MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – September 3, 2024 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: ADA accessible walkway bidding, Cadillac Car Club tour, 50% on fundraising to save the Swedish Pavilion, 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 26 – September 2, 2024:

- Bidding is currently open for building an ADA accessible walkway from Mill Street to the front entrance of the museum. Details are HERE; and the deadline for bid submissions is Saturday, September 14. This improvement is one of the projects made possible thanks to the $250,000 SPRINT Grant that the museum received last year.
- On Friday, Adam and volunteer guide Karmon Almquist gave a tour to a group of about 50 members of the Cadillac Car Club.
- The local Broadway RFD theatre company, has announced the cast list of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” that’s slated for performances on the museum’s Heritage Square on October 10, 11, and 12.
  Notice any familiar names? (Hint: Adam is the museum’s own Marketing and Communications Director!)
  
  We’re so excited to be a partner on the return of this unique show! Each approximately 45-minute performance is expected to be an exciting, spooky, and “intimate” performance, as only a small audience will be able to attend each showing. (The performance content is rated PG.)
  The suggested donation will be $10 per adult and $5 per student.
  The plan is for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to become a regular October Halloween tradition, but only in even-numbered years, so as not to conflict with Svensk Hyllningsfest – which is in odd-numbered years.
  Watch for information coming soon on how to reserve your tickets!
- We are at the exact halfway point with 50% 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 $121,134.21. We need about another $50,000 before the funding for the essential structural repair is secured.
  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 (look for the code in a recent email). Registration is limited to 100 attendees, so register today!
- “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.
- Edits continue on a history book about the 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills and are nearing completion on the editing stage. Photo selection, final design layout, and printing still need to be completed, but the process is advancing well.
- Aubrey worked on planning tasks for Heritage Christmas (the second Saturday in December.)
- Aubrey also researched ideas from other museum exhibits, looked into the possibility of adding a “Dalas on Parade” statue to the museum, and made contact for museum participation in a couple of community projects/events.
- Adam updated several museum forms and handouts.
- Staff has continued with “getting to know you” meetings for Aubrey with community stakeholders.
- The museum exhibits committee met to work on text for the planned rework of the museum’s immigration exhibit.
- Lenora has worked on processing paperwork for artifact donations to the museum.
- 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

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!