In my book, Destination Heartland, I encourage people to visit smaller, local museums—places that include “Historical Society” or “Historical Museum” in the name. Often, these museums offer collections that hark back to things I remember from childhood: a ViewMaster, an old phone book, savings stamps. But even in very small museums, I always find something I’ve never seen before.
Today, I visited the Wheeling, IL, History Museum, and while there were numerous things that were familiar, either from life or from other museums, there were a couple of things I’d never seen before.
First and foremost was the Mignon typewriter. Created in 1902 in Berlin, this typewriter predates typewriters with keyboards. Below is a photo, but here is a link to some background, focused on a slightly later model than the one in the museum. This site also includes a link to a video that shows how the typewriter worked. Really remarkable.
Also, while I have seen a wide range of stoves over the years, especially old wood-burning varieties, here was one I hadn’t seen before. This one has a lid you can put down, to create more counter space—but the lid bears the warning “Extinguish fire before lowering lid.”
The little museum used to be the Village Hall, and as the center of all things legal, there is a jail cell inside. There are only three rooms, so you don’t need to allow a great deal of time. But that can be an advantage in busy lives. Nearby on the property, there is a lovely little barn and an old church that is now used as a community center.
So definitely get out there and check out local museums. To find one near you, just type the name of a town or county and the words “Historical Museum” or “Historical Society.” And after you discover a local museum, you may even consider joining. We need to keep these places alive.
Midwest Maize 