Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum

08/17/2026

MYERS ADDRESSES SCHLOSSER’S ‘DISASTER’ ON THURSDAY

An officer at Fort St. Joseph was “in over his head,” and Bob Myers will explain it all when he speaks at 7 p.m., Thurs., Aug. 20, at the Edwardsburg Branch of the Cass District Library.

“Disaster at Fort St. Joseph: Pontiac's Rebellion” is the topic of Myers’ presentation, co-sponsored by the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum and the Uptown Improvement Association in partnership with the library. It is the third in a series of four lectures he is giving locally during the nation’s 250th anniversary year.

Francis Schlosser arrived at Fort St. Joseph in 1761, and, according to Myers, the young ensign lost no time in offending everyone. Myers will explain how Schlosser’s incompetence, inexperience, and arrogance ended in disaster two years later.

For several years, Myers was the Director of Education and History Programming for the Historical Society of Michigan. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Alma College and Western Michigan University, respectively. He also has authored several books and written for several periodicals.

There is no admission charge.

08/11/2026

Members of the Edwardsburg High School football team and National Honor Society were at the local museum last week helping to prepare for the annual U.S. Heritage Trail Garage Sale. This is one of the museum's largest fundraisers, and students play a big part in unpacking items, erecting tents, and table organization.. The museum board and members are especially grateful for their work, as this event would be nearly impossible without them. Community service at its best! Thank you, students! (Photos by Bonnie Elder).

08/03/2026

IT’S TIME FOR THE US 12 GARAGE SALE

It’s nearly time for the U.S. 12 Garage Sale, Michigan’s longest road event, scheduled for Fri., Aug. 7, through Sun., Aug. 9. However, the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum opens the sale on Thurs., Aug. 6, on its property between Cass and Lake streets in the middle of the Village of Edwardsburg.

The sale will be manned every day by volunteers with several large tents and thousands of items.

The museum has added a card reader this year so customers can use their credit cards.

08/03/2026

https://www.wvpe.org/people/kent-fulmer

A sincere thank you to Kent Fulmer and the WVPE programming staff for the radio interview about the museum that aired this morning (Monday, April 3) on the station's Morning Edition. The link is below.

For those who haven't visited the museum, it is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays from mid-April through Mid-December.

Kent Fulmer joined WVPE in August of 2020 to take on one of the station's most high profile roles as the local host of Morning Edition. Kent comes to WVPE with more than 20 years experience in radio in the Michiana area. During his career, Kent has had a variety of roles including DJ, reporter and n...

07/21/2026

07/06/2026

MYERS SPEAKS ON MYTHS AND FACTS ON JULY 9

Is it a myth or a fact?

As a historian, Bob Myers knows quite a bit about that.

Myths and tall tales are everywhere but on Thurs., July 9, Myers will ask his Edwardsburg audience which are true and which are false.

The senior advisor of historical programming for the Historical Society of Michigan will look at historical legends when he speaks at the Edwardsburg Branch of the Cass District Library. The lecture is the second in a series of four that he will give this year in celebration of Michigan’s role in the 250th anniversary signing of the Declaration of Independence. The offerings are co-sponsored by the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum and the Uptown Improvement Association (UIA) in partnership with the library.

A longtime career historian, Myers received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Alma College and Western Michigan University, respectively. He is semi-retired from the HSM, which he joined in 2017 after several years as the curator of the Berrien County Historian Association.

His presentation is at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge.

07/05/2026

America’s 250th Birthday Bash Postponed

America’s 250th Birthday Bash, scheduled for 1 p.m. today, Sunday, July 5, at the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum, has been postponed because of the rainy weather.

This celebration has been rescheduled for 7 to 9 p.m., Sat., July 11, with a performance only by the Phat Tuesday Dixieland Band. Refreshments will be available.

06/30/2026

This article was originally published in 2025 and has been updated for the July 5 birthday bash.

PHAT TUESDAY PLAYS FOR THE MUSEUM’S JULY 5 PICNIC

In 2020, seven Michiana-area musicians who had collaborated in various bands over the years joined their instruments in a Dixieland configuration to form Phat Tuesday.

The venture caught fire, according to its founder, Kent Fulmer, leading to bookings for several consecutive weekends.
On Sunday, July 5, from 1 to 4 p.m., the band, whose instruments include a clarinet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, trombone, tuba, electronic piano, and drums, will perform on the back deck of the Edwardsburg Area Historical Museum for America’s 250th Birthday Bash. It’s a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. People are invited to bring their own picnic, lawn chairs, and blankets to relax in the museum backyard to music evoking the Duke Ellington Swing Era of jazz. Food trucks will also be on site

“We do a combination of traditional jazz and Dixieland,” said Band Leader Kent Fulmer last summer for an interview preceding the museum’s Music at the Museum event.

“Dixieland is a more commercialized version of traditional jazz…and we play a little of both,” he said, adding that the band tries “to capture the New Orleans sound.”

Fulmer lives in Jimtown but is originally from Dowagiac (Dowagiac High School, 1983). A radio announcer, he is the local host of Morning Edition for WVPE, the public radio station affiliate in Michiana. He also performs with the Jazz Assemblage in Elkhart, with many appearances at the Elkhart Jazz Festival. For several years, he and some band members played in the Golden Memories Orchestra in Bremen.

The band’s extensive repertoire includes longtime staples such as Basin Street Blues (1928), Hello Dolly (1964), Ain’t Misbehavin' (1929), Up a Lazy River (1930), St. Louis Blues (1914), Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1925), Puttin’ on the Ritz (1929), Back Home Again in Indiana (1917), Tiger Rag (1917), I wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister, Kate (1920), St. James Infirmary (1943), and East St. Louis Toodle-oo (1926).

There is no admission charge. A donation jar will be circulated, and refreshments will be available.
--Barbara Dempsey