MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – September 15, 2025 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Magic at the Mill card tournament Saturday, The Teichgraeber Legacy presentation, Campgrounds full for Svensk Hyllningsfest, 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 September 8-14, 2025:

Prepurchase available for THIS SATURDAY, September 20 for the second annual “Magic at the Mill” card tournament held at the museum. We are holding this evening of fun in collaboration with local gaming store Spelbok. It will be a prerelease “Spider-Man” set themed tournament for $54.99 or Open Casual Commander format for $10. Both registrations come with a rare evening/nighttime guided tour of the 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills! See you there!
For THIS THURSDAY, September 18, be sure to sign up for a Zoom presentation on Theodore Teichgraeber, the owner of Smoky Valley Roller Mills when the current building was constructed in 1898, and the entire Teichgraeber family. Don Dunlap, Theo’s great-grandson, will be our special presenter for this unique opportunity. The FREE presentation will be at 3 p.m. Visit www.oldmillmuseum.org/events/#Teichgraeber to sign up to attend.
An important note that we are now closed for campground reservations on and around Svensk Hyllningsfest – October 16-19. See possible alternate options HERE.
The next daylong Online Swedish Genealogy Workshop on November 8 is now open and available for registrations!
With stability repairs on the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion now complete, we are now in the “Raise the Roof” portion of the Pavilion repairs fundraising campaign.
Tax credits are still available for the 2025 tax year for donations under this campaign. Proceeds go to help with a new planned Pavilion roof that will be more durable and with a more historically accurate look! There will also be opportunities to have a “roof tile” with custom wording added to a permanent honor wall to recognize contributions to replace the roof. Details of these rewards to honor contributors are now available HERE!
There is still capacity for more than $50,000 in donations possible under the grant, with eligible donations qualifying for a 70% fully refundable tax credit on Kansas taxes. Current pledges and received donations under the tax credits grant are $188,851.40.
Learn more at www.oldmillmuseum.org/raise-the-roof.
Last Saturday, we held “DNA – There’s No EASY Button… Yet” workshop online for 14 attendees!
Adam gave an Old Mill tour to 16 people from Frontier Farm Credit in Manhattan last Tuesday.
Adam processed a new individual museum membership. Secure membership at www.oldmillmuseum.org/members!
Adam sent out membership renewal reminder letters.
Staff worked on emails and letters to descendants of Old Mill owners, requesting their support on a grant application for the Heritage Trust Fund.
We prepared gift shop items to have available for sale at our Farmer’s Market booth at Svensk Hyllningsfest. Aubrey also ordered low and out of stock items for the gift shop.
Staff began planning for Heritage Christmas (December 13) and Millfest Sponsorship (May 2). Adam arranged for bringing back our face painter for Millfest 2026.
Adam offered Heritage Square to be the location for a planned inaugural Svensk Hyllningsfest Kubb tournament.
Adam continued working on the forms needed for the first half of our Kansas Arts Commission General Operating Support Grant.
Thanks to the Museum Handy Crew, who moved two display cases to the Train Depot and repaired the outdoor courthouse sign.
Our high school volunteers cleaned and varnished the Ambassadala Dala Horse and helped to weed a museum flower bed.
Museum staff led our section of the AdHoc Roundtable group in planning our parade entry for Svensk Hyllningsfest! Aubrey worked on starting to select historic photographs for the entry.
Adam researched potential items for an AED and also picked up a free package of Narcan spray for the museum first aid kit.
Lenora met for coffee on Tuesday at Sunflower Terrace.
Lenora has continued working on an indexing project under contract with ArkivDigital.
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!