Here at the Kregel Windmill Factory Museum we are always looking for events and programs that will provide visitors and members with an opportunity to connect with the museum and experience something new and interesting. For this reason we are happy to announce that this fall, starting in September, we will be hosting a three-part speaker series highlighting history related to the factory, the windmills, and the era in which the factory was operating at its peak.
The first of these speaking events will be held on September 20th, 2014 at 6:30pm. The speaker for the first of these programs will be Dr. T. Lindsay Baker. Dr. Baker is the W.K. Gordon Endowed Chair of Southwestern History at Tarleton State University. Dr. Baker was instrumental in establishing the Kregel Windmill Factory Museum when it was first conceived in the mid-1990's. He is also an expert on the history of American water-pumping windmills and has written multiple books on the subject.
Dr. Baker will be giving a presentation titled "The Place of the Kregel Windmill Company in the History of Windmill Manufacture in North America." This event is free to the public. We hope to see many of you there to help us kick-off our first ever Fall Speaker Series!
Over the last few weeks it has been a great pleasure to host groups from the Woodmen of the World Youth Camp here in Nebraska City, NE. Camp WOW, sponsored by Woodmen of the World, is a weekly summer camp for local kids age eight through fifteen. On the last day of each week the kids walked the few blocks over to the museum and have a tour of the factory, as well as see the working ELI windmill across the street. The Woodmen of the World Campgrounds in Nebraska City has on its property an original ELI windmill dating from about the mid-1930's. The kids were able to come here and see what that windmill would have looked like when it was first erected, likely by George & Art Kregel themselves.
We would like to thank Woodmen of the World, Evelyn Alonso, and all of the camp counselors and campers for making the Kregel Windmill Factory Museum part of their summer vacation. We hope to see you all again next year!
