LCHS tackles building issues

When the new board of the Le Sueur County Historical Society took control on June 3, it inherited remarkable problems, among them old buildings with no heating/ cooling/ventilation and some with mold growing in the basement.

During its monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 10, this time at the historic Ottawa Town Hall, the board updated its members on how they are tackling these problems. In his President’s Report, Bill Stangler said the two heating and cooling systems were successfully removed by a heating company from the Le Sueur Museum before Agropur, the company that purchased the building, demolished it. He said LCHS is trying to split up the units to install in the Elysian Museum and the other in the Cleveland Church that is housing the majority of the artifacts removed from Le Sueur.

Stangler said the basement of the Elysian Museum is filled with mold from years of lack of heating or cooling that would have eliminated the humidity and moisture. He asked board member George Luskey to follow up with the heating company that is storing the units to see if they can be installed this month.

“We need to get that place dried out. The conditions are atrocious,” Stangler said.

Board member Bryce Stenzel agreed, saying, “It is imperative and essential to get that (HVAC installation) done.”

Board member Dean Pettis noted the Ice Cream Social/ Open House at the Genealogy Center was very successful during the Elysian Fourth of July event. He said it resulted in seven new memberships and more goodwill throughout the community.

“We were very happy with the turnout,” he said, then recognizing the volunteers who helped make it happen.

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To see more on this story pick up the July 18, 2019 print edition.