This week’s Musings is arriving a little early—and for a very special reason!

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the dedication of our Main Gallery here at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum.

And as if that weren’t enough, this Saturday, October 4th, marks another milestone: the 10th anniversary of the dedication of our Research Library. (Apparently, October is a favorite month for new beginnings around here!)

To celebrate these anniversaries, my posts this month will focus on those beginnings—both in pictures and in articles. It seems only fitting to spend some time looking back at how these important pieces of our museum came to be.

And, I’ll admit, I might have an ulterior motive here. By keeping to this theme all month, I don’t have to spend quite as much brainpower deciding what to write about—which frees me up to pour my energy into preparations for the upcoming conference!

So, here’s to a month of looking back with gratitude, even as we look forward with excitement.

If you have trouble reading some of the articles, press “ctrl” and “+” to increase the size. Press “ctrl” and “-” to return to normal size.

We’ll start things off with an article that appeared in The Republic-Monitor on September 9, 2024 talking about the ground breaking ceremony.

The Southeast Missourian published this article on August 20, 2005 leading up to the dedication.

The Republic-Monitor then had this to say on October 6, 2005 about the dedication.

Finally, The Cash-Book Journal had this to say in their November 9, 2005 edition.

Were you at the dedication on Sunday, October 2, 2005? If so, we’d love to hear your memories. What were your thoughts and expectations of the museum back then? Did you imagine what it might grow into over the next two decades?

Your reflections would be a wonderful way to help us mark this anniversary and preserve the story of our museum—not just in photos and articles, but in the voices of the people who have been part of it.

Until next week! Denise Hellwege