TUESDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – September 2, 2025 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: “The Teichgraeber Legacy” presentation, Raise the Roof campaign for the Swedish Pavilion, DNA Genealogy workshop Sept. 13, and more!

The Update was “off” on Monday, so we’re brining you the latest news from last week on Tuesday.

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 August 25 – September 1, 2025:

Lenora met with Don Dunlap to plan a Zoom presentation on the family of Don’s great-grandfather – Theodore Teichgraeber, the owner of Smoky Valley Roller Mills when the current building was constructed in 1898. The free presentation will be at 3 p.m. on September 18. Visit www.oldmillmuseum.org/events/#Teichgraeber to sign up to attend.
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 will be coming soon.
After processing two contributions last week, the total contributed to the new roof is now nearly $36,000. There is still capacity for almost $52,000 in donations possible under the grant, with eligible donations qualifying for a 70% fully refundable tax credit on Kansas taxes.
Last week, Adam prepped and sent out a mailing of about 200 units to promote this portion of the campaign. Watch your mailboxes!
Learn more at www.oldmillmuseum.org/raise-the-roof.
The upcoming workshops from Pursuing YOUR Past – “DNA: There’s No EASY Button…Yet!” – a week from Saturday on September 13 – and the next daylong Online Swedish Genealogy Workshop on November 8 are now open and available for registrations!
Prepurchase is also currently available for the second annual “Magic at the Mill” card tournament held at the museum on Saturday, September 20, in collaboration with local gaming store Spelbok. It will be a prerelease “Spider-Man” set themed tournament for $54.99 or Open Casual Commander for $10. Both registrations come with a guided tour of the 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills!
Adam processed a NEW museum membership. Get your membership or renew today at www.oldmillmuseum.org/members!
Adam registered museum staff members for the Kansas Museums Conference coming up November 19-21 in Great Bend.
Adam started organizing the Svensk Hyllningsfest float planning.
Adam and Lenora gave a museum tour to the new Lindsborg City Administrator on Thursday.
The Museum Handy Crew focused on grounds maintenance, particularly trimming low-hanging branches near the Pavilion.
Lenora met with Ron at the Sandzén Gallery about possible collaboration on a grant opportunity.
A member of the board of directors, Aubrey, and Lenora met with a local contractor to help review and prioritize needs for the upcoming Heritage Trust Fund grant process. Lenora also communicated with the State Preservation Office to clarify what aspects around the Old Mill qualify as National Register property for purposes of the grant.
Two high school students helped with grounds cleanup as part of a Civic Engagement class this semester.
Tyler worked on Tuesday and Thursday scanning historic books.
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!