Elgin artifacts on display at museum

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Did you ever wish you could wind back the clock 100 years and glimpse at Elgin life back then? That chance is just around the corner at the Antelope County Museum, 410 L Street, in Neligh.

Prized possessions have come out of musty basements, dirty garages and boxes long since forgotten to be part of the Elgin Evening at the Museum, 5 to 8 p.m., Saturday, July 3.

Visitors may see rare photos and postcards from the late 1880s to the mid-20th century or marvel at an exquisite pitcher recovered from the 1909 fire in Elgin; knock on revered physician Doc Graham’s office door and view the Reich’s coin used for gambling in the pool hall.

Displays also include a late 1800s Elgin farmer’s daily journal that chronicles the hanging of Nick Foley off an area bridge.

Each year the Antelope County Historical Society features a town. This year, the focus is on Elgin. The museum display, along with a factual video, will be available for viewing beginning June 26 and continuing through Oct. 1.

Admission is free during the event on July 3. Visitors can also tour the historical society’s newly refurbished one-room schoolhouse, log cabin and church; share memories with friends and enjoy a snack. During other summer times when the museum is open, Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m., admission is $5. Children 18 and under are always free.

Also on July 3, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Elgin’s Mike and Connie Dvorak will open the once swanky Hotel Logan on Elgin’s Main Street.

Lynn Koinzan will have 1940s aircraft on display at the airport hangar just north of town.

Visitors can take a 43-stop self-guided historical tour, answer the five questions, drop the answer sheet at the museum and earn an Elgin Buck. See http://www.antelopecountymuseum.org under local history to download a tour booklet.

Registration cards were passed out during Elgin’s Vetch Days. They may be dropped off at the museum for a chance to win free museum admission throughout 2021. Five names will be drawn at 8 p.m., July 3, each winning a family pass.

Promotional sponsors for the event are Bank of Elgin, Beckman Lumber, Boomerangs, Central Valley Ag, Dean’s Market, Elgin AMH Family Practice Clinic, Elgin Livestock Sales, Elgin Pharmacy and Gift, The Elgin Review, Invenergy Services, Levander Funeral Home of Elgin, Insurance Mart/Janet Koinzan, Lordemann Insurance Services, Precision Auto, Sapp Brothers Petroleum, Starman Seed Service, Town and County Veterinary Clinic, City of Elgin, Elgin Community Club, Antelope County Visitors Promotion Fund, Mike and Connie Dvorak and Rick and Jane Schuchardt.

For more information about museum hours of operation and educational events, see the web site, call 402-887-5010, email [email protected] or follow the historical society on Facebook and Instagram. Memberships, which include unlimited free admission and a quarterly newsletter, are available at sustaining, family and individual levels. The historical society maintains an extensive document and photographic collection, including genealogical records, historic newspapers, maps, court records and high school yearbooks.