The Polk County Historical Society is opening its doors for an open house Thursday night. After being closed for more than a year due to COVID, the museum will feature new displays and some aesthetic improvements.
Board member Steve Hannah said those who’ve been to the museum before probably won’t recognize it. “We’ve been going through almost 90 years’ worth of collections, basically reorganizing and hiding a lot of stuff so you can see the forest through the trees,” said Hannah. “What we’ve done is highlighted certain themes in each of the rooms. There has been new paint and lighting put in. It’s been completely reorganized, and if you’ve been to this museum before, you’re probably not even going to recognize it because it’s much better laid out now and easier to walk through.”
Hannah said the Historical Society hopes to update its displays periodically. “Our whole goal is to rotate through, maybe year-by-year, and set up different displays, so people have something new to come back to,” said Hannah. “But we sure invite you out from 5-8 p.m. We invite you to walk through (the main building), we’ll have some refreshments and snacks for you to eat. So, welcome to the Polk County Historical Society.”
The open house will serve as a kickoff to the museum’s summer opening the Tuesday after Memorial Day. “Exactly, I think everybody wants to get back to normal and go to museums, ball games, and have fun,” said Hannah. “We are planning on the same hours we’ve had before – Tuesday through Sundays from noon-4 p.m. But we’re also going to make a pilot attempt on Thursday nights from 5-8 p.m. or something on that order. We’ll announce that soon and try to coincide with the farmers market and other activity in town on Thursday nights.”
