Day 3: Preservation

Last Thursday, I got to work in the vault room, which has been converted to an office. It's a small space, big enough for two desks, but includes a walk-in vault that has lovely designs on the door.

Today, it is used as a supply closet, officially making it the coolest of its kind. The vault shows that the museum itself is a significant part of Swedish-American history in Chicago.

The museum was originally Lind Hardware Co., which opened at that location in 1927. The store was a social center where many Swedish men congregated to discuss business, family, and politics. A hardware store is the ideal location for Swedes to meet up because many of them were in the construction business; as the saying goes "the Swedes built Chicago." Kurt Mathiasson, a man driven to preserve Swedish-American history, moved the Swedish American Museum Center from its previous location to 5211 N. Clark St. in 1987. The move to a Swedish-American landmark indicates how seriously the residents of Andersonville are about preserving their architectural history. 

Also on Thursday, I assisted in the packaging and sorting of Flaggen, the quarterly newsletter that was to be distributed that weekend. Most of the subscribers were within the state of Illinois, but the Flaggen also reached the far states of Florida, California, and even North Dakota. The newsletter is essential to the museum because many members come from around the U.S. to attend the events and view the new exhibits. Some of the subscribers were not individuals, but fellow non-profit organizations. The support of other non-profits, even those that are not related to Swedish-American or Swedish history, is important for advertisement and community.

http://www.nordstjernan.com/news/midwest/684/