Week of May 31st - Nebraska

While exploring how to celebrate the “Cornhusker State”, beyond shucking a bushel of ears, I thought it would be a perfect state to be home to some zany roadside attractions. And I was right, Nebraska is full of them. If you want to find the “Happiest Place in the US” you could go to Axtell, NE whose water tower is the largest “smiley face” that you ever want to see. If this makes you a little sleepy, go to Omaha, where you will find the Sapp Brothers’ water tower - the world’s largest coffee pot.

The roadside attraction I like the best is in Seward, NE. Harold Davisson wanted to give his grandchildren a first-hand look at what it was like in 1975 so he built the largest time capsule in the world. To be opened in 2025, Harold filled it with, amongst other items, the all time classics, a leisure suit and a Chevy Vega. Now any of you youngsters reading this blog can “Google” the Chevy Vega, but I hope and pray that, except for Harold’s, all evidence of the leisure suit has been destroyed to protect the innocent.

Inspired by Davisson's vision we set out to put together a time capsule to be opened in 2025 as well. Since the city of Ladue is not big on having pyramids constructed on front lawns, we decided a metal box buried in a closet would do. We filled it with, to name a few of our items, current events articles, various pictures, our son’s 4.0 semester grades report, stats about the 2010 Cardinals and an article about Isaac Bruce’s 2-day trade to the Rams so that he could retire wearing the blue and gold.

Doing all this work made us hungry (most things do) so we set out to plan our Nebraskan feast. Since Nebraska is an important producer of beef and there’s an Omaha Steaks store not too far from here, steaks were chosen over the McRib sandwich or the Swanson TV dinner, both invented in Nebraska.

Corn, corn everywhere but not a drop to eat….. Even though most of Nebraska’s corn crop is used for cattle feed and ethanol production we decided to honor the “Cornhuskers”, anyway, by pairing our steaks with some fresh early corn. Add several flavors of Kool-Aid, invented in Hastings, NE in 1927, and add some goldenrod, the state flower of Nebraska, to the Vermont daisies and we had the fixings of what we thought was a good old-fashioned heartland feast. We invited Warren Buffet (b. Omaha, 1930) to our celebration but we never got the RSVP. And we didn’t even spike the Kool-Aid.

Color in the “Cornhusker State” with an ice cold pitcher of Kool-Aid and head (sing it with me) “North to Alaska” the “Last Frontier”. 30 down – 22 to go.