.
- Aubrey worked on several items last week, including a new board member packet, finalizing the museum’s strategic plan, and preparing the museum gift shop for holiday shopping.
- Lenora completed the Q3 report for the SPRINT Grant and and worked on cleaning an organization of the museum archives.
- Adam also worked on writing and designing the next museum newsletter, processing an online gift shop order, making edits to the Old Mill history book, updating the audio tour informational posters, and arranging for a professional face-painter for Millfest.
- 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!