A Blast From the Past (Part 3) - Harold Warp's Pioneer Village

…continuing with my much abbreviated tour of Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village in Mendon Nebraska.  As different ‘chapters’ describing the exhibits at Pioneer Village unfold, keep in mind that I am only showing readers or viewers a small fraction of this crowded museum/attraction’s collection.

This photo is a perfect example of just how ‘packed’ the museum is with exhibits of varying sizes and interests.  In addition to the airplane at the center of the photo, other items include aircraft engines and another aircraft just behind the bi-plane, all hanging over firefighting equipment…with an ‘aqua car’ in the background.

The bi-plane was designed in 1927 and built in 1928.  It is a Laird “Swallow” and it was actually used by Harold Warp’s company, Flex-O-Glass.  The Swallow airplanes are thought to be the first commercially built aircraft to be offered for sale in the USA.  Utilized by Varney Air Lines based in Boise Idaho, they carried mail and some passengers.  Varney was one of the predecessor airline companies that became part of United Airlines.

If I thought that the auto industry was ‘incestuous’ with the crossover of executives and famous names from one company to another, I’ve now learned that the early airplane business wasn’t too much different.  Matt (Matty) Laird employed both Walter Beech (Beechcraft) and Lloyd Stearman (Stearman)…both of whom quit Swallow and went to work for Clyde Cessna (Cessna Aircraft).

From my research I’ve learned that Pioneer Village has several other aircraft in their inventory, not all of which are on exhibit.  That silver jet powered aircraft showing just below the Swallow is a Bell P-59B Airacomet.  This single-seat twin jet-engine fighter aircraft was designed and built during WWII and it was the first jet fighter produced in the USA.  It was underpowered and only 50 were actually produced.  Only 6 of them have survived.

Back to earth… The Trolley car above is a 4-wheel “Birney Standard Safety Car”.  It plied the trolley tracks in Fort Collins Colorado from 1919 until 1950.  Incidentally, Fort Collins was the smallest city in the USA to have electric trolley cars.  Over 6,000 of these relatively lightweight Birney Trolley cars were built and a few are in service on heritage/tourist lines. 

The first street ‘railway’ with overhead trolley power lines was built in Richmond Virginia in 1888.  The designer/builder was Frank J. Sprague, a former technical assistant to Thomas Edison.  By 1913, electric street railway companies had 41,000 miles of track in service across the country.

This modest yacht belonged to Harold Warp and, as you can see, it was based out of Chicago, the location of the family’s Flex-O-Glass factory.  The Valhalla II was commandeered by the US Government in 1942 and put to work along the Atlantic coastline, patrolling for German Submarines in World War II. 

There are photos apparently showing the boat destroying a German U-boat during the war…and signing that states that the Valhalla was one of the few privately-owned vessels that sank a U-boat during the war.   I couldn’t verify this claim as per my research…but I didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time digging into a mass of on-line information.  It would have been a remarkable achievement for such a small yacht.

Here’s a bit of whimsy… This is a folding wooden boat from the 1930s.  Folding it shortened it by about 6 feet, (assembled it measured 13 feet 5 inches), making it easier to store and transport.  It had matching transoms on both halves, which come together when latched. 

Crazy idea?!  Well, folding boats are still around, even if they aren’t in general use.  See Take Apart and Folding boats save space and are easy to transport (christinedemerchant.com).

Back to those fire engines that are on display under the airplanes… This particular horse-drawn fire engine served as engine #17 with the Chicago Illinois Fire Department.  For well over 20 years, it had been on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  Harold Warp brought it to Pioneer Village in 1954. 

This large piece of fire-fighting apparatus was involved in several major fire fights in Chicago.  The worst of those fires was the Iroquois Theater fire in 1903.  It happened on the afternoon of December 30.  1,700 theater goers were enjoying a live matinee performance when the fire broke out in the muslin curtains on the stage.  This new theater had been billed as being “absolutely fireproof”.  602 people died and another 250 were injured.  This fire led to many reforms and improved standards…

This ungainly looking fire-fighting ‘beast’ is named “Big Red”.  Originally it was a steam powered horse-drawn vehicle.  The steam came from coal burned to produce steam which built up the pressure allowing water to be streamed on fires.  “Big Red” was procured by the Kansas City Fire Department in the 1880s.  Early in the 1900s, that big 1909 gasoline powered traction motor was ‘substituted’ for the horses.  This steam powered fire engine was used until 1925. 

By 1900, every town and city of a decent size had one or more horse-drawn steam powered pieces of fire-fighting apparatus.  Big Red was the largest size for this type of fire engine.  It was found in a barn in Cameron Missouri and it was restored to working order.  Over time, it appeared in many Nebraska parades under the auspices of the Nebraska State Fire Department.   

Back to the diversity theme offered by Pioneer Village.  In the above photo we have a large engine of some sort as well as a plethora of firearms used for hunting…and a significant number of mammalian and feathered animals that ended up as taxidermy subjects.  That’s our grandson, David III, starring at the exhibit… He’s not a hunter, that’s for sure.

This is a C.M. Russell and Company Model 10 traction engine, one of the first models that the company built ca. 1880.  This Ohio based company is best known for manufacturing farm and railroad machinery in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Note the flared smoke stack intended to deter sparks.  This threshing machine, named the “Yellow Kid”, was used on a farm not far north of Minden and it was acquired by Pioneer Village in 1954.

By 1880, C.M. Russell and Company had 425 people working in their factory.  Among other items, they built 18,000 steam tractors and stationary engines, as well as 22,000 threshing machines.  Between 1880 and 1920, over 500,000 steam engines were built by various companies.  Power-wise, they ranged from 10 HP to 50 HP.  In addition to threshing, their primary use, some were used for planting and harvesting.  Steam threshing was a viable option for farmers until just after WWII.

Did I mention that in addition to antiques, memorabilia, and collectibles of almost every type, that Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village also included 28 buildings on its 20 acres?!  In fact, of the total, 12 are historic structures.

This is an original pioneer stockade or community ‘fort’.  It was built ca. 1869 to protect European-American settlers from attacks by regional Native American tribes who the settlers were displacing.  This is the first log cabin that was built in Webster County Nebraska.  The interior of the cabin is furnished with authentic period items and an original Pony Express mailbox is mounted on one wall.

Five families lived in this combination stockade and homestead.  When the men were out farming the fields nearby the stockade, if the women saw any Indians on the horizon, they would ring a bell in the stockade to warn the men.  Four generations of the same family farmed the Old Elm Creek Stockade Homestead and it was owned by the fourth generation of that family when it was moved to Pioneer Village.

This handsome building is actually a replica of a general merchandise store that served pioneers in Stamford Nebraska.  The “Peoples Store” is loaded with a plethora of products needed or wanted by early farmers and townsfolks in the late 1880s and early 1900s.  It is stocked with everything from high button shoes and flintlock guns to calico and crocks.  Kerosene lamps are plentiful as are spices and flavorings and baskets. 

Also readily visible in the store are the original United States Post Office mailboxes from the Fort Kearney Nebraska Post Office.  Before the advent of rural free delivery of mail, everyone had to come to the post office to pick up their mail.  Small town America still maintains this method of mail ‘delivery’.

This is the former United States Land Office from Bloomington Nebraska.  It was built and opened for business on July 1, 1874.  This office served pioneers as they filed their homestead claims in south central Nebraska until it closed at the end of December, 1890. 

The old land office building was purchased by the Pioneer Village in 1952.  Each stone had to be individually numbered before the building was dismantled so it could be properly rebuilt on this site.  Today interior displays include surveyor’s equipment, early maps and old land records.  The latter collection includes John N. Warp’s original 60 acre homestead title.  That was Harold's father...

Once a homestead claim was filed, homesteaders had to 'prove up' their right of ownership.  That meant that John Warp and other homesteaders had to improve the land by planting trees and crops as well as living on the land for 5 years.  If the conditions weren't met, the homestead was forfeited.  

We took a quick look in the firehouse.  Like everywhere else a Pioneer Village, this building was full of related items collected by an obsessive collector who wanted to preserve the past, and who had the means to do so.  Included is that old Ford Model-T fire engine, ladders, a hand operated fire pump, a big selection of fire extinguishers, and more.  There even is a ‘fireman’s pole’ to access the equipment from the upper floor when an alarm is sounded.  The fire truck came from Bertrand Nebraska and it had a water pump fastened to the front of the truck's engine. 

The firehouse and all of the historic buildings are situated out around a circular green grassy area or town ‘common’ that is shaded with giant old trees.  We took some pleasure in the fact that the trees were all labeled, telling visitors what type they are.

I’ll end this portion of our visit to Pioneer Village with a photo of this authentic pioneer ‘soddy’ or sod house.  There are very good reasons why a sod house is part of the museum’s experience.  First of all, there wasn’t very much wood on the prairie and sod homes were a solution to that shortcoming.  Secondly, Harold Warp was born in a ‘soddy’ near Minden Nebraska on 12/21/1903. 

It took 11 acres of prairie sod to construct the 3 foot thick walls of this home.  Clay was used to ‘plaster’ the walls.  This replica is completely furnished…including a trundle bed.  Oh yes…that group in front of the ‘soddy’ consists of David II, my better half…Laurie, and David III.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave