Small Towns along the Way (#4)

…continuing with our July road trip.  

After a short stop in Atkinson Nebraska, we continued west along US Hwy 20 toward our overnight destination.  For your information, US Hwy 20 is 3,365 miles long, making it the longest road in the USA.  This highway runs from Boston Massachusetts to Newport Oregon.

About 30 miles west of Atkinson, we came to the town of Bassett Nebraska.  Apparently, Bassett was named for an early settler who established a nearby ranch.  Like all the other towns along this route, the town was actually platted/founded in 1884 after the railroad came to town.  With a population of roughly 540, Bassett is the county seat for Rock County.  The town had a population of 1,066 back in 1950 before the railroad ceased service.

The Bassett Lodge and Range Café at 205 Clark Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Having been completed in 1951, it is a fairly ‘new’ structure as compared to most of the Register’s listings.  This Streamline Moderne style building actually encompasses part of the Hotel Crook which was built in 1926.  I love the sign!  It is a classic…

The hotel and café were built in order to serve the then burgeoning Bassett Livestock Auction which attracted buyers from around the USA.  It continues to serve as both a motel/hotel and restaurant.  The Range Café itself has changed little since the 1950s but the rooms in the Bassett Lodge have been updated to today’s standards.  You can stay here in a King Suite for $80.00 a night.  Check it out at Bassett Lodge & Range Cafe.

My advanced research had suggested that we should have our eyes open for an old Phillips 66 Gas Station in Bassett.  It is quite eye-catching for sure…

I clearly remember ‘service stations’ where attendants in uniforms cleaned windshields and checked the oil while pumping gas.  A bit more research post trip revealed that this is non-functional store front with replica and refurbished parts to make it look like an old time gas station.  However, five or more decades ago, this building actually was a gas station.  In about 1997 the Bassett Tourist Council bought the building and refurbished it to look like it did in the 1950s and 1960s. 

As I mentioned, Bassett is the County Seat for Rock County Nebraska.  The Art Deco style Rock County Courthouse was built in 1939 and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  This “County Citadel” type of building was one of 7 Nebraska courthouses that were built under the WPA/federal works programs of the Great Depression.

After the county was created there had been a big competition between several towns to be declared the county seat.  It came down to Bassett vs. Newport.  Bassett won by a close vote in 1889 and built the first courthouse.  It burned down in 1899 and the county seat controversy heated up again.  Bassett solved the problem by quickly building a new courthouse…which lasted until the current structure was built.  

Rock County encompasses 1,012 square miles and has a population of about 1,400. (About 1.4 people per square mile) At its peak in 1940, the county had almost 4,000 residents… The passing of the railroad was a major negative for growth. 

This is former Chicago and Northwestern Railway depot in Bassett.  From what I could find, as per an old photo the depot was built in the mid-1890s.  Another source indicated that it wasn’t built until 1922 but I think the earlier date fits it.

The caboose beside the old depot didn’t come into vogue until the mid-1920s.  It’s called a bay window caboose.  It provided a better view of the side of the train and eliminated the falling hazard of the raised cupola type.  It also eliminated the need for additional clearances in tunnels and overpasses.  Starting in the early 1930s, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built all of their cabooses like this.   

The depot as well as St. Michael’s Catholic Church, a pioneer home, the Cosgrove school house and 2 other structures are located at the Rock County Fairgrounds.  The church was built in 1897 and it was moved to this site in 1978.  The various buildings are full of period items related to the founding and settling of the county.  From what I could find, The Rock County Historical Society Museum is open daily from 9AM until 5PM from May 1 until October 1 but we didn’t see any signs of life when we stopped by.  There isn’t any admission charge for visitors…

Moving 12 miles further down the road, we came to the town of Long Pine Nebraska.  This home was built by a local dentist in 1895.  By 1919 it was being used as a rooming house that was known as the Miller Hotel.  The home had been expanded in 1914 when Long Pine boomed as a major railroad terminus.  This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Its importance is tied directly to the railroad.  The hotel always served railroad workers and they were the primary customers for over 50 years.  At one time there were 5 hotels in Long Pine.  The Miller Hotel was used by boarders until 1984.  It now serves as the Heritage House Museum.  One room is devoted to a diorama of Long Pine’s railroad heyday back in the 1930s. The museum is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 PM, Memorial Day through Labor Day.  Phone: 402-273-4141.

As we cruised around Long Pine…estimated population 288…we came across this big old school at 402 South Pine.  It has been weirdly decorated or landscaped with all of the strange objects and bits that are in front of the building.  The phrase over the entrance reads: “and one tin soldier rides away”.  I think that the look of this place ranges between spooky and pot smoking hippy.

The construction of this school began in the early 1930s by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and the Emergency Relief Agency (ERA).  It wasn’t completed and the roof leaked while the heat didn’t work either.  The Great Depression’s Works Progress Administration helped the school district and they finished the project in1936.  The work needed provided jobs for 200 laborers.  The most recent information I could find showed that the school and the 5 acres around it were for sale.  The building with its 18,750 square feet of space and the land could be purchased for just $50,000.

As for the town of Long Pine, it was founded ca. 1876 and it grew quickly once the railroad reached town in 1881.  The town was named after nearby Long Pine Creek.  This small depot was built after the town’s boom days just to handle the 2 trains per day that still passed through.  At one point it served as a Bunk House for folks who are traversing the “Cowboy Trail”.  This trail begins in Norfolk Nebraska and stretches 321 miles west to Chadron Nebraska.  It is one of the largest Rails-to-Trail Projects in the USA.  From a recent map, it appears that this building now houses the city offices.

Looking at Long Pine today, it’s hard to believe that the town had a population of 1,206 back in 1920.  It was a hub for the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company along what was known as “The Cowboy Line”.  At one time, the town had a large locomotive roundhouse, turntable and servicing facility.  With the coming of diesel locomotives, all of the old steam servicing facilities, which also included a water tower and a coal chute, were torn down.  The last train passed through Long Pine in 1992.

Lone Pine is located in a relatively flat area with moderate annual rainfall at best.  Most of the land in the area consists of grassland, and thanks to irrigation, lots of hay and corn.  Some of the last remaining tracts of mid and tall grass prairie also dot the landscape.  But then there is this sight…a hidden paradise in the high plains.  Unfortunately, Laurie and I took a long look at the dirt road ahead of us and, not realizing that the Long Creek Canyon and Hidden Paradise were only about a mile down the road, we turned around and headed out of town.  Bummer!

In 1910, Carleton and Lucy Pettijohn along with 2 other entrepreneurs started Nebraska Hidden Paradise.  It was originally called an amusement park with a few cabins but expansion continued and H.M. Culbertson added a large dance pavilion, a café and 65 cottages.  The expansion also included “The Plunge” with a large water slide, dressing rooms and an enclosed pool.  The “Plunge” was destroyed when a tornado struck in 1926 and it was never rebuilt.

Nevertheless Long Pine and the Hidden Paradise became a destination along the Cowboy rail line.  It’s hard to believe in this day and age but this hidden resort in the middle of northern Nebraska with its dance pavilion attracted big band heavyweights such as Tommy Dorsey and Lawrence Welk.  The resort was especially popular during the war years of the 1940s.  There has been an effort to refurbish the old dance pavilion but in the meantime, many of the cabins can be rented for those looking for real otherworldly escape from today’s hectic life.

Want to visit and stay in Hidden Paradise?  Check it the cabin rentals on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Cabin/Hidden-Paradise-Cabins-440329712833576/.

Another 8 or 9 miles west on US Hwy. 20 and we came to this old 1920s Conoco Filling Station in Ainsworth Nebraska.  I took this photo, not because of any particular historical significance but rather for sentimental reasons.  Service Stations like this were still fairly common in my youth.  They help me recall long Sunday drives plus vacations along 2-lane highways through the back country.  Ahh, the remote ‘boondocks’ and those stops in small towns across mid-America. 

Ainsworth, with a population of about 1,620 residents, is the County Seat for Brown County Nebraska.  The county covers 1,255 square miles…about the size of Rhode Island…and it has a population of roughly 3,000.  The town was named for Captain James E. Ainsworth, chief construction engineer of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, who arrived at the town site in June of 1882.  

I learned that during World War II, Ainsworth was the site of a 2,496 acre Army Air Field where crews were trained to fly B-17 Flying Fortresses, P-38 Lightnings and P-47 Thunderbolts.  In 1947, over 7,000 people attended the National Air Show here.  This was one of 11 Army Air Force training bases built in Nebraska during the war.  A few of the original buildings still stand.  After the war, the airfield was turned over to the city and it still continues to operate as a municipal airport today.

That’s about it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Not About Food!

This time I’m not posting any food photos.  I know that this is unusual, especially during this Covid-19 restricted era, but it was time for a break! 

I am working on a final posting about our 2006 road trip to the southwestern USA, another based on a nostalgic illustrated look back at America…and yes, one more food focused post too.

This post includes striking views of the area where we live, a bit of history, a potential new dining spot, Mother Nature providing some excitement, a little construction, an airport, a family member and fall décor at home…

The preceding photos of Tellico Lake were either taken by neighbors from their house up the hill near our home or by folks ‘stuck’ at bridge construction stop lights along TN Hwy 444.  We do live in a beautiful area!  Relaxing views in this times of stress… Which photo is your favorite?

Debbie, yet another neighbor, is into hiking.  She recently posted these photos of the “Pearl Harbor Tree” in Cades Cove on Facebook.  For those who aren’t familiar with it, Cades Cove…a valley surrounded by mountains in the Smoky Mountain National Park…is the most popular tourist destination in the park.

The gentleman who planted this tree was Golman Myers. (Could we be related?) He and his family lived in Cades Cove and when he heard President Roosevelt announce the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio, he knew that the USA would be going to war.  He had 2 sons of draft age as well.  To mark the historical moment, he sought out a sapling sweet gum tree and transplanted it in his front yard.  He placed a rim from an old automobile tire around the tree to protect it. 

Golman died of a heart attack in 1945 and his family moved out of Cades Cove.  The tree continued to grow and the old family farm grew into a popular destination for park visitors.  The old wheel rim split and grew right into the bark.  Golman’s son, Bernard, used a chain to attach the tag shown above to the tree.  Many visitors place American flags to pay homage to this folksy memorial.

Laurie and I were encouraged and hopeful when we recently drove by the old Southern Railroad Depot in Loudon Tennessee.  The depot was originally built by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1914.  For quite a while it housed the local Chamber of Commerce but it’s been empty for a couple of years now…

That big sign in front of the depot announces that the building is a future location for the Monkey Town Brewing Company.  This small East Tennessee chain of restaurants and beer purveyors was founded in Dayton Tennessee…home of the famous/infamous Scopes Monkey Trial.  Currently they have 3 locations and it appears that Loudon will be number 4!  Hopefully, despite Covid-19, this new dining venue will open as planned…

One night, not too long ago, as Laurie and I were about to go to sleep…we heard a big whooshing sound along with a thump.  It sounded like something had hit the house!  Laurie checked it out with one of our high-powered flashlights…but didn’t see anything.

However, the next morning the source of all that noise was on full display, lying completely across our street right next to our house.  This was the second tree to block the street in about the same area in recent months. 

Neighbors Mike and Sherry’s deck construction is coming along despite a ‘little’ hang up.  The roof over the deck couldn’t be built so that it would meet code!  Consequently, a more expensive alternative has been chosen…an electric louvered pergola.  This should be one heck of a party deck when it’s done!

We just got this photo on Wednesday, 10/2.  Dawn Marie took the photo as she was checking in for a flight on American Airlines.  It’s hard to believe but this was American’s check in area at Philadelphia’s International Airport.  No, the photo wasn’t taken at 11:30 PM… It was 3:30 PM in the afternoon!  More proof of the impact of Covid-19!  No people!  Plus all restaurants, shops and frequent flyer lounges were closed.

Time for a little family… This photo is of one of Laurie’s double cousins, Alan Templeton.  How does one have double cousins?  It happens when 2 brothers, (Laurie’s father Robert and his brother John), marry 2 sisters, (Laurie’s mother Doris and her sister Lois), and both couples have children.

Alan and his wife Bonnie live in Colorado and they love to hike.  What a nice scene!  Alan is a geneticist at Washington University in St. Louis where he is the professor emeritus of biology.  He also holds a professorship in the Institute of Evolution at the University of Haifa (Israel).  Much of what he’s accomplished is beyond my comprehension.  If you’d like to learn more about Alan, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Templeton.

Time for a little home décor… Can you tell from the look of our fireplace mantle what time of the year it is?  We also have pumpkins and a few Halloween related items scattered around the house as well as on the front porch… We don’t get trick or treaters here but tis that season anyway and it gives us an excuse to buy a bag of mixed candies “just in case”.

That’s all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Model Trains and More Trains – Crossville TN

…continuing with the recent visit by our friends Bruce and Margaret from the St. Louis Missouri area.

The ladies were going shopping…ARRRG!  What could Bruce and I do…where could we go that would be fun and interesting?  Remember the model train layout that we visited in Oak Ridge Tennessee?  I decided that we’d go a bit further this time…to check out a much larger layout in Crossville Tennessee.  Crossville is about an hour from our home and we had lots of time before the ladies would return.

The first unusual fact about this model railroad club’s layout is that it actually occupies a large space in a local enclosed mall.  The Crossville Outlet Center isn’t huge but it features a Maurice’s store, Legg’s Hanes Bali outlet, Rack Room Shoes, a Vanity Fair Outlet, Dressbarn, a gamer’s store, and several more local operations including a church.

 

Customers certainly don’t have a hard time finding their way to the Crossville Model Railroad Club’s presentation of “The Wonderful World of Trains”!

We happily entered this adult/childhood fantasy land!  FYI, the exhibit is open to the public Tuesday – Friday and Sunday from Noon until 4 pm.  Saturday’s hours are from 11 AM until 4 PM.  Best of all, although the club does appreciate donations, admission is free!

This is a large space with 5 different model railroad scale layouts covering over 4,600 square feet.  Scale models included are G (the largest), as well as O, HO, N and Z.  FYI, if you have children, ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ and his friends are part of the operation.

The room at the back left center of the photo houses the Upper Cumberland Railroad Society Museum…with lots of railroad artifacts and memorabilia.  I didn’t take any photos of it because I was too busy checking out the model railroad layouts…and I forgot!   

If you like dioramas, there are plenty of them here for you to marvel over and appreciate.  This photo show a military base complete with a guarded gated entrance, a water tower and a ‘rail gun’ along with matching rail cars. 

Note the different levels involved in this complex layout.  There are things to appreciate in every direction.  I personally like this little town laid out along the tracks.

The Crossville Model Railroad Club was founded back in 2001.  Membership has reached 65 over the years since.  Members volunteer over 7,500 hours of their time to operate the public display, run the trains, and repair the existing layout.  I’m guessing that a lot more time is spent building new scenes and related equipment as personal fun projects as they’re a bit tied down with visitors in-house.

The first inspiration Bruce saw regarding improvements or additions to his own multi-level home model train layout was this nifty airport.  It’s interesting to note that this big model railway operation features no less than 23 airplanes and 9 helicopters in the various vignettes.  

Bruce’s career was in safety, accident prevention and loss prevention.  He was completely ‘taken’ by this HO gauge fire scene with the burning building and the flashing lights.  Another project for his home based model railroad!  Warning to Margaret... He's going to need more room!

Just for your information response to this fire was prompt with structural damage being held to a minimum by the fire department.  However the impacted structure was the regional office for the Internal Revenue Service and “unfortunately, most of their records were impacted!”

Of course, my favorite locomotives are the old fashioned steam types…so I was partial to this scene showing a train passing by a railyard full of iron ore rail cars.

The Club’s “HO” layout is the biggest and most detailed with 4 operating mainlines… They are the “Southern”, “Norfolk and Western”, “Tennessee Central”, and the “Louisville and Nashville” railroads.  Between them, they have 742 feet of track in the layout.

This 2 level scene with the road above the town along the rails is a perfect example of a model railroader’s creative mind.  With a ‘gentlemen’s club’, a pawn shop, tattoo parlor and a liquor store this obviously isn’t the best side of town.  However, local authorities are trying to clean it up with a raid on that strip joint/gentlemen’s club.  They even have a police dog helping them!

This roundhouse reminded me of the one that existed in my hometown of Jackson Michigan when I was a youth… That town was ‘hopping’ in those days, both as a rail hub and as a manufacturer of auto parts.  Also note the coaling tower and water tank, both a necessity in the early days of railroading.

Reality is that America loves beef!  This appears to be a busy stockyard attached to a processing plant… “Swift Products” refrigerator cars await the finished product.

The Club’s HO display features a plethora of critters.  They include 37 horses, 89 cows, 12 dogs, 14 pigs, 7 sheep, 16 chickens, 12 pigeons, 7 deer, 5 monkeys, 6 seals, 5 bears, 2 gorillas and a lion.

Here is another fire scene…obviously set in a different era.  There is railroad track at 3 different levels of this photo.

This scrapyard full of scrap metal is being attended to by a large railcar style crane that loads the scrap into the open rail car.

 

The mainline railroads based on the complete HO display operate at least 15 passenger cars as well as 361+ pieces of freight rolling stock.

The landscaping alone is amazing.  Tunnels, hills, trees, grass and everything else are a major undertaking in themselves.  In addition, over 500 lightbulbs illuminate the buildings, signs, lights, etc.

This is the main railyard for the HO layout.  After all, the hundreds of pieces of rolling stock have to be kept somewhere when not in use.  This layout has 6 different rail yards, with this one alone involving 72 feet of track. 

This bucolic farm scene in the mountains…complete with horses, cows and pigs…is very nicely designed and composed.  It makes me want to visit the place! 

Of course, complex city/town scenes like this really demand a lot of pre-planning and construction.  The membership is truly dedicated.

Just putting together the display tables required 768 feet of 1 x 4s for table frames and more than 1300 feet of 1” x 2” lumber for leg braces.  As for the table tops, 36 sheets of half inch plywood and half inch homosote plus 8 sheets of 4X8 Plexiglas were used.

The fun really is in the details…at least as far as I’m concerned.  Note the woman hanging clothes on the rooftop with her child playing nearby.  What her ‘husband’ is doing with his pants down around his ankles is anyone’s guess!  The guy next door is just sunning himself on his rooftop deck…

I thought that it would be appropriate to end this portion of my post with a big circus parade!  Beyond the school bus, one circus wagon after another is coming down Main Street past a large audience, many of which are comfortably seated in bleachers along the route.  Note the elevated trolley line at the right of the parade.

The complete HO layout including the circus parade features 275 structures, almost 1,400 people, 471 autos, 297 trucks, 3 scooters, 11 motorcycles, 6 bicycles and 2 lawnmowers. It also includes a ‘still’, 5 outhouses and “Jimmy Hoffa’s final resting place”.  I missed seeing that last one!

This was a fun place to visit, at least for Bruce and myself.  It’s a model railroad ‘high’ as well as a diorama lover’s dream.  FYI, we did kick into the donation bucket. 

The Crossville Model Railroad Club and Upper Cumberland Railroad Society Museum is located at 229 Interstate Drive just off Interstate I-40 at Genesis Road.  Phone: 931-210-5050.  Their website with some great photos can be found at http://crossvilletrains.org/Welcome/. 

So after all of our ‘railroading’ efforts, Bruce and I decided it was time for lunch.  I’d heard about the Vegas Steakhouse and Bar in Crossville, so I decided to give it a try… Bruce patiently waited for me to take a picture.

The dining areas are a bit dated and a little ‘cave like’, but everything was clean and well maintained.  It was well after lunch so the restaurant wasn’t busy.

As has happened frequently in recent times, I forgot to take photos of the food until it was too late in my case, and just barely in time to grab a photo of half of Bruce’s Turkey sandwich.  Bruce said that his sandwich was OK but nothing special.

As for my French Dip/Roast Beef sandwich, it was a bit like eating over-done paper thin “Steak-umm”…thin-sliced frozen pieces of semi-dry tasteless ‘steak’.  Without the au jus accompanying the sandwich, I would have had to bury it in ketchup to make it palatable.  As it was, I dunked my sandwich in the au jus and then the ketchup.

To make matters worse, our waitress had an ‘attitude’ going on!  Surly would be the best description.  It’s not like either of us gave her a rough time or tried to joke around with her.  She should have stayed home for the day…or tried another line of work…like prison guard.

For what it’s worth, the Vegas Steakhouse and Bar is located at 3152 North Main Street in Crossville Tennessee.  Phone: 931-456-2850.  They are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Vegas-Steakhouse-Lounge-334060323446838/.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see what a couple of obsessive old guys have been up to!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave