MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – December 30, 2024 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Harvest of Giving, Pavilion update, Swensson reenactment, 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 December 23-29, 2024:

- There are just two days left on our 2024 year-end “Harvest of Giving” Fundraising Campaign and the $5,000 Museum Match challenge (doubles all new and renewing memberships as well as one-time donations made between now and the end of the year).
  You can also help the museum by donating to the Save the Pavilion campaign and Millfest Sponsorships. Please take a moment to learn more about each of these options and to decide what ways of supporting the museum are right for you!
- We have crossed a critical milestone in our campaign to save the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion under the Community Service Program (CSP) Tax Credits through the Kansas Department of Commerce. With $153,634.25 donated to the project and in the bank, we now have the necessary funds for the essential structural repair to the 120-year old historical structure that’s iconic of Swedish-American culture!
  We expect the repairs to be completed in Spring 2025.
  With 46 individuals, families, and businesses contributing to the project, we have used 64% of the grant, which means we still have remaining donation capacity of $85,689.75 under the CSP Grant. With the structural repair funds secured, we now turn our focus to the “Raise the Roof” portion of the campaign to repair the 30-year old, leaking roof of the Pavilion in a more historic way. The remaining portion on the CSP grant will constitute a great running start on this next important milestone of preserving the Swedish Pavilion, so far, we have raised $2,134.25 toward this next important repair goal.
  This is a great time of year to consider making a donation under the program as the end of the calendar tax year approaches!
  Read about all the latest here and let us know how much you are interested in contributing: www.oldmillmillmuseum.org/save-the-pavilion!
  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 total in donations, which fully covers critical stabilization repairs to prevent collapse of the historic structure and will partially cover installation of a new, more historically accurate roof. There is still much to accomplish to fully take advantage of the tax credits program.)
We are closed on Wednesday, January 1, this week for New Year’s Day. See you Thursday (and after) with normal days and hours (9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday). See you later this week after the Holiday!

SAVE THE DATE! A reenactment presentation of Carl Aaron Swensson will be the afternoon of Sunday, January 12 at the museum. This is a part of the Historical Speaker Series in partnership with the Smoky Valley Historical Association and is the museum’s featured event of the Lindsborg Arts Council’s “Lindsborg Cultural Crawl.”
Carl Swensson
Need a great gift for the genealogist or history enthusiast in your life? NEW in the museum gift shop, you can now purchase a gift certificate good for a free registration to one of the museum’s Online Swedish Genealogy Workshops anytime in 2025 ($50) or a 2025 Pursuing YOUR Past presentation ($10). Your gift recipient will receive a one-time-use code by email or mail good to pay for the registration fee for one of these popular sessions!

- We have now opened registration for “Are YOU the Family Archivist? (What to Do With ALL That Family Stuff?!)” – a fantastic hourlong presentation by Sue Schlichting of Pursuing YOUR Past. The session is scheduled for Saturday, February 1 and is just $10 for non-members or FREE for museum members!
- Registration is open for the next Swedish Genealogy workshop on February 15, 2025! We’re very excited to have a new addition this time to the featured speakers – Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective!
- We have started to take reservations for Millfest for Kids on Friday, May 2! Get in touch if your school or homeschool group would like to participate.
- Adam processed 4 renewing memberships and 2 new membership. Total current active membership is 169. You can become a member today at www.oldmillmuseum.org/members. (And right now through the end of the year, that contribution can be DOUBLED thanks to an anonymous donor!)
- Adam also processed a $200 one-time donation.
- 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!