Betty Mann has trouble sleeping at night.
“I have all these things running around in my head, and it’s hard to turn them off,” said Mann, Rock County Historical Society President.
There’s good reason for her cluttered mind: Truckloads of valuable “clutter” are waiting to be sorted at the new History Center, and opening day is looming on the horizon.
“Through the years we’ve acquired duplicates of some items and other items we aren’t able to display,” Mann said. “And we’re finding some things that were acquired 20-some years ago from the Hinkly House that we didn’t know we had.”
To help in the sorting process and to raise money for the Historical Society, an auction is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.
Items — including existing inventory and donated pieces — will be auctioned in the bay area of the History Center (formerly the Ford Motor dealership).
Mann said the auction will be a unique opportunity for the community members to donate items of value they no longer need while at the same time supporting a good cause.
“We’re not looking for rummage sale items,” Mann said, struggling to find the right way to describe the auction.
“For example, one family has contacted me about donating an antique roll-top desk from their estate.”
“If you have something of value that you would consider donating, we’re interested in having it,” Mann said.
Of interest to bidders might be bookcases, glass cabinets and display pieces that were used at the museum but are not needed at the new location. Also, office divider walls that separated displays in the museum will be offered for sale.
To donate to the auction, contact Mann at 507-283-2913 or email mannmade@iw.net. The Historical Society number is 507-283-2122 at the History Center, which is manned from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The email address is rcmuseum@gmail.com.
Mann said if there were ever a time to support the History Center, it’s now, because the matching funds offer from an anonymous donor will end Jan. 1.
Items not sold will be donated to charity or disposed of. “We can’t keep storing stuff that we know will never be used,” Mann said.
“Through the years, people have donated boxes of stuff, and we may have displayed eight or 10 pieces, but were asked to take the whole box.”
Among those miscellaneous boxes are likely some valuable antiques that could draw bids from interested collectors. “We’re discovering all these things we didn’t know we had,” Mann said.
Moving from North Freeman Avenue to East Main Street
For more than 20 years, the Historical Society operated its museum out of the Masonic Temple building on North Freeman Avenue.
The building was purchased for $1 in 1996, and it will be sold back to the Masons for $1, Mann said.
Physically moving 20 years’ worth of acquired history was no small task, and Mann has been directing traffic as inventory arrives at its new location downtown.
“I’ve been practically living down there these past few weeks,” she said, adding that volunteers have mostly done the heavy lifting.
For example, Schomacker Cleaning donated labor and equipment (moving dollies and enclosed trailers), and Luverne football players also donated their muscles.
“Boxes of books that I could hardly lift were whisked away,” Mann said about the athletes. “Two big enclosed trailers were loaded and unloaded in an hour and 10 minutes.”
She said there were too many families, organizations and individuals who helped to name names. “People in this community are very generous, not only with their money but with their time.”
What surprised Mann was their enthusiasm.
“I’m overwhelmed with the participation and interest people have shown for this project,” she said.
“Sometimes I wonder if this is a dream of mine, individually, but this shows me there are so many people who are interested in it and are truly anxious to see it open,” Mann said. “That, to me, is gratifying.”
She admits the History Center has been her dream, but she’s clear about the fact that it’s been a team effort of the Historical Society board, the Housing Partnership specialists, city and county leaders and donors and volunteers.
“So many people have done so much and given so much to help us get this far,” Mann said.
Finish line is in sight
The interior work at the History Center is nearly complete, but Mann said an official grand opening will be announced when the exterior is nearly done.
Since the project must meet handicap accessibility and historical standards, Mann said there are considerable hoops to jump through to meet those requirements.
“I would like to set a grand opening date, but we can’t do that yet,” she said.
“We’ll be able to open two sections this fall, but the displays in the bay area we’ll be working on all winter.”
Luverne’s 150th anniversary celebration is next summer, and Mann said the History Center grand opening may be tied to those events.
Meanwhile, Mann said she’s looking forward to the day she can turn her attention to documenting history.
“My term (as Historical Society president) expired in January, but I told them I’d stay on until this is done, and then I’ll step down,” she said.
“If I died tomorrow, somebody would get it done; I’m replaceable. But I have all this research done that I’d like to get written down. It’s not that someone else couldn’t do the research and find what I’ve found. But I don’t want all my footwork to be lost.”