August 14, 2023
Museum Musings Newsletter — Summer 2023

Check out our summer newsletter for 2023 to find out what’s been happening at the museum since opening day in April! The contents include:

— highlights of some of the visitors who have come to explore at the museum,
— a quick review of the programs we’ve hosted in May, June, and July,
— news about the Adventures in Stockton revitalization initiative and ribbon cutting ceremony,
— a look at several artifacts donated to our collection this year, and
— a thank you to our museum docents who help us keep regular visitor hours.

If you want to get an email notification when the next newsletter comes out, send an email to info@stocktohheritagemuseum.com with Subscribe in the subject line and you will be added to our email list.

April 17, 2023
Museum Musings Newsletter — Spring 2023

Check out our first newsletter for 2023! The contents include a preview of some or our current displays, a listing of upcoming programs, a look at two recent donations, and shout outs to our volunteers and donors. If you want to get an email notification when the next newsletter comes out, send an email to info@stocktohheritagemuseum.com with Subscribe in the subject line and you will be added to our email list.

June 10,2022
Stockton Heritage Museum Postcard Challenge!

Join our Postcard Challenge! Send a postcard to
Stockton Heritage Museum, P.O. Box 93, 107 W. Front Ave., Stockton, IL. [/caption]

Its summertime! A time when many people take trains, planes and automobiles (near and far) for adventures. We want to be part of your journey.

The Stockton Heritage Museum wants you to send us a postcard from wherever you go. We want to see how many postcards we can get in our museum mailbox this year. Our goal is 500 postcards — but we’d happily welcome more. And speaking of happy – did you know that postcards were once called “The Happy Invention?” Those of you who attended our May 1, 2022 Road Scholar presentation given by Kathryn Hamilton-Smith learned that fact and many more about the history, production and sending of postcards.

Please send us a postcard from your travels or from your hometown. We’d be happy if you sent us a postcard you found in a drawer from a past trip. Send a postcard to help us meet our goal and don’t forget to stick on one of the cute postcard stamps. You’ll make us extremely happy and in return we will keep you up to date on how many postcards we receive, what’s pictured on the front of the card, and where they are coming from. Don’t forget to include the date on your postcard. That’s a helpful piece of information for someone who might look at the card years in the future. Send postcards to Stockton Heritage Museum, P.O. Box 93, 107 W. Front Ave., Stockton, IL 61085.

Stop into the museum to see our display of old postcards. We will also put the ones we receive on display and keep a postcard challenge tally. The current count stands at four; we are “counting on you” to help us do better than that.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Come and check out all the displays at 107 West Front Avenue, Stockton, IL. You can also visit us on Facebook for up-to-date Postcard Challenge news.

December 15, 2020
VFW Donation
Don Bradley, Quartermaster of VFW Post #1304 presents a check to Stockton Heritage Museum Board President Ann Coppernoll.

December, 2020
Check out the Museum’s Festival of Trees
Walk or drive by the Stockton Heritage Museum during the month of December to see our lighted trees in the windows. Thanks to those who provided decorated trees to bring joy and wonder to the holiday season. Enjoy!

November 17, 2020
Stockton Heritage Museum Annual Meeting

The Stockton Heritage Museum Annual Meeting was held on November 17.

Several changes to board memberships were announced at the annual meeting.

We appreciate and hard work and significant contributions made by retiring board members Cathie Rausch, Lori Ertmer and Tess Wackerlin.

• Cathie Rausch served on the board for many years. Cathie enjoyed working on window displays, helping at museum events, and was always willing to take a turn as museum host on Saturdays and Sundays during our open season. We have Cathie and her husband Jake to thank for the generous donation that allowed us to buy the adjacent building and double our museum space.
• Lori Ertmer served on the board since 2005-2020. Lori traces her Hermann roots to Stockton’s founding families. She has been the queen of acquisitions and was always on the lookout for items to add to our collections. She has been involved in helping with museum and window displays and events throughout her time on the board.
• Tess Wackerlin served on the board for 3 years. Tess worked as the project manager for our office remodeling project and has been the point person for successfully applying for grants to help us with museum updates and equipment needs. Tess also led the development of the museum website.

New members elected to the board include:

Dana Noller, Kyle Arnold and Jan Steffens

November 2020
Fall Newsletter Sent Out
The Stockton Heritage Museum Fall Newsletter was mailed to members in November. To read a copy, click here.

August 26, 2020
Freeport Community Grant Received for Website Development
The Stockton Heritage Museum announced today that they were successful in receiving a grant earlier this year from the Freeport Community Foundation. The Stockton Heritage Museum intends to use this grant to develop a website. The website will allow us to communicate to a broader audience and share information on Stockton history, upcoming events and programs, news, current displays, and additions to our collections.

The Board of Directors wishes to thank the Freeport Community Foundation for the grant that made this website possible.

March 4, 2020
Lions Club Donation to the Museum
The Stockton Heritage Museum Board of Directors thanks the Stockton Lions Club for their generous donation to the Museum. Pictured are Mark Heidenreich, President of the Stockton Lions Club, presenter, and Ann Coppernoll, President of the Museum Board of Directors receiving the $3,000 donation. This donation will be applied to the costs of the repair and replacement of the wood front of the Museum building. Many Thanks to the Lions Club for their support of the Museum and the Community of Stockton.