I enjoyed working this fine Sunday afternoon at the Lutheran Heritage Center. Upon arriving I walked around, and after 16 years as the director here, I am still amazed at the new things I notice—even in exhibits I’ve created myself. As a historian in material culture, I am naturally fascinated by objects, documents, art, and … More Symbols of Our Stories
I know that I will not have time to research a new family the way I normally do today, so I put together this quick post. In 1895, a booklet was published titled, A Modern Eden, that was designed to tell the history of Perry County, Missouri up to that time. It is a good … More Pre-1900 East Perry Businesses
Since we are not reopening the interior of the Lutheran Heritage Center to the public until early June, I wanted to challenge the idea that we are ‘closed.’ The team that keeps this place running has been working full press (within safety protocols) on: program development, restoring lighting, installing upgraded security, installing new flooring, creating … More Closed BUT Operational, Part 2
Dear Patrons, It has been an unprecedented time in the museum world. Know that we have been praying for your health. We have friends in the world who have battled or are battling this virus, and other friends who have lost family members unrelated to the virus, or have suffered other health crises during this … More We are Closed but Operational
Every once in awhile…as Gerard unlocks the museum for the day…a mystery package greets him–a box, a bag, and once, a beautiful cast iron bell. It is always fun to see what treasures someone has left for our collection. I remember in the past some historic photography. Photographs are special, especially if they are from … More Treasures Found at the Door
We are so pleased to exhibit the historic Thilenius Distributing Model AA Ford truck. We are thankful to LaDonna and the late Howard Thilenius for this accession. It has been fun to use it in our collection. Today, Santa brought the truck to Altenburg, to deliver this giant tree! A very special thanks to Meier … More Santa Claus Came to Town
I am going to cheat again today. I have those typical Thanksgiving obligations to our family, so I’m pulling out an old blog post that was published three years ago. At that time, I wrote this post after Thanksgiving was over. I cannot believe it has been three years since this article was written. I … More Reflections on Thanksgiving
I will be traveling today, so I do not have time to research and write a new post. So I will give you two options. First, you could go back to yesterday’s post if you haven’t read it yet. It actually was a story that deserved to be posted on November 26th. Second, I am … More Lewis & Clark Visit the Rock
I have been spending my wake-up prayer and quiet time recently reading Psalms. We will be studying these ‘words to the music” beginning next Wednesday, June 5, at 9:00 a.m. in our beautiful Reading Room. Please join us. Some of the regional pastors will be taking turns leading us. This week our museum team and … More The Lord is Always with Us
Perry County Lutheran Historical Society president, Warren Schmidt has authored the first book in a historical fiction series about Wittenberg, Missouri. It is simply wonderful. I often tell patrons, when they are curious about Wittenberg, that “Wittenberg may look like a former town, but our Wittenbergers are alive and well.” I celebrate that all of … More The Beginning of Two New Series
