In October 2025, Mackinaw Trail #562 was awarded a Michigan Questers P & R grant for the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History. The total amount was $1545, to purchase eight acid free storage tubes for the museum’s collection of rug and carpet pieces. At that time, the collection was hanging from metal rods with no protection from damage. The museum director was so pleased with the grant that he found the funds to match it, allowing the order of the number of tubes to be doubled. The rugs needed to be inspected and vacuumed before the new tubes were used. The museum staff found that a number of the rugs had not been cataloged or entered into their computer database. Four chapter members volunteered 40 hours to vacuum the rugs while the limited museum staff measured, photographed. and cataloged the collection.
Recognition for the Questers by the museum included an entry in the 2025 Annual Report of the Historical Society of Saginaw County. The museum highlighted the grant in one of their weekly FaceBook posts about their artifacts with a link to the Michigan Questers web page. Chapter President, Susan Ludwig, was interviewed by Castle staff about the grant and volunteer services. The 25 minute interview was posted on YouTube and Spotify.
This was not a glamorous project, but it solved a long-term problem for the museum. All of the museum staff involved were vocal in their thanks, not only for the money, but also the volunteer help provided, as well. It also acquainted our chapter with the behind-the-scenes work at the Castle Annex.
The Castle Museum is located at 500 Federal Avenue in downtown Saginaw. It is open seven days a week, and is well worth a visit. A guided tour can be requested. The web site is castlemuseum.org.