Perkins County Museum exhibit hall gets new redesign; many different themes, eras featured in updated building
BY BECKY UEHLING
GRANT TRIBUNE Correspondent
For many decades, faithful volunteers of the Perkins County Historical Society have preserved the history of the county at the location of 605 Central Ave in Grant. Recently, volunteers have reached another milestone with major updates to the society’s exhibit hall.
“It is unbelievable what has been accomplished over the last four months,” said Historical Society President Brenda Styskal as she spoke about the updates to the exhibit hall.
On the grounds of the historical society there sits the main house museum that was sold to the historical society by the Frank Edwards family for $1 in 1957 and opened as the museum in 1959; a small one-room rural school house, which was once located in District 8 south of Brandon, which was purchased with money raised by former school teachers and students; and an out building exhibit hall, which has been used for some displays, but mainly as storage over the years. However, this has now changed.
Styskal said thanks to countless volunteer hours, many priceless heirloom donations, and monetary assistance from the County of Perkins, the Perkins County Community Foundation Fund and private donors, the exhibit hall has been updated to feature historical depictions of important aspects of the county throughout the years.
The displays in the hall include sections dedicated to each community in the county, the military, the progression of such services as electrical, phone, mail, and medical, as well as the changes in such things as cooking, beauty, ag, transportation, governmental, news services, and other specially donated items including a pencil and pen collection featuring 12,500 items that was given by Lex Jameson who attended school in Elsie.
Styskal said she along with volunteers Larry and Karen Mosel, DeeAnn Tatum and Ronda Lawyer, were the main ones who cleaned, sorted, and organized the displays, with a few others also helping along the way.
“I guess we just had a vision and just kept showing up until it was completed,” Styskal said. The group has been working on the project for more than five years now, she said.
Work on the exhibit hall is not finished, however, with the back portion of the hall still being developed, and the task of labeling each item in the hall to include information about who donated it and what era it is from is also in the works, she said.
Styskal always welcomes anyone who wants to donate their time and talent to preserving the history of the county, and encourages those who are interested to come and speak to her when the museum is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon until the New Year and then will be closed until May. Special viewings can be requested by calling Styskal at 308-352-4977.