December 2015 Newsletter

Froelich foundation 2015 newsletter
The Froelich Foundation & Museum has just completed yet another successful year of tours and
events.
Last Fall, November 2014, the Board decided to
install high efficiency electric heating & cooling
units in the 1891 General Store. This has been long
overdue. Our tour guests appreciate this comfort!
March 8, 2015 was the FF Annual Meeting at Luana Savings Bank. New Board of Directors were
elected and new officers were elected.
April 9th Denise Schutte received a grant from the
Clayton County & Community Foundation of Dubuque for “Froelich Foundation’s Partners Plaque Wall
Display”. Denise wrote this grant to create a wall display of ALL Lifetime Members names engraved on
individual name-plates and attached onto multiple
wooden plaques all attached together and displayed
in our Barn Event center.
We opened for tours May 9th for the Season!
Our guides this year were: Denise Schutte and Julie
Trappe. Tammy Tuecke filled in occasionally.
We hired Jeanne Miller to keep our buildings clean.
Paul & Jeanne Miller continued to keep our lawn &
grounds beautiful!
Special Events will be noted in another section.
The Board of Directors meet most every month as
necessary to handle the many needs of the Froelich
Foundation & Museum.
The Museum closed after the second weekend in
October. However, Denise hosted two other special
tours scheduled on Oct 14 & 15th.
We had tour guests from 28 States from throughout the United States. They came all the way from California to New York, from Minnesota to Florida & Texas. We also received tourists from six countries. They
came from Canada, Germany, Iraq, Philippines, Scotland, and Thailand. It is remarkable how we continue
to have so many tourists come from throughout the
World to our little Village of Froelich, Iowa!
November 2015
To the left is one of many
pictures taken during our
FALL-DER-ALL Sept 26 &
27. Note the great participation shown by the lineup of tractors & threshing
display & kids enjoying
barrel rides! Check our
website for many more
pics! Froelichtractor.com
2015 Froelich Foundation Board of Directors
Tim Donlon: President
Torrie Moses: Vice-President
Beth Henkes: Secretary
Bruce Kann: Treasurer
Gene Lake, Brian Meyer, Keary Keehner, Linda Beck,
Allen Mitchell, Ivan Meisner, & Jim Trappe
Thanks to all our wonderful Directors making time in their
busy lives to serve this fine historical site’s preservation of
farm tractor history & our 1890’s Village Museum site for
many generations to come! Thank you all !!!
Special Events of 2015
June 5: Lance & Amanda Donlon Rehearsal Supper
June 7: Marfilius Family Reunion
June 15: Brincks Graduation
June 26: Brady Henkes Graduation
July 4: Dettmann Family Gathering
Aug 22: 40th Birthday Party & Barn Dance
Sept 11: Singles In Agriculture Barn Supper/Dance
Sep 26 & 27: “FALL-DER-ALL” Celebration
Oct 10: Conner-Fox Wedding
Oct 14: Model A Car Club Tour, Cedar Rapids
Membership Renewal Reminder
It is time to renew your Annual Memberships for 2016. Annual dues are just $20. Payable to: Froelich Foundation
and send for the winter months to:
13032 Hickory Ave, Monona, IA 52159
New Life-Time Members are welcome $200. a one time
payment. You will then be added on a brass engraved
name-plate placed on a wooden wall display showcased
in our Barn Event Center.
Please keep your Memberships current for the preservation of our 1890’s Village Museum Site.
FROELICH FOUNDATION MEMBERS ANNUAL MEETING
Will be held Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 1:30pm
Location: Luana Savings Bank basement
All Foundation members are invited to attend.
New Directors will be voted in .
Letter to our Members by Denise Schutte 2015
Page 2
Dear Members of the Froelich Foundation,
This was the beginning of my fourth year working for the Froelich Foundation & Museum. I, Denise Schutte,
absolutely love working here. I continue to learn more about this fine history here of the Froelich family, the
Burlingame’s and all the wonderful people of this village and the history of those living nearby of this area, as well!
I would like to thank everyone who has continued to support the Froelich Foundation & Museum! If it were
not for you dear friends we would not be able to share this one-of-a-kind history of John Froelich’s invention of the
very first successful gasoline powered tractor able to propel itself forward and backward in 1892. Our 1890’s Froelich Village Museum Site hosts daily tours everyday, except Wednesdays, from 10am—5pm and Sundays from
11am-5pm. We are open the 2nd weekend in May thru the last weekend of Sept and the 1st two weekends in October. We had additional tours Oct 14, we hosted “The Model A Car Club” of the Cedar Rapids area. This group of
42 people drove their 20 Model A Cars to tour here! Oct 15th, I had a smaller group, known as O.W.L.S. (Older Wiser Livelier Souls) schedule a special tour here as well.
New Displays: Julie & I created new pictorial displays in the Giard Room of our 1920’s Warehouse. I created a display in the Depot of Dr. Charles Nichols. He was a doctor at Giard for many years. The Nichol’s display
items are on loan by the Reynolds-Kann Family Estate. Also with the help of my husband, Roger, we created displays in the Hayloft grainery area in the Barn. We continue to create new exhibits and displays ongoing.
Improvements: last Fall we installed 2 high efficiency heating/cooling units in the General Store. This has
greatly improved the comfort of tourists visiting here. This summer, Board Directors: Linda Beck and Allen Mitchell
painted the 1866 Froelich #5 One Room School. Thank you!
A donation of two very special early 1900s John Deere cultivators were given in memory of Ivan &
Jeanne Miesner’s two sons. Donated by Lyle Meisner, Clermont. They are displayed in the Barn.
This year we created a letter requesting a fund drive for roof repairs and replacements of the 1903 Vintage Barn Event Center and the 1891 Iron Clad Store. Thank you to those of you who have already sent donations. We will be creating an engraved plaque with each donor and their level of participation. If you haven’t had
an opportunity to support this wonderful endeavor, please send these donations soon, so we can add your name
to this very important project on this special engraved plaque of recognition by those of you contributors.
This Spring I wrote and received a Grant through the Com Foundation of Greater Dubuque, sponsored by
Colleen Darby. This grant allowed us to create a wall display grouping of multi wooden plaques with each
“LIFETIME MEMBER’S NAMES” engraved on individual brass name plates. If you’d like to become a “LIFETIME
MEMBER” please send your one-time payment of $200. and note how you would like your family’s name listed.
We have many of you dear Life-time Members names engraved and displayed here in our Barn Event Center.
Our major annual fundraiser “FALL-DER-ALL” was Sept 26 & 27th. Featuring: Old-time demonstrations of
threshing, cedar shingle making, steam engine, hit & miss engines, Kerr’s small scale steam engine & baler, blacksmithing and many other demo’s and displays. Sat began with the Tractor Ride. We had a Children’s Fun area including games, the Bouncy House, D&L Toy Display of smaller scale tractors, and the Kids Peddle Pull. Including
tours of our Museum, a wonderful line-up of many makes of Tractors of years ago. Scrumptious Pork loin sandwiches & homemade pies were served. Sat evening we had the Barn dance, by the band Pizz In The Wind. Then
Sunday morning started with the Pancakes/Sausage Breakfast in the Barn. “The Big Raffle Drawing” winners: $200.
John Grangaard, $100. Roger Schutte, $50. Kathy Wikan, Bodensteiner’s Kid’s Peddle Tractor—Rod Kregel.
I submitted our site as a nominee of National Geographic Mississippi Rivers “Mapping Guide.” Please vote
for Us online at: MississippiRiver.natgeotourism.com. The Mississippi River w/ a green background homepage
comes up. On left hover over “Places To Go” a pop up box appears: click on “Museum, Theater” Then hopefully
you will see: “Froelich 1890s Village Museum & First Tractor Invention” and click on this. Otherwise in the upper
two boxes on the right side you will need to put in the info. Once there enjoy our presentation clicking on right
hand arrows to view all pictures and information of our Museum. Then go on down to: LEAVE A COMMENT, YOUR
NAME & SUBMIT. This is very important as a WORLD-WIDE FORUM sharing our Museum w/ so many others!!!!
PLEASE VOTE NOW if you would so kindly take a moment to continually preserve this historical site.
I continue to work from home during the winter months taking care of everything I do during our open season except giving tours. THANK YOU ALL! Your Executive Director & Curator, Denise Schutte
FROELICH FOUNDATION ANNUAL AND LIFETIME MEMBERS
Dear Members we are updating “Annual Memberships”, accepting new “Lifetime Members”
and we are also seeking donations for
the *1891 General Store Roof & Front Entrance Awning Fund.*
This year we began a request for those interested in maintaining our “1891 Iron Clad Store
Roof & front awning”. It is time for these much needed repairs now at our main building of our
1890’s Froelich Museum Site. We established a Recognition Plaque of those donating to this fund.
The levels of donations are:
Platinum $1,000./ Gold $500./Silver $200./ Bronze $100./ Other $______________
Below we ask that you note your names or the name of those in Memory for the recognition plaque.
2016 Membership Dues:
Annual Single and Family Memberships: $20.
New Lifetime Memberships: $200.00 (One time Payment)
**Each year we send our current members a Newsletter. We simply request that you keep
your dues current. We also ask that you update any change of address or email.
“If you would like to contribute to the Froelich Foundation Endowment Fund, you will receive an
Iowa Endow 25% tax credit for your donation to this fund. It can still be donated through Dec 31,
2015”. Or anytime thereafter, however, it may be counted as a 2016 tax credit.
This is your receipt for YOU to save for your tax deductible donation to the :
FROELICH FOUNDATION, 24397 Froelich Rd, McGregor, IA 52157
The “Froelich Foundation for the Preservation of Farm Tractor History, Inc.” is a non-profit 501 c 3 incorporated Sept
1986. If you need our tax id # please let us know.
Date:_________________ I/We donated $______________ Check#______________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Please clip and return this portion with your Froelich Foundation Membership Remittance:
Or if you’d like to send a donation to the General Store Roof Fund please note this and we’ll include this on our RECOGNITION PLAQUE.
Your Full Name & Spouse:____________________________________________________________
Current Address or email: ____________________________________________________________
City:_______________________________________, State____________, Zip___________________
Phone#____________________________________
Amount donated: $ _______________ for Membership or Roof Fund or Endowment Fund please circle
*If you chose to donate to the 1891 General Store Roof Fund please note how you’d like this donation to be
placed on our Recognition plaque:_____________________________________________________
(Your names or Names in Memory of listed as....)
Please remit to: Froelich Foundation, 13032 Hickory Ave, Monona, IA 52159 (Winter months)
The above address is sent directly to Denise Schutte just during the winter months. Thank You all. Denise
Email: [email protected] www.froelichtractor.com
This will come directly to Denise Schutte’s home, this will save many trips to Froelich when it’s cold and snowy!