CHOO CHOO WHOO WHOO

CHOO CHOO WHOO WHOO

Thursday, April 02, 2015

  Anybody that knows me knows that my fun is not watching team sports, but I do enjoy relaxing with a pleasant stroll in an old cemetery or meandering thru words and photos of history. Recently I took occasion to do both. Sunday afternoon I invested an hour in Elk City Cemetery, officially established 1865. Elk City was a town to be, but now with few houses left, some, including the old general store, crumbling, and the well attended Ponderosa Saloon.

  Sunday’s steps left me with a few questions. Some answered, some not: Why is it that so often the last business to survive in a dying or dead community is the barroom? Who were the dreamers, the planners, and what were they like? What killed the town?

  I type in “ghost towns of Nebraska” and find listed 81 defunct or drastically diminished towns. Almartha, Amboy, Anoka, Antioch, Bazille Mills (Several producing fine woolen cloth.), Colberger, Copenhagen, Eden Valley, Factoryville, Gosper, Hecla, Herman, Jim Town, Mars, Marsland, Monowi, Norway, Roscoe, Sparks, Strang, Vacoma, Xenia, and more . . .

  All don’t have explanation of demise but the ones that do are various. Reading them reminds that it wasn’t just clapboard and/or bricks, post office or dance hall. They were people, families with hopes and dreams that died when railroad or highway moved, dust bowled, locusts devoured, fire destroyed, tornadoes swept, barons bilked, farms upsized. (The latter still today a community diminisher.)

  I share a tale of barony irony: Cleveland, Nebraska, was a small town located outside of present day Columbus, NE. In about 1865 Cleveland was established by settlers from the old colonial frontier of Ohio. Union Pacific Railroad went through Columbus 1866. Population about 75, now about 22,500.  Not long thereafter UPRR official George Francis Train decided Columbus would make an excellent new location for the USA nation's capital and saw the small neighboring community of Cleveland as a future competitive problem so he bought all buildings in Cleveland and destroyed them. And, as we well know, the District of Columbia never moved from bog to high country.

  I wonder how many did or did not consider Christ’ cautionary words: “[Jesus] told the people, "Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions." Then he used this illustration. He said, "A rich man had land that produced good crops. He thought, 'What should I do? I don't have enough room to store my crops.' He said, 'I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can store all my grain and goods in them. Then I'll say to myself, "You've stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself."' "But God said to him, 'You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you've accumulated?' That's how it is when a person has material riches but is not rich in his relationship with God." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat or wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Consider the crows. They don't plant or harvest. They don't even have a storeroom or a barn. Yet, God feeds them. You are worth much more than birds. "Can any of you add an hour to your life by worrying? If you can't do a small thing like that, why worry about other things? Consider how the flowers grow. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers. That's the way God clothes the grass in the field. Today it's alive, and tomorrow it's thrown into an incinerator. So how much more will he clothe you people who have so little faith? "Don't concern yourself about what you will eat or drink, and quit worrying about these things. Everyone in the world is concerned about these things, but your Father knows you need them. Rather, be concerned about his kingdom. Then these things will be provided for you.” Luke [GW] 12:15-31 

EBB4

PS. For those interested, go to http://www.ghosttowns.com/  and investigate your area.