Busman's Holiday

Business has been really good; we had guests for over 3 weeks.  The College World Series, Olympic Swim Trials and the Master's Swim Trails have kept the washing machine, vacuum and stove busy.  This week we had a couple of cancellations that fell on July 4th so Linda and I thought we would go on a busman's holiday.   For those not familiar with the term; busman's holiday is a term started in England for someone who takes a vacation doing something similar to what they do for a living.   We went to another Bed & Breakfast for July 4th.

Argo Hotel, Crofton, NE

We met a charming inn keeper, her name was Sandy who owns and operates the Argo Hotel in Crofton, Nebraska.  Crofton is a small farming community located about 15 miles south of Yankton, South Dakota.  Sandy jokes that it was literally at the end of the line, because the railroad tracks actually ended here.  She bought the property in 1994 and did extensive renovations; ending up with a charming bed and breakfast (15 rooms!), steak house, bar and speak easy located in the basement.  

The property is a century old, being built in 1912 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  She has been in operation for 18 years.  The Hotel was recently featured on the "Nebraska Stories."   In Sandie's interview she reported that the hotel was haunted in the basement where she occasionally heard the faint crying of a child before the renovated.  During construction, a baby's skeleton was found in the basement wall.  The remains were buried in the City Cemetery.  The baby's name and origin remains a mystery but since its burial the crying stopped.

Lobby of the Argo Hotel

 We arrived late in the afternoon and Sandy told us we should go to Yankton to see the fireworks.  We had planned to go anyway to check out the antique shops, there are several of them.  We did go and enjoyed shopping.  I bought 16 Louis L'Amour paperbacks for my collection and at dark we headed down to the river with the rest of the community.  They shot the fireworks over the river from the Nebraska side.  It was spectacular!

Fireworks over the Missouri River, Yankton, SD

The next morning we had a great breakfast of "one-eyed Jacks" and lounged around.  Linda went for a walk and I enjoyed my coffee and a Louis L'Amour classic.  We paid our bill and said our good-byes to Sandy for her wonderful hospitality.

Sandy and Linda

We are 'rediscovering' small town Nebraska so we headed to Niobrara; weaving through the country side.  Nebraska has some amazing history most notably starting with Lewis and Clark.  At Niobrara, we found a historical marker we followed in the country.  It seems half of these lead to nowhere but this one we found. 

 

  

We found this Mormon marker overlooking the Niobrara River close to where it entered the Missouri River.  Newel was born 4 years before Lewis and Clark's expedition and died and was buried at this spot 165 years ago.  Amazing!

Our drive then took us to the town of Verdigre, NE and we learned it is the "Kolache Capital of Nebraska."   The baker said the town recently celebrated it's 125th anniversary and the bakery sold 750 DOZEN Kolaches.  I simply had to try them; they were GOOD.  

Our drive took us to another historical marker we had seen several times before but never visited.  We drove about 2 miles off the highway and found the old pioneer cemetery of Dewitt out in the middle of the farmland.  It tells an amazing story for those who want to listen.  

It is an OLD Cemetery.  There are about 50 makers scattered and you can tell the cemetery has more graves but the markers have either been taken, fallen apart, or sank into the ground.   Those markers that remain, tell quite a story of infant death and young adult death, and wars mostly forgotten.  

Here is where "Little Nettie" lays, age 10 months.  She died in 1867.  A large number of the graves are of children.  Not all were children. 

 There was Benjamin Richards who died in 1877 at the age of 93.  He was born in 1784.  That is a long time ago!  And there was another grave that caught my eye, there were to metal markers along the stone.

Civil War Veteran

This gentleman was a member of Post 197 of the Grand Army of the Republic and served in the Civil War.  I found several other graves of Civil War veterans.  That added a special meaning to our July 4th celebration.  "Lest, we forget" goes far beyond the wars of this century.   Take care.