(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson County Historical Society is embarking upon a $250,000 capital campaign. Jonathan Reed, the group’s President, tells KUOO news it all actually started a couple of years ago…
“A generous donor came forward and offered a $7,500 challenge grant to improve our displays. In other words, if we raised $7,500, they will give us $7,500. That was met almost immediately. We were all surprised that it happened so quickly. So then what happened after that, we began developing a vision of what we wanted to do with our depot. So we collaborated with a quad cities museum creative services company and they helped us define our vision, and so through the last few years or so we worked to make the original 1884 depot, it’s our greatest artifact, a year round facility. New metal roof, insulation and heating and air conditioning.”
As we reported previously, interactive displays, including a virtual display of what it was like coming into Spirit Lake while riding the Milwaukee Road passenger train, is among six other interactive displays that would be made possible through the fundraising campaign…
“About rail service, about the communities that developed from that railroad service, how people traveled in 1900, and a whole lot more. You’ll be able to see how the station agents worked, what their job was involved with. Kids will be able to type on real typewriters and everyone will get their chance to try their hand at sending and receiving Morse Code on our telegraph keys. Finally one of the really great features that everyone of those displays will have it’s own soundscape, such as the sound of the locomotives pulling into the station, the Western Union telegraph messages being sent and received and in our 1890’s Midsummer Paradise Display where we’ll be showing actual images from a brochure in the time. You’ll have quiet water, row boat sounds, and wildlife sounds, which is what people in the 1890’s and 1900’s would have been looking for.”
Reed says construction of the displays will take place as funds are available…
“The board, meaning the museum board, has met and decided we will move at the speed of cash, which means then that we will be, hopefully, trying to raise enough funds to say yes, let’s go ahead. And I hope to be able to hear the sound of hammers and saws coming from the depot this time next year.”
You can find information on how to donate at dickinsoncountymuseum.org or by stopping by the museum on Keokuk Avenue in Spirit Lake.
Reed says informational flyers will also be going out in the mail soon.
