Beautiful stained class window now on display
Wed, 06/14/2023 - 3:58pm
admin
By:
Dan Evans TPD Publisher
CRESCO - Volunteers have been busy “moving history” over the past several months!
Yes, not “making” but “moving” history, as several new displays are now available at the Howard County Historical Society Museum, located at the Howard County Fairgrounds.
With the Mighty HC Fair right around the corner, Historical Society members have been busy setting up new displays, moving old displays and adding many new items. They are anticipating a large crowd to go through their facilities during fair week, working to fill up the new addition (added in 2022) and making the many changes.
One of the newest and more special items is the addition of the C.E. Brown window which was moved from the old First Baptist Church in downtown Cresco.
The huge 13.5-foot by 87-inch window was a big undertaking by the Historical Society members, as a moving company from the Twin Cities was hired to take it out and move it, where it was stored for a few months, allowing time for Phase II and the many decisions needed to make the display possible.
It was in that second phase, where a combination of three businesses all chipped in to make it complete. The Steel Shop of Cresco first built a steel “interior” frame to support the window, with Mike Nosbisch Construction building a hard-wood frame to hide the steel, but to also highlight the window. They also added a nice shelving unit on the bottom, which will display other area church items. Bob’s Electric then came in and put in LED lighting to accentuate the many colors in the stained glass, showing it’s beautiful true colors.
“It really turned out spectacular,” said Historical Society members Barb Proshaska and Don Recker. “We all agreed that the window should be something worth saving. Mr. Brown played a big part in the history of this area and now we’re just excited to have such a lovely display in our museum.”
To make this project happen, it took a lot of planning and funding. Just to take out and move the window was $2,000, with the other fabrications costing well over $5,000.
