Festooned with Mardi Gras beads and other party décor of purple, green and gold, the Lincoln County History Museum was transformed into a scene from old New Orleans Tuesday, as the Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Society invited visitors to an open house.

We salute the society for its work in promoting the preservation of our area’s history, and we offer our congratulations to its Krewe of Past king and queen, Julius Summers and Mary Frances Phillips.

As the society’s Rita Rich said Tuesday afternoon in bestowing crowns upon the two, “It’s a Mardi Gras party; we’ve got to have a king and queen.”

Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is traditionally a time to kick up our heels before entering into the seriousness of Lent with Ash Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, many Christians attended church services and received a cross of ashes on their foreheads as a sign of mourning and repentance. It is fitting that the ashes used are typically obtained from burning the palms from the previous Palm Sunday service.

Just as Lent signals the time of repentance and renewal as Christians wait for Easter and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, so winter’s chill and fallow time will surely give way to spring.

There are daffodils to prove it already.