Pine County Historical Society & The Little Mermaid Cafe — Attraction in Askov

• If you don’t have time to read my lengthy story, here’s the summary: TAKE YOURSELF AND FAMILY TO THE PINE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM IN ASKOV MN. You will not be disappointed!!!! *

Lexi and I went hiking today at Banning state park. A sign on the way there reminded her that she wanted to visit the Pine County Historical Society Museum in nearby Askov. Being the loving and supportive hubby-in-training that I strive to be, I squinted my eyes and reluctantly, but lovingly agreed. It was her first time to the quaint little town of Askov and I hadn’t visited there for at least… ahem… 20 years. I drove her around a bit to show her the unpronounceable street signs until we arrived at the museum. We eventually ended up at our destination… the old Askov elementary school. We also intended to have lunch afterwards at the adjoining Little Mermaid Cafe in the same building. We entered the main doors. The cafe on our right, the museum to our left. Lexi and I asked the gentleman at the desk admission price to the museum. He stated $5 per person. We paid and as we walked into the hallway of the old school building he stated “the lights will turn on as you enter each room and, oh, it’ll take you at least an hour to get through the entire museum. Here’s a self guided map”. Every room was a mind blowing snapshot into the past. Trinkets, tools, equipment, articles, clothing… Rooms were themed into school life, home life, work life, military, judicial, religious relics, music, appliances, farm, logging, transportation, toys…. The list goes on and on and on. Every room giving homage to those that came before us right here in Pine County with attention to the distinctions in municipalities and the families that built the towns and worked the land. I really can’t put it all in words nor pictures. Lexi and I agreed not to post too many pictures because we want you to discover so much for yourself. Please take your family there. Your folks and children alike. Tuesday-Saturday 10-3 Sunday...

It has different vendors. Small to medium selection of antiques and novelties for sale. Also has a museum for $5.00...I heard its very well worth it. Oct. 14 2017.. Yesterday, my daughter and myself went to eat at the little mermaid. It started out the waitress told us to sit in one of the booths. It had plates and slverware on it, she said shell whipe it up. She forgot, dirty table. We ordered a Denver Omlet. They took about 45 minutes. There were 12 to 15 customers. After 45 minutes we received our omlets. The ham is ham lunchmeat. I took a bite, then a second bite, and there was tons of slimy eggs. Undercooked. I brought it up to the waitress and said this is undercooked, showing her the runny egg. She went "ewwwww" and brought it to the kitchen. I was sick from the texture. I sat back down with my daughter, and she also had a runny one. But mine was far worse. The waitress said "the cook feels bad, and is cooking you another one". I had already been there an hour, and knew speed is not there. I asked her to make it to go. 5 minutes she came out with my box... And said sorry, that the cook was swamped, and she had never seen an "undercooked omlet". Followed by "everyone makes mistakes". She offered me a pack of jelly! They didnt offer to make it right, I frankly was sick by the omlet. No type of discount. Nothing. So 20 bucks for 2 undercooked omelets. Thats the last time I go there. They are VERY slow. Food is horrible and cheap. They have screwed up so many orders for me I rarely attend. That was the last time. Worst dining experience in my life all comes from there....

We stopped in Askov looking for a restraunt. We were on scenic byway 23, and the town looked big enough for a restraunt. We were surprised when we saw a school bldg, with a sign that said crafts, antiques, and restraunt. Upon entering the museum was to the left entrance to the left. Straight ahead was the restraunt. The little mermaid, it had a lot of decorations, mermaid themed. We took had lunch , they are open for breakfast and lunch. I had the soup of the day and a half turkey sandwich. It was hard to call it half, as it was from a large slice of homemade sourdough bread. The soup was cheese burger stew, it was good. My wife had a burger with chips and the soup. After lunch, I spoke with the museum coordinator. She told me about how the county took over the school. They opened the museum, gift shop and restraunt. They have a few full time employees, but the rest are volunteers. We didn't have time for the museum ( it looked interesting from what I saw, and was told about), but we did go to the gift shop. I was talking to the shop manager. She informed that the art and crafts were by local artists. The antiques were spread throughout the space. They seemed to be reasonably priced and varied. I was impressed by the quality of the locally made jewelry and art. If you made it through this whole post, you can tell we had a good time visiting the place. I definitely...