Thank you so much to the community for their support of the La Porte County
Historical Society Museum during 2023. We welcomed over 6,500 guests through our
doors, up over 1000 from last year. We also welcomed 27 tour groups, including many
schoolchildren and retirement homes. We hope you all enjoyed your tours! We held
nine free days for veterans and participated in the Blue Star Museum program, offering
free admission to active duty military and their families during the summer months. We
curated 17 exhibits, big and small this year including Black Biographies, Ernie Pyle:
100 Years of Journalism, and one of my personal favorites, Pets of La Porte County.
A special thank you to all of the people who came out for the programs this year and a
thank you to our wonderful speakers: the Pioneerland Spinners, Leigh Morris, Phil
White, David Chrisinger, Bruce Johnson, William Boklund, and Barry Veden. We
hosted the La Porte County Row Crop Producers and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne
Crouch at the former’s annual barbeque. Our Car Show brought in over 90 antique
autos and over 300 guests, the best attendance in the last three years. The History of
the Mystery program brought out the true stories of people whose lives were impacted
by Belle Gunness. In October, we welcomed 420 kids to meet our time-traveling
friends in the Period Rooms for Trick-or-Treat at the Museum. The Night at the Giese
Church event saw Otto Giese’s mechanical church operate in an old
La Porte Christmas tradition like it has for over 75 years. Many of our permanent
exhibits look different now than they did at the start of 2023 with more ties to La Porte
County highlighted. The local Questers groups and donations from generous
individuals helped us to restore and frame a number of significant pieces. 130
individuals donated items for our permanent collection, adding to the stories we are
able to tell. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for your support this year.
Here’s to a great 2024! - Danielle Adams, Museum Director