MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – February 9, 2026 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Birdwatching special presentation, Executive Director job opening, Nutt Legacy Grant survey, and more!

In this 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 and looks ahead at what’s coming.

For February 2-8, 2026:

Last Friday, we were excited to present the free Cultural Crawl presentation by Bill Brock on birdwatching in the Smoky Valley. About 20 people attended this part of the collaborative Lindsborg Cultural Crawl. If you missed it, you can see it on the Facebook livestream HERE!
Then we sure to some see “A Day with the Birds” temporary exhibit at the museum, which will run through March 7!
Developed by the Kauffman Museum in Newton, Kansas, the traveling exhibit includes taxidermized birds, informational panels (in both English and Spanish) and many hands-on interactive elements. The exhibit is included in regular museum admission!
Come see this wonderful exhibit while it’s here – fun for all ages!
If you think that you (or someone you know) should be the next Executive Director of the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, applications are now open for the position! Just go to www.oldmillmuseum.org/careers to read the job description and requirements, then send us your cover letter and résumé! We look forward to considering your application!
We need your help as we apply for $187,835 in funding from the David J. Nutt Legacy Grant from the McPherson County Community Foundation! We have raised about 36% of the funds necessary to replace the roof of the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion in a more historically accurate way as well as add guttering to prevent water damage in the 123-year-old historic structure. Right now the Foundation is taking community feedback to help prioritize funding 2026 grant funding among the Pavilion and 9 other worthy Lindsborg projects. Please take about 10-15 minutes to take a community feedback survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/2026NuttFundSurvey and make your voice heard!
As of last Saturday, our campgrounds have been reopened to the public with the snow having melted. We temporarily closed the campground facility as a result of motorists driving donuts in the snow on the campgrounds. Our initial evaluations are that the damage to the lawn was minimal and we were able to prevent more serious damage by the temporary closure.
Upcoming in genealogy workshops, we have a half-day Beginning Swedish Workshop for February 21, 2026. It will cost $20 or just $10 for members. Then on March 21, we will have our next regularly scheduled Swedish Genealogy Workshop. Members receive a $20 discount. Register today!
Adam three renewing memberships last week! Another two memberships received late in the week will be processed today.
Even so, we are currently showing about 85 recent membership supporters who are overdue on renewing.
Have you renewed your museum membership? (Are you sure?)
Memberships are a critical source of reliable support for the museum! And we now have an exciting new option – Lifetime Membership!
Give us a call at 785-227-3595 or email at oldmillmuseum@gmail.com, and we will be glad to check on your status. It’s also a great time to think about becoming a new member if you’ve never been one before, or to purchase a gift membership for someone special in your life! See www.oldmillmuseum.org/members for details!
Sponsorship opportunities for Millfest 2026 are now open and available! With a new sponsorship coming in last week, already we have had $4,900 in event sponsorship dollars come in!
Scheduled next year for Saturday, May 2, this is the one time annually that our visitors can take guided tours of the 1898 Old Mill IN OPERATION! The festival also includes, music, entertainment, arts & crafts, antique tractor show, games, demonstrations and face painting!
Giving levels to sponsor run from as little as $25 to get your name in the program to $5,000 or more to secure topline “Brought to you by…” overall event sponsorship. You can also choose to direct your donation to specific Millfest attractions, including face painting, tractor show, Old Mill tours, or music performances! See full details including how to arrange your sponsorship with the forms included below.
We are more than 1/3 of the way toward the funds we will need under the “Raise the Roof” campaign to repair the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion’s roof in a more durable and historically accurate way, with $106,431.15 donated to the roof phase of the project. We have applied for a Legacy Nutt grant to try to close the funding gap to finish the project; even so, more will likely be needed to be able to complete this phase 2.
If you would like to help with Raise the Roof, you can learn more at www.oldmillmuseum.org/raise-the-roof. Contributions made now will not be eligible for the special tax credit opportunity, but may have tax benefits as a qualifying donation to a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization charity.
We have several recognition reward levels available: These include recognition on our website and an invitation to a special VIP event once all of the funds needed for the roof (at $100 or more) and opportunities to have a “roof tile” with custom wording added to a permanent honor wall (at $1,000 or more)!
We are continuing our critical Harvest of Giving fundraising event into 2026 as our topline goal in $50,000 in unrestricted donations – to keep the museum lights on and the doors open in 2026 – has not yet been met. Currently, this effort is at about $40,000.
In the space of four years, a major source of public funding has gone from covering half of our annual expenses to less than 8% and is not showing any signs of returning. Because of this, it is more important than ever for generous private donors, businesses, and organizations to step in and ensure that the rare experiences at the Museum continue to be available in 2026. Learn more and make your charitable donation today at www.oldmillmuseum.org/harvest-of-giving.
Adam is working on lining up three Kansas Folklife presentations through Humanities Kansas. We are very excited about some of the new programming this will offer to our visitors; watch for more details coming soon!
Adam helped ship gift shop purchases to two different out-of-state guests who accidentally left their purchases behind at the museum.
Staff met with the Smoky Valley High School Future Farmers of America adviser to arrange to have students volunteer at Millfest!
Staff met with a local artist to plan new laser etched designs for sale int he gift shop.
Adam completed paperwork for the museum and campgrounds listing in the next Kansas Tourism guidebook.
Adam continued to make progress on development of the new food product for the museum gift shop. He created draft packaging for the product and is continuing to work with the manufacturer in finalizing several questions. The goal is a release date of March 21. Watch here for more details coming soon!
Lenora consulted with individuals in Kansas City, Salina, Texas, and California doing genealogical research! She is also assisting a graduate student in Nebraska on her master’s thesis on Swedish immigration patterns.
Lenora provided the Svensk Hyllningsfest committee with archival research about the early years of the festival.
Lenora submitted final reports to Humanities Kansas for a grant project about Hyllningsfest.
Adam represented the museum at Heritage Trust Fund grant hearings last Friday on a proposal for repairs related to the Old Mill. Unfortunately we were not selected for a grant in this round.
Lenora sought updated quotes for a campground toilets upgrade for a grant proposal opportunity upcoming.
Lenora met for coffee at with residents at Sunflower Terrace in this ongoing community outreach opportunity.
Lenora worked on ArkivDigital document indexing for five hours last week under a contract with the organization.
Tyler is continuing to work on digitizing our collection of printed literature, while Julie Ann continues with adding to our Historic Image Database collection.