August 4, 2007 – Grand Island to Eustis to Gothenburg, Nebraska
Today was like reliving Sheri’s family history from 100 years ago. We drove from Grand Island to Eustis, which is the town that Sheri’s great grandparents (The Heaters) lived in from around 1900 to their death. (Note that more distant relatives were in the area earlier, we simply reference the great grandparents because we have a written diary from Sheri’s great grandmother Heater). We met Uncle Truman who lived in a house constructed right on top of the old Heater house, which would have cost too much to remodel. The house still has the fireplace from the Heater house and some other family antiques. Uncle Truman will turn 100 this year!. Sheri’s grandmother lived to be 101 and her great grandmother to 102. I think the Nebraska water must have something really good for longevity. Surprisingly, Uncle Truman still lives in his house alone. In fact, last winter he was by himself when they were without power for 4 days. He still gets around okay and his long term memory is quite good so he told us about some things of the past. His son, Bruce Barret (now 70), was quite a character and joked with the boys about all sorts of stuff. The kids (and Sheri) got a real treat by getting to ride on his Honda Goldwing Trike (3-wheeled motorcycle). While in Eustis we also visited the cemetery where the Heaters were buried and we ate lunch at a restaurant over 100 years old that great grandma and grandpa Heater would have visited. We then ventured to Gothenburg, where we visited the Pony Express office (original 1860 cabin). In 1861 hey had to pay 5 dollars per ounce to ship mail across the country from Missouri to California. The pony express only lasted 18 months because the telegraph and the railroad replaced them. To top the day off, we ate dinner at a RUNZA, which is a Nebraska sandwich with meat, onions, and cabbage. My coworker, Lisa Runge (a Nebraskan) is probably licking her lips as she reads this because she misses her runza sandwiches in Virginia. I enjoy eating food from the area. In fact, I almost ordered Bull Frys at the 100 year-old restaurant in Eustis. I told the boys they needed to try some since we were experiencing the west. If you don’t know what Bull Frys are, you may not want to Google that one. Some things are best left undefined. Instead, try some when you’re out west and find out for yourself how tasty this fine delicacy is!
August 3, 2007 – Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska
Today we drove about 1.5 hours to Grand Island. The town has a Pioneer Living History museum that is somewhat like Colonial Williamsburg but on a much smaller scale. They have a town called Railroad Town, which has buildings that were of the 1890s (they actually moved them there from their original location). We really enjoyed talking to the tinsmith, who explained all of the tools he would have used and let the boys use some. We purchased a Virginia shaped cookie cutter the tinsmith had made. We also enjoyed watching the blacksmith, where Seth purchased an "S" hook. The boys got a kick out of hiding in the coal car of the train when other folks walked into the locomotive and never knew the boys were hiding right next to them. My highpoint of the day was being able to get the whole family ice cream and drinks for $10. I was surprised how affordable they had priced the food there. Levi tried Butter Brickle, which is vanilla with some crunchy butter brickle stuff.
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