When David and Marcy Schuh took their children for a walk Sunday afternoon, they stepped back into history.

Tuesday, June 19, 2001

When David and Marcy Schuh took their children for a walk Sunday afternoon, they stepped back into history.

The Schuh family visited the Mower County Historical Center at the fairgrounds in southwest Austin, where the Mower County Historical Society held its annual open house.

The Schuhs, including children Marissa, 9, Davis, 7, and Jamison, 3, visited the rural school museum, admired buggies in the Rahilly museum, visited the original Christ Episcopal Church and its collection of art, climbed train cars at the Milwaukee Junction museum, fantasized about the head dresses, arrowheads and other Native American artifacts and the pioneer museum.

Mower County Historical Society volunteers greeted visitors and shared their knowledge of Mower County history with the guests.

Polly Jelinek, one of the volunteers, politely looked the other way as the family posed for a Father’s Day picture around a grand piano built in the early 1900s.

When the two-hour open house ended, there were cookies and lemonade left over and the volunteers wondered what they had done wrong.

"What can we do to get more people out there for our open house?" Director Shirley DeYoung asked aloud. "It’s Father’s Day and this would be the perfect place to take dad or grandfather. It’s free and there’s really nothing else going on today."

The Historical Society volunteers work hard to promote the collection of historical artifacts donated by Mower County residents.

However, it seems the only time the public takes notice is when a controversy occurs. For instance, the doomed courthouse dome or the Ole Olson log cabin that had to be dismantled or moved because of a new public restroom building.

Otherwise, the Historical Center is one of the best-kept secrets in Mower County.

Ella Marie Lausen remembers driving to work from her rural Lyle home one day, when the Olson cabin was being moved to the fairgrounds.

"I was also there when the Root River people moved it this spring to the campgrounds near Racine," she said. "I saw it coming and going."

The Olson cabin is reputed to be the oldest surviving structure in Mower County history.

When it had to be moved or torn down to make way for a new public restroom at the east end of the grandstands, the Root River Antique Historical Power Association Inc. acquired the building and moved it to their own permanent historical center near the Deer Creek Campgrounds south of Racine.

This summer, it will be unveiled publicly for the first time when the Root River organization hosts its annual antique engine and tractor show from July 19 to 22.

Buildings, old and new, remain a frustration for the Historical Society. Despite the Mower County Board of Commissioners’ assurances, building needs, new roofs, exterior paint jobs and expansions have not been forthcoming.

"We have a lot of items donated to the Historical Society that we can’t display because of a lack of room," DeYoung said. "People who donate those items ask us where they are and when they’ll be on display and we can’t tell them anything."

One higher priority is the display of agriculture equipment. The popularity of antique tractor and steam engine shows would seem to indicate the Mower County Fairgrounds could become a mecca for a similar show of its own if there were permanent displays to attract visitors.

Several townships – Clayton, Udolpho, Grand Meadow and Racine, to name four – have donated money for an expansion of the agriculture exhibits. The Historical Center does remain a popular place for family history research projects. Because the Historical Society’s collection of resources is so vast, it is outgrowing the administration building built, in part, to house the records.

According to DeYoung, most of the inquires come via e-mail, but the Historical Center also attracts many visitors searching through files for family historical information.

For more information about the Mower County Historical Center, call 437-6082 or visit the fairgrounds from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is $2 per person.

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com.