By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

Residents of and visitors to Northwest Nebraska in June have probably heard – and possibly took part in – the Crazy Horse Volksmarch, an annual event that brings together thousands for an organized hike up Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And now, volkssporting has come to Northwest Nebraska.

German for “sport of the people,” volkssporting includes non-competitive activities like walking and biking with fun, fitness and friendship for all ages and abilities the focus. America’s Walking Club, the national volkssporting organization, oversees 200 clubs and 2,500 events nationwide annually, including the Crazy Horse Volksmarch.

Northwest Nebraska has launched three nationally-sanctioned volksmarch trails classified for either year-round or seasonal use and will host its own Volksmarch event in May.

Gary Danford, a local volksmarcher who discovered the sport overseas years ago, pitched the idea of bringing the sport to the region in 2021, and Discover Northwest Nebraska and the Northwest Nebraska Trails Association have worked closely with the Nebraska Wander Freunde Trailblazers club in Omaha to navigate the process.

Danford was working in Germany when he was introduced to volksmarching, giving him the opportunity to see the countryside and meet people.

“It’s not strenuous exercise. You just enjoy yourself; there’s no rush,” Danford said, explaining what attracts him to volksmarching. Regular volksmarchers can also use special books to collect stamps from the areas they’ve walked and track their progress, so it becomes a personal challenge, too, Danford said.

“Volksmarching opened our eyes to so many new things in our own community. We quickly expanded to seeking out these great walking opportunities across the state of Nebraska, throughout the U.S. and other countries. There are so many things to see that can only be experienced on foot,” said Sandy Spaulding, a member of the Trailblazers Club, who has helped coordinate the effort in Northwest Nebraska.

The end result is two year-round trails and one seasonal trail that volksmarchers can complete on their own schedules and an organized event planned this spring. The year-round and seasonal trails in Northwest Nebraska are the only volksmarch trails in the state west of North Platte, and the organized event will be the only one in the state west of Grand Island, according to a search on ava.org, the website for America’s Walking Club.

“Having sanctioned Volksmarch trails and an event supports the NNTA’s mission to promote non-motorized trails in Northwest Nebraska and will help showcase our beautiful trails to many who may not have known of them before,” said NNTA chairman Brittany Helmbrecht. “We have numerous opportunities for outdoor exploration in this area and the opportunity to share them through the Nebraska Wander Freunde Trailblazers Club is a major success for our organization and Northwest Nebraska.”

Whether individuals were introduced to volkssporting overseas or in the U.S., one thing they all agree on is the value of the camaraderie they find on the trails.

James, a member of the Trailblazers Club in Omaha, discovered volksmarching in Germany and as of last September has completed 1,000 volksmarches since 1971.

“We took our two sons, enlisted about 15 of my fellow soldiers that Saturday on a Labor Day weekend,” he said of the annual Barbarosa Marsch. “We volksmarched with a thousand other Germans in the foothills of the Spessart Mountains. We enjoyed it and the comradeship. We went again the next day to another volksmarch and were hooked.”

Dudley and Kim, also members of the Trailblazers, met each other on the volksmarch trail in northern France. The pair spent the walk chatting and getting to know each other and eventually married.

“So, there is truth to my claim that I met my wife wandering aimlessly in a French vineyard,” Dudley said. “It is an anniversary ever time we attend a walk!”

With a global pandemic in recent years, the chance to get outdoors and enjoy the company of others has served as an important touchstone for Jill, also a Trailblazer member.

“During the pandemic I was limited in other ways but walking with my volkssport friends kept me connected with a social network. It was like a lifeline for me,” she said.

All of Northwest Nebraska’s volksmarch trails have an online start box established at https://my.ava.org/find-an-event.php that walkers can use, or maps and stamps for each are available during business hours at the Chadron Chamber of Commerce for a remote physical start.

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Trail

The seasonal trail at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Sioux County south of Harrison takes walkers through the High Plains mixed grass prairie of the Niobrara River valley and out to fossil sites, where they can view ancient fossils in-situ.

Before or after your walk, explore everything Agate Fossil Beds has to offer. Established in 1965, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument exhibits and walking trails that detail the ancient mammals that called the region home, ranging from small rhinos and gazelle camels to burrowing land beavers and the large Moropus, an animal that resembled a cross between a horse and a ground sloth. The park is also home to the famed Cook Collection, which showcases the relationship between rancher James Cook and Native American Chief Red Cloud and other Plains Indians.

Open April 1 to Sept. 30, the trail is rated 1A, a relatively easy walk with an overall elevation gain of less than 200 feet.

Chadron State College Trail

The year-round trail at Chadron State College begins at the city’s Chadron War Memorial Park and winds its way along scenic paved and dirt trails on and south of the Chadron State College campus. The north end of the trail takes hikers past pollinator-attracting wildflower beds, water catchments for windbreaks of native trees, and new student housing landscapes filled with high plains low-water-use plants.

The buffalo grass trail carries pedestrians past an intentionally developed water-conserving landscape of the college’s Rangeland Complex.

As the trail continues west, buttes and other rock formations in Dawes County can be seen. The historic C-Hill, which was built in 1924, towers over the route and a quick jaunt to the top offers views of the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Just past C-Hill and as the trail meanders to the south, hikers can stop by the CSC Labyrinth, a project designed and created by the Art department and community volunteers. The labyrinth was built in an abandoned water cistern that once served as Chadron’s water storage tank and provides respite in nature and an opportunity for reflection and contemplation to those who enter.

The Mari Sandoz Heritage Trail, the concrete trail locally known as the “Snake,” winds through the Thompson Natural History Preserve and is highlighted by crossing the upper dam at Briggs Pond and coursing to a scenic overlook of the city at the top. Benches allow users to rest and take in views. This trail connects back to the grass trail, traversing above the college’s new track and past the starting line of the cross country course, or brings users out to the recently-renovated football stadium and Chicoine Center, home of the college’s athletic department.

The trail is rated 2B, with some moderate climbing and an elevation change of 200-1,000 feet.

Each year, America’s Walking Club designates official special programs, encouraging walkers to find trails that match the criteria. Chadron State College Trail walkers can Walk With America’s Veterans, a special program that encourages volksmarchers to walk for fitness while discovering the ways veterans are honored for their military service. The Chadron trail begins in War Memorial Park at the Statue of Liberty replica placed there in 1950 by the Boy Scouts and rededicated by the World War II committee in 199.

The trail also takes users past the CSC Clock Tower for the Clock Tower program, which challenges walkers to find public clocks while enjoying volksporting.

White River Trail

The White River Trail connects the Crawford City Park with Fort Robinson State Park, running along a former railroad track and crossing the White River. It provides stunning views of the tree-covered buttes and access to a wide range of military, pioneer and Native American history at Fort Robinson State Park. The park is the site of Crazy Horse’s surrender and death, housed Buffalo Soldiers, cavalry, K-9 training units, a German prisoner-of-war camp and more.

Stagecoach tours, jeep and horseback rides, two museums and a variety of other activities offer additional stops before or after your volksmarch.

The trail is designated as a year-round one and is rated as 1B, an essentially level walk.

Plans call for the White River Trail, which is built on a single grade and rated 1B, to eventually be part of the Great American Rail Trail, which will one day run coast-to-coast.

Northwest Nebraska Volksmarch

In conjunction with the launch of the sanctioned trails, Discover Northwest Nebraska, Northwest Nebraska Trails Association, Panhandle Public Health District and Chadron Community Hospital are organizing a volksmarch event, planned for May 21 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Registration information for the event can be found at http://www.netrailblazers.club/walks-and-events/2022-walk-calendar/.

For more information on volksmarching, visit one of the following sites: www.netrailblazers.club, www.ava.org, or www.discovernwnebraska.com/volksmarch/.

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

Hiding behind trees, high on hills or along back roads, monuments often created out of rocks or boulders from nearby fields recognize the state’s rich – and often forgotten – history.

Jeff Barnes, author of “Marking Nebraska: Our (Mostly) Hidden Historical Monuments,” who appeared at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center in December, became so intrigued by the historical monuments he stumbled across he deliberately began researching them.

“These are not the state historical markers – the blue tablets,” Barnes said. His book includes more than 300 monuments, many made out of boulders with a plaque attached. Some are easy to find, others require a hike up a hill or are located on private property where permission must first be obtained in order to see them.

“They tended to place these where the history happened,” he said.

Barnes’ book covers monuments all across the state, including border markers. The first border monument was placed in 1854 at the Nebraska-Kansas border and was essentially forgotten for years, making statewide news when it was rediscovered, Barnes said. Northwest Nebraska has its own border monument denoting where Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming converge. Dubbed the “Common Corner Monument,” it was placed in 1869 and today is located on private property and is difficult to reach; as such, Barnes left it out of his book.

Other monuments recognize important trails across Nebraska – the Lewis and Clark Trail or the Oregon Trail, for example – while still others are dedicated to early pioneer settlement or recognize the contact between the European settlers and the Native Americans.

“(The monuments) range from the familiar to the unfamiliar,” Barnes said.

Monuments such as those Barnes references in his book can be found throughout Northwest Nebraska.

Contact Between Cultures

The Cheyenne Outbreak Monument and the Warbonnet and Yellow Hair Monuments all fall into the “contact between cultures” category.

The Cheyenne Outbreak Monument, located along Highway 20 west of Fort Robinson on land owned by Dull Knife College, was dedicated in 2016 and is the newest monument in the region. It took 15 years for Dull Knife College to complete construction of the monument, which is dedicated to the Northern Cheyenne who fled imprisonment at Fort Robinson.

The Northern Cheyenne surrendered at Fort Robinson in 1877 after their village in the Bighorn Mountains was burned; they were eventually sent south to present-day Oklahoma. Suffering from disease and poor nutrition, the Cheyenne left Oklahoma without permission to return to their tribal lands in the north in 1878, led by Morning Star (aka Dull Knife) and Little Wolf. The tribe split in to two groups as they crossed Nebraska, with Morning Star planning to join Chief Red Cloud at the Red Cloud Agency. Red Cloud, however, had been relocated to Dakota Territory, and Morning Star surrendered to Fort Robinson in October 1878, seeking permission to either join Red Cloud or return to Montana. His negotiations were unsuccessful, and the government began withholding food, fuel and water to force a return south.

On Jan. 9, 1879, a group of the Northern Cheyenne broke out of the barracks, escaping toward the buttes. A running battle with Fort Robinson’s soldiers took place over the next several days, before the remaining tribe members were recaptured Jan. 22 near Antelope Creek northwest of Fort Robinson. All told, 64 Cheyenne and 11 soldiers were killed during the breakout and the ensuing battle.

Though the entrance to the monument is gated, visitors are allowed to pass through the gate to visit the monument. Please remember to close the gate after you’ve passed through both entering and leaving.

The Warbonnet and Yellow Hair Monuments mark an encounter between the United States’ 5^th Cavalry, including scout Buffalo Bill Cody, and a group of Cheyenne near Warbonnet Creek in 1876. Located just north of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and the now-defunct town of Montrose north of Harrison, the monuments require a hike to reach.

Warbonnet, high on a hill, overlooks the area and recognizes the events of the Battle of Warbonnet Creek, in which the 5^th Cavalry turned away a group of Cheyenne – rumored to number up to 800 – who were attempting to join Sitting Bull in the weeks following his victory against General Custer. The hill on which the monument sits would later house a civilian built fort that served to protect Montrose during tensions that arose during the Ghost Dance.

Back down the hill and to the east, closer to the county road, is the Yellow Hair Monument, dedicated to the only casualty of the battle. At this site, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody killed and scalped the Cheyenne Yellow Hair (sometimes incorrectly called Yellow Hand) as he and a group of warriors were attempting to cut off a pair of couriers trying to reach the main 5th Cavalry forces. Cody claimed the scalp as “the first scalp for Custer,” and later featured it in his wild west shows. Though the battle had just one casualty, it was considered a rare victory for the U.S. during the fighting in 1876.

Early Pioneer Settlement

The Dawes County Courthouse square is known as Mary E. Smith-Hayward Square, dedicated to a prominent businesswoman who settled in Chadron in the 1800s.

Hayward was born in Pennsylvania but struck out on her own in 1885. After arriving in Nebraska, she took a claim west of Chadron and also opened a dry goods business in town (her building still stands today and is located on Second Street). She was president of the Nebraska Women’s Suffrage Association in the 1890s, and refused to pay taxes in 1895 to protest women’s inability to vote. She represented Nebraska in the Women Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., in 1913, marching with 8,000 other attendees.

Hayward was also an animal rights activist and a lifelong member of the Humane Society. She came out against the famed Chadron-Chicago Horse Race in 1893 and once had a man arrested for beating his horse.

The Chadron Business and Professional Women’s Club dedicated the square in her honor in 1998, and two memorials – a rock memorial on a concrete slab on the north side and a concrete bench near the courthouse – recognize the Business and Professional Women’s Club and Smith-Hayward.

The square also has a monument dedicated to all early pioneers in Northwest Nebraska. Located on the east side of the square near the courthouse, the rock monument is dedicated to the “valor of the pioneers 1885-1935.” It was constructed of local rocks.

To learn more about Northwest Nebraska’s monuments, state historical markers and museums that provide context of the region’s history, visit http://discovernwnebraska.com/museums-and-markers/.

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

Lara Madison had never visited the state before moving to Northwest Nebraska at her husband’s urging when he retired.

With a doctorate in microbiology and a career in biotech, Madison spent her days commuting to Boston for her job, but her husband, Mark Werner, “spun a tail of life on the land back in his native Nebraska,” she writes on her website. With a daughter in tow and another on the way, they settled in Chadron, and before long Madison had a growing repertoire of hobbies that have since evolved to join the landscape of the city’s downtown business district.

Madison Quilting and Yarns, located on Second Street, offers longarm quilting, homespun yarn, custom knitting and t-shirt quilts, and classes in knitting, spinning, quilting and needle felting. Madison has cross-stitched since she was a young child, often working on projects during that commute by train on the East Coast.

“Quilting and fiber arts are incredibly relaxing,” she said. “I’d end up at home happy. It’s Zen-like.”

She learned to quilt in graduate school, taking a class with her mom after her grandmother passed away.

“My grandmother was a prolific quilter. I was always inspired by it but we didn’t live near her.”

After the relocation to Chadron, where she spent some time teaching at Chadron State College, she taught herself knitting.

“There were many projects that hit the wall,” she said. But once she had it mastered, it led to spinning, which led to weaving. Eventually, she purchased a longarm quilting machine. In addition to her projects, she took in quilting projects for others, starting her fledgling business in the basement of their home in 2015. The location was less than ideal for her customers, who mostly lived in Chadron and Hay Springs, so they began searching for a building to purchase.

Last year, despite the pandemic, Madison launched her shop in what had been a vacant storefront on Second Street.

“My business increased 10-fold,” she said. With two dozen quilts awaiting longarm work, Madison is also hosting Sew Days each Tuesday, Sit and Knits the first Saturday of every month and classes in a variety of fiber arts. The Pine Ridge Quilt Guild is also hosting its monthly sew day at the shop, too, and anyone is welcome to join even if they aren’t part of the guild. Madison Quilting and Yarns is turning in to the quilting makerspace she envisioned, she said, where people can work in her space and use her tools.

“I want people to make stuff,” she said. “It’s really incredible – the fiber arts – community here.”

The interaction with other fiber artists in the community is one of Madison’s favorite aspects of the shop, and for those who visit as well.

Stephanie Cogdill started attending the weekly Sew Day this summer and enjoys the camaraderie she finds with others regulars.

“I used to be desperate to find ways to interact,” Madison said. “It’s really fun to have them in the shop.”

The group exchanges ideas and learns new techniques from each other – Cogdill even taught a class for Madison. Beyond the interaction, it’s a guaranteed time to dedicate to her craft.

“Sometimes life gets in the way,” Cogdill said.

Having that “makerspace” feel also keeps Madison challenged. They force her to keep growing as they seek her help or request certain classes, she said. From one-block wonder quilts to convergence quilts, along with the freehand work on the longarm, she never lacks a challenge when it comes to quilting. In other areas of fiber arts, she tries to find one challenge a year to complete. She recently completed a “Shave ‘em and Save ‘em” challenge that connected fiber artists with shepherds who raise rare breeds of sheep and now carries 12 yarns she spun from that project.

Madison Quilting and Yarns also offers supplies for quilters, sewers, spinners and felters. Featured yarns include cashmere, wool and alpaca.

“The shop is going to change with time. I want the customers to tell me what they want me to carry,” Madison said. In the meantime, she can order specific items based upon customer request.

“I want to be the shop you go to so you don’t have to drive 100 miles.”

As she continues to add to the shop, in terms of supplies, workspaces and classes, one area she wants to expand is offerings for kids. She offered a painting with wool class during Fur Trade Days, and older kids can enjoy sculpting with wool, in which they create 3D animals. Her triangle looms are also fun and simple for kids to learn weaving, and she’s on the lookout for additional used sewing machines with speed control to be able to teach quilting to the younger kids.

Classes in general are important to Madison, as she learned to work with 3D art, double knitting and triangle looms in classes during fiber fairs.

“There’s something about that personal interaction,” Madison said when it comes to learning these techniques. She tries to keep her classes affordable and on the intimate side, even offering to work with a couple of people at a time on a new craft or in an area in which they are struggling. Someday she’d love to see the creation of a fiber guild and may even a fiber arts fair.

“We have so many hidden talents in Northwest Nebraska and we need to give them a venue to shine.”

Madison Quilting and Yarns is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., but Madison said she is often there outside of those hours and if the sign says ‘open’ to come on in. You can also visit her website at https://madisonquiltingandyarns.com/.

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

From a 9-year-old on Cloud Nine after finding two Fairburn Agates to women in their 20s searching for quartz or crystals and fossil hunters from around the globe, a must-see stop in Northwest Nebraska is Prairie Agate Rock Shop.

Owned by Gary and Valerie Homrighausen, the shop, located along Highway 20 in Crawford, is instantly recognizable by the large, mounted metal sculpture of a T-Rex head out front. The business, inspired by their now-grown son Tyrell’s fascination with fossils, showcases finds from Northwest Nebraska and around the world.

“You meet a lot of interesting people from all over,” Gary said.

That 9-year-old, he’d visited the shop to learn what and where to look for native rocks in the area and returned with two Fairburn Agates.

“He was fired up,” Gary said.

“I love show and tell,” Valerie added.

Prairie Agate Rock Shop opened in its current location in 2012 but started just up the road prior to that after Valerie lost her job at a local nursing home.

“My son Tyrell had been collecting fossils for many years, and we’d been doing the (Crawford) Rock Swap,” Valerie said. By age 4, the young boy could identify several fossils and Christmas requests were always fossil-themed. When the opportunity presented itself, Valerie decided to embrace the interest and purchased a relative’s rock collection out of storage.

“I spent a year in Brazil but didn’t care what a rock was,” she said of an exchange student experience. Today, she’s a local expert, pointing visitors and residents alike in the direction of interesting finds or educating them on fossil hunting.

“Did you know, when you strike rose quartz together it will light up inside with pink sparks?” she explained to a California woman who stopped by the shop recently.

From the beginning, her son’s finds have been displayed at Prairie Agate Rock Shop, serving as examples of what can be found in Northwest Nebraska. Amateur fossil hunters and rockhounds are shown the “local table” so they can see what the fossils or rocks looks like in the rough – and what can be made of it.

“Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from my public and reading,” Valerie said.

Until the last few years, Prairie Agate Rock Shop was mostly a hobby, Valerie said, and when they moved into their current building in 2012 she remembers one thought: “I can remember walking into it and thinking we’ll never fill it!”

Fast forward to 2021, and they’ve added on and Prairie Agate Rock Shop is a destination stop for many.

“It was wall-to-wall people at times in 2021,” Gary said.

Travelers to Denver, Yellowstone and the Black Hills often stop, and regular clientele are from Scottsbluff, Alliance, Rapid City and Hot Springs. This summer three visitors from Alaska showed up and international visitors from France, Germany and South Africa also made their way to the shop. Two other guests recently relocated to Omaha from Panama and Ecuador, Gary said.

“We have people who drive up from Denver just to go to the shop,” he added.

“Rock shops are becoming few and far between,” Valerie explained.

Upward Bound students at Chadron State College visit during the program and bring their parents back, and young kids have always loved rocks and fossils. Traditionally, the demographics have skewed older, but the Homrighausens are noticing a shift downward in age. The fossil hunting demographic that seems to be growing the fastest is 13-18-year-old girls.

“They know what they’re talking about,” Gary said.

And as crystals have come into fashion again, many visitors poke through the shop’s collection, holding this one or that one for a while before deciding if it’s the one they want.

Prairie Agate Rock Shop sees everyone from beginners searching for advice and guidance to experts who want to show off their finds. The Homrighausens suggest places in Northwest Nebraska for rockhounding and fossil hunting and schools them on the rules – no vertebrate fossils, teeth or artifacts can be collected from Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands.

“I also give them my card so they can call if they get lost, stuck or have car trouble,” Valerie said.

It’s a long way from helping her son set up a table at the Crawford Rock Swap when he was 7. This year was the 35^th annual swap, and Valerie now helps coordinate the event with Wade Beins. Held over Labor Day Weekend each year at the Crawford City Park, the Rock Swap offers opportunities to buy, sell and trade rocks, gems and fossils and is the location of the annual Fairburn Agate Collectors meeting. Demonstrations and field trips are also on the agenda.

The 2021 Crawford Rock Swap was one of the biggest ever.

“I think it shows how rocks are in,” Valerie said.

And while the Homrighausens share their passion for Northwest Nebraska rockhounding and fossil hunting at Prairie Agate Rock Shop, they carry a much larger variety.

“We’ve got stuff from everywhere,” said Gary.

Buckets of bulk rock are available by the pound from a consignor, and the pair heads to Quartzite, Arizona, each January to meet with dealers from all over the world.

“They set up in the whole town,” explained Valerie, who does books for the twice-weekly auction during the event. “It gives me a lot to look at and lots to buy!”

The product she comes home from Arizona with includes rocks direct from Madagascar or Brazil, for example, or stalagmites and stalactites from China or Morocco.

“I carry more than just rocks,” added Valerie.

There’s metal sculpture art out front, Native American prints and cards inside and horsehair pottery made in Washington.

After more than a decade, Valerie’s favorite fossil hasn’t changed: it’s a titanothere juvenile, a large rhino-like animal, her father and Tyrell, then age 14, found. Her favorite rock is harder to land on; originally it was petrified wood because it was the easiest for her to identify. This month it was a yellow fluorite new to the shop.

“It changes daily. There are so many things,” Valerie said.

“Be careful when you pick up a pretty rock,” Gary said. “It could lead to all of this.”

Prairie Agate Rock Shop is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, seven days a week from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. However, during the off-season, a phone number is posted on the gate, and they are willing to open upon request.

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

Exploring Northwest Nebraska on foot, by bike or car is easy with curated trips designed to showcase the region’s attractions, scenery, wildlife, history and more. Hit the walking paths, the scenic byways and the backroads and enjoy!

Roads Less Traveled/Gravel Grinding Adventures

Discover Northwest Nebraska’s Roads Less Traveled adventures put the spotlight on the journey. These curated road trips take travelers to some of Northwest Nebraska’s destination attractions, across the backcountry roads to enjoy open spaces, wildlife sightings and opportunities to hike, picnic or camp.

From the 16-mile Smiley Canyon scenic drive to the 95-mile Pine Buttes & Grasslands adventure, the road trips offer up options for Sunday drives to day-long trips or multi-day journeys. From Fort Robinson’s rich historical significance to the unique geological formations of Toadstool Park, the trips encompass some of the most scenic areas of Northwest Nebraska. Spend time birdwatching, visit the Museum of the Fur Trade or cast a line in hopes of completing a Trout Slam along the way.

While a few of the trips on our Roads Less Traveled page are designated as Gravel Grinding Adventures for cyclists, any of the trips are ideal ways to explore Northwest Nebraska on two wheels or four!

Explore Roads Less Traveled at http://discovernwnebraska.com/roads-less-traveled/

Sole to Soul Walking Tours

Northwest Nebraska has plenty to see and do, and the Sole to Soul Walking Tours are meant to get you up close and personal with the area’s art, history and nature. Though there are only three walking tours currently, more are in the works!

In the meantime, there’s lots of history to see through Chadron’s Downtown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn about Chadron’s frontier days through its architecture. Stroll through Art Alley and admire the work of some of our local artists and complete the Scavenger Hunt challenge. Chadron State College is home to an extensive collection of artwork, the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center and C.F. Coffee Gallery, and the grounds are part of Nebraska’s State Arboretum.

Explore Sole to Soul at http://discovernwnebraska.com/sole-to-soul/

Bucket Lists

Whether you aspire to take in the history Chadron, Crawford and Harrison have to offer, experience the prehistoric beginnings of Northwest Nebraska or honor the region’s rich Native American history, Discover Northwest Nebraska’s Bucket Lists can help. All you have to do is pick your passion and start exploring.

Interested in historical architecture? There’s a Bucket List for that!

Native American History? Check!

Geological and fossil records? Yep, there’s a Bucket List for those, too!

Train watching and railroad history? We’ve got it!

Explore the Bucket Lists at http://discovernwnebraska.com/bucket_lists/

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

HARRISON – The smell of fresh-pressed jeans, newly unboxed boots, hats and horse tack transports visitors to Whiteaker’s back in time to the days when traditional western stores served the ranching communities.

Owned and operated by Joe Whiteaker today, the Harrison institution keeps local and regional cowboys outfitted 90 years after Joe’s parents opened the store in the middle of the Great Depression.

“He said the banks wouldn’t loan him any money,” Joe said of his parents’ effort.

Finally, with an $800 loan from a friend and a line of credit from a wholesale house in Denver, Colorado, E.E. “Abie” and Mary Whiteaker opened for business in the Ted Phillips Building on South Main Street in November 1931. Press Wilson was the store’s first customer, purchasing an overall jacket for $1.69 before the doors officially opened.

Abie, a native of Missouri, had arrived in the area in the spring of 1925, going to work for R.N. Henry at the Golden Rule Store in Crawford. Mary Reed relocated to Crawford from eastern Nebraska around the same time to teach school. The couple married in 1928, the same year Abie was tasked with opening and managing a Golden Rule Store in Harrison.

But within the first year of business, the stock market crashed and the United States plunged into the Great Depression. The Whiteakers were transferred back to Crawford in 1929, but as banks began folding and the economic hardships took their toll on the community, their wages were cut. The couple decided to take the risk of returning to Harrison and opening their own store.

“How well Mary and I remember our starting business.,” Abie wrote in an advertisement in the Harrison Sun. “We had little cash, but through the goodness of the town’s people we managed to open with very little merchandise, which was put on tables and counters while empty boxes filled the shelving.”

Joe said his parents didn’t want the store to look empty on opening day, and that’s why they came up with the idea of filling the shelves with the empty boxes in which their limited merchandise arrived. Three years later, in 1934, the business moved across the corner to the Davis Building.

That December brought some excitement to town when the Sioux National Bank was robbed. According to Abie’s recollections printed in the Harrison Sun, he and Mary were working in the store on Dec. 4 with Jerry Kennedy and Lola Unitt. They were busy with Christmas shoppers when bank employee Harold Jefferies ran in to announce the robbery and urge Abie to join him in chasing after the man, who had headed east.

Jefferies, Abie, Albert Moody and Lawrence Moody jumped in Abie’s car and overtook the man 16-18 miles east of town and ran him off the road. The robber exited his vehicle and came out shooting, Abie wrote.

“I didn’t have a gun, so believe me, I laid close to the running board on the opposite side of the car, and finally after he had emptied his gun and started running down Smiley Canyon, Albert Moody shot him with a big Army rifle. … This was a horrifying experience, and one I care never to repeat. As my car was shot up considerably, the Nebraska Bankers Association and the local bank here paid the difference on a new car for us, a 1935 Ford.”

Joe said his father, who usually walked to work, was truly shaken by the experience.

“He was scared to death after that.”

Whiteaker’s moved to its current location in the Hoyt Building in 1938, sharing the site with the U.S. Post Office, as it does today.

While getting the business off the ground in the Great Depression was no easy feat, Saturday nights at Whiteaker’s was apparently the place to be.

“There would be some 25 or more cowboys who would come to town with their paychecks, and of course we would stay open to accommodate them, sometimes until 11 or 12 o’clock,” Abie wrote in the Harrison Sun. “Their paychecks might not have been very big, but they sure had a good time spending it!”

By 1938, Abie and Mary also had three sons, Robert, Donald and Joe.

Joe doesn’t remember paying much attention to the store as a child –

“I was out mowing yards and making money,” he said, adding that running the store was never in his plans.

“I never did think I wanted to come here.”

All three boys attended Oklahoma A&M and then served in the armed forces – Bob in the Air Force, Donald in the Army and Joe in the Marines.

After ending his stint in the Marines, Joe returned to Harrison, marrying Tonita Anderson, and went to work for the Sioux National Bank for 20 years. They also ranched but gave that up during the 1980s farm crisis.

With Mary’s passing in 1986 and Abie’s health declining, Joe and Tonita took a more active role in the store during the 1980s, but Abie continued to work until his death in 1989.

“The thought of closing (the store) was hard. The town really needed it,” Joe said. Instead, he and Tonita bought out his two brothers, and the days of filling the shelves with empty boxes are long behind them.

“We probably have too much inventory, but you have to manage your orders to make the freight worth it,” Joe said. Every surface of the store is filled with jeans, shirts, boots, hats, belts, ties, jewelry and more.

Abby Edmund, who has worked at Whiteaker’s for about 10 years, said cowboys from Lusk to Crawford know they can get what they need. Written down in the back are the styles and sizes of boots, jeans and hats that his loyal customers prefer, Edmund said.

“I think it’s nice they don’t have to go elsewhere,” she said. “And they love him.”

As for Joe, he says meeting and visiting with people is his favorite part of the job, and though it wasn’t what he planned for his life, he’ll be behind the counter until his health prevents it, just like his dad.

“It’s been good to the Whiteaker family, the store has, and the community.”

Whiteaker’s will celebrate its 90^th anniversary with a customer appreciation dinner and dance Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. at the Rocky Top Dance Hall in Harrison.

In Abie’s words, written in the Harrison Sun:

“I have often made the remark that had I had enough money to go back to Missouri in 1925, I would have gone, but thank goodness I didn’t have it and am still here. … We are mighty thankful for our many friends and customers who have made it possible for us to live, raise our family, and be a part of this wonderful western country. We all love it, and always will.”

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

The last thing one might expect when entering Game Changer is an extensive comic book collection that features 40,000 titles, including four variants with covers produced exclusively for the mom-and-pop shop with artwork by some of the biggest names in the industry.

But that is exactly what you’ll find at this unique Northwest Nebraska business.

Adam Stone opened Game Changer on Main Street in Chadron in 2014, focusing primarily on video games, gaming consoles, movies and music after learning the business hands-on at a shop in Lincoln.

Stone, who spent much of his childhood in Chadron, eventually returned to the area to attend Chadron State College, where he ran the planetarium. In 2008, he set out for Lincoln and became the first employee at a video game store there. Six years later, the million-dollar business boasted 45 employees, two stores and a warehouse of inventory.

“I learned the ins and outs of everything,” Stone said.

After a divorce, he started looking for a fresh start and wanted to return to the mom-and-pop style of business.

“I really wanted to take a step back, slow down and do it on a smaller scale,” he said. He purchased the building in Chadron’s downtown historic district, secured a loan through Northwest Nebraska Development Corporation and opened his doors Feb. 17, 2014.

“It was a big feat,” he said, adding that he originally lived in the building as well, just to save money. He stocked the store mostly from his own personal collection of games and equipment, starting small with an eye to the future.

“I put everything I owned in the store. I had to learn to let go.”

Game Changer – with its mission to buy, sell and trade video games, movies and music – entered the market at an interesting time. According to Stone, right before he opened, he read that 90% of businesses like his had gone under. While that was daunting, he chose to view it as an opportunity; it left little competition, after all.

An expert on video game consoles, Stone also bought and sold gaming systems from the beginning, going so far as to purchase broken ones he could repair and sell. Knowing he would need to stay nimble to keep his business successful he was always on the lookout for his next idea.

“Anytime I see an opening I go for it,” Stone said.

For a time, he owned and operated retro arcade games in roughly 15 businesses in Chadron, but the comic books have taken on a life of their own.

“The customers brought the comics to the store,” he said.

What started as a small collection of comic in a box has grown to take over much of the store’s footprint. Stone noticed a growing interest in industry and began acquiring additional titles, selling them in his store and on E-bay.

“It was fascinating to me,” said Chadron resident Karen Pope after visiting the store for the first time recently to sell her sons’ old gaming consoles.

One of Stone’s friends in Denver, who also owns a comic book store, purchases titles from Game Changer for re-sale and introduced Stone to comic artist Neal Adams. Stone worked with Adams, who is known for his work on DC Comics and as an artist-advocate, at the Denver Pop Culture Con in 2018 and 2019, and that relationship put him on the path to becoming a comic producer.

With the publication of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 100,” Stone pitched an idea for the cover art to Adams, who worked with Stone to create an exclusive variant of the comic book cover. Stone funded the publication of 800 copies of the comic book with the Game Changer cover paying homage to the first Ninja Turtle game by Nintendo. Adams and Stone each took half of the production run, and Adams signed 300 of Stone’s copies.

Dan Connor, the coloring artist on Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas,” agreed to design the back cover of the book.

To date, he’s now produced Game Changer variants for the covers of four comic books, including “The Bunny Mask,” with artwork by Andrea Mutti, whose work appears in the Marvel comics. Stone has given local artists the opportunity to create the back covers on his subsequent works.

“It was a very big learning process,” Stone said.

He doesn’t know where the market will take him next but said he’ll continue to pay attention to its demands.

“There’s a big resurgence on retro, like vinyl records and comics, but I’ll adapt to what the customers want.”

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

The Spirit of the Plains exhibit at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center was completed and unveiled to the public earlier this month with the addition of a coyote, a rabbit and several yucca plants. The final installations join Kola, a 7’4” buffalo.

All of the pieces in the exhibit are made entirely from cardboard, burlap and paper mache and were donated to the Sandoz Center by local artist Linda Dabbs.

Located on a traditionally empty platform above the lower level that houses the C.F. Coffee Gallery, the new exhibit fills a void in the Sandoz Center. Structurally, the platform that serves as a ceiling to the Coffee Gallery is not designed to hold much weight, presenting a challenge for any exhibit that could be located on it. Dabbs, a local artist and an adjunct professor at Chadron State College, envisioned the buffalo made of nothing more than cardboard to keep it lightweight.

Weighing in at 50-75 pounds, the buffalo, named Kola, which is Lakota for “friend,” was lifted over the railing in the Chicoine Atrium and lowered on to the platform to greet visitors in April. He was joined by yucca plants, but the remainder of the space awaited the final pieces from Dabbs.

Dabbs used cardboard donated by Ace Hardware, three-and-a-half bolts of burlap and a “massive” number of hours to complete the entire exhibit, on which she began working in December 2020. The empty platform presented a challenge due to the weight restrictions, but Dabbs was undaunted.

“I said ‘I will figure out a way,’” she said, adding one of her favorite slogans, “Art solves.”

Dabbs used her background in set design at the Henry Doorly Zoo and in commercial and theater art to create the “Spirit of the Plains” exhibit for the space that had been vacant since 2003. In addition to the donation of cardboard from Ace Hardware, Dabbs said the project would not have been possible without the help of Loriann Linder and Ema Ackerman and the patience of Sandoz Center staff members Holly Counts and Laure Sinn.

After the coyote, rabbit and other brush was installed, the group also added several fossil-threaded rocks to the exhibit to provide a finishing touch. The rocks, given to Counts’ family by Sterling Bets, are the heaviest items in the entire exhibit.

“He would be thrilled to have them in here,” Counts said. “I love (the exhibit). It’s such a great addition. It’s very much what this building is about.”

At left: Kola the buffalo, made of cardboard and burlap, has awaited company at the Sandoz Center since April.

At left: A friendly-looking bunny, made from cardboard, joined Kola the buffalo and a coyote in the Spirit of the Plains exhibit at the Sandoz Center earlier this month.

Above: This coyote, surrounded by brush, is part of the final installation of the Spirit of the Plains exhibit at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center in Chadron.

By Kerri Rempp

Discover Northwest Nebraska

Pick almost any spot in Northwest Nebraska after sunset and you’re sure to be treated to spectacular night sky viewing. But long before the region was settled by Europeans, the night skies played an important role in the Lakota culture.

The newest show at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center showcases the Lakota constellations and highlights how the view in the night skies was reflected on Earth in the Lakota’s movements and actions. “Kapemni: As It Is Above, It Is Below” explains Lakota astronomy and the belief that what is visible in the sky is mirrored on Earth.

“It’s the mirroring of geography and ceremony and tells the stories of creation,” said the Sandoz Center’s Holly Counts.

Counts was inspired to create the show, which runs through Oct. 15, when items from the Chadron State College Planetarium were relocated to the Sandoz Center last year. The planetarium’s home, the college’s math and science building, is currently undergoing renovation and is expected to re-open next year. Until that time, the planetarium sky ball and a few other items are on display at the Sandoz Center.

The week surrounding the Winter Solstice on December 21 has the longest nights of the year. During the week, the kapemni constellation pairs of the Black Hills appear at their zenith. It is a time to remember the traditions and stories of the stars and pass them on to the next generation. Photo by Kerri Rempp/Discover Northwest Nebraska

The Thunderbird constellation, or Wakinyan, pairs to Thunder Butte, 105 miles northeast of the Black Hills. The Lakota ceremonial season begins with the Return of the Thunder to the Beings, announced by the first spring thunderstorm. It is a celebration of life returning to the land. The constellation is visible year-round. Photo by Kerri Rempp/Discover Northwest Nebraska

Among the items that arrived at the center last year were copies of documents detailing research done at the Sinte Gleska University in Rosebud, South Dakota. That research resulted in a book, “Lakota Star Knowledge,” which details the Lakota perspective incorporating a relationship between the star world and the world on Earth. The Lakota use the practice of helical rising, observing the sun at dawn and determining which constellations are visible with the sun as it rises in the east. The result is a calendar that directs Lakota to certain locations within the Black Hills and the performance of specific religious ceremonies.

For example, the Dried Willow constellation – or Aries and Triangulum – appear during the vernal equinox and direct the Lakota to winter camp in Nebraska and South Dakota for the Pipe Ceremony, according to the research. That ceremony commences the cycle of the renewal of life, and prayers are offered to call back the plants, animals and birds while expressing hope for the sacred White Buffalo calf in the spring.

Likewise, when the sun is in Bear’s Lodge – Gemini – the Lakota see that reflected on Earth as Devil’s Tower, where they perform the sun dance.

“The sun dance is the culminating ceremony to complete the necessary work of renewing life on Earth. The Lakota are then synchronized with the Great Spirit and are firmly on the Red Road,” the documents read.

Fourteen Lakota constellations are explained in the Sandoz Center show, each recreated in paintings by Counts, Assistant Professor of Physical Sciences Dr. Tawny Tibbits and CSC graduate student Kinsley Mason. The accompanying information explaining each constellation is sourced from “Lakota Star Knowledge” by Ronald Goodman and the D(L)akota Star Map Constellation Guide by Annette S. Lee, Jim Rock and Charlene O’Rourke.

Chadron State College employee Dallas Magnusson views the Lakota cultural items that are part of the current Kapemni show at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center. Photo by Tena Cook/Chadron State College

In addition to the paintings, the show features several Native American cultural items from the center’s collection, as well as items on loan from center staff and local resident Roxy Puchner. Items include beadwork and ledger art from Native American artist Joe Pulliam.

The Lakota Zodiac signs – or totems – are also on display and explained, and take-home placards are available so visitors can review their own totem based on their birthday. The totems describe the characteristics associated with being born under that sign – all ascribed to an animal: Otter, Bear, Snake, Wolf, etc. The direction, element and stone associated with each totem are also listed.

The new planetarium’s final design, which includes handicapped-accessibility, the latest model of sky ball and a variety of new programs, is also on display. The planetarium is expected to re-open in the renovated MS Center of Innovative Learning in 2022.

The Kapemni show is a great way to keep the connection to the planetarium front and center until it can re-open, Counts said. Across the hall from the show, in the Chicoine Atrium, the original sky ball is available for viewing as well. The Sandoz Center has already hosted a Star Party this summer in conjunction with the show, and a second one is planned for July 28 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Co-sponsored by the college, Agate Fossil Beds and the Chadron Public Library, the show will offer viewing opportunities of the Delta Aquarids and Perseid meteor showers. Shared telescopes will be available, as will a limited number of take-home sky maps. The event, which is weather-dependent, will begin at dark and end at 11 p.m.

Back at the Sandoz Center, kids will also enjoy the Kapemni show, with the opportunity to play in a children’s-sized tipi and complete coloring pages that will be added to the show.

And because everyone is a kid at heart, adults and kids can create their own constellation on one wall of the show with Velcro stars.

The Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center is open Monday through Friday this summer. However, the center will be open from noon – 4 p.m. Saturday, July 10, during Fur Trade Days, when the grand unveiling of the final installation of the Spirit of the Plains exhibit will take place. That exhibit features a cardboard and burlap re-creation of the sacred Lakota White Buffalo, and the rest of the scene will be revealed July 10.

Above: The D(Lakota) Star Map depicts the various constellations used by the tribes. The Kapemni show at the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center features 14 of them.

At left: The Kapemni show includes take-home totem cards, outlining the Lakota zodiac signs.

One of the best ways to explore Northwest Nebraska is on horseback, and with the return of the annual Ride the Ridge event June 19, residents and visitors have the opportunity to see some of the most scenic areas of Fort Robinson State Park while enjoying the camaraderie of fellow horsemen and women.

While a state park permit is required, the trail ride itself is free. The event is back after being cancelled for just the second time in history in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local horseman Ken Garner has been selected as this year’s Trail Boss and will lead the ride, which usually attracts around 100 riders. The Dawes County Veterans Honor Guard members will serve as Honorary Trail Bosses.

Garner, who spent 23 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, served two tours in Vietnam after growing up on a ranch in the Sandhills. Upon retirement from the military as a master gunnery sergeant, he went to work for a government contractor, eventually retiring to Northwest Nebraska. Garner began working with Ride the Ridge almost immediately after settling in the area.

“It’s a chance to get out and ride the hills,” he said. “And it’s good for the area. It gives us a chance to get people here from out-of-state to see what Northwest Nebraska has.”

He and his wife, Deborah, own the LZ and board horses for college students and other local residents. During the academic year, he can have nearly 40 horses on his place.

The Dawes County Veterans Honor Guard members will be recognized as Honorary Trail Bosses in a nod to their military service. The Honor Guard was originally formed in the 1940s by the American Legion Post 12 but has evolved to include veterans honorably discharged from any of the armed forces who belong to the local American Legion, VFW or DAV. The Honor Guard currently has 19 members who provide military funeral rites for veterans, lead local parades, present the colors at various events, participate in Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Independence Day activities and conduct ceremonies for the proper disposal of the American flag.

“Ride the Ridge has always been a great way for horse lovers to enjoy Northwest Nebraska, and we’re thrilled to have it back on the calendar this year,” said Discover Northwest Nebraska Director Kerri Rempp. “We know riders from across the state, as well as from Colorado, Kansas and New York are already planning to attend, and I have little doubt they will fall in love with Northwest Nebraska.”

Registration for Ride the Ridge will be June 19, beginning at 8 a.m., with the morning trail ride scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Signs will be posted at the park to direct riders to the registration point. Riders will break for lunch on their own and can choose to take another trail ride in the afternoon at 1 p.m. or enjoy watching the Cowboy Mounted Shooters at the Fort Robinson arena. Pre-registration for riders overnighting at the park will be offered June 18 from 5-7 p.m. at the Mare Barns. For more information, follow Ride the Ridge on Facebook or contact Don at 308-432-3841 or Tom at 308-430-5333.

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