Those who have visited the Grundy County Historical Museum at the right time may have noticed members of the Goose Lake Prairie Partners working on rugs using an old manual loom.

How did this loom come to call the Grundy County Historical Museum home? Beverly Mansfield, with the Goose Lake Prairie Partners, shared the story.

“About two weeks after Cabin Festival 2022, I paid a visit to our lovely new log cabin with the intent of being sure that it was tidy after our festivities,” Mansfield said. “The loom was to be left in the cabin, due to the repair or restoration of the ailing Visitor Center. It took up precious floor space in such a small cabin, but we were glad to have a safe place to display it.”

She said the loom did look pretty, with a new warp and the first rug in progress. However, she noticed that 3.5 inches of the heading was missing from the right side of the rug.

Mansfield made some calls, first to Susie Johnson and then to Site Superintendent Linda Moore. It turned out that a mouse had gotten into the cabin and decided to make a meal of the rug.

Mansfield said she decided after her first flush of anger to try to get the viewpoint of the mouse. This is what she came up with:

“My, isn‘t all this string pretty? I’ve never seen so much, and so handy, too! The red is especially nice – it is so soft! My mouselets will look adorable nestled in this stuff. It has fluffed up nicely, too – so cozy on a chilly night! I’ll put this much away and come back for more before the two-leggeds come back. It took all the courage I could muster to nibble through the first string or two – the ‘pop’ of the strings as they broke was so loud in the quiet cabin. But then it was sort of satisfying, and so much easier than gnawing wood! -- Oh, no – they are at the door! It’s too bad there wasn’t time to harvest more string – a bit of the blue and gold would have been nice, too. What a shame – the two-leggeds took it all away. I don’t know what all the fuss was about – I only took a little?”

A Prairie Partner can be seen weaving on the loom at the Grundy County Historical Museum on occasion. Those wishing to see can call the museum beforehand at 815-942-4880.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 510 W. Illinois Avenue.