By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
WILSON — After a fire destroyed Wilson’s historical museum, a new museum will be a featured attraction during the annual Wilson After Harvest Czech Festival on Friday and Saturday.
The former House of Memories museum in the community’s historic opera house burned on Nov. 6, 2009. Most of the artifacts in the museum collection were lost to fire or water damage.
Joyce Kraus, museum volunteer, said the fire was a great loss to the community.
“A lot of us cried,” she said. “It was like losing a member of the family when we lost that.”
An all-volunteer group has worked for almost 10 years to rebuild the museum collection and find a new home for the museum. The community of Wilson is primarily a farming community of about 800 residents.
Nine months ago, the Robinson family whose parents at one time operated the Wilson World newspaper made available the home that had been used for the World offices at low price to the Wilson Community Foundation. That home at 411 24th is now open as the Wilson Heritage Museum. The newspaper’s printing equipment is still in the basement of the house. The museum was also aided in its rebuilding efforts through a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.
The new museum features a Czech room as well as exhibits featuring the military history, and schools, churches and businesses of Wilson. New banners that depict a timeline as President Wilson worked to help Czechoslovakia become an independent democracy are expected to arrive in Wilson this week in time to be on display at the Czech Festival this weekend. This year’s Czech Festival is honoring 100 years of U.S. and Czech diplomatic relations.
Other featured museum items include Czech traditional costumes, Czech glass, needlepoint and photos and books on Czech history and geography.
Some remnants of the old museum remain. The museum has on display the remains of a money bag from one of the local banks that survived the fire. Also in the collection is a DVD that was shot in 2002 that shows the House of Memories collection before the fire.
Kraus said the museum is still in its infancy. Volunteers have worked with other museums to find cases to house artifacts. They are also applying for a K-State program that aides smaller museums by sending students to assist volunteers like the group in Wilson.
The museum is still accepting monetary donations as well as historical items for its collection. The museum is a nonprofit so all donations are tax-deductible. If an item is donated for the collection, Kraus said the museum is asking the donor to fill out a form explaining the item’s importance to the history of the area. For more information on donating, you can contact Kraus at 785-658-2328 or by mail at PO 322 Wilson, KS or contact the Wilson City Hall.
The museum will be open during the Czech Festival from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (except during the parade) and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The Czech Festival will have many of its standard favorites, including Czech folk dancing, polka music, kolache eating contest and sporting events. The annual toilet races have been renamed the Porcelain Throne of Games. Racers ride on toilet bowls that have been mounted to push lawn mower bases and a pusher navigates the team around an obstacle course. Those races will be at 2 p.m. Saturday.
New this year will be performances by Southeast Nebraska Bohemian Bagpipe Band and the Oklahoma Czech Folk Dancers.
For teens, there will be oversize games from 9 p.m. to midnight Saturday in Lions Club Park. This will include a night beach ball volleyball game facilitated by a lighted volleyball net.
For more information on the festival, call 785-658-2272 email [email protected] or see the festival’s Facebook page.
See the festival schedule below.
Friday, July 27
| 3:00pm | Miss Czech Princess Pageant (change from online schedule) | ||
| 4:00pm | Annual State Meeting Kansas Czechs Inc | ||
| 4:00pm | Arts & Crafts Show | ||
| 4:00pm | – | 1:00am | Drinks Entertainment & More! |
| 4:00pm | 7:00pm | Live Entertainment featuring Joe Dolezal | |
| 4:00pm | Centennial Celebration Welcome by Sharon Valasek Honorary Consul to Czech Republic | ||
| 5:00pm | 6:30pm | BBQ Kick Off (free will donation) with Mid State Cookers | |
| 5:00pm | KRSL Russell Radio Broadcasting LIVE on Russell’s Classic Country AM990 | ||
| 5:30pm | Pong Tournament | ||
| 5:30pm | 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament | ||
| 6:00pm | 7:00pm | Czech Dinner (open to public) | |
| 6:30pm | Czech Dancers | ||
| 7:00pm | – | Flag Raising Ceremony performed by American Legion Post #262 | |
| 7:00pm | – | City Band | |
| 7:00pm | – | Ice Cream Social | |
| 7:00pm | 9:00pm | Mark Popp | |
| 7:30pm | – | 11:30pm | Czech Fest Midway Rides & Games |
| 8:00pm | – | Kolache Eating Contest | |
| 8:00pm | – | 12:30am | The Brad Husak Polka Band |
| 9:00pm | – | 12:30am | Live Entertainment featuring Kill Creek Rising |
Saturday, July 28
| 7:45am | Czech Run/Walk/Bike | ||
| 8:00am | Arts & Craft Show | ||
| 8:00am | Country Store | ||
| 8:30am | – | 9:30am | Legislative Coffee & Kolaches |
| 8:30am | City Band | ||
| 9:00am | Bake Sale | ||
| 9:30am | Czech Dancers Performance | ||
| 9:50am | Grand Marshal Presented | ||
| 10:00am | Parade | ||
| 10:00am | Softball Tournament | ||
| 11:00am | Mid-Day – Dinner | ||
| 11:00am | Czechoslovakian Centennial Welcome Sharon Valasek Honorary Consul to Czech Republic | ||
| 11:00am | – | 4:00pm | Come Czech us Out – Samples & Live Music |
| 11:15am | – | 12:30pm | SE Nebraska Bohemian Bagpipe Band |
| 11:30am | – | 5:30pm | Czech Fest Midway Rides & Games |
| 11:45am | Turtle Races | ||
| 12:00pm | – | 2:00pm | Kid’s Czech Culture Activities & Czech Egg Painting |
| 12:30pm | – | 1:30pm | Oklahoma Czech Folk Dancers |
| 1:00pm | – | 3:00pm | Live Entertainment featuring Joe Dolezal |
| 1:00pm | – | 4:00pm | Mark Popp – Balloon Twister |
| 1:00pm | Music with Bob Boatright | ||
| 12:00pm | Quilt & Other Prizes Drawing (change from online schedule) | ||
| 2:00pm | KS Czech Queen Pageant | ||
| 2:00pm | Bingo | ||
| 2:00pm | 2018 Porcelain Throne of Games | ||
| 3:00pm | – | 3:45pm | SE Nebraska Bohemian Bagpipe Band |
| 4:00pm | – | 5:00pm | Oklahoma Czech Folk Dancers |
| 4:00pm | Polka Mass – Wes Windholz & the St. Catherine Singers | ||
| 5:00pm | Wilson Disc Golf Tournament | ||
| 6:30pm | Polka Dance featuring Wes Windholz | ||
| 6:30pm | Talent Show | ||
| 8:00pm | – | 10:00pm | Teen Dance*All Ages* |
| 10:00pm | – | 12:00am | Teen Dance *Ages 10 – 13* |
| 9:00pm | – | 12:00am | Teen Tailgate & Games *Ages 14 & older Only* |
| 9:00pm | – | 1:00am | Live Entertainment featuring Homebrew |
