Family Visit from Michigan

In 2022 Laurie and I went on a road trip that was primarily centered on Michigan, my home state.  I was born in Carson City Michigan and lived in and near Jackson until I relocated for my career when I was about 25 years old.  I am now the oldest living member of both my paternal and maternal family lines.  

During the aforementioned road trip in 2022, we stopped and visited my cousin Nathan and his better half, Janice.  Well, ever since then I've hassled them just a bit.  It was past time for them to come down to East Tennessee and pay us a visit!  Despite a close family life and having two of their children, as well as young grandchildren living near them, us oldsters finally prevailed!  

But, before I start posting photos regarding Nathan and Janice's visit, here's a little family historical background.

This is Nathan's father and my uncle Nathan. (There have been 4 Nathans in the family to date) However, that beautiful little boy being held by Nathan's father is yours truly.  That dates the photo somewhere between late 1944 and mid-1945.  The photo was taken in front of my grandfather and grandmother's home on Prospect Street in Jackson Michigan.

This photo is from the wedding of my cousin Nathan's father Nathan and his bride Ruth.  The person at the left is unknown but the second from the left is a photo of a very young (pre-US Navy) Uncle John.  Then Uncle Nathan, Aunt Ruth, Ruth's sister Billie and my mother Elizabeth's second husband, Hugh Thomson. (My father Ronald was KIA in Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945)

Another wedding photo.  Aunt Ruth and Uncle Nathan were cutting the cake...with my mother, Elizabeth watching the action. (Wearing the hat at the left)

One more family photo tied to Uncle Nathan and Aunt Ruth's wedding.  From the left, Ruth's parents, William and Ruth (yes...a second Ruth too), then Uncle Nathan and his bride, then Nathan's parents (my grandparents), Estelle and Nathan (Sr.) 

I've accumulated a lot of family history with a number of old photos.  Thanks to my cousin Nathan for sending his parents wedding photos.

Speaking of my cousin Nathan...that's him above...headed straight for my mother's camera.  Whatever happened to that cute little tyke?  That's his mother Ruth at the left and his sister Susan is playing at the right of the photo.  This was at their home in the Detroit area.

This photo was taken during our visit to Nathan and Janice's home back in 2022.  As you can see, he's all grown up and chilling with a cup of coffee.

This photo is of Nathan and Janice (center) with most of their clan. (so far).  From the left is their daughter Elizabeth with her husband Justin and their children Ian and Craig.  At the right are daughter Nadine with her husband James and their children Charlie and Sherman.  Nadine and James are expecting a third child...a girl to be named Elliot.  

The photo was taken at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport at Oscoda Michigan.  This airport used to be owned and operated by the United States Air Force and today it's owned by the local community and it hosts a small museum and aircraft maintenance operations.  

The one person missing from the preceding family portrait was Janice and Nathan's son 'wee' Nathan as he is referred to.  He's the fourth of the 'Nathans'... This photo was taken during our Michigan road trip in 2022.

...and now, ready or not, I'll take you through a part of Nathan and Janice's visit to our home here in East Tennessee.

We did some cooking and a lot of eating during their visit.  Nathan took the photo and he likes his photos to be unposed or impromptu.  He captured Laurie serving apple crumble for dessert and Janice struggling to open a container of gelato.  At least they were both smiling!  

Nathan also snapped this photo... I'm not known for my big smiles but this is the extreme opposite look.  I was studying one of the items in the gift basked that Janice put together for us...and Laurie was in motion doing... It was a great gift basket with a Scottish theme...appropriate because Janice is from Scotland and Laurie and her sisters are headed to Scotland later this year to visit relatives.  Janice is headed for Scotland again even before Laurie's trip.

Note: If you have a chance to visit Scotland, don't pass it up!  It is one of our all time favorite places and we've been there twice.  

So, when we have visitors, we do have a number of automatic and preferred destinations listed that are entertaining and speak to the area.  Tellico Plains Tennessee with the Tellico Grains Bakery and Bald River Falls were destinations when Janice and Nathan visited us a few years earlier.  But we hadn't taken them to the Everhart Lumber Company or the local museum in Tellico Plains.

Our first stop was at Everhart Lumber...  The particular piece in the photo above is part of the company's collection of wooden folk art creations that they've accumulated from families living or who lived in this mountainous area.

Although Everhart Lumber specializes in 'natural wood furniture', slabs of wood for woodworkers and specialty building products such as wood mantles, they have expanded a bit, adding a very nice collection of gift items for the discerning shopper.  Janice did make a purchase...

Laurie took this photo of Nathan as he perused some pottery, examined that nifty stag wine holder and admiring the shelving itself.  

Nathan turned the table on Laurie and took this photo of her as she scanned the shopping opportunities.  I'm not a shopper but I do like this shop.  It's even improved recently with the expansion of the non-wood but classy gift items.  

Everhart's is a wood specialty and furniture store.  They offer ready-made and custom-made furniture made from a variety of unique woods.  Reclaimed wood is made into furniture, charcuterie trays, frames and more.  Fireplace mantles are available for builders, homeowners and  interior designers and beautiful slabs of wood are on display for purchase by craftsmen who want to do their own thing. 

The Everhart Lumber Company is located at 911 Veterans Memorial Drive in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Phone: 423-253-2323.  Website: http://www.everhart-lumber.com/.  There are lots of photos of the lumber related products/furniture that is possible on the website. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them... More about this visit, including food of course, will follow.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

It's All About Woodstock Virginia...

...continuing with our fall 2024 road trip through several states.  Our last road trip sights and experiences on this adventure were in the state of Virginia.  On this particular day we'd driven from Mansfield Pennsylvania down past Harrisburg and Greencastle, then a short bit through Maryland past Hagerstown and into Virginia.  Our overnight stay for this leg of the trip was in Woodstock.

 

Unfortunately, for me at least, Woodstock offers many shopping opportunities for both locals and travelers.  I don't remember what Laurie purchased at this shop but I do know that she wasn't finished shopping!  You can check out The Buttercup Gift Shop, located at 120 South Main Street, by visiting their website at https://thebuttercupva.myshopify.com/.

Just across from the Buttercup, I spotted this handsome log building at 129 South Main Street.  Fortunately neither Laurie or I assumed that it was a retail destination.  Built in 1787 this restored log structure originally was a home.  Later it was covered with weatherboard.  Not too long ago, the new owner took off the weatherboard and restored the building.  It's now the home of Nate and Main, which offers a curated selection of works by local artists as well as antique and vintage home a garden decor.  Learn more on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nateandmain/.

The Community Theater in Woodstock Virginia was built in 1940 by the Dalke family.  In addition to this theater, the family owned one other theater in Woodstock as well as others in Shenandoah County.  While most of these theaters have gone away, apparently the Community Theater has never closed.  New owners took over in 2008.  The interior is fairly intact except that there are now 3 screens/theaters offered that seat a total of 650 patrons.  Website: http://communitywoodstock.com/.

I couldn't find very much information about this handsome old home at 144 North Main Street.  Apparently it was built in the latter half of the 1800s...and it certainly has been well preserved!  As far as I could determine, it currently serves as a residence, an insurance company office and home  for a physical therapist.   

This was the shop that ended Laurie's shopping for the day!  As you can see, Three French Hens at 143 North Main Street was loaded with possibilities outside...so you can imagine just how packed with goodies this store was inside!  My downfall was another comforter for our king size bed.  It was almost pristine and while it was much less expensive than a brand new one would have cost, it wasn't exactly free either... Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Three-French-Hens-Woodstock-VA-100045482802459/.

As for the structure, it was built as a home in the late 1800s.  Before becoming Three French Hens, it has served as apartments and offices.

This handsome building at 132 North Main Street was built as a home ca 1830.  It displays both Greek revival and Italianate design elements.  At some point it served as the Intellectual Arts Building but now it's the home of a Certified Public Accounting/Business Consulting firm.

Constructed in 1877, this building also started out as a home.  With the installation of those storefront windows, the lower level has been transformed into retail space.  At one point, one entrance led to an art gallery and the other door provided entry to Shenandoah Sports.  Today, the building is the home of Traveler's Treasures...a shop that we skipped given our 'shopping expenditures' for the day.  Website: https://www.facebook.com/joystravelerstreasures/. 

FYI, Woodstock Virginia is the oldest town in Shenandoah County Virginia as well as the county seat.  It was founded in 1761.  Unlike many small towns across the USA, Woodstock has seen a steady growth in population, from 1,815 in 1950 to over 5,300 today.  

As the day faded toward night, we sought out a dining destination.  The goal was an inexpensive diner style local restaurant.  A quick search led to the Route 11 Diner at 1296 South Main Street.  Basic sign, simple exterior and a spotless interior that was almost devoid of decor...

Laurie kept her evening meal simple and basic.  As we'd had lunch, she wasn't very hungry and this  bowl of broccoli cheese soup and that nice hunk of cornbread was more than enough for her evening repast.

You know that it's a diner when they offer sloppy joes, a country ham dinner and beef liver with caramelized onions...  

Was I hungrier than Laurie?  Probably not but still I ordered a small steak with this pile of French fries.  Hey, at least the apple sauce was healthy!  Actually the steak was pretty tasty... Oh yes, I did talk Laurie into sharing a single serving of raspberry cobbler.  No photo though as we'd/I'd pretty much destroyed our dessert before I thought about taking a photo.

Our meals were just fine and the service was friendly down home style.  This restaurant is closed on Monday.  Phone: 540-459-8181.  Website: https://route11.top/.

This photo definitely out of order.  It was taken earlier in the day.  Laurie loves horses and as we drove to our Hampton Inn for the night, we spotted this race track and a number of standardbred horses pulling their drivers in their sulkies around a track.  Practice and exercise for the horses and drivers I'm sure.  Sometimes referred to as 'trotters', harness racing is about the horse that can trot the fastest without breaking pace.  Harness racing used to be more popular in the US but despite some decline, there are still 35 harness racing tracks in the USA and Canada.  Learn more about harness racing at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harness_racing.

The Shenandoah Downs Racetrack is located at 300 Fairgrounds Road in Woodstock.  This track is one of 4 harness racing tracks in Virginia.  The next series of races at this track will take place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from April 26th through June 8th.  Wagering is available.  Website: https://shenandoahdowns.com/.

Fans along the rail with their race sheets

The start of the race.  Once the horses are even, the starter vehicle pulls aside.

My home town, Jackson Michigan, was a home for harness racing from 1948 until 2008 when the track at the Jackson County Fairgrounds was scheduled for demolition.  I have memories of going to the races with my mother and my stepfather.  My mother...not a 'horse person', wagered on a couple of races and won.  My stepfather...definitely a horse person even owning 3 horses including an Arabian stallion when I was in the 4th grade, wagered and, much to his frustration, was not a winner.  My mother was very amused at the outcome...

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Focusing on Railroading...Depots and a Little History

I realized that my blog posts have been a bit "the same old thing" in recent weeks.  Shopping and food...shopping and food.  Sorry if those are the center of focus for you because I decided to go back and repost and recap those Railway Depots that really caught my eye.  The depots shown below are in reverse order...the most recent favorites and then moving back until June of 2021.  Since I've posted photos of 258 passenger and freight depots over the 15 years I've had a blog site, I do have a lot of material to revisit off and on over the next several months...

The plan is to mix in a bit of variety over the next couple of weeks... Railway fans enjoy!

I'll start with this handsome little depot in Federalsburg Maryland.  Because I was able to find an old postcard dated in 1915 on-line, I was able to determine that this depot was over 100 years old.  This is the old Maryland and Delaware depot.  Nicely preserved it now functions as the offices for an operating short-line railroad, the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Company.  The railroad supports a number of local industries via its 92 miles of trackage. 

        

                      

The next stop as I move backwards through time was this handsome and well-maintained old Depot in Princeton Indiana.  Sorry about the foreground but the rail line through town is still active...so a railbed is appropriate if not beautiful.  This truly old depot was built in 1875...almost 150 years ago...for the Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago Railway.  Passenger service to Princeton ended in the late 1960.  It now serves as the Gibson County Visitors Center and it features a small railway museum.

Continuing with our trip via the 'way back machine',  (Remember that TV cartoon show?), my next stop is at the impressive solid brick Santa Fe Passenger Depot in Marceline Missouri.  It was completed in the spring of 1913 and with its size and amenities...including 107 windows and 200 - 100 watt lights, it was first class all the way.  This depot closed in the 1980s, with the last Amtrak passenger train stopping here at the then unmanned depot, in 1997.  It now serves as the Walt Disney Hometown Museum...

Our next stop is in Nashville Illinois.  The old Louisville and Nashville Railway Depot was built in 1885 as the railroad expanded throughout southern Illinois.  The design is functional and clean and the depot has been well cared for.  At its peak, 7 passenger trains stopped at this little depot every day.  The depot was still in service into the 1950s.  All passenger service on the Louisville and Nashville Railway itself was discontinued in 1971.

                       

This depot is a real architectural beauty... Built in the early 1890s, this depot served Charlevoix Michigan and the surrounding area.  It had become a popular summer resort and in the early 1890s the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad expanded from this point north to Petoskey Michigan.  After a merger, the Pere Marquette Railroad took over and they heavily promoted the eastern shore of Lake Michigan as key summer destinations.  At one time, Charlevoix was served by 2 depots as well as a two-car interurban train that ran back and forth to Petosky.

Moving just a bit north, this is the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Station in Petosky Michigan.  Built in 1892, this Victorian Shingle-style depot is now home to the Little Traverse Historical Museum.  The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad started service to Petosky in 1874.  The depot was actually built by the Chicago and West Michigan Railway.  Back in the day, the Chesapeake and Ohio, (having absorbed the other railroads), operated "Resort Special" night trains from Chicago to Petosky.  The depot closed during the 1950s but rail passenger service continued until about 1963.

Crossing over to the other side of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, I just had to stop and take photos of this handsome old stone depot in Standish.  The town had passenger rail service from the early 1970s and by 1885, there were 8 passenger trains serving the town on a daily basis.  In 1887, the Michigan Central Railroad told the town's citizens that the railroad would provide stone masons to build a depot if local farmers would haul their large field stones to the site for the new depot.  This depot was completed in 1888.  The last steam locomotive to bring passengers to Standish stopped here in the fall of 1955.

We stopped by this architectural gem in Durand Michigan while touring the countryside with my cousin Nathan and his better half, Janice.  Built in 1903, this was a busy depot and a local office for the Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor Railroad.  Note that there are tracks on either side of the depot.  It is situated at the junction of the Canadian National Railway's mainline interchange of both the Flint and Holly divisions.  In the early days, trains were sometimes boarding and discharging passengers on both side of the depot.  Today this depot is owned by the City of Durand and it's leased by a non-profit that is dedicated to it's preservation.

I might be a little biased, but this depot in Jackson Michigan is one of the most striking and well preserved in the USA.  Jackson also happens to be the town where I was raised, had my first job, etc.  The depot has been in operation since September 1, 1873, making it the oldest continuously operating depot in the USA.  The station currently serves the Amtrak "Wolverine" line which runs from Detroit to Chicago.  The interior of the station is remarkable preserved and the look and woodwork harkens back to the early 1900s.

This classic small town depot is located in the town of Tecumseh Michigan.  It has been relocated, having originally been located at "Tecumseh Junction" just south of downtown Tecumseh.  The depot was built in 1895.  The previous location was at the crossing of the north-south Lake Shore and Michigan Railway and the east-west Detroit, Toledo and Milwaukee Railroad.  By 1930 the depot was closed to both passenger and freight traffic.  We're lucky it hadn't been razed in the years since.

This attractive all-brick depot is located in Berea Kentucky.  This depot was built in 1917 for the Louisville and Nashville Railway.  The initial construction cost was $30,000.  The depot featured separate waiting and restrooms for women, for men and for "people of color".  Rail passenger service at  Berea ceased in late 1959.  The building now serves as the Berea Visitor's Center and it houses a number of museum exhibits. 

                           

This large building complex with the adjoining caboose is now home to Pierce Nebraska's Historical Museum Complex.  The depot was built in 1880 for the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad.  That railroad was later incorporated into the Chicago and North Western Railroad.  In the early 1900s, this depot services at least one freight and two passenger trains daily but by 1951 passenger service was discontinued.  The freight depot facilities and the railway agent were both gone by 1969.  The last train rolled through Pierce in June of 1978.

Here is yet another railway depot architectural masterpiece... This is the smaller of the two former depots that still exist in Lincoln Nebraska.  This Renaissance style Rock Island Railroad depot was built in 1893.  It served passenger needs for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1968.  Most of the railroad's trackage has been converted to 'rail trails' and this old depot now serves as a branch bank.  Note the drive-through at the left of the photo.

Moving south, this is Hattiesburg Mississippi's old New Orleans and Northwestern Railroad Depot.  This Italian Renaissance style depot with its clay-tile roof was built in 1910.  This large depot included a 4,000 sq. ft. waiting room and its passenger platform was covered by at 924 foot long canopy...longer than 3 back-to-back football fields.  The depot has been in continuous use since it opened and it currently serves Amtrak's "City of New Orleans" between New Orleans and Chicago.  In addition, the depot also serves as an intermodal transportation hub and as an event center.

Just one more old depot in this first recap of these historic structures.  This is the attractive and well preserved railroad station in Collins Mississippi was built by the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad and, based on a postcard photo I found on-line, I know that the depot is at least 115 years old.  Originally the town was named "Williamsburg Depot", after the railroad bypassed a nearby town named Williamsburg.  Most of the town relocated to "Williamsburg Depot" to be near the rail line.  The town then changed its name to Collins to avoid confusion with 'the other' Williamsburg.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for an historic and architectural recap!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

A Blast from the Past (Final): Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village

…and finally, my last post about our tour/exploration of Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village in Minden Nebraska.  I’ll end this series of posts with the very late lunch/early dinner we had on the way back to Omaha.

There were a few items and collections that I’d missed or skipped over before…and I’ll mention other exhibits and collections that we just didn’t take photos of.

This is a 1934 Harley-Davidson Model VLD.  With the onset of the Great Depression, sales of motorcycles were hard to come by.  In an effort to cut costs and increase sales, Harley eliminated chrome trim, substituting black paint.  This model had its shift lever mounted on the gas tank.  A total of 4,527 Model VLD’s were built, selling for $310 each.  A 1934 H/D VLD sold this year through Hemming’s Auctions for $21,000.

We didn’t tour the second floor of the building where motorcycles, bicycles and more are on display but I’ve seen photos of both…and the floor is jam-packed with goodies.

This beautiful red 1905 Buick Model C is the oldest Buick in existence!  It is equipped with a 2-cylinder motor that produces 22 HP.  Its frame is made of wood and it was built in Jackson Michigan (my hometown).  The price tag for the Model C back in the day was $1,200. (About $42,000 in today’s dollars)

This is an illustration showing the huge Buick manufacturing plant in Jackson Michigan that I borrowed from the Internet.  Buick built automobiles in Jackson from 1905 until 1912 when it focused all its operations in Flint Michigan.  Jackson was the home of 25 different car manufacturers from 1901 until 1954.  Buick is the only brand name to have survived over the years.  As a youngster, I knew that some auto manufacturing was happening in Jackson, but most of it was related to parts and accessories.

…but, once again, I digress...

Back to the exhibits at Pioneer Village.  This is a 1914 2-passenger Saxon.  It cost $395, the equivalent to $11,696 in 2022, and it was billed as “A Good Low Priced Car”.  This particular version includes a couple of options…electric lights and an electric starter.  A total of 7,000 of these cars were built in the first year of production. 

In 1914, a Saxon roadster was driven 135 miles a day for 30 days straight.  Total miles covered was 4,050 and it averaged 30 miles per gallon.  It was among the first cars that ‘christened’ the then new transcontinental Lincoln Highway…primarily US Hwy 30 today.

The Saxon Motor Car Company was located in Detroit Michigan and it was in operation from 1914 to 1922 when it over expanded and got into serious financial difficulties.  In 1917, Saxon built 28,000 cars, making it the seventh largest car maker in the USA.

This is a 1909 E-M-F 30.  Note the lap robe on the seat for warmth...  This 2-seat coupe was built in Walkerville Ontario although the company had plants in the USA as well.  The E-M-F Company produced cars from 1909 to 1912.  The name E-M-F came from the initials of the 3 founders of the company.  The E was for Barney Everitt, an auto-body maker.  The M was for William Metzger, who had been with Cadillac.  Finally, the F was for Walter Flanders, who had worked for Henry Ford as his production manager.  The company was folded into the Studebaker Company which shortly afterwards, stopped using the EMF brand name.

Exhibits at Pioneer Village pertaining to Native American culture are limited as the focus of the museum is the growth and progress of the country from 1830 into the early 1960s.  Much of the 'progress' and innovations noted came at the expense of Native Americans.  Nevertheless, I did note this showcase of Native American artifacts in the main building at Pioneer Village.  Included are pottery items, tools, beads, a ceremonial headdress and what appears to be 2 ceremonial tomahawks.  That item at the front of the case is a hide scraper.

The Algonquian people created the tomahawk.  The word Tomahawk is derived from Powhatan ‘tamahaac’.  Originally, Native Americans would use sharpened stones secured to wooden handles using strips of rawhide.  The tomahawk quickly spread from the Algonquian culture to the tribes of the South and Great Plains.

As I’ve emphasized several times, there is little that Harold Warp and his Pioneer Village didn’t collect that is representative of European American life, growth and expansion beginning in 1830. 

The “Cigar Store Indian” in the first photo once stood in front of a Chicago Cigar factory.  It was wheeled out to the sidewalk every day from 1875 until 1902.  It was found in a Chicago basement 50 years later.  These ubiquitous carved wooded sculptures actually became popular with the demise of ship’s figureheads.  American tobacconists started buying the figureheads…especially American Indians…to advertise their shops.  At one time, there were over 75,000 “Cigar Store Indian” sculptures across the USA.  They lost their popularity in the early 1900s.

The cast metal Native American (unfortunately covered by signs) was cast in the true likeness of an Indian chief in Wisconsin.  A lumber executive made friends with the chief and had the cast made ca. 1850 to keep peace with the tribe.  The goal of course was to cut as much timber from the tribe’s hunting grounds as possible.  The figure is wearing a capote.  A capote is a wool blanket fashioned into a sort of coat to provide a means of dealing with harsh winters and they served as winter outerwear for First Nations.

This is the last automobile, I promise!  It’s a 1915 Moon touring car with a “double cowl Delaumay-Belleville” body design.  This style, it was claimed, “is usually associated with higher priced European models”.  It even had Spanish leather upholstery!  Three models were available ranging in price from $1,395 to $1,750 for the 6-66 combination touring and club roaster.

The Moon Motor Car Company, founded in St. Louis Missouri in 1905, had a venerable reputation among the discriminating auto buying public.  One early model…a true luxury car…sold for $3,000 or about $94,500 in todays dollars.  The company came to be known for fully assembled, easily affordable cars using high-quality parts.  They were expensive to build with the intensive hands-on attention to detail.  The company built both cars and trucks, almost 60,000 vehicles in total.  The company went out of business in 1930.  It is said that Moon autos were exported to 47 different countries.

This Peddler’s Wagon was recovered from a shed in Wisconsin where it had been stored for about 70 years.  Two mature trees had to be cut down to remove it after all those years.  Peddler’s wagons were very common between 1840 and about 1880 as they sold, bought and traded products with settlers across the mid-west and plains states. 

S.W. Kerr’s daughter learned that Harold Warp had recovered the wagon and that it would be on display at Pioneer Village.  She was very happy to learn that her dad’s wagon had found a home and would be there for all to see.  Her family was from Hurricane Wisconsin…named after a local mine.  Back around 1900 the town had a cheese factory, sawmill, blacksmith, grist mill, post office and the S.W. Kerr General Store.

Mr. Kerr would use a 3 horse hitch on the wagon and he’d roam the countryside selling and trading.  He’d sell or trade groceries, kerosene, dry goods, clothing/shoes, hardware and more.  He’d obtain eggs, animal hides, wild rabbits, crates of chickens and other farm products in exchange for the offerings on the wagon.

Note: Laurie ran across this video on Facebook of a horse powered threshing machine at a 'threshers' gathering from earlier this year.  Very interesting to see just how it was done before engines were used... Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/reel/324172843619987.  You'll need to copy and paste this in your search bar.

OK…The last building we explored was the Hobby House.  It is the only building where Mr. Warp didn’t try to display collectibles in chronological order.  As I’ve stated many times, Harold Warp collected just about everything.

How about the ‘button collection’!  There are wooden alphabet letters hanging on the wall with each letter covered with 200 to 300 buttons.  There also is a miniature rocking chair, wheelbarrow, wind mill, water well, a star and a covered wagon…all made with wood and covered with bunches of buttons.  My favorite was the ‘button dress’.

So what other Pioneer Village items didn’t I feature?  How about outboard motors, dolls, tools, patches, snowmobiles, several more aircraft, parking meters, gas pumps, seeding and planting farm equipment and one of my favorites, a very large collection of horseshoes.

Any other weird and wonderful exhibits?  Well, yes there are!  The Hobby House has this huge collection of pens as well as salt shakers, ashtrays, pencils, liquor decanters, mechanical banks, nightcaps and spittoons. 

Other items that we didn’t feature in our tour include Currier and Ives prints, the William Henry Jackson paintings, the carousel animals, radio and TV vacuum tubes, fishing trophy mounts and fishing equipment, porcelain figures, famous American figurines…and more!

The Television Show, “American Pickers” visited Pioneer Village and bought a few surplus items earlier this year…and it was featured on one of their shows.  The Pioneer Village is now operated as a 501(c)(3) Foundation and is able to receive tax-deductible donations.  The goal is to restore and improve Pioneer Village.  State grants have helped and surplus/duplicate items have been auctioned off to raise money so the Village can move forward.  Other auctions are planned and hopefully, they will provide needed funds.

To view a short but interesting video that provides an overview of the Village’s collections, just go to https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Pioneer+Village+-+art+collection&mid=E0D55AEDE0D7C8CDA408E0D55AEDE0D7C8CDA408&FORM=VIRE.  It provides a nice overview of the Village’s plethora of objects on display…

My family and I highly recommend a visit to Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village.  If you are a collector, a car buff, a farmer, into history or just like to tour museums, you will enjoy your visit.  Admission is amazingly low at $15.00 per person…especially given their huge and impressive historical collection of Americana.  Website: Home - Pioneer Village - Minden, NE.

…moving on down the road toward Omaha, we decided to stop for a late lunch in Hastings Nebraska.

This is Kitty’s Roadhouse Bar and Grill on US Hwy 6 in Hastings.  A grill or restaurant has been located on this spot since 1958.  In 1958 it was named “Kitty’s” and when the new owners took over in 1972, they decided to stay with the familiar name…and they just added “Roadhouse” to it.

The bar and dining area is over the top colorful and eye-catching.  The racing theme dominates.  I thought that the gas pump draft beer feature was something different, or at least I’d never seen it anywhere else. 

Kitty’s Roadhouse offers sandwiches, broasted chicken, pizzas, salads and steaks.  A couple of appetizers caught my attention.  They were “Shrimp Jammers”, 7 jumbo shrimp stuffed with Monterrey Jack cheese and served with Sweet Thai Chili. ($12.99), and; the “Junk Yard Combo Platter” (Full order $17.99/Half order $12.99).  The combo platter included deep fried mushrooms, cauliflower, corn fritters, onion rings, mini tacos and French fries.

However, since it was too early for a dinner with appetizers, salads, steaks and/or chicken, we all decided to have cheeseburgers with fries.  At Kitty’s, you design your own burger combo.  In keeping with the racing/auto theme, burgers are listed as an F-150, F-250 and F-350…with 1 through 3 beef patties. 

In this case, it was double 1/3 lb. burger patties (F-250) on a grilled bun with pickles and onion. ($9.99) Add tomato and lettuce ($.49), cheese ($.69) and French fries ($3.99) and this burger platter cost $15.16.  The burgers and fries were both above average and we were ready to hit the road back to Omaha with full stomachs… To see more about Kitty’s Roadhouse in Hastings Nebraska, just go to Kitty's Roadhouse|Hastings,NE|Wood-Fired Pizza| Broaster Chicken (kittysroadhouse.net).

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  Happy Halloween! 

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave