We've picked an rv park called Double Nickel because of it's proximity to the center of totality in Mondays' Solar Eclipse. The park is one of the best we've stayed at this year, and the owners are superb, even providing us with protective glasses and "best location" info for the eclipse. As expected, the park is completely full, and the staff has issued wristbands to help control the expected crowds. A temporary gate will be set up, law enforcement will be patrolling, and crowds are expected. This area of the country, being near totality, is expected to host five times it's normal population! Interstate 80 will be closed for several hours on Monday, as well as secondary roads in the area! Tourists are expected to park pretty much anywhere, causing massive traffic jams. But for today, Saturday, all is quiet.
We visited Wessels Living History Farm this afternoon. This farm is the dream of the Wessel family, that is, they wanted a place where visitors could step back in time and see how a Nebraska farm looked circa 1925. The farmhouse was originally in town, and at one time was to be used as a practice structure by the local fire department. Now it sets a few miles south of York as a memorial to the Wessel family.
Not only was the farmhouse moved, a Lutheran Church was relocated as well, and is still in use today. This church is the very one where Don Wessel was christened.
We learned that Nebraska is in the top ten of red meat production, pinto bean, corn, soybean and all dry bean production as well as winter wheat production, all hay production, and table egg layers (9,455,000). Whew!
The farm also has a large collection of antique farm implements, primarily of the John Deere variety.
Donna and her friend Mary tried their hand at manual corn kernel separators. Hard work!
But, after separating the kernels from the cob, they ran them through the mill.
And created a rather coarse grade of cornmeal.
The farm boasts a Dempster Annu-Oiled windmill, one of few in existence.
A tour of the farmhouse revealed hundreds of artifacts from the 1920's, including this windup Sessions clock.
Of course, any midwest farmhouse would not be complete without a wood stove! This stove is still in use as tour groups and school children tour the farm. Bread and cookies are baked for the kids. The two warming ovens on top were used occasionally to keep an infant warm during those cold winter nights!
A sense of humor was and is a requirement on the prairie!
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