The Charles-Mix County Historical Society has been busy as of late with some replacement and remodeling projects in the museum. After receiving a generous grant of $20,000 from the Wagner Community Foundation, the Charles-Mix County Historical Society was able to do some much-needed work. The roofs of the house, school and church were all re-shingled by Bouza’s Construction (through a sealed bid process) along with two bathrooms being completely remodeled by Jerry Seiner and Mark Wiechmann who graciously donated their time and labor for the project.

When asked about what building materials are used when it comes to fixing and maintaining buildings, Chairman, Jim Bouza, and Vice-chair, Neil Von Eschen, said that even though they have to fix and maintain the buildings with modern building materials, they try to keep everything as close to the original materials used as possible. The museums next project will include replacing the ceiling in the main building as the insulation has started falling off of the ceiling. In the meantime, there is always some minor scraping, painting and a building with needed outer side board replacements that they would like to finish this summer.

As with any museum’s purpose, the Charles-Mix County Historical Society’s purpose is to tell a story about Wagner and the south eastern part of the county and the past of the lives of those who lived here during a time when people had to work hard and the kind of work ethic they had to have in order to survive the time period. The donated buildings are from the late 1800s and the early 1900s, ranging from 1896 to 1906. Even though it is the Charles-Mix County historical society, it does tend to focus mainly on the Wagner and Lake Andes areas as both Platte and Geddes have their own museums. When asked exactly what the Charles-Mix County Historical Society does, Bouza and Von Eschen said that they collect treasures better known as antiques that were used in the Wagner and surrounding area that are not used today. If one has to ask the question, “What is that?” then it probably would be a great fit to be exhibited at the Charles-Mix Historical Society.

The museum holds a vast array of the past. There are many different types of antique machinery, old military uniforms, clothing, toys, hats, books, appliances, vehicles, tools, pictures, parts of old Wagner businesses such as the Juanita Wilsons Beauty Shop and Barber Shop, a fire truck on loan from the Dante Fire Department, etc. There are also several donated buildings such as the New Salem church, a private home, Klein country school, a log cabin, a blacksmith shop and Dante’s original post office. Each building is fully furnished on the inside as to what it would have looked like when it was originally used.

When asked if everything in the museum is catalogued along with the history of the item documented, Chairman Bouza said no, but it is something that they are hoping to get accomplished in the near future. Both Bouza and Von Eschen said that they would love to find a grant that would allow them to hire a couple of young people for a summer job of cataloguing all the items and creating an itemized data sheet on the computer that can be updated and adjusted as needed.

The historical society operates completely on funding that they get from outside sources, making their funding rather limited. Most of the labor is donated from its members, who realize the value of preserving the rich past and history of the Wagner area. The Charles-Mix Historical Society would like to thank the generous private donors along with local area donors as well for help with funding their projects. Community donors include Commercial State Bank, Charles Mix County, City of Wagner, Wagner Community Foundation and the Jackie Brecke History Grant.

The museum is always open to and willing to take more donations. Even though they seem to be at capacity, there is plenty of room to add onto the existing buildings or even add another building to the property. They are open to donations from anyone and would encourage anyone before disposing of anything that is antique that could be from this area to check in with the historical society.

Members of the Charles-Mix County Historical Society are Linda Soukup, Bob Kisely, Neil and Diane Von Eschen, Jim Eggers, Dave Isebrands, Dave Brecke, Bernie Hill, Mark and Barb Wiechmann, Scott Doom, Jerry and Sandy Seiner and Jim Bouza. Officers of the society include Chairman, Jim Bouza; Vice-chairman, Neil Von Eschen; Secretary, Bernie Hill; and Barb Weichmann, Treasurer.

Currently, the museum’s main days of being open are the Sunday and Monday of Labor Day. This year the plan is to be open September 1st and 2nd from 12 p.m. until about 4 p.m. during Wagner’s Labor Day celebration. As it is the historical society’s members that open and donate their time with the museum it is based on their availability. Chairman Bouza and Vice-Chairman Von Eschen would eventually like to be able to open the museum on two Sundays a month for people to come and enjoy all the exhibits and history that the museum has to offer. If anyone is interested in touring the museum all they would have to do is contact one of the historical society’s members to set up a time for a tour. Volunteers are always needed and are welcomed. The society meets on average about once a month. If interested in becoming a part of the Charles-Mix Historical Society please contact any of its members to learn more.