MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – February 16, 2026 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Gift Shop renovation, Beginning Swedish Genealogy workshop THIS Saturday, Executive Director position taking applications, 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 9-15, 2026:

Please “excuse our mess” as we are in the midst of a significant renovation to our museum Gift Shop and Welcome Area, which will be a great aesthetic and access improvement for our museum visitors!
First, we have expanded the main entryway into the main gallery to be more ADA compliant with a wider doorway. (Thanks to our Handy Crew for the volunteer help!)
Second, we are using a grant from the Lindsborg Arts Council to add traditional kurbits designs to our gift shop shelves! They are being hand-painted by Lindsborg local Carla Wilson and we are expecting beautiful results. The shelves will be temporarily removed from the shop area as each are painted off-site before being re-installed after the paint has dried.
The grant will also be funding three new art reproductions by Rita Walker on metal backing that feature the Old Mill and Swedish Pavilion that will be going up above the main gallery entryway.
For many visitors to Lindsborg, this is their first stop in town and their first experience of the city. These improvements will mean a much better first impression!
Watch here for updates as the work progresses.
Upcoming in genealogy workshops, on THIS SATURDAY we have a half-day Beginning Swedish Workshop on February 21, 2026. Registration is at the link. 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!
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! If you prefer the Indeed platform, we also now have the position open for applications at the link HERE. We look forward to considering your application!
This week is the Board of Directors annual meeting, and the public is invited to attend. It will be held starting at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, February 19 at the Lindsborg Museum, 120 E. Mill St.
Be sure to some see “A Day with the Birds” temporary exhibit at the museum, open now through 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!
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!
Adam processed one new and one renewing renewing membership 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! 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 continued working on lining up three Kansas Folklife presentations through Humanities Kansas. We have confirmed one presentation about “Flour Power” in Mexican-American culture in Kansas as a Millfest early-bird preview event at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25. We also have penciled in two presentations on June 20 and July 10, but are still working to settle on a final time. Watch for more details coming soon!
Adam gave and Old Mill tour and Lenora gave a Pavilion tour to about 15 Bethany College history students last Thursday morning. A class of Bethany College education students also worked on a lesson that made use of the Museum archives on Thursday.
Adam continued to make progress on development of the new food product for the museum gift shop. He finalized packaging for the product and worked with the manufacturer in finalizing several logistical questions. He also worked on marketing plans around the release and made a small initial order for marketing purposes. The goal is a release date of March 21. Watch here for more details coming soon!
Adam completed a mid-year report and request for the second half of the 2025-2026 General Operating Support Grant from the Kansas Arts Commission.
Adam continued work on design of an ad for the International Association of Operative Millers e-newsletter to promote Millfest.
Lenora continued research for a client in California researching their ancestors, as well as research for the great-grandson of Old Mill owner Theo Teichgraeber.
Volunteers Karmon Almquist and Alan James are doing maintenance and restoration work on the antique OMC tractor in the museum’s collection.
The Board of Directors approved repairs to the ceiling of the Train Depot. Materials have been ordered in for this.
Lenora worked on 2026 budget and gathered information needed for the museum’s tax return.
Lenora is working on final reports for the Historic Speaker Series to Humanities Kansas.
We have signed a contract with a dedicated editor to complete work on the editing and publication of a special book about the history of the Old Mill. A final completion date is not yet established.
Lenora met for coffee at with residents at Sunflower Terrace and Friday friendship coffee in these ongoing community outreach opportunities.
Tyler is continuing to work on digitizing our collection of printed literature, while Julie Ann continues with adding to our Historic Image Database collection.