Long-time dream becomes reality for historical society

A long-time dream of the Pulaski County Historical Society has become a reality as the society members celebrated the opening of their new building. 
The Pulaski County Historical Society held a grand opening on Dec. 1 for the new museum that has been in the works the last several years. The new location of the museum was made possible through the support of Don and Dee Galbreath, of Winamac, a grant from the Indiana Historical Society, several smaller grants and the local historical society members. 
The museum moved from part of what is left of the old school on Riverside Drive behind the county annex building to the property on Monticello Street owned by the Galbreaths. Daily Federer said Don and Dee have always been big supporters of the historical society and had envisioned the historical society using their property someday. There has been an agreement in the works for more than 15 years. 
The space the Galbreaths donated to the society was a four-car garage that resembled a carriage house. The garage was renovated into a building with a controlled environment with adequate lighting and insulation. The transition for the society to move to the new building has been a two-year process that is continuing. Once the building was finished, Daily Federer said items began to slowly be moved into the new space — one car full at a time. When the move began items were sorted through and some were discarded because of damage. 
Her hope is that the variety of exhibits will pull in different audiences and be used later for someone’s research. 
During the open house on Dec. 1 where more than 60 people attended the event, the “Pulaski County: The History of Us” was one of the more popular exhibits. People spent up to 30 minutes or more enjoying the history. 
Although the museum is now open, Daily Federer said items are still slowly being moved to the new space. She does not see all of the items moving to the new location but remaining where they are in storage.    
The historical society is currently looking for volunteers to set regular hours for the museum. The volunteers will serve as hosts and they will be trained in early 2019. 
Daily Federer said she hopes the museum will be open more this spring and summer with the help of volunteers. In the summer, the plans are to offer a few educational programs. 
The new museum is located in the carriage house at 500 S. Monticello St. in Winamac.