Winona County Historical Society plans an annual year-end giving campaign that helps us to keep the lights on for another season of important work in history. In this post series, you’ll hear from WCHS staff members about why your giving is vital for this organization’s mission. We’re excited to partner with you again as we look to the future of our communities in Winona County.
Responsibilities are Met with Your Support
By Carrie Johnson, Executive Director
The History Center has been busier than you can imagine in 2025! Along with consistent incredible work, major efforts are underway to revitalize the main exhibit gallery. We are so grateful to have this opportunity through your generosity. It promises to be an amazing transformation! As we look to our year’s end, I implore you to consider another generous gift in honor of the work our staff does day in and day out. They are stretched right now beyond their usual multitasking capacities, but they have great range. I am so proud of them! Their dedication to our shared goals of education and historic preservation is infectious!
While we work on the History Center, the Rural Heritage Museum and the Bunnell House are also getting important attention. A Schmidt Foundation grant paid for window repair at the RHM schoolhouse: frames were stabilized, panes replaced and re-glazed, and rotten wood was repaired. The dear old Bunnell House will get attention of its own with new highway signs and a furnace coming soon! A major exterior repair project is currently being planned too, including replication of deteriorated decorative trim, proper oiling of the unique siding, and repairs as needed to keep out pests and
preserve this historic gem – just one of the many services we provide for the people of Winona County.
The responsibility I feel for this dedicated staff and our historic structures is very real. We all bear these responsibilities, and they are our
largest budget items. We need your support for our regular operating budget to maintain a stable workplace and strong historic structures. The responsibility to honor the past comes with the recognition of the good work we are doing today! THANK YOU.
