by Marianne Morf
Perhaps no local group is moving faster into the future than the Clear Lake Historical Society.
The group was founded in 1985 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization by Lawrence Copley, who was to preserve a Milwaukee Railroad Depot. Interest in the Society waned after a fire damaged the depot, but citizens asked the Clear Lake Public Library Board to include a history room as part of its building renovation in 1999-2000. Volunteers began preserving and documenting Clear Lake history, with the archives maintained in the library’s Historical Room.
It’s been full speed ahead since that time.
The Society is now launching its first membership drive and will hold an annual meeting next month to elect officers, add a new board member, and discuss member benefits and goals. New bylaws were adopted in 2007 to reflect the Society’s broader purpose.
“Clear Lake has a very rich history and people here are committed to preserving and sharing that history,” said Sue Bescher, president of the Clear Lake Historical Society. Members and volunteers have been diligently working to digitize archives, conduct research and educate the public about the community’s rich past, she noted.
The group recently developed a new logo for use on printed materials, which are now being distributed. In addition, a new website detailing the mission of the Society, as well as pictures and stories from Clear Lake’s past, will soon be on-line at www.clearlakehistoricalsociety.org [1].
As a result of their hard work to organize, catalog and digitalize photos and information, the Society is able to offer the public CD’s featuring archived Clear Lake images for $20. The Society is also able to customize a CD, for example researching a family or location. Customized CDs sell for $40. Archived photo CDs are available now, while customized collections will be available in the spring.
The Historical Society has also been fortunate to receive financial support from a variety of sources which is enabling it to continue to expand its availability to the public.
The group was the recipient of a Community Foundation Grant which provided for the purchase of technology which allows Society members to make power point presentations to groups.
Author Paul C. Juhl has also been a strong supporter of efforts to collect, preserve, protect and provide information from early Clear Lake history. Juhl published “Clear Lake: The Earliest Images,” in 2005, with $15 of the $18 book price going to the Clear Lake Public Library to support its history collection.
During Clear Lake’s Christmas By The Lake celebration, Juhl will be in town to sign copies of his newest project, entitled “Grant Wood’s Clear Lake Summer.” The booklet tells of the famous Iowa artist’s connection to Clear Lake during the summer of 1941. It is filled with photographs of both Grant Wood and also his secretary, Park Rinard, a 1928 graduate of Clear Lake High School. The books will be available on Dec. 1 at a cost of $15, with $12 of that price going to the Historical Society.
The John K. and Luise V. Hanson Foundation in Forest City supported the publication of both books with grants.