Just in time for Mother’s Day, the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum will offer $25 gift cards for this year’s perennial plant sale, available for purchase at the museum during operating hours.

For those unable to stop in during weekday working hours, the museum on Main Street in Edwardsburg is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, in addition to its regular hours of 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.

This is an easy yet practical gift for people who know their mothers enjoy planting flowers that endure from year to year. This year’s plant sale begins on Friday, May 15, just five days after Mother’s Day, so pick up as many gift cards as needed. (works for upcoming birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions, too!)

To celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum’s speaker series will focus on Michigan’s role in the nation’s history.

The Uptown Improvement Association (UIA) will join the museum in co-sponsoring a series of four lectures by Bob Myers, the former director of education and historical programming for the Historical Society of Michigan in Lansing. The lectures will be held in the Community Room of the new Edwardsburg Branch of the Cass District Library. The library is partnering with the museum and the UIA for the series. All lectures begin at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge.

Myers is semi-retired as the senior advisor for history programming. He joined the HSM in 2017. Previously, he was the longtime curator for the Berrien County Historical Association in Berrien Springs. An author of several books, he has penned numerous articles for the Michigan History Magazine, the Chronicle, and the Michigan Historical Review. Many area residents have traveled with Myers as he continues to lead historical bus tours around the country.

A graduate of Alma College with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Myers has a Master of Arts in History from Western Michigan University.

The lectures are:

Thurs., June 18: “Lost on Lake Michigan: The Wreck of the Chicora.”

The new steamer, Chicora of St. Joseph, had already moored for the winter in Jan. 1895. Then its owners were asked by the Big Four Railroad to send the steamer to Milwaukee on a final voyage. It was a fateful decision.

Thurs., July 9: “Myths Busted: History Myths or Facts.”
Myths and tall tales are everywhere. But Myers asks which are true and which are false. He looks at historical legends to see what myths are known or only thought to be true.

Thurs., Aug. 20: “Disaster at Fort St. Joseph: Pontiac’s Rebellion.”

In 1761, a young, inexperienced ensign from the 60^th Regiment arrived at Fort St. Joseph in command of its small British garrison. Francis Schlosser insulted people from the time he set foot in the door, and his actions ended disastrously.

Thurs., Oct. 15: “‘The Worst Colonel I Ever Saw’: Francis Quinn and the Battle of Shiloh.”

Col. Francis Quinn of Niles led the 12^th Michigan Infantry into action in the Battle of Shiloh. Michigan Gov. Austin Blair said he was “The worst colonel I ever saw.” Join Myers as he follows Quinn and the command through one of the Civil War’s deadliest battles.

Elegance and simplicity describe filet crocheting, which is front and center in the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum’s opening display in 2026, in celebration of the nation’s 250^th anniversary.

The work is the Declaration of Independence, created by the late Lucille Brizendine (1928-2025) of Edwardsburg and Lawton, MI.  The 53-by-33-inch creation adorns the large bulletin board in the museum’s gallery. Brizendine taught herself how to crochet as a young woman, and her farm home in Edwardsburg was filled with numerous crocheted doilies and bedspreads, for which she received several awards.

The opening display, “Riding and Writing for History,” will run through July 25 and celebrates the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Brizendine’s crocheted work shows it being signed in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, later renamed Independence Hall.

Several exhibit clusters make up the overall presentation, including patriotic-style memorabilia in two showcases.

The second exhibit, which runs from July 28 through Nov. 7, will capture the essence of “Thimbles, Thread and Tea.” It will celebrate Betsy Ross, who stitched the first American Flag, and remember the Boston Tea Party, a protest in 1773, that opposed taxation without representation.

The patriotic theme continues for the Christmas season with “Stars, Stripes, and Christmas Lights,” which runs from Nov. 10 through Dec. 12. White lights on the 10-foot tree in the museum gallery will be boldly accented with red ornaments, blue ribbons, and American Flags. Smaller patriotic items will adorn the display cases.

The museum will close on Dec. 12 and reopen in April 2027.