A Blast from the Past (Part 4)

…continuing with our exploration of the almost unbelievable personal collection of American artifacts and historical objects at Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village.

This is the point in my story where the number of exhibits and items on display began to overwhelm our senses.  Our visit was beginning to feel like a visit to a prairie or country version of the Smithsonian Museum complex…amazing but too much to really see and appreciate in a single day.

This large steam locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1899.  An H-4 Mogul type (2-6-0), it started life with the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad as #343.  When the Burlington and Missouri Railroad was folded into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1902, it was renumbered as #1229.  Then it was converted to a K-10 Class ten wheeler (4-6-0) in 1914 and it was renumbered once again.  It’s last run took place in October of 1953…from Hastings NE to Alma NE.  It looks like that lady didn't want to be included in my photo...

Harold Warp used to watch locomotives steaming by the family homestead when he was a boy working in the family fields and dreaming about a better life.  After he purchased this locomotive in 1954, after doing some research, he learned that it was the one he used to watch as he worked on the homestead…

This is a ‘busy’ photo… I’ll start with the Lowell Depot.  This depot was located at Lowell Nebraska at the western end of the Burlington and Missouri River Railway from around 1870 to 1880.  When it was restored, they found 7 worn out floors in the depot, each on top of another.  The floors were worn out because the depot was at the end of the line for 10 or so years and taking the train was far and away the easiest way to get from one place to another.  Harold Warp’s mother, Helga Johannesen came through this depot in 1878 when she and her brother arrived from Norway, heading for their new family homestead in Kearney County Nebraska.  The Johannesen homestead was close to John Warp’s, and the couple wed not too long after Helga’s family arrived.

In addition to the variety of smaller railroad paraphernalia under the roof next to the depot, that little locomotive with the old caboose is the ‘cousin’ to the fancier one on display in the main building of Pioneer Village.  This is H.K. Porter (0-4-0) #912…now #2.  Both little Porter Locomotives belonged to the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company in Ontario Canada.  The locomotives transported passengers from one big lake to another…a distance of 1.125 miles…to connect with steamboats at either end.

The St. Paul Lutheran Church was built in 1884.  It was the first church in Minden and it has the original pews, pulpit and baptismal.  In 1951 Harold Warp dedicated the newly relocated church to his sister and her husband. 

In the summer, 30 minute non-denominational worship services are conducted every Sunday.  The services are conducted by clergy from various Kearney County churches. 

The second photo shows the church at the other side of the well shaded village green or common.  Note the tree with a sign on it telling visitors what type it is.  Also note the number of buildings in the background.  This museum goes on and on...

Did I mention that there are 28 buildings full of antiques, collectibles and memorabilia at Pioneer Village?  The good news is that I’m not going to show you the majority of the items on display.  As a matter of fact, I’m just scratching the surface of the 50,000 plus items on display.

Just look at the sign displayed above.  This building contains several different ‘shops’, (more than the sign indicates), set up as they might have been many years ago.  Then there are the crafts on display, musical instruments, antique furniture (with original prices), a former U.S. Senator’s Washington office and much, much more.  I decided to limit my photos for this part of Pioneer Village to just one example.  Pianos, viewing machines of various types, old vinyl records, record players…and the list goes on.

This huge livery stable certainly grabs visitor’s attention.  It was built in Minden back in the days when almost everyone traveled by horse, either on horseback or with a buggy or wagon.  This 2-story barn is full of related items such as saddles, harnesses, fly nets, a harness shop and even a set of huge logging wheels. 

Both Laurie and I took photos of ‘horses’ intended as fun rides for kids.  It appears that they could still mount up on the first 2 horses.

Again, we didn’t explore both floors of the stable…but our son or grandson checked them out for us.  We did note a huge collection of wagons and carriages along with other horse-drawn conveyances that were displayed on the first floor.

Another building…and even more automobiles!  This is a 1928 Chevrolet Utility Coupe.  Cost: $680.  I love the flyer/marketing effort that went with this automobile.  It reads: “Is Your Wife Marooned During the Day?”  It goes on to push for 2 car garages with new homes and plugs this auto as the ‘ideal extra car’.  “The wife finds it of everyday utility for shopping, calling, taking the children to school in bad weather, etc.”  

This model Chevy was a success with 1,193,212 of them being built.  I don’t know how successful the ‘wife’ marketing campaign was but there is no doubt that it took place in a completely different era in our history.

The Kaiser Motors Company, (formerly Kaiser – Frazer), was known for its daring designs.  The company was founded in 1945 and it only lasted until 1953.  While the Big Three automaker were trying to meet the post-war demands for cars, they didn’t have the time to create new and different cars.  They just relied on retooling the popular cars they were already producing. 

Since Kaiser – Frazer was trying to break into the market, they could take a chance and develop new designs…and then hope that they’d sell.  Kaiser engineers designed a 4-door sedan with a rear ‘trunk’ door or doors, that when opened transformed the interior into a large cargo area.  While the company’s design used 2 rear doors rather than one, the concept is similar and the company gets full credit for the first ‘hatchback’ automobiles. 

This 1949 – 1950 Kaiser had a 6-cylinder engine and the company built 95,175 of them.  FYI: The Kaiser Frazer Owner’s Club International has about 2,000 members.  See Kaiser Frazer Owners Club International – Member's Portal for KFOCI (kfclubmembers.com).

Ah…nothing like a nice family picnic or trip!  In my pre-Boomer and in the following “Boomer years”, many if not most families went on picnics or family trips that involved camping, cabins, cooking your own food, etc.  I remember many local Sunday picnics and at least one memorable road trip.

Please note that this 1950 Chevrolet Deluxe Sport Coupe is equipped with an early attempt to provide air conditioning.  The window mounted ‘car cooler’ consisted of a canister filled with water, with an air intake at one end and a tube leading to the car’s interior at the other.  As the air entered the intake, the water inside the canister would evaporate, producing moist, cool air which would blow inside the car.  While these units did work, they weren’t very helpful in areas with high humidity. 

This car, with its 6 cylinder motor and 2-speed ‘Powerglide’ transmission, cost $1,408 new.  It was donated to Pioneer Village in 2002.

I included this 1928 Graham-Paige coupe for 2 reasons.  Early Graham-Paige automobiles are not very common and in addition, this is a perfect example of an auto that was collected and preserved, but not restored to original condition.  Those collectors or auto addicts that love to restore old cars would lose their minds at Pioneer Village. 

The second photo, borrowed from the Internet, is of a fully restored 1929 Graham-Paige 612 Tourer…quite a contrast from the preceding auto.

Graham-Paige was founded by 3 brothers, Joseph, Robert and Ray Graham.  The brothers started out selling glass windows and after that successful company was purchased by Libby Owens Ford, they started building truck kits and then trucks…eventually selling their truck company to Dodge.  The Graham-Paige Automobile Company was founded in 1927 with the purchase of the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company.  The Graham-Paige Company produced cars until 1940.  Its automotive assets were purchased by Kaiser-Frazer in 1947.

The following photo is just a bit mind blowing!

This is a view down the long center aisle of one floor in “Building #18”, the Antique Auto Building that focusses on Chevrolets and other automobiles.  There are 2 floors in the building and each floor is 265 feet long.  There are 50 Chevrolets on the first floor alone while the second floor holds what Pioneer Village calls ‘orphaned cars’ such as the Kaiser-Frazer and the Graham-Paige.

In addition to this building full of cars…and those on display in the main building, Building #17 with 22,400 sq. ft. of space, is home to antique Buicks, Cadillacs, Dodges, Chryslers, Oldsmobile’s and more.  Then there is Building #19.  Like Building #18, it has 2-floors and it is 265 feet long.  It houses Fords, Lincolns, Mercury’s and Edsel’s on the first floor.  My better half and son confirmed that the second floor of Building #19 is loaded with motorcycles, bicycles, snowmobiles and more.  There also is a collection Studebakers...

I’ll end this post (almost) from Pioneer Village with a bit of whimsy… This sculpted arch is over a service entrance to Pioneer Village.  It was erected in 1940 at Columbus Nebraska as a welcoming gateway to the town.  Unfortunately it was removed and ‘lost’ in 1969 when the road was widened.  The sculptor was Floyd Nichols, and he is better known for his metal sculptors and fine knives.  In any case, his daughter searched for the sculptural panels for years and they were finally discovered in a shed at a park in Columbus. 

Harold Warp’s niece and her husband bought the panels in 1974 and this arch was dedicated in 1979.  It depicts a Native American Tribal Leader, a Native American hunting Buffalo, a Prairie Schooner and a Native American Woman carrying a child.  But there is more to learn about Floyd Nickels...

Floyd Nichols was a WWI U.S. Army veteran who made personal fighting knives for soldiers in WWII.  At the beginning of the war, there weren’t enough knives available for every soldier.  The government asked people to donate knives and many did.  Others, like Nickels, decided to make them for the troops headed off to war.  A saddle maker named Alfred Cornish helped Nichols by making sheaths for the knives.  Some of the fine knives made by Floyd Nickels had a bit of buffalo nickel in them.  Today, Floyd Nickels knives are highly valued.  I ‘borrowed’ the photo of one of his knives from the Internet.  I found one that sold in 2005 for $900 and another one…in perfect condition that sold in 2011 for $2,500.

But I digress…as usual!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for staying with me as we tour Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village in Minden Nebraska!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave