I hope you will plan a visit to the Lutheran Heritage Center in the coming days.  We will reopen June 11, at 10:00 a.m. and will resume our normal hours with COVID-19 protocols.  You will be briefed on the protocols upon arrival.  We are eager to show you the remodeling updates to the lobby, lighting, the new Log Cabin College roof, and you can glimpse at the construction underway on the large museum expansion.  The building project does not interfere with visits to the museum or research library.  Join us!

It has been a long tradition here to host internships from regional university programs.  Faron Bartens has joined us for his summer internship that he will be splitting between our site and Saxon Lutheran Memorial.  Faron is a senior in the Historic Preservation Program at Southeast Missouri State University with special interests in archives and historic sites.  He has jumped into projects on our team, and it is wonderful to have him join us.  Faron is pictured here with his girlfriend, Olivia.

It’s time to send in your registrations for the Immigration History Conference Oct. 29-31.  We have incredible things planned.  Please click on the “Conference” tab on this site, to get more details.  Ideally, we will be able to have a full conference census, but I advise you to get your registrations in now, in case we have to lower the census due to COVID-19 concerns.  If the conference has to be cancelled due to any of these issues, your money will be refunded.

I’m so excited to share a glimpse of one of our new Christmas tree ideas with you.  One of the new trees this year came out of research regarding blown glass “apple” ornaments in a small village in Germany.  Renowned glass blower, Nadine Saylor will be demonstrating glass blowing with her Southern Illinois University students at the conference  in October.  We commissioned Nadine to create some blown glass apples to be a part of a tree that will debut at the conference.  I received this photo this week, and I’m eager to work with our team to get this new tree designed and put together.

It is worth a drive to Altenburg any day ending with “y” to see this pretty little town.  There is a new reason to hop in your car to take a look at the new shelter roof on the Log Cabin College. It is incredible.  Warren Schmidt’s photo is super, but seeing it in person with the sun hitting all of the wood tones is magnificent.