time, there is a collection of furniture, medical equipment, X-ray machine, examination table, wheelchair, and various medical equipment used in the doctors’ offices from the 1940s–1980s. Lake Odessa Wave Exhibit Consisting of a desk and a safe, this small display is devoted to the local newspaper, published from 1888 to the 1980s. Owners were the Dann Family who donated the items. Prisoner of War Exhibit From 1944 to 1945, a German POW camp was established in Lake Odessa to provide workers to the Lake Odessa Canning Company and the local farms. This exhibit is of both state and national importance. Although other states in the United States may have remnants of POW camp buildings or other structures to exhibit, actual artifacts of a POW camp are rare. In late 1944, five German POWs escaped from the camp and were recovered about 4 miles west of Lake Odessa. After their capture, a POW hat was found by a young boy. He then saved it and donated it a few years ago to the museum. When the US Army dismantled the camp in 1945, a few remnants remained and were salvaged by area residents, including a POW identification tag found by a young boy who explored the camp area after it was closed. Some notable items of interest in this display include a wooden mailbox, labeled Briefkasten (German for mailbox); a letter sent from Fort Custer, the parent camp of this camp; detailed information on Heinz Hanft – a former POW who returned to Europe after the war, and took his wife and family out of Germany to settle in Holland, Michigan. The family has provided a wealth of information concerning Heinz's imprisonment here. Other notable exhibits A horse drawn mail wagon from 1903 when rural mail delivery first began in Lake Odessa. A 1964 Chrysler New Yorker originally owned by Allie Kluinsteker and donated by her family. Hosford House 1890s early Lake Odessa home currently under reconstruction. Specialty displays and events Rotated monthly, the museum hosts at least 12 specialty displays of events throughout the year. January: Quilt Show February: “It's Art” Show March: Toy Show April: Rummage Sale May: Military Tribute and Display June: LOHS Alumni Day & Ice Cream Social July: Depot Day November: Autumn Dinner, Christmas Memory Trees, & Christmas ‘Round the Town References External links Lake Odessa Lake Odessa Historical Society Blog Museums in Ionia County, Michigan