The Welsh Museum is planning a reception honoring all past and current town of Welsh employees, including Town Hall workers, maintenance crews, firemen and police officers.

The reception will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 27 at the Welsh Museum, 202 East South St. The event is part of the year long celebration of the 135th anniversary of the signing of the town’s charter and the museum’s 30th anniversary.

Museum President and former mayor Mary Sue Lyon said the reception will honor a special group of individuals who have been vital to the town’s operations since the 1800s. Descendants of those individuals will also be recognized.

“It seems like it has been a long time since they have been honored,” Lyon said. “We owe so much to all of these employees – the town hall and town crews who keep the town going and our firemen and police officers who have protected the town. It is important that we celebrate them and all their years of service.”

Lyon said a lot has changed in the  past 13 decades.

“When the town first started we had a town marshal and they served until the late ‘40s or ‘50s when we went to a police chief,” Lyon said. “In those days they only carried a billy club and walked the streets.”

The museum is planning to honor past and present cattlemen and farmers during its annual prairie supper fundraiser in September.

The celebration will continue in 2024 as the museum honors educators, ministers, musicians and others who have contributed to the development, growth and welfare of the town.

“This has been overwhelming to recognize and honor all the individuals who have meant something to the town over all these years that we have decided to stretch it over three years,” Lyon said.

Celebrations held earlier this year honored past and former museum founders, volunteers and board members who have helped to preserve the town’s heritage through the creation of the Welsh Museum. Past and current elected officials were also honored with a reception.

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The Welsh Museum is open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays. No admission. For more information, contact Mary Sue Lyon at 337-370-9857.