MITCHELL COUNTY GENEALOGY

 

St. Ansgar Heritage Association and Museum

  • Museum -- St. Ansgar, Iowa
    Phone #: 641-713-2776
  • Museum Curator: Audrey McKinley
    Phone #: 641-713-2103

  • Museum Hours -- Summer 2013

    Wed.

    10:00 - 4:00

    Thu.

    10:00 - 4:00

    Fri.

    10:00 - 4:00

    Or by appointment -- Call 641-736-4575

     

  • Mailing Address:
       St. Ansgar Heritage Association
       Box 214
       St. Ansgar, Iowa 50472

A CLIPPING

A newspaper article from the Mitchell County Press News tells about the opening of the museum -- it's a couple years old.

It contains a photo with association members: Viv Homeyer, Audrey McKinley, Lori Mayer, Ed Collier, Art Janzow, Joan Feldt, and Sue Horgen. The caption also lists, but not pictured: Charleen Neeley, Bill Gerlach and Paul Groth.

Here's what the article says:

At the school reunion in the summer of 1993, the idea was formed to start a museum to keep the heritage of St. Ansgar alive.   A call was put out to all those interested in forming the St. Ansgar Heritage Assoc.   Officers and board of directors were voted in, and bylaws of the organization were adopted in October 1994.

A special heritage logo was drawn up by a former St. Ansgar resident, Keith Roll of Norfolk, Neb., who graduated with the class of 1936. In the early fall, the Heritage Association was able to take a giant step with the purchase of a building on 4th St. in St. Ansgar for their museum site. The former plumbing shop, Pine Hill Dairy, Neeley Dairy and Sincerely Yours retail business, now will permanently house memorabilia of St. Ansgar's history.

Now 145 years old, St. Ansgar residents have accumulated lots of nostalgic memorabilia, priceless historical pieces, and just plain interesting items which shouldn't be lost or tucked away in someone's attic.

Audrey McKinley will be the museum curator and is currently accepting donated or on-loan items of historical St. Ansgar significance for the museum.   They are also sponsoring a fund-raising drive which will sell memberships and accept monetary donations.

The museum will be open to the public beginning Sunday, December 6, 1998.

CLOSING COMMENTS

The museum houses a large collection of St. Ansgar Enterprise newspapers, but does not have all of them. We should mention that the Enterprise office still has a collection of all the issues.   But the Enterprise gave the museum all the extra copies which they had--and that is a lot, according to Deidre Badker, who is checking the museum out.   Deidre said the papers are organized in boxes, but are not yet on microfilm.   She added that museum is nicely "laid back" -- and that "they didn't have a set price for a 'xeroxed copy.'"   The lady just said, "just leave a donation in the box over there."

Kermit L. Kittleson -- kermit2u@gmail.com -- Jan. 2008 - upd. 5/2009