Bellevue, Nebraska - Log Cabin

Bellevue, Nebraska - Log Cabin

Relax, visualize yourself accomplishing one of your goals.  

(after Eric V. Copage, Black Pearls, 16 November) 

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From time to time I've written about the fact that I lived next door to a log cabin while growing up on Hancock Street in Bellevue, Nebraska.  

The cabin which had no indoor plumbing was occupied by Grandma Mountain.  She lived to be nearly 100 years old (I no longer remember how old she was or the year she died.).  For a while after her death the place was occupied by a nice couple with at least two children.  

When we moved into our house we had two outhouses in the back yard, near the alley.  One was in bad condition.  My father didn't waste much time in tearing that one down and closing the hole.  The other outhouse was a nice, well-maintained building with white siding.  Dad was teaching high school and at Halloween the high school boys like to tip over the outhouse.  Because the outhouse at Grandma Mountain's house was in a sad state of repair Dad decided to move our outhouse to her property and close the second hole at our place.

My father, Edward C. Henthorn, left Bellevue for Wichita, Kansas sometime in 1953.  Prior to his departure he was a member of the Sarpy County Historical Society.  If memory serves, Mr. Shallcross was the president of the group.  The society decided to negotiate with the Mountain descendants, probably her son, in an attempt to purchase the property.  I don't remember how much they paid for it or whether there was a fund drive.  At any rate, they were successful and that's why now, nearly sixty years later this historical Nebraska landmark still exists for all of us to enjoy.

National Register of Historic Places (PDF)

Where Is My Little Cabin Home? 

by Kathy Kallick

This song was number eleven on the Bluegrass Unlimited

Top 50 Count Down For 2011

I was asked by college friend, Jim Rowe, where he should look for photos of the log cabin.  I found several that I'm using with this posting.  Thanks to the folks who took the photographs.

Mr. Dickie

29 December 2011

The National Parks Struggle

The PBS program about the history of the National Parks system is interesting and the narration and the photographs are very appealing. There's one point that keeps coming up. Creating each monument or park was a stuggle and very often it was a close call whether the places would be destroyed before the government could protect the land. Another critical part of the process of setting aside these parks was that the Congress often failed to appropriate funds. Many times the land was purchased with the money of the rich, which was ironic since many of them made their money in the railroad, timber, oil and mining businesses.