Bennington Daze - 2012

We all had a great time during Bennington Daze.  The small towns in eastern Nebraska, as probably most communities in the mid-west, hold an annual community celebration or festivity.  Ours starts with a free barbecue, carnival games in the park, a farmer's market and the parade.  Saturday night they close Main Street for the street dance, and there are many other activities.  There is a lot to do, a lot to eat and plenty to drink.  Its a good time.

We had a guest from Kentucky who enjoyed the parade with us on the porch.  Our couple from Kansas that escaped to Omaha before the parade started.  This year we hosted the Bennington Historical Society on our porch.  The Society set up a table and passed out information and sold 2013 calendars featuring century old images of Bennington.  



Oft's Bed & Breakfast

 The Saturday parade is a main event and it goes right past the front of our home.  Our porch has been a popular place to watch the parade for years.  We had two Honor Guards, community, school  and church group floats, antique cars and tractors, local businesses and much more. 

One entry was the Trade-Center Memorial which contains a beam taken from the World Trade Center disaster.  The beam was given to the Bennington Volunteer Fire Department; the only volunteer department in Nebraska to receive such an honor.  It always draws a reverence of silent as it passes by.   Its difficult not to respect this symbol of the loss of life and sacrifice which started 9/11 and continues with our service men and women today. 



Trade-Center Memorial Beam



Bennington Historical Society Entry in the
Bennington Daze Parade,  June 16, 2012

Next year consider coming to Nebraska and join in the festivities.  Along with Bennington; Elkhorn, Papillion, Blair, Fremont and other local towns celebrate.  Its fun and its a taste of the "Heartland."