NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023
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24 7 Scented Stocking Stuffers
Santa sweetens Nebraska homes for the holidays with help from Cornhusker families who create lavender, wood and “bay rum” scents in candles, soaps, aftershave and bath bombs.
By Cheyenne
Rowe
28 Looking Close at Cather
Red Cloud celebrates the 150th birthday of its Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Willa Cather, who is remembered in the same class as other American literary greats for her novels that memorialize Great Plains pioneers.
Essay by Ashley Olson
36 Block 16 Restaurant
Paul and Jess Urban created what a national food critic called the “best burger in America,” a review that helped put their downtown Omaha restaurant on the nation’s culinary map.
By Tom Hess
44 Nebraska’s Peaks
Nebraska’s summits are not mountains, but peaks –jewels nestled throughout the state. For those with curiosity and adventure in their hearts, there is a range of beauty to be found in our vast landscape. Story by Matthew Spencer Photographs by Steve and Bobbi Olson
Overthenext10years in Nebraska,$100billionwilltransferfromonegenerationtothenext.Thereis alwaysa transferfromgenerationtogeneration,asparentspassawayandleavetheirestatetotheirchildren.But iftheheirs nolonger live where they grewup,that wealthmay leave as well.
Imagineifjustfivepercentofthisabundanceweregivenbacktotheplaces whereitwasmade andaccumulated.Thinkoftheimpactthatkindofmoney couldhaveon education, health,prosperity, andqualityoflife.Harnessingjust asmallpercentageofthetransferofwealthcouldbeagamechangerforthe future of our hometowns.
Thisis youropportunity toenrichitsfuture. We’reasking you toconsiderleaving just fivepercentofyourassets toyour favoriteNebraskahometownortoNebraska CommunityFoundationtobenefitallofourcommunities.Whenweallleavefive, our hometowns thrive!
Chadron, pg. 44
Crawford, pg. 44
Gering, pg. 44
Harrisburg, pg. 44
Lewellen, pg. 44
Big Springs, pg. 24
Valentine, pg. 44
Anselmo, pg. 24
Arnold, pg. 44
Ogallala, pg. 24
Newcastle, pg. 44
Comstock, pg. 60
Marquette, pg. 60
Brady, pg. 70
Holdrege, pg. 24
Oxford, pg. 24
11 Editor’s Letter
Arlington, pg. 24
Wahoo, pg. 62
Grand Island, pg. 16
Seward, pg. 14
Red Cloud, pg. 28
Yutan, pg. 24
Omaha, pg. 36
Bellevue, pg. 22
Murray, pg. 44
Milford, pg. 24
Falls City, pg. 18
always smile for the
but on this occasion, it was her 63rd birthday, Dec. 7, 1936.
Photography
Observations on the ‘Good Life’ by Chris Amundson.
12 Mailbox
Letters, emails, posts and notes from our readers.
14 Flat Water News & Trivia
Little Brown boxes provide self-guided treks through Seward County; the Sandhills region gets its due with Alan J. Bartels’ new book; orange is the secret to Grand Island native Henry Fonda’s favorite sugar cookie; and the customers of a Falls City coffee shop spread good will. Plus: Be strategic as you test your knowledge of Offutt Air Force Base.
40 Kitchens
A cool peppermint blast from these recipes provides a refreshing afterdinner dessert or weekend treat with kids and grandkids.
54 Poetry
Nebraska poets remember pioneer dreams and ancestral hardships.
60 Traveler
The Grinch couldn’t stop Christmas in Wahoo(ville), Nebraska winter invigorates hikers to visit Gjerloff Prairie in rural Marquette, and lighted Christmas displays in Comstock inflate holiday spirits.
68 Naturally Nebraska
Drawing inspiration from his neighbors in Central Nebraska, Alan J. Bartels chooses to enjoy and not dread winter.
70 Storyteller: Prairie Christmas Lessons
A Nebraska Life reader shares her fond remembrance of delivering food to widows on Christmas Eve with her “cowboy Santa” father. By Joan McCullough Looker
40
Reservations for guided tours at Rowe Sanctuary will open early January 2024
Enjoy the Sandhill Crane migration, cultural attractions, colorful murals, unique shopping, a wide variety of restaurants & loads of entertainment!
EVENTS THINGS TO DO RESTAURANTS HOTELS
VISIT KEARNEY .ORG
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023
Volume 27, Number 6
Editor & Publisher
Chris Amundson
Associate Publisher Angela Amundson
Senior Editor Tom Hess
Advertising Sales
Marilyn Koponen
Photography Coordinator Amber Kissner
Publication Design
Karie Pape, Hernán Sosa
Subscriber Services
Lea Kayton, Katie Evans, Janice Sudbeck
Nebraska Life Magazine
c/o Subscriptions Dept. PO Box 270130
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COPYRIGHT
All text, photography and artwork are copyright 2023 by Flagship Publishing, Inc. For reprint permission, please call or email publisher@nebraskalife.com.
LAST YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS, my eldest daughter, Azelan, gifted me a story prompt service. Every Tuesday morning I receive an email with a writing prompt to share stories about my life.
Those stories will be bound into a book, and one day my children and their posterity will read about my life – and hopefully glean understanding of their own lives. My first writing prompt came in Vauri Henre’s English classroom at Norfolk Senior High. Kent Warneke, then the editor of the Norfolk Daily News, visited our class and invited students to write a monthly column for the newspaper. As each of my stories appeared over the next year, I became hooked on journalism.
That writing experience started me on a path that led me back to my hometown newspaper after college and then to this magazine in 2002 – 21 years ago.
The writing prompt of Nebraska’s most influential author, Willa Cather, was self-initiated. Cather grew up in Red Cloud at the tail end of the period when immigrants broke sod to settle the prairie. She was a bright and observant child. She graduated from the University of Nebraska and moved away to the East Coast to work in journalism and magazine publishing.
“I had searched for books telling about the beauty of the country I loved,” she wrote. “Its romance and heroism and strength and courage of its people that had been plowed into the very furrows of the soil. And I did not find them. And so I wrote O Pioneers!”
This year marks Cather’s 150th birthday and 110 years since the publication of O Pioneers!, her second novel and the first in a series that paid homage to our prairie pioneers. Ten years later, she won a Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a novel about life purpose set in Nebraska and France during World War I.
S ome of the favorite emails I receive are letters, story tips and actual stories from our beloved subscribers. Not long ago, one arrived from Joan McCullough Looker, a subscriber in Des Moines, Iowa. Joan grew up in Western Nebraska – on McCullough Island near Brady. Joan wrote a poignant story about delivering gifts to widows with her “cowboy Santa” father on Christmas Eve. We publish her story on page 70.
Which gets me thinking: How many of you, our readers, have stories to tell – stories you would be willing to share?
Stories about your life in Nebraska – past, present and what lies ahead.
Stories about farming, ranching and city life.
Stories about your parents, grandparents, best friends and neighbors.
Stories about communities coming together in celebration and in moments of need.
Stories about adventures, people who blessed you and about our Nebraska spirit.
Like Joan and Willa, your stories matter, too. If you feel prompted, please write them. If appropriate, share them with me. You can reach me at editor@nebraskalife. com, or at the mailing address at the front of this magazine.
Happy holidays to you all. Thank you for subscribing, reading and being true to your Nebraska roots wherever you live, for Nebraska is always home.
Chris Amundson Editor & Publisher editor@nebraskalife.com
It was an honor to be featured alongside the other county courthouses (“County Capitols, Part Two,” September/October 2023) chosen from across the state, whose stories of democracy are still being played out inside the walls of these grand buildings.
The fact that the Hamilton County Courthouse was built in 14 months with only the use of real horsepower and human craftsmanship is a testament to the sheer will and dedication to ensure that rights under the law had a place in the life of the community.
Tina Larson Executive Director Plainsman Museum Aurora
After my husband (Gene Weary, Nebraska Dental School Class of ’72) retired from dental practice here in Green Valley, Arizona, we spent a year at Rose Barracks in Germany, where he served American soldiers and their families. During our stay, some friends visited from Wisconsin, and I made a carrot cake for her birthday, which we shared with our landlord family.
Neither of the children believed the cake contained carrots, because they “hated” them, but loved the cake. The Johnson recipe (“Kitchens: Celebrate our Nebraska roots,” September/October 2023) is on my to-do list to try, thank you.
Marcia Weary Green Valley, Arizona
My family and I just moved to Nebraska, and my dad bought us a subscription to Nebraska Life as a housewarming gift. We have enjoyed paging through our first issue (July/August 2023) and even tried all the recipes: the pineapple coleslaw, Italian sub pinwheels and sparkling blueberry
lemonade (“Kitchens” Poolside Picking”). We look forward to more issues and now have a road map of places to explore.
Ingrid
Berg Omaha
Stadium history in the making
The story about University of Nebraska-Lincoln Memorial Stadium (“Home of the Huskers celebrates 100 years,” July/August 2023) was interesting to me. I attended UNL as an engineering student and worked part-time for the Buildings and Grounds Department, which was housed under the west stands of the stadium.
In 1955, my boss told me they found some fencing and gates and to do a couple of drawings to get them installed on the columns on the east side of the stadium. The fencing and gates were from the original fence around the campus. I’ve had some pride of ownership with those columns and gates ever since.
In 1959, I moved back to Lincoln as a structural engineer for Davis & Wilson, a local architectural firm – Ellery Davis was one of the architects on the stadium.
We lived on N. 35th Street, and it was about a straight shot down Vine to the stadium. I was working on my car and listening to the Oklahoma/Nebraska football game. When it began to appear that the Huskers could win, I drove to the stadium and watched the final quarter from the grass in the south end zone. NU broke Oklahoma’s 74-game conference unbeaten streak with a 25-21 victory. I remember the goal posts coming down and told someone next to me they ought to make souvenirs out of the posts. That’s what they did.
Then in 1961-62 I had the opportunity to work as a ticket-taker for the Husker games. We worked until half-time then could sit in the stands wherever there was a seat.
In 1961 the Colorado/Nebraska game was in Memorial Stadium. As I remember it the Huskers did not gain any first downs. The rumor on the street was that the players had fired Coach Bill Jennings. In 1962, Bob Devaney’s first year saw the sold-out streak begin on Nov. 3, 1962, a 16-7 loss to Missouri. It is still going. And the rest is history.
Richard Conard Windsor, Colorado
Nebraska Life is the only magazine I read cover to cover. It’s hard to have a favorite edition, because in every magazine there is something that either reminds me of my childhood, someplace I’ve been, or someplace I would like to go. You are an inspiring team to keep putting out such an enjoyable compilation of real Nebraska life!
Theresa Buddecke Kearney
Thank you for your professional magazine. It is a pleasure to read and learn about the many interesting areas of Nebraska. The photos are of the highest quality, and the articles are well-written.
I am always happy to see Nebraska Life in the mail. A subscription makes for a great gift to young and old.
Sheryl Kastanek Crete
A flat water fix
I so look forward to every issue. I am a transplanted Nebraskan. I met and married a Missouri farmer nine years ago and happily moved to the farm, but I miss many things about the state where I was born and raised – and you provide me with my Nebraska “fix” in each issue.
Bev May Humphreys, Missouri
Contented spirit
I grew up on a farm in eastern Nebraska, and I am so impressed by your excellent depiction of the peace, quiet and contented spirit of Nebraska living. I always look forward to your next issue. Nebraska Life is one of the best magazine publications of the day. Thank you for your careful and outstanding work.
Gwen Geisler Littleton, Colorado
Letters to the Editor
Send your letter to the editor to editor@nebraskalife.com or to the mailing address at the front of this magazine. One letterwriter will receive a free 1-year subscription renewal. This issue’s winner is Richard Conard.
Storyteller
We want to read about your Nebraska remembrances, adventures, travels, friendships and community service. How many words? Start with 200 words and go up to 800 words. Even better if you have photos. Send to editor@ nebraskalife.com.
Photography
Nebraskans love to shoot pictures. Send us your digital photos of activities, nature, wildlife, travels, off-the-beaten path attractions and community events to photos@nebraskalife.com.
BY LISA TRUESDALE
As the proprietor of Liberty House Bed & Breakfast, Antiques & Gifts in Seward, Pat Coldiron loves telling guests about all the things to do and sights to see in the area. She started leading small tours, but when that was no longer feasible, she decided to package her ideas to go. Little Brown Box Tours were born.
“Having stories, information about the area, and maps and directions encourages you to get off your phone, off the couch and out of the routine,” said Coldiron, who has hosted guests from every state in the U.S. and most continents. “I never get tired of sharing our life and experiences out here on the plains.”
Coldiron has studied Seward County history extensively, and has even written
Pat Coldiron’s road trip to the “Bohemian Alps” – the hill country north and east of Garland – helped inspire the B&B proprietor to create and sell “Little Brown Box Tours” filled with historic landmarks.
a little book about it, so the research for the boxes was easy. Each tour has its own theme: Box #1 is all about the hills north and east of Garland, known locally as the “Bohemian Alps,” while Box #2 features all the current and abandoned cemeteries in Seward County.
“We have such a history of different people including soldiers from the Civil War, families looking for a better life by taking advantage of the Homestead Act, and families changing their minds about seeking gold in far-off lands,” Coldiron said.
Box #4 takes visitors on a tour of the county’s eight historical markers, including one that commemorates Seward as “4th of July City.” The town has hosted a nationally recognized Independence Day celebration each year since 1868, with just a few exceptions.
As for Box #3? “It’s kind of sitting on the shelf collecting dust, unfortunately,” said Coldiron. “It’s suspended until we get a little rain and a little of our water back.” That’s because this tour guides visitors to the county’s 30-plus rivers and creeks,
including a rainwater basin that’s home to about 100 muskrat lodges. “I even put a QR code in this box so the kids in the backseat could listen to Captain and Tenille singing ‘Muskrat Love.’ ”
One evening, a friend called from France to tell Coldiron how beautiful she thought the Nebraska countryside had been. “I felt the same way,” she said. “I had just come over a hill, the trees were just turning golden, the grasses were tall, the sky was so blue, and a couple of deer were off to the side in the field. It doesn’t get any more peaceful than this. Getting out into the heart of Nebraska is good for your soul.”
Coldiron’s Liberty House Bed & Breakfast offers three rooms that can serve as a base camp for the Little Brown Box Tours throughout Seward County.
Little Brown Box tours can be purchased for $15 at Liberty House, or can be shipped for $15 plus postage. Visit libertybbantiques.com for more info.
BY LISA TRUESDALE
While perusing a Nebraska travel book a few years ago, Alan Bartels was beyond dismayed that it didn’t give the Sandhills its due. So, he decided to embark on a journey to write his own: 100 Things to Do in the Nebraska Sandhills Before You Die.
“As I looked through that other book, I thought to myself, the Sandhills covers about a quarter of Nebraska,” Bartels said. “So why wasn’t a quarter of that book about the Sandhills?”
Bartels also surmised that the other book’s author had little or no personal connection to any of the Nebraska destinations that were recommended. Bartels definitely does, though – as a lifelong Nebraskan, he’s ex-
plored the Sandhills extensively. (He’s also traveled to every nook and cranny in the state as the former longtime editor of Nebraska Life.
He approached St. Louis-based Reedy Press and convinced them that the Sandhills needed a book of its own. “I could have written most of it based on my past experiences,” he said, “but instead, I spent weekends and vacation time for a year traveling, researching and writing.”
Bartels isn’t a typical tourist, so naturally, his book isn’t a typical travel guide. Many of the attractions in the book wouldn’t even be on most visitors’ radar, like attending a high school football game in Thedford, the Bassett Livestock Auc-
tion or the Logan County Fair. The carefully selected activities are separated into themed sections, like Food and Drink, Music and Entertainment, and Culture and History.
While Bartels was in the middle of writing the book, a friend commented that it must have been difficult to find 100 things to list. Not at all, said Bartels – it was a challenge to choose only 100, and he easily could have come up with 1,000.
“That year on the road strengthened my belief that the Sandhills is a world-class destination that should not be overlooked,” Bartels said. “I hope that when the people of the Sandhills towns read this book, they are proud of their communities, their way of life, their history and themselves.”
100 Things to Do in the Nebraska Sandhills Before You Die by Alan J. Bartels
Reedy Press
160 pages, softcover, $18
Grand Island-born Henry Fonda so loved his childhood housekeeper Bessie’s orange-flavored sugar cookies that, legend says, she brought some to feed his cast.
BY CHEYENNE ROWE
The recipe for a simple and sweet sugar cookie that Nebraska native Henry Fonda favored was not his creation, but the invention of his housekeeper, Bessie Bousa Victorine.
The recipe and its sugary backstory are housed at the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island – ready to inspire eager bakers.
Bessie looked after the Fonda house, and the children in it, who fondly remembered her cooking – slow-rising, sweet and rich cakes, perfectly toasted pies and every kind of cookie imaginable. This is where the legend of Henry’s favorite crisp, orange-flavored sugar cookie began.
Others outside the Fonda family had
little knowledge of the cookie before Henry was famous. Legend has it, he was set to appear in a play in Chicago when Bessie baked a batch of the cookies and caught a ride to the city to deliver them as a surprise. She was treated to a front-row seat and backstage access, where Henry proudly passed the cookies out to the cast and crew.
After that, Henry rarely showed up to a family Christmas where the cookies were not present. Bessie remained as the Fonda housekeeper for 27 years.
Bessie’s penned recipe is said to make “a zillion” cookies, depending on how thin the dough is rolled, as well as the size and shape of the cookies themselves. “You roll it until you can read a newspaper through it,” Bessie said.
The dough should never be allowed to dry out. Dust the rolling pin and whatever surface the cookie will be rolled out on (Bessie used a marble slab) with flour to prevent sticking.
1/2 cup butter or shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 3/4 cup unsifted flour
5 tsp baking powder
5 Tbsp orange juice
Rind of one orange, grated (zest)
Combine all ingredients; cover and chill in refrigerator or divide dough into balls, wrap in foil and freeze. If frozen, thawed dough require more flour on the board before rolling out. Roll out small amounts; cover and refrigerate if interrupted. Sprinkle with white or colored granulated sugar and decorettes (sprinkles) or chopped almonds.
Press décor lightly into each cookie to make sure it sticks. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a 375° preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove at once. Cool. Store in tins.
NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL
The Origin Story
John Mabry
Foreword by Jordan Larson $27.95
BY CHEYENNE ROWE
The sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee spreads beyond the front door of The Grind – Campbell Coffee on the historic Falls City downtown square. It lures guest after guest, no matter the hours of operation or how long the line already is. After placing an order behind the counter, barista and owner Brittany Campbell may or may not tell you that someone has already paid for your coffee.
That’s just how it goes. Every single day since opening in February 2022, there has been at least one customer to pay it forward. Sometimes there are several. The
spirit of giving flows as freely as the delicious iced and hot concoctions Campbell dreams up herself. It’s all about making other people smile, she said.
Sometimes donations come when Campbell’s customers think about it, even in the middle of the night. Individuals, families and total strangers send anything from $100 to as much as $500 at a time. Donors usually ask to remain anonymous as well.
“One day I made 97 coffees and not a single person had to give me money,” she explained. “It’s such a Falls City thing. It happens all over our town.”
Just behind the coffee shop is Campbell’s original business, a booming 24hour gym (Campbell Fitness). Fans of fitness, Campbell and her husband were approached to buy their favorite gym. That part was easy. The more difficult predicament was what to do with the front half of the building. “It used to be a hair salon, and I definitely do not do hair,” she
said with a laugh. So, with some help from family, Campbell decided to populate the space with something else she loved – coffee.
“But a pot of black coffee at home is very different from what I’m doing here,” she added.
Most of The Grind’s coffee ingredients are locally sourced, as are the syrups, cups and other paper goods, design work and printing.
The Grind - Campbell Coffee owner Brittany Campbell, in the red shirt, remembers a day when she made 97 coffees and not one required the customer to pay for it. Others had.
Visit today and share in the spirit of the season in Nebraska City.
Saluting Nebraska’s strategic center. Questions by KEVIN COFFEY
1
Offutt Air Force Base, located south of Omaha and serving as the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (Stratcom), is named for 1st Lt. Jarvis Jenness Offutt, an Omaha native. What role did Offutt serve in World War I, known in his day as the Great War?
2
U.S. Strategic Command’s predecessor, Strategic Air Command, was established in the U.S. Army Air Forces in this year.
3 Originally established in 1890 as a dispatch point for Indian conflicts on the Great Plains, with just a few hundred soldiers, what was the name of the base before it was renamed to “Offutt”?
No peeking, answers on page 64.
4
Who is commander of U.S. Strategic Command, one of 11 Unified Commands under the U.S. Department of Defense?
5
What is the name of the famous Boeing B-29 Superfortress, constructed at Offutt and named for a pilot’s mother, that dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II?
6
Offutt Air Force Base covers 4.3 square miles in Sarpy County, with buildings above and below ground, and is the largest employer in Nebraska.
7 The 61st Balloon Company, an aerial observation unit that proved extraordinarily effective in spotting artillery in World War I, was the first air unit to command Offutt.
8 More than 1,500 B-26 Martin “Marauders” – early models were known as “Widowmaker,” “Martin Murderer,“ “Flying Coffin,“ “B-DashCrash” and other colorful names because their too-short wings caused the planes to crash – were built at Offutt during World War II.
9 Original buildings constructed before 1900, such as guard houses and living quarters, are still used at Offutt Air Force Base today.
10 Only U.S. Air Force personnel are permitted to serve at Offutt under the U.S. Strategic Command.
11
About how many personnel (military and civilian) work at Offutt Air Force Base?
a. 3,000
b. 8,000
c. 10,000
12
A militarized version of the Boeing 747-200, the E-4B, is a four-engine, long-range, high-altitude airplane that serves as the U.S.’s National Airborne Operations Center and provides travel support to this official.
a. President
b. Secretary of Defense
c. Air Force Chief of Staff
13
Offutt Air Force Base is home to which military unit, which provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and nuclear command and control to U.S. leaders and military commanders?
a. 55th Wing
b. 101st Airborne
c. 118th Airlift Squadron
14 The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum was established in 1959 to preserve and display aircraft, missiles and the memory of great American aviators. What is on display just within the main entrance?
a. An SR-71A Blackbird
b. The Apollo space capsule
c. An F-16 Fighting Falcon
15
Offutt Air Force Base is home to which 15-member musical group?
a. The United States Air Force Band
b. The 1st Cavalry Division Band
c. The Heartland of America Band
David Rosales Stardust Reversible Bear Pendant
Turquoise and Opal Jewelry
Nourish your skin with all natural sheep’s milk products. Select scents from kids options, unscented Native Nebraska fragrances and more. Try the “Hope” fragrance and Shepherd’s Dairy 4 Ewe will donate 10% of each sale to the American Cancer Society.
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See our complete line including our gift sets at shepherdsdairy4ewe.com or request a brochure
Special Occasion and Christmas Baskets shipped anywhere in the U.S.
by CHEYENNE ROWE
Buzz Savories
Hand-poured Honey Candle, $26 buzzsavoriesllc.com
As a beekeeper, Holdrege resident Betty Anne Sayers searched for the best way to use the honey that her bees produced. In 2018, she created a savory-sweet mustard, Spicy Beer Mustard and beeswax candles. She wicked candle molds and poured melted beeswax into the molds.
Sayers received inspiration from commercial beekeeper George Bunnell of Oxford to use beeswax, a product made by bees to cap off honey cells within the comb. She experimented with pouring her own candles by melting beeswax into wicking candle molds. Her trial-and-error process included a candle bursting open and spraying molten wax all over her home workshop’s carpet.
“I remember the tedious effort of scraping and lifting the splatters of beeswax from carpet with a warm iron,” Sayers said. “Lesson learned.”
Complete with a calming, light honey scent, the all-natural, clean-burning candles are 4-by-3-inches and crafted with woodgrain accents. Purchase includes native wood coasters.
Our Lavender Co. Bath Lovers Gift Box, $59 ourlavenderco.com
When mother-daughter trio Stephanie, Peggy and Nicole created Our Lavender Co. in 2019, they had no idea that their lavender business (planted on five acres of the original four-generation family farm near Big Springs) would blossom the way it did.
This wasn’t without their fair share of obstacles along the way, however. In true Nebraskan spirit, their stubbornness kept them going. When first making bath bombs, a key element of this gift box, both Stephanie and Peggy broke a few bones, injuries that limited the strength the duo had in applying enough pressure to mold the bombs.
They now have a press to make the job easier and bath bombs perfectly shaped every time.
Items included in this gift set include lavender and lavender/eucalyptus bath bombs, a jar of mini bath bombs, bubbling bath fizz, oat milk bath soak and a Wax Buffalo lavender candle. The bath bombs are made without clay or colored dye, ensuring a simple and moisturizing experience.
Ogallala Bay Rum
Bonanza Sampler Pack, $20 bayrum-aftershave.com
From 1870 to 1885, Ogallala was the destination of cowboys driving cattle north from Texas. There’s no doubt that these boys needed a barbershop — a bath, a shave and a haircut — all ending with a splash of the barber’s own special mix of bay rum. “Bay rum” is a popular scent combination due to its notes of Caribbean spices, Jamaican rum and bay leaf oil.
Far from the source of these scents, Ogallala Bay Rum was established in Ogallala in 2006 out of a need for a bay rum reminiscent of founder Jon Marquis’ youth. After 130 versions were created in the family-run business’s basement, Marquis found the perfect potion.
Though it has outgrown the basement, the products are still made proudly in Nebraska and have been sold in more than 40 countries.
4
Bell Creek Soap
Soap Bars, $8 bellcreeksoap.com
Natural goat milk soap from Bell Creek Soaps began with a stay-at-home mom trying to get to the bottom of her kids’ itchy skin. Nine years later, this Arlington business’ products are packed with goodfor-your-skin oils and butters that provide a wealth of essential vitamins and minerals.
According to the soap maker, the doctor had originally suggested steroid-filled medications to help heal her kids, but she pushed to find a different way. “My first batch of soap was actually made with tools and ingredients I bought at the dollar store,” creator Amy Von Behren said. “I’m still using some of those utensils and tools today.”
After months of trial and error, the magic resulted in a combination of unique ingredients, like grape seed oil. “My real dream is to educate people that homemade soap isn’t just cute and colorful, they are so much healthier for your skin.”
Bell Creek Soap appears often at local craft/ vendor shows. A full list of physical shopping locations is available on their website.
Shepherd’s Dairy 4 Ewe Victorian Milk Bath, $8 shepherdsdairy4ewe.com
Beverly Trew of Shepherd’s Dairy 4 Ewe calls the Sandhills her home. It is on her humble piece of land that her unique line of sheep’s milk bath products is formed.
As Trew makes all the products, her family is frequently involved. Her grandchildren help create products such as the Victorian Milk Bath – whether or not they had permission to experiment.
“They just took the ingredients and were shoving stuff in the tub,” she said. “I walked in and there were my fragrances, my Epsom salts and my baking soda. And they just kind of made their own thing.”
The youngest creators are learning practical skills, too, like weighing and measuring ingredients, creating receipts and counting change back to customers. “This is about my whole family,” she said. “When you have a couple of 8- or 9-year-old girls asking if you want to try some lotion, nobody refuses.”
Shepherd’s Dairy 4 Ewe is a family project, the grandchildren helping create new formulas and a new product: Victorian Milk Bath.
Lomah Acres
Lip Balms, $3.75 Soaps, $4 - $6.95 goatmilksoapshop.com
Lomah Acres in Milford stands for “Land of Milk and Honey,” the name that owners Jim and Kathy Long gave to their dream: raising goats and honeybees.
Now in their 16th year of business, they no longer raise goats but still create more than 50 varieties of smell-good soap.
“One time I made lotion bars that smelled so much like cotton candy that one of my kids took a bite out of one and quickly spit it out,” Kathy said.
Each product is handmade. Ingredients are precisely measured. Just the right combination of oils, fats, butters and fragrance are carefully weighed and blended with a lye solution. When all is cut and set, Kathy’s daughter Rose uses self-designed paper to hand wrap all the bars “like tiny Christmas presents.”
Storm Bath & Body Co.
Let it Snow Bath Bomb, $7 Santa’s Beard Bath Bomb, $8 Snowy Peach Berry Body Scrub, $11 stormbathandbody.com
Mariellen Storm is the unstoppable force behind Storm Bath & Body Co. of Yutan. What started as a passion project is now a successful business that celebrates self-care through eco-friendly practices.
Holiday selections include winter bath treats in the shapes of a reindeer, a snowflake, Santa’s beard, Santa’s sleigh, a Santa gnome, a gingerbread man and a Christmas tree snack cake. Bubble Dough is the perfect stocking stuffer for the littlest bath lovers. Shape, squeeze, create bubbles and play while also washing. Each container holds four colors of bubble dough (approximately 6 oz. total).
Another popular product is the exfoliating and hydrating Sweater Weather Emulsified Sugar Scrub, inspired by Storm’s interaction with her customers. With cocoa butter and mango butter, before Storm developes a new product like Sugar Scrub, she ensures through research that ingredients are beneficial for the skin and safe for the environment. You won’t find products that stain the sink or bathtub here.
Storm Bath & Body’s playful founder, Mariellen Storm, created the equally playful Bubble Dough and the pomegranate and cocoa-butter-scented Snack Cake Bath Bomb.
IT STILL ASTONISHES Nebraskans to think that Red Cloud, the small town in the heart of Webster County, Nebraska, is home to an American author considered the equal of Ernest Hemingway of Ketchum, Idaho, and William Faulkner of Oxford, Mississippi.
Red Cloud, pop: 962, knows that the late Willa Cather made it famous. She featured the town in fictional form in many of her novels. This year, the community is celebrating the author’s 150th birthday (Dec. 7, 1873). The celebration is heartfelt, because Cather told their stories – stories that editors on the coasts cared little about.
Portraying the lives of everyday Nebraskans like the ones she knew in Red Cloud helped Cather rise to prominence as a writer. Simply put, she gave voice to the prairie, to the farmsteads and to the people.
In a 1923 essay titled, “Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle,” Cather wrote of a time before 1860, when “civilization did no more than nibble at the eastern edge of the State, along the river bluffs.” Nebraska’s capital, Lincoln, was no more than an open prairie. The Great Plains westward was still a “sunny wilderness” filled with tall, red grass, “and the buffalo and the Indian hunter were undisturbed.”
The pioneering period was nearing an end at the time of her family’s relocation from Virginia in 1883, yet much of the land had yet to be broken for agriculture.
Willa Cather in 1924, the year she turned 51. She had won a Pulitzer Prize for One of
and met other famous authors, among them D.H.
She attended the birthday party of Robert Frost and corresponded with F.
.
A 9-year-old Cather was already homesick for Virginia when her family arrived in Red Cloud on a Burlington coach, where they departed the depot by farm wagon to her grandparents’ homestead. The family settled northwest of Red Cloud on The Divide, the high country between the Little Blue and Republican River valleys. There Cather found herself among immigrants, with their exotic languages and unfamiliar cultures. She absorbed the languages and customs, not knowing she would later populate her stories with characters who resembled the people she encountered as a child.
In her seminal book, O Pioneers!, Cather describes the houses on The Divide as
small and tucked away in low places. “The roads were but faint tracks in the grass, and the fields were scarcely noticeable,” she wrote. In the decades to follow, Cather would see the landscape transform from a larger prairie ecosystem that ran from western Canada to central Texas into “a vast checker-board marked off in squares of wheat and corn.”
It’s meaningful to have these intimate reflections (albeit reflected in works of fiction) to showcase real scenes on a radpidly changing prairie.
The Cathers stayed on the farm less than two years before moving into Red Cloud. They rented a small house, and Cather was given a room on the north
Restoration of the Willa Cather Childhood Home is completed. She and her family moved to Nebraska from Virginia when she was 9, and when Red Cloud was a prairie rail stop. Middle: Cousin G. P. Cather plowing.
side of the attic, separate from the larger space shared by the other children. She lovingly referred to the room as her “rose bower” and recalled it in her third novel, The Song of the Lark
Owing to the attic being closed off for decades, the original rose-patterned wallpaper was undisturbed and discovered when the National Willa Cather Center acquired the house in 1960. Faded and tattered, it still adorns the walls today and will undergo delicate cleaning and conservation work in spring of 2024. The Willa Cather Childhood Home is one of just 22 National Historic Landmarks in Nebraska. It is now open to visitors for guided tours after a 15-month restoration project.
Cather’s childhood home displays a mix of family items and period antiques. Cather said the move to this rental home, modest compared to the home they left in Virginia, was an “erasure” of her personality. She reinvented herself, choosing Willa over her given name, Wilella.
A Nebraskan at Heart
Cather labored over words and sentences with as much love and determination as a farmer who cultivates their land.
After high school, she enrolled at the University of Nebraska and balanced her studies as a full-time student while also supporting herself as a columnist and theater critic. After graduation she would spend a decade working as a journalist and teacher in Pittsburgh before relocating to New York City and later becoming the managing editor at McClure’s magazine. Perhaps her admission that her heart never got across the Missouri is true.
“I had searched for books telling about the beauty of the country I loved, its romance and heroism and strength and courage of its people that had been plowed into the very furrows of its soil,” she recalled. “And I did not find them. And so I wrote O Pioneers!
From 1,400 miles away, she wanted to demonstrate love for her “own people” by writing something that “would seem interesting or true.” But her books weren’t her only gift to her home state. When times were tough in the 1930s, she supported
friends who faced hardships through gifts of cash or goods. Christmas boxes were routinely sent to farm wives she met in childhood, and she directed anonymous gifts to local charities.
The triumphs and trials of her characters are her gift to humanity through the ages. She gave us strong and determined women, like Alexandra Bergson, who inherits an interest in her family’s farm and grows it into a prosperous enterprise. There are numerous male protagonists, whose lives readers can’t help but follow with intrigue. One that stands out is Claude Wheeler, who finds purpose in the army before losing his life on a battlefield during the Great War.
Almost the entirety of Cather’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, One of Ours (1922), is based on historical people and events. Claude was modeled after Cather’s cousin, Grosvenor Phillips Cather. As the novel chronicles his pre-war life on the farm, his marriage and untimely death in France, an unfamiliar reader would be hard-pressed to discern fact from fiction. Cather once referred to the novel as the best compliment she could pay to Nebraska.
Cather wrote her mother that the photo of her that appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1931 was “horrible,” but she resolved to “grin and bear it.”
Many acquaintances inspired some of Cather’s most wellknown fictional characters. There were Willa’s neighbors, the Miners, who resided in a fine Italianate style home now preserved as a historic house museum. The Miner family became the model for the Harling family in Cather’s critically acclaimed novel, My Ántonia (1918). She dedicated the book to the daughters of the Miner household, Carrie and Irene.
There is no shortage of settings that help us more fully understand Cather’s life and literature. The center of culture in Red Cloud during Cather’s youth was the opera house, where traveling companies performed a rotation of popular plays and operas. The building was restored in 2003 and now houses a gallery space and a performing arts venue.
Another quintessential backdrop is the Burlington Depot, the gateway for Cather’s homecoming and leave-taking. The depot itself has been relocated, but the historic site invites all to explore the history of the railroad and its role in settling the Plains.
Beyond characters and settings, one is left with the intense emotions that are stirred while reading Cather’s work. In One of Ours, she wrote, “Life was so short that it meant nothing at all unless it were continually reinforced by something that endured; unless the shadows of individual existence came and went against a background that held together.”
Reading Cather’s work enables us to consider enduring human stories with themes that are present in our lives today: love and loss, frustration and determination, tragedy and discovery.
When Cather died in 1947, her domestic partner, Edith Lewis, selected her final resting place and designed her tombstone, which features these memorable words from My Ántonia: “That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.”
Cather stands as the lone Pulitzer Prize winner in the National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol, indelibly distinctive in leading her readers beyond Nebraska into the depths of the human heart.
About the Author: Ashley Olson is the executive director of the National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, where she oversees operation of the museum and the nation’s largest collection of nationally designated historic sites dedicated to an American author. A devoted tourist and hobby photographer, she has pursued Cather’s spirit in places the author lived, from the remote settings of Walnut Canyon National Park, Arizona and Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, to the dense neighborhoods of New York City and Pittsburgh.
Growing up in Red Cloud, Cather attended live performances of The Mikado and other works at the historic Opera House, built in 1885. The Opera House remains open, hosting sold-out concerts.
by TOM HESS
WILLA CATHER’S MANY stories and novels drew inspiration from her life among the people of the Nebraska plains, but her work also reflects Cather’s birth in 1873 and early childhood in Virginia, amid racial tension pre- and post Civil War.
Cather’s time in Virginia informed several stories she wrote, among them “The Elopement of Allen Poole;” “A Night at Greenway Court;” and “The Sentimentality of William Tavener.” In working on her last novel, Sapphira and the Slave Girl, the author wrestled with her Virginia family’s legacy of slaveholding.
Ashley Olson, executive director of the Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, first saw Cather’s birthplace home in 2018, while on a scouting trip to the East Coast. The home was privately owned at the time. She avoided trespassing the five-acre property.
“It was devastating to see what shape the house was in,” Olson said. “There was a lot of deterioration, from the overgrowth of trees and shrubs, which were accelerating the decay, to the holes in the clapboards. It was a ruin, though that may be a little harsh to say. I was deeply saddened.”
Olson has still not been inside the home, with its broken windows and sagging front porch. But now she knows it will be preserved.
Katherine Solenberger, a real estate agent with Colony Sells in Winchester, Virginia, paid $180,000 for the 2,561-square-foot Cather home in Gore, Virginia, within view of U.S. 50 (Northwestern Pike). Solenberger plans to donate the home to a newly formed Virginia non-profit. Olson has joined family descendants and Virginians on the board.
The birthplace home isn’t Ashley Olson’s only project. The Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud is completing meticulous conservation of Cather’s childhood bedroom wallpaper – a circa 1888 print of small red and brown roses on a yellow background she earned from working with a local pharmacist and hung on the walls herself.
Visitors can watch firsthand on guided tours Tuesday through Saturday in early March as workers remove from the wallpaper more than 130 years of accumulated dust and oils, inch by inch.
Paul and Jessica Urban are proud to have opened a space where food and creativity go hand in hand. Block 16 in Omaha features a number of menu items that are best shared with friends, and a healthy amount of napkins.
by TOM HESS
INDING ITS WAY through the urban canyon of downtown Omaha, between skyscrapers and a well-worn sidewalk, is the savory aroma of Block 16’s sandwich lunch special – smoky, spicy blackened chicken with bacon, fig jam, hot honey, camembert and blue cheeses and arugula on grilled sourdough. Eleven a.m. is fast approaching, and a line will start forming soon, but the owners, Paul and Jess Urban, aren’t worried.
Sharing good food based on their best memories with friends, family and the community is what they’ve spent their whole lives doing. It’s how they met. It’s what they aspire to do every day in their zero-waste, locally sourced, farm-to-table food paradise.
It is about a six-minute walk from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conservation office to the downtown location, found at 1616 Farnam St., for visiting eaters Laura Deck and Mike McKeon. The pair sits down for lunch at Block 16 every few months and they come prepared. Today McKeon orders the Belgian Smash2 Burger: double-smashed wagyu patties, brown butter compound melt and raisin jam among other fixings. He asks for a stack of napkins. “It’s a little messy, but worth it,” McKeon says. The carefully crafted blend of flavors is too good to waste.
Another guest sat at an adjoining table leans into his meal but didn’t get the memo that one should not
try eating an order of Omaha Fries and the goudadripping Block Burger. The fries came smothered with wagyu sloppy joe, Dorothy Lynch dressing, crushed Doritos, cheese curds and green onions. “The fries are meant to be shared,” Jess says. She is right: Sharing would have been better.
At two other tables is a group of 13 remote workers with First National Bank. The loudest one, senior analyst Nathan O’Toole, shares with his fellow workers the one reason Block 16 is not just messy, but famous: Alton Brown.
Brown, a nationally known food critic in print, online and TV, wrote in USA Today and on social media that Block 16 offered the best hamburger in America. That’s a mighty big claim. The burger –the Croque Garcon – offers a sunny-side-up egg as a runny culprit. There is also mustard, truffle mayo, ham, cheese and green onion atop a one-thirdpound burger, which rests on a ciabatta roll.
Paul said his phone did not stop ringing for six months after Brown’s promoted the restaurant. To this day, people still visit the Omaha eatery because of Brown.
Alton Brown isn’t the only critic to take note of Block 16. Among the Urbans’ other notable accomplishments, the pair was selected as 2023 semi-finalists for James Beard Awards in both the restaurant and chef categories, a rare feat. Only 19 other Nebraskans have received nominations since 2008.
But for the Urbans, an award coveted by chefs the world over is one thing; building a local legacy with neighbors and partners, all while keeping things environmentally friendly and innovative is another.
Both Paul and Jess have roots planted deeply in food-loving families. A treasured Urban family photobook stars the matriarch of Paul’s family: the late Martha Hornung. His Belgian ancestry grandma often invited her family to her home. Together they gardened, prepared meals and ate.
As the pages of the book turn, thoughts turn from the deepening lunch rush to those memories of Grandma Martha’s kitchen – radishes and green onions from the garden, fried chicken in the skillet and rye bread from the oven.
And plum dumplings, Paul said, made with a specific type of plums that can only be found in the fall. “A couple of weeks out of the year we’d have 300 of them,” he said. “Everybody was in the kitchen then. We’d make the dough, we’d boil the plums, and we’d have a big meal.”
Likewise, Jess grew up in the kitchen, surrounded by a family of Ukrainians and Italians. “They were entertainers,” she said. “There was dancing, laughing, storytelling, playing, and it was always exciting to see what we were going to eat.”
The Urbans want their food to be a shared experience, much like the feel of
Grandma Martha’s kitchen and Jess’ family dining room. The main hall of Block 16 is equipped with eight-foot-long tables on wheels, right alongside tables for two. On one wall of said hall is a work of art so large that it stands alone. Paul calls it the “Ultimate Family Meal.” It portrays Paul’s sister, his mother, culinary friends, a local food critic and others – all gathered at one long table filled with food and wine. Omaha artist Watie White photographed the friends and family and sketched them.
Friends even helped pick the restaurant’s name. “Our favorite name was Public House,” Paul said. “But Jess’ dad said, ‘You’re on 16th and Farnam. Just put your location in your name.’ So, we did.”
The Urbans want Block 16 to generate zero waste, and as a result, nothing in the kitchen is wasted. Diners can help by using a clean-up station that includes a sink to pour leftover drinks. There are also
Many of Block 16’s fresh ingredients are grown locally, or in at the couple’s farmstead. Early memories for Paul include picking radishes and green onions from his grandma’s garden.
containers for plastic and glass recycling and compost. Leftover food from both the kitchen and dining room is composted by Hillside Solutions of Omaha, and the compost fertilizes the beds in the greenhouse on the Urbans 10-acre farm in the Loess Hills of neighboring Iowa.
The couple welcomed a geothermal greenhouse to their farm in 2022, based on a kit from Russ Finch’s Greenhouse in
Kitchen staff behind Block 16’s grill are encouraged to share their culinary ideas, often influencing daily specials and new, delicious burger combinations. Sharing is a theme the owners take seriously.
the Snow in Alliance. The berm side of the Urban greenhouse is below ground, and the earth helps regulate the temperature year-round.
Uniquely, and as a testament to the will and innovation of her culinary chops, Jess has bravely planted a banana tree. Bananas grow best in the tropics, within 30 degrees north and south of the equator. And at 41 degrees north, the Loess Hills are a far jaunt from the normal growing zone. But it’s forever summer and the tropics in the Iowa greenhouse. The air is sticky and warm, and raised beds on the right produce arugula, mixed lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and peppers – all things that will later show up in food at Block 16.
Paul and Jess’ two young daughters, Evelyn and Greta, are often found just outside the greenhouse door, having set up a small, black metal bistro table with an umbrella and chairs. The forced-air greenhouse interior can get a little too warm for comfort in summer, and besides, there isn’t much room inside to get too rowdy.
Inside the home, on the Urbans’ dining room table is a molybdenum steel Japanese chef’s knife, still in its packaging. The knife is a gift from Paul and Jess to the girls, with clear instructions: they can use the knife to prepare a meal, but only when parents are present. In the future they’ll be helping create sweet memories in the kitchen, just as their parents did.
recipes
and photographs by
DANELLE McCOLLUM
THERE’S NO BETTER follow-up to the holiday turkey cooked to perfection than peppermint – whether as an after-supper refresher, or bright and energizing midnight snack. This trio of dessert recipes is perfectly peppermint.
This deliciously easy no-bake mousse serves as a quick, festive dessert for any last-minute holiday function. Complete with a chocolate cookie crumb base and the zing of peppermint candies, this creamy concoction is still a breath of fresh air.
In a medium bowl, combine crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter. Divide cookie crumbs between 6-8 small dessert dishes. Set aside.
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar, vanilla and peppermint extract until well incorporated. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add corn syrup and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold half of whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Repeat with remaining whipped cream. Pipe or spoon mousse into prepared dessert dishes. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with crushed peppermint candies before serving.
12 Oreo cookies, crushed to fine crumbs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp corn syrup
Crushed peppermint candies for garnish
Ser ves 6-8
What is better than cheesecake, whipped cream and chocolate? Not much! And this scrumptious dessert proves it with ease.
Chocolate cake layer: Combine cake mix plus ingredients listed on the box, along with pudding mix and sour cream, in a large bowl. Beat together. Pour batter into a 9x13-inch pan and bake according to package directions. Cool completely and cut into 1-inch cubes.
Whipped cream layer: Combine heavy whipping cream and 1/3 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Peppermint cheesecake layer: beat cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. Mix in peppermint extract. Fold in crushed peppermint candy, then fold in 1 cup of prepared whipped cream.
Add a layer of chocolate cake cubes to parfait glasses or dessert dishes. Top with layer of peppermint cheesecake, followed by a layer of whipped cream. Repeat layers once. Garnish with chocolate shavings or crushed peppermints. Refrigerate until serving.
Cake layer
1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients listed on box
1 3.9 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup sour cream
Whipped cream layer
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
Peppermint cheesecake layer
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
1 cup whipped cream
Chocolate shavings or crushed peppermints for garnish
Ser ves 10-12
Ice cream in winter? Yes, if it’s peppermint. What other time of year would it make sense? The flavor might bring back memories of a long-ago candy cane.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, salt, cream, vanilla and peppermint extract until sugar is dissolved. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Add mixture to ice cream maker and proceed according to manufacturer’s instructions. Just before ice cream is set, add chocolate chips and peppermint, and continue mixing until combined. Place ice cream into an airtight container and freeze until fully set.
3/4 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup crushed peppermint candies
Pinch of salt
Ser ves 8
Cliffs rise like skyscrapers. Peaks peek at clouds. Hills roll with history. We zoom in on some of Nebraska’s high points and bury that flat fable.
FROM THE DISTANCE, it may seem like a gentle slope along the Oregon Trail, but stare closer at Windlass Hill, and you’ll find yet another Nebraska peak that is a towering natural monument of American history.
Just over 150 years ago, bison roamed about Windlass, and wagon trains risked the steep roll down this hill to carry religious pioneers and California-bound settlers into Wyoming and beyond. Then there were Sioux Indians, racing for cover after being ambushed in one of the U.S. Cavalry’s most notorious raids.
Nebraska’s many “mountain” summits are striking symbols to the hidden jewels of beauty nestled throughout this state. Visitors may expect little from this supposedly flat land, and that is why they miss so many of Nebraska’s high points. Technically, most are not true mountains, but there are peaks of interest all about this rich land. Some are hard to find, some don’t even have names, but for those who are curious and have adventure in their hearts, there is a hidden mountain range of beauty and wonder all around us.
Our fearless husband and wife photography and writing team of Steve and Bobbi Olson would dare to climb the highest mountain to get us the picture-perfect shots. Their spectacular photography with this story is part of a nearly decade-long odyssey with Nebraska’s peaks in a quest that intensified over the past two summers. This daredevil married couple got chased by both a tornado and a stormy bull, survived a real cliffhanger, and also found an elusive Needles Eye hidden in the haystack of Banner County.
The Olsons’ curiosity was piqued about Nebraska peaks after they photographed the highest spot in the state with the deceptive elevation of 5,429 feet above sea level for Panorama Point in Kimball County. This led them to the website Mountainzone.com, which listed 198 summits and peaks throughout the state, and before you could shout, “Yodel – Ay – EEE – Oooo!,” the Olsons had hit the road in search of higher ground.
Of course, they were already well aware of many of Nebraska’s highlights.
In this photo taken near Fort Robinson in Dawes County, fog pours over the Saddle Rock summit.
Opposite page: Sugar Loaf in Sioux County kisses the clouds as it rises to 3,701 feet above sea level and shows off its name in the desolate rolling hills of the Oglala National Grasslands. It is described by photographer Steve Olson as “a large pile of refined sugar.”
Steve found it ironic that the elevated plateau at Panorama Point pushed them over 5,400 feet as the highest spot in Nebraska. He noted the area’s small, rolling hills would be dwarfed by the dramatic landscape of the Wildcat Hills, with its western Panhandle slope offering such striking landmarks as Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, and Courthouse and Jail rocks.
And Bobbi could prove that Nebraska wasn’t flat to out-of-state doubters by just bringing them outside the door of their home in Palmyra for a bike ride on Nebraska Highway 2 that could be a good tune-up for the Tour de France.
“Once you get off the Interstate, it becomes readily apparent that our state is almost more defined by its hills and summits,” Steve pointed out.
“Like many of Nebraska’s treasures, all you have to do is travel around the state to be amazed by the diversity of the landscape,” Bobbi added. “One of our greatest secrets is how many summits we have and how many dramatic landscapes await the traveler.”
Nebraska may not have the generic definition of mountains, with steep slopes ranging more
than 2,000 feet above the ground, but our rising summits truly are uplifting. So, Steve and Bobbi got rolling, and soon, they were clicking. They captured a stunning picture in Sioux County at the Sugar Loaf Butte, rising like a master bakery creation in the Oglala National Grasslands.
“When the sky turns gray and the sun shines beneath the clouds, that is when Sugar Loaf lives up to its name and shines white like a large pile of refined sugar,” Steve said.
Dawes County tops the state with 24 summits, and near Fort Robinson, they found Saddle Rock, which often is not on maps and overlooked by the more famous Red Cloud Buttes. But the Olsons got their shot, catching its saddle rock image from the west with fog pouring over the summit. They hit the bull’s-eye. And he almost hit back.
“A longhorn bull decided it didn’t like Steve or his camera and chased him back to his truck,” Bobbi said. “This is where Steve learned to appreciate that bulls have unmarked territories, and if you step across the line, they will come after you.”
Steve also survived a real cliffhanger during a climb in Sioux County. They were near the Pants
Butte Summit and wanted to catch a peek at the peaks on the far side of Sowbelly Canyon. Suddenly, Steve started slippin’ and a slidin.’
“He almost slid off the cliff but was able to sit down,” Bobbi said. “The friction from his backside prevented him from sliding off a large cliff.”
But the most harrowing moment came out west again, while searching for peaks in Morrill County. That’s when Nebraska’s mountain explorers almost had to take a closeup of a tornado. They heard a weather warning of 100 mph straight-line winds hurling toward them from the southwest, and across the buttes, a tornado was spinning their way. Fast. With very few roads to choose from, Bobbi’s BlackBerry radar led the great escape.
“We had to drive as fast as we could toward the straightline winds and quickly turn north over one back road that went over the buttes,” Steve said. “We made it just ahead of the winds and were able to cross the buttes just about a mile and a half behind the tornado. That was fun.”
The Olsons are armed with a GPS and a Gazetteer geo-
graphic guide, but sometimes modern technology can’t match directions from regular folks. Several years ago, they set out near Wyoming in Banner County to find the Needles Eye after it was described by Norfolk physical therapist Shelly Koehler, who remembered it as a child riding the school bus. But with just Harrisburg, an unincorporated town in the entire, isolated county, and no charts or maps of the Needle, it was a challenging journey. They shot the Needle after using the area’s top technology: locals pointing the way.
Their shot at Windlass Hill in Garden County gives a view to the past. On Sept. 2 and 3, in 1855, the Battle of Ash Hollow near Lewellen was fought, and the Windlass Hill looked down at the bloodshed. Six hundred soldiers attacked about 250 American Indians in retaliation for a battle near Fort Laramie, Wyoming. About 30 soldiers were killed in that first fight after they demanded the Sioux tribe return an already eaten cow that a farmer accused them of stealing. There were 86 Indians killed at Ash Hollow, and the Sioux people described it as a massacre.
The Olsons now have visited about 90 percent of the state’s
top peaks, and one of their top views is the Rifle Sight Summit, which climbs to 4,393 feet above sea level in Scotts Bluff County.
“If you look from the north, it obviously looks like a rifle sight,” Steve said. “But from another angle, it does not.”
Bobbi adds a parting shot.
“I love that Nebraska’s peaks are standalone formations that you can often drive around and get views from different angles ... filled up with gorgeous clouds filling up an incredibly blue sky that goes on forever.”
And their happy trails will go on as well. They’ll battle sand and gravel roads that turn into speedskating rinks when a hard rain falls, and they’ll dodge bulls and tornadoes along the way.
They’ll be armed with Bobbi’s gadgets and Steve’s uncanny sense of direction in uncharted courses.
Wherever they go, when they return, Steve and Bobbi Olson are sure to bring us back many memorable pictures.
This story, a fan favorite, originally appeared in the November/December 2010 issue of Nebraska Life.
Nebraska poets deliver thoughtful remembrances of pioneers and ancestors who came before, of children and prairie lost, of plows in the mud and horses venting steam into the frozen air.
Lloyd
E. Friesen, Omaha
It is a simple plot of quietude and repose. It’s still disturbed only by wind on leaves, birdsong and the scurrying of unseen wild things. A modest gateway is its approach, a curtain of trees its other bounds. A fork of the Big Blue River wends just beyond, its hushed, unhurried flow fitting. Here lie infants and others too soon gone, first settlers, casualties of blizzard, and veterans of battle. Standing watch over them are sentinels of stone, inscribed slabs and pillars of remembrance. To all here interred, requiescat in pace – rest in peace.
Geneva Connelly, Panama
She looked across the prairie, over the waving and rippling grass, over to a lone tree, that they would soon pass.
Her and her husband, traveling far over the lands, with hopes and dreams and many plans.
A pioneer went through so much, filled with hope and fear, it’s no wonder why they love their home Nebraska so dear.
Willard Hollopeter, Wood Lake
Four abreast, leaning into the collars, tugs taut, muscles bunched, each doing its share. Heaving sides, hooves scraping, flaring nostrils breathing steam into the frozen air.
The thin link between team and driver, ribbons of leather in strong callused hands Plied with the skill of a puppeteer, that and voice commands.
“Git up team, Sally, move along, Pete, you lazy old so and so.” a voice of authority and affection, “steady now and whoa.”
Plodding through sparkling snow, four abreast, lines wrapped slack. Pulling steady and slow, the driver pitching hay from a stack.
Four abreast, walking into the past, the power of a bygone day. Those big powerful gentle horses, when work was done in a slower way.
Alivia Ulrich, Crete
A pioneer’s boots sink into the mud as he guides the oxen, its hooves pressing into the ground. The wagon leaves its ruts for the future to see, as the wheels slowly turn, fighting their way forward. A dress covers the shoes of a woman following behind, until she steps forward, leaving small, strong prints. Their footprints are weary from travel and toil, heavy and without the spirit they once felt. Then they stop in their tracks, shielding their eyes to look at the towering structure in the distance –Chimney Rock.
Suddenly, their steps are not so heavy –suddenly they are filled with hope.
A farmer’s boot presses down into the soil of his field, as he follows behind a plow. As the plow turns over the ground, he pauses, gazing across the land that he has so much hope in. Soon a deep green will replace the endless brown dirt, and golden crops will unfold. It has to, he feels, for the future of his family lies in this land.
My footprints leave their mark in the ground, in the soil of Nebraska, where so many others have walked before me. Pioneers journeyed through this state, and my ancestors helped settle it, each leaving their mark behind. Now, because of them, I call Nebraska my home; and I leave my mark, my place in time, with a footprint.
Cay Sergent, Halfway, Missouri
Grandma,
Your life was tied to the land. You knew the lessons of the seasons well, That life springs from the land. You stood strong and firm as The land shaped you and you shaped your world. Your tears fell but you walked on. Showing love, courage, and strength.
Sod house in Loup County, 1886 (opposite page) and the Martin Brothers statute (above) at the Archway Monument in Kearney.
Jerry Gronewold, Kearney
In the heartland’s embrace, where golden prairies stretch, Stands Nebraska, cradle of resilient pioneers, Bold souls who carved a destiny, their spirits etched, Endurance their creed, triumph over doubts and fears.
With calloused hands, they toiled on fertile ground, Taming wild frontiers plows breaking earth’s crust, Their dreams took root where boundless horizons surround, And hope blossomed in fields, a testament of their trust.
Through ceaseless toil, they crafted sturdy abodes, Simple dwellings that echoed the strength within, A symphony of sweat and grit, stories untold, Whispered by each weathered wall, a triumph they’d win.
Their faith anchored deep, steadfast as the mighty oak, They weathered storms that howled across the plains, Resilience forged in hardships, like pioneers spoke, Their spirits enduring, bound by invisible chains.
In their humble schools, knowledge bloomed like prairie flowers, Children nurtured, minds cultivated anew, Through shared tales of courage and endless hours, The seeds of wisdom took root, aspirations grew.
Nebraska pioneers, we honor your legacy, For in your footsteps, we walk with gratitude and pride, May your indomitable spirit forever be A beacon of strength, as we journey side by side.
NEBRASKA LIFE IS seeking Nebraska-inspired poems on the theme “The Wonder of Weather” for the March/April 2024 issue, deadline Dec. 25, and “Blooms” for the May/June 2024 issue, deadline Feb. 15. Send to poetry@nebraskalife. com or to the mailing address at the front of this magazine.
FREMONT
Dodge County Historical Society Museum/ Louis E. May Museum, p 58
GRAND ISLAND
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, p 65
HASTINGS
Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History, p 58
KEARNEY
Museum of Nebraska Art, p 57
LA VISTA
Czech and Slovak Educational Center and Cultural Museum, p 57
LEXINGTON
Dawson County Historical Society Museum, p 58
LINCOLN
International Quilt Museum, p 57
MADISON
Madison County Historical Society Museum, p 57
MINDEN
Harold Warp Pioneer Village, p 53
OMAHA
Durham Museum, p 56
Omaha Children’s Museum, p 59
RED CLOUD
National Willa Cather Center, p 21
SEWARD
Nebraska National Guard Museum, p 62
YORK
Clayton Museum of Ancient History, p 59
AT PRESENTED BY
Explore ancient Rome, the Near East and much more. Special Bible exhibit shares the story of scripture from scroll to modern translations. Children’s interactive Little Kingdom now opened!
View rare artifacts from the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Roman Empire! Young and old can experience the museum’s Little Kingdom interactive area. Uncover objects in an archaeological dig, “live” in an ancient house and “shop” a Roman market. Admission is FREE with donations always accepted.
ADMISSION IS FREE Check Facebook page for hours
Open Tues-Fri, 10 am-5 pm • Sat 1-4 pm claytonmuseumofancienthistory.org
ClaytonMuseumOfAncientHistory.org
402-363-5748 • 1125 E 8th St • York
Paid for in part by a grant from the York County Visitors Bureau
402-363-5748 1125 E 8th St • York, NE
for in part by a grant from the York County
Located in the lower level of the Mackey Center on the
Lower level of the Mackey Center on the York University campus
by CHEYENNE ROWE
DEC. 2 • WAHOO
What started as a way to keep the Christmas spirit alive during the Coronavirus pandemic morphed into an annual celebration in Wahoo – random sightings of a flurry green beast that was as unwelcome as the flu.
A public service announcement filmed by the Wahoo Police Department, with a lurking Grinch in the background, along with Ring-style video doorbell footage, went viral the first year. The police chief assured the public in 2022 that the Grinch was not dangerous, encouraging citizens to follow the Wahoo Police Department on Facebook (and other social networks) for updates and advisories.
Wahoo now schedules a full day of activ-
ities around the appearance of the Grinch and “Wahooville.” For those who don’t recall, the Grinch stole Christmas from the Whos. Wahoo didn’t want COVID 19, or any other distraction, to steal Christmas joy from the people of Wahoo, so they created “Christmas in Wahooville.”
On Dec. 2, events take place from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Starting at 4:30 p.m., the downtown Wahooville block party harkens in holiday cheer with food trucks, smores stations and a special Grinch photo opportunity.
A parade of lights through downtown streets will step off at 6 p.m., followed by an official tree lighting with Santa at The Backroom at 6:30 p.m.
The Grinch hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming to Wahoo; it came. Somehow it came just the same.
All-day breakfast and lunch menus ensure that there is something for even the pickiest eaters. Pick up the restaurant’s original BIC Bowl – mashed potatoes topped with corn, cheddar cheese, country gravy and fried chicken, wam enough to cure any winter blues. 636 East 1st St. (402) 443-1100.
Nestled in the heart of Wahoo, the local historical society and museum is the only place to enter the past of Saunders County. Meet a local Titanic survivor and view other local treasures and photographs. 240 North Walnut St. (402) 443-3090.
Taking in Mother Nature’s beauty during all seasons is no new thought to most every Nebraskan. With the turning of the calendar to a new year, those deeply rooted in the prairie – local conservationists, ecologists and nature enthusiasts – welcome the annual New Year’s Day hike at Gjerloff Prairie in rural Marquette.
Prairie Plains Resource Institute, founded and headquartered in Aurora, has been managing Gjerloff Prairie (among other state preserves) since its inception in 1980. The Institute works throughout the year to preserve, maintain and restore native grasslands. In doing so, the Institute hosts locally many events geared toward nature education and enjoyment.
The Institute purchased the Gjerloff Prairie from Eugene (Mert) and Gwen Griffith in 2002, with funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. The Institute had been helping Mert with prescribed burns and other prairie maintenance since 1991.
Prairie Plains staff assisted with subsequent fires and stored fire management equipment in the Griffith’s Quonset. Mert and Gwen were also generous in allowing
This sporty eatery in the heart of Marquette offers the best of hearty home cooking and bar food. Opening at noon most days, the food will be hot and fresh post-hike to warm up any lingering chill. Live music often entertains diners in the late-evening. 416 Marquis Ave. (402) 854-2009.
the Institute to harvest seeds and in hosting a summer day camp for area students.
With trails throughout Gjerloff, only endurance will dictate what is to be seen amongst the rolling hills. Straight out of the history books, hikers in the prairie will have the chance to see sprawling open vistas, intimate small valleys and draws, steep cliffs, ravines and (depending on the route) an up-close stretch of the Platte River.
The hike begins at 1 p.m. at the Charles L. Whitney Education Center on Gjerloff Prairie, 2206 N. M Road. Visit the Prairie Plains Resource Institute on Facebook to stay up to date on event information, including weather updates.
Hikers gather in remote Gjerloff Prairie, Hamilton County, near Marquette.
Christmas at the Cody’s Dec. 1-31 • North Platte
Ever the entertainer, Buffalo Bill Cody enjoyed hosting guests over the holiday season. Guests are still being treated to this tradition today. Jaunt to the Cody Mansion to find festively decorated grounds (including the barn) complete with cider, cookies and chestnuts roasted on a fire. The big man in red, horse drawn rides and carolers will also be on hand to spread holiday cheer. visitnorthplatte.com.
Dec. 1 • Red Cloud
Fill your cup with holiday cheer and join the National Willa Cather’s Red Cloud Opera House for a unique display of music and seasonal spirit in the form of dueling musicians at the ivories. The show is request-driven, so come prepared with your own list of favorite tunes (holiday hits encouraged) for the duo to duke it out over. Singing along is heavily encouraged! willacather.org/events.
Historic Homes
Dec. 10 • Norfolk
Celebrate a burgeoning holiday tradition at Elkhorn Valley Museum. In its third year, the museum will host merry activities throughout the day, wine and beer tastings, a Christmas tree lighting at Verges Park and tickets available to purchase to visit historic homes in some of Norfolk’s oldest neighborhoods. 515 Queen City Blvd. (402) 371-3886.
A decade of donations and miles of installation in Comstock bring light to heaven and earth.
Henry Nuxoll walks several miles along Comstock town streets each night through Jan. 1 to ensure that more than $3,000 in donated inflatable and lighted Christmas displays can be seen from Heaven, where Nuxoll believes his twin brother resides, and to impress a young granddaughter.
Nuxoll began his labor of love in 2014. An anonymous donation of a Santa and inflatable reindeer joined his light display. This same story played out several more times throughout that first season. A pair of inflatable snowmen were donated to the crew and slowly, within the course of 30 days, $3,000 worth of lights and inflatables made their way to Nuxoll’s home (often in the middle of the night or while
he was away). So he put them up.
Over the years, the display has inspired joy and life in the members of the Comstock community and visitors who come from far and wide to enjoy the largerthan-life show. “What this all proves is that the more you give, the more you share, the more you have,” he said.
Music is blaring, especially carols sung by Alan Jackson (a favorite of Nuxoll) and creativity runs rampant through glittering streets. In all, for a town of about 100 individuals, this display of Christmas cheer takes visitors at least 30 minutes to drive slow in both directions and even longer if visitors choose to walk.
This coming Christmas, Nuxoll and crew
are preparing for their lighted showcase to span the length of eight uninterrupted, continuous town blocks. With appendages throughout the rest of Comstock, there are approximately 20 blocks of lights and inflatables. A mile of extension cords and more than 1,000 stakes are utilized.
Forty scenes are categorized by themes, including the Grinch, the Mickey Mouse Club, “Fast Lane,” and more. Don’t fear getting turned around in all the hoopla, either, free hot chocolate and cider are often found at the fire station to replenish lost energy.
Music Bingo
Dec. 22 • Louisville
Shenanigans abound at the Good Times Saloon, where a combination of drinks and hot musical hits gets the best of even the biggest brainiacs. Seats fill up fast, as the fun begins at 8:30 p.m. Guests listen to short song clips and mark it down on their special bingo cards if they have it. Winners get prizes! Sounds to good to be true. 225 Main Street.
Christmas Bird Count
Dec. 29 • Gretna
Spreading your wings in the great outdoors is all part of the Christmas bird count for kids event at the Schramm Education Center. Participants and their families have the chance to gather insight on the winter avian inhabitants of the park, as naturalists lead hikes down to the Platte River, through forests and other spots to watch bird feeders. The professionals know all the spots, but need help counting the creatures they see. outdoornebraska.gov.
The beloved TV classic, Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer, soars off-screen and onto the stage! Join Santa, Mrs. Claus, Hermey the Elf, Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius and, of course, Rudolph in this puppet-filled musical spectacular that speaks to the misfit in all of us. Have a “Holly Jolly Christmas” at The Rose!
on the animated television
Voices and Votes Exhibition
Jan. 1-27 • Gering
The Legacy of the Plains Museum is opening the doors of history, showcasing a time in American history when revolutionaries took a chance and established a new government based on the sovereignty of the people. This “Museum on Main Street,” Smithsonian collaboration with Humanities Nebraska features a wealth of local artifacts and information. An easy vote for fan favorite, we say. 2930 Old Oregon Trail.
Harlem Globetrotters
Jan. 6 • Lincoln
During this appearance of this world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, guests will be greeted with an up-close and personal slam-dunk extravaganza. These record-breaking basketball professionals will dribble, spin and dunk their way into the hearts of onlooks against their rivals, the Washington Generals. Aside from stellar merch, the game will be filled with
fun fan engagement opportunities for basketballers of all ages and skill levels. pinnaclebankarena.com.
Midlands Auto Show
Jan. 20-22 • Omaha
Tricked-out trucks, a rare collection of classic cars and the sweetest SUVs are on display at the CHI Health Center in Omaha’s North Downtown neighborhood. Kids can race each other with remote-controlled cars. If they have too much fun, the adults might want it on the action. Admission $7-9.
Creative Kids Camp
Jan. 26 • Scottsbluff
Creative kiddos can don their finest cozy sleepwear and gear up for one of the most unique pajama parties of the new year. Hosted at Elodie’s Oddities, activities include creating a pancake stack box out of clay, eating waffles and unleashing one’s inner artists while painting the finished box. Teddy bear guests welcome, too. Reserve a spot for $30. elodiesoddities.com.
Questions on p 22-23
1 Pilot
2 1946
3 Fort Crook
4 Gen. Anthony J. Cotton
5 Enola Gay
6 False (Berkshire Hathaway)
7 True
8 True. 1,585 were built.
9 True
10 False. Student interns and civil servants are permitted.
11 c. 10,000 (about 6,000 military, 4,000 civilian)
12 b. Secretary of Defense
13 a. 55th Wing
14 a. An SR-71A Blackbird
15 c. The Heartland of America Band
Trivia Photographs
Page 22 An SR-71A Blackbird, and the B-29 Superfortress.
Page 23 The “Little Boy” atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan.
Make Burwell your outdoor destination this year in the heart of Nebraska’s Sandhills. Relax on the white sandy beaches of Calamus Lake and take in the beauty of the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway. Great restaurants and warm hospitality await you!
Order a Free Travel Guide today 888-328-7935
Come for a visit - the gallery is
Unwrap the joy of holiday shopping with us! Your one-stop-shop for all things delightful.
93% of 2022 grads found work or continued their education.
89% of 2022 employed grads are working in Nebraska.
82% of 2022 grads continuing their education are doing so in Nebraska.
Much to appreciate about the coming winter
by ALAN J. BARTELS
THIS IS THE TIME of year when complaints of the coming winter become part of daily conversation in coffee shops, grain elevator lines, church basements and around kitchen tables.
I do it also. But I try not to.
By dreading winter, I think we inadvertently make the season seem even longer, colder and drearier than it usually is. I mean, why dwell negatively on winter during the glorious days of fall? Why not embrace and fully enjoy and appreciate the here and now?
As someone who commonly has a camera or two riding shotgun on his passenger seat, I am thankful for Nebraska winters. I enjoy the insulative layer of fresh snow covering the landscape from horizon to scenic horizon. Not only is it photographically beautiful, but I also imagine the land and its wild inhabitants enjoying a much-needed rest, like we do as we curl up under a blanket on a cold winter night.
But I don’t have any intention of sleeping winter away. On some weekend mornings I’ll pack some supplies, fill a Thermos with coffee, pile on the layers, and head out to my ground blind before daybreak. The hunting is almost always good when you’re shooting with a camera – and there is no limit.
I’ve always been cold tolerant (less so since losing my hair), and I make it a point to spend at least a little time outside each day. That first blast of cold upon opening the door can take your breath away, but it doesn’t take long to build up some body heat.
I draw inspiration from my Howard County neighbors. Last spring had barely turned to summer when one neigh-
bor (you know who you are, Traci) was already posting on social media about looking forward to fall with its cooler temperatures, harvest festivals, flannel pajamas and pumpkin spice-flavored this or that.
Earlier in the year, as winter was barely transitioning to spring, she was opining about fireworks, barbecues and summer wildflowers. And, you guessed it, during the humid heat of last summer, she was looking forward to sledding, snowmen and the holidays. She does inspire me to be joyful about the seasons.
After high school, Uncle Sam took me away from the good life and gave me the opportunity to experience parts of the world without the drastic and defined changes in seasons we experience in Nebraska. Most of those places were as hot as a Middle East desert.
I quickly found myself missing the cooler and colder seasons of my youth that signaled the approach of the holidays, and the arrival of a different slate of high school sports and hunting seasons.
I plan on enjoying a new outdoor activity this winter. For years I’ve been curious about snowshoes. Watching snow pile up in my yard or seeing hunters on TV trudging up and down snowy mountainsides, was enough to send me to my computer to check prices. But I never pulled the trigger.
Earlier this fall, a Sandhills friend offered a trade: a pair of snowshoes for a prized book from my collection. Done deal. Admiring these beauties with magnesium frames, adjustable bindings and sharp crampons reminds me of a childhood winter adventure where I could have used a little more traction.
I was a seventh grader walking on frozen Logan Creek in Wayne County when the ice gave way. Everything went black before I somehow grabbed onto a large chunk of ice and reached the shore. My pants began to stiffen in the freezing air as I ran the mile home remembering bits and pieces about hypothermia that I had learned in Boy Scouts.
All these years later I find myself thankful for the experiences that have helped me appreciate our changing of the seasons. As we embrace winter in Nebraska, the tough residents of our state we will bundle up and hunker down like we always do.
With that said, I’m headed back outside to scoop the driveway – after I warm up with just one more pumpkin spice latte.
No matter where you are wintering –happy holidays!
by JOAN McCULLOUGH LOOKER
The moon, on the breast of the new-fallen snow, gave the luster of midday to objects below…
“A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore
IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE 1956. I was 9 years old, a child of the Nebraska prairie, steeped in the magic of Christmas. My dad and I were jouncing along in his pickup driving to Brady on a special mission.
With his ruddy cheeks and generous spirit, my dad was a cowboy Santa in his Stetson hat. Instead of a sleigh, we were in an old blue truck that smelled of tools and oil. Dad hummed as we drove on the gravel road over the snow-covered moon-lit meadows of McCullough Island where he and I grew up.
We were bearing small boxes of frozen steaks and jars of cream from our ranch to leave anonymously on the porches of widows in the town. It was a family tradition. My grandfather used to have loads of coal delivered anonymously back when houses were heated with coal.
My mom was at home washing dishes after the Christmas Eve dinner of oyster stew, and tomato soup for me. I didn’t like oyster stew. We would open the family gifts when we returned from town.
As we approached Brady, I thought how Jesus and I had something in common. We were both from little towns. In fact, the hymn “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie” passed through my brain when we drove over the railroad tracks into our little town, especially quiet on Christmas Eve.
If Jesus had been born in Brady in the 1950s, Joseph and Mary would have had trouble finding lodging like they did in Bethlehem. There was no hotel or inn. There were a couple of motels, but it might have been difficult to rouse the owners on this quiet night.
Neither were there stables in Brady anymore, although there was a barn behind my grandmother’s house, but they would have to go down the alley to get there. Maybe they would have stopped at the Lincoln Highway Garage, which was one of the larger buildings in town, located on Highway 30, but closed on this holy night. Or they would have continued 23 miles west on the highway to North Platte where there were hotels. That is what many travelers did.
My dad broke into my fantasy of Jesus being born in Brady as we arrived at the first house. I got to take the box up to the porch and ring the bell. There was Social Security in the 1950s, but perhaps it didn’t provide for the elderly adequately. In our small town, we took care of each other.
Times have changed. My dad rests now in the McCullough Cemetery. We hear many studies about the loneliness of elderly people. Every Christmas Eve, I remember our trips to town more than I remember the presents that I opened under our Christmas tree at home.
Send your short stories about life in Nebraska to: editor@nebraskalife.com
