In this week’s update: $20K March Millfest Match Challenge, Last chance to see “A Day with the Birds” special exhibit, gift shop renovations progress, 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 23-March 1, 2026:
- We are very excited to announce that the museum has received a $20,000 “March Millfest Match Challenge”!
An anonymous donor has put up $20,000 on the table to encourage sponsorships of our annual Millfest event on May 2 – a unique event that is the one time every year that people can take guided tours of the Old Mill in action. 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.
Every sponsorship will be matched dollar for dollar – doubling the value of every sponsorship! We already have nearly 29% of the match met, with $5,750 in sponsorships having already come in. The deadline for sponsorships has been extended to March 31 to give people the opportunity to take advantage of the Match Challenge. Learn more about how to contribute HERE.
- THIS WEEK is your last chance to come see “A Day with the Birds” temporary exhibit at the museum, open now through through this Saturday, March 7!
It will be packed up and retuned to the Kauffman Museum in Newton, Kansas, early next week.
The traveling exhibit about birdwatching and the annual Christmas Bird Count 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 still here – fun for all ages!
- We have exciting progress to support in the 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 received back the first set of our gift shop shelves with traditional hand-painted kurbits designs added. With help from funding from the Lindsborg Arts Council, Lindsborg local Carla Wilson has been delivering beautiful results back to us with her work! The second set of shelves are currently removed and will be extended and have the kurbits designs added before being returned.
Also, the Museum Handy Crew continues work on the main entryway into the main gallery to be more ADA compliant with a wider doorway.
The Arts Council 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. They have been received; they just need to be installed!
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.
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Adam made a lot of in-person visits last week related to the upcoming release of a pancake and waffle flour mix based on the historical recipe from the last owners of the 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills. After these visits, today Adam is sending off our initial order to the manufacturer partner of Sunflower Food Co. in Lenexa, Kansas, for an initial 500-pound run.
This classic flavor is returning to shelves and restaurants starting on March 21, 2026 – the day of the Lindsborg Vaffeldagen waffle festival!
As a sneak preview, be sure to catch Adam as he was invited demonstrate the mix on the KAKE morning show on 9:20 a.m. on Thursday, March 19!The recipe is about 80 years old and was believed lost until recently when a notebook found during a home renovation in town was discovered to include the hand-written recipe from the Runbeck Brothers, who owned the Old Mill 1934-1955.Also on that day as a one-time celebration for the festival, we will be selling fresh-baked waffles made from the new mix for $3 each at the museum!Full details are in a news release here: www.oldmillmuseum.org/news/#PancakeMixOn March 21, the product will be released for purchase from the online Museum gift shop at www.oldmillmuseum.org/gift-shop. and in-person at the museum gift shop at 120 E. Mill St. in Lindsborg. As of this posting, that’s less than 19 days away! (You can see a running countdown HERE.)
In addition, we now know that the following locations will also we carrying the mix for sale: White’s Foodliner, The Good Merchant, Hemslöjd, Anderson Butik, Rosberg House Bed & Breakfast (as foodservice), Prairieland Market (Salina), The Cook’s Nook (McPherson), Krehbiels Specialty Meats (McPherson), Prairy (Newton), Meridian Grocery (Newton), Encore Antiques and Collectibles (Russell), Wilkens Acres (Abilene), and Swedish American Museum and Historical Society (Swedesburg, Iowa).We are very excited to finally be bringing this project to fruition and to bring Kansas (and Iowa!) a delicious taste of the past!
Retail packaging of the Traditional Pancake Mix 
The 80-year-old Smoky Valley Best Traditional Pancake Mix is based on Old-World flavor.
- Coming up in our genealogy workshops 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! (Adam also successfully posted the job posting to the Small Museums Association website.)
- Adam processed one renewing renewing membership last week!
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!
- 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.
- The Handy Crew worked on a number of jobs across the museum campus. In addition to renovations to the wall between the gift shop and main gallery, and moving out bookshelves to be painted with kurbits, crew volunteers have been clearing weeds and sapling trees around the old turbine house and dam and working to restore the antique OMC tractor to running condition.
- Lenora met for coffee at Friday friendship coffee in this ongoing community outreach opportunity.
- Materials arrived last week for the Train Depot roof. Work should begin this week.
- Museum staff are working on finding the remaining $10,000 in funds needed for repairs to the parking lot and retaining wall adjacent to the Old Mill – a critical infrastructure need.
- Museum staff continue to work on Millfest planning. Millfest is Saturday, May 2.
- Staff is working to arrange a reservation of the Swedish Pavilion for a meeting in May.
- Adam processed and mailed two online gift shop orders.
- Adam arranged a visit for about 100 students from Hutchinson for this June.
Thank you to our weekly volunteers!
This week that included Betty Amos, Tim Stewart, Julie Ann Neywick, Karmon Almquist, Jerry Hammerton, Leland Nelson, and Alan James!