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.