PIONEER VILLAGE CELEBRATES 70 YEARS

 

In June of 1953, Harold Warp opened the door to what would one day become a top tourist attraction in the state of Nebraska. Now, 70 years and over 6,000,000 visitors later, the Harold Warp Pioneer Village is celebrating its 70th Anniversary June 10th and 11th.  

The two-day celebration will include live demonstrations of broom-making and blacksmithing, music by the Sweet Adelines, interactive exhibits, church service in the historic St. Paul Lutheran Church, museum assistants to give additional information about exhibits and ongoing renovation projects, as well as the introduction of the new Harold Warp Pioneer Village Director, William Ascarza. The hope is to draw in visitors from all across Central Nebraska and beyond to celebrate this milestone, and to showcase all of the work being done to revitalize this gem of a museum. 

In Warp’s words from his book, The History of Man’s Progress:

I was born of pioneering parents on a homestead just a few miles from the site of the Pioneer Village… In 1948, while home for Christmas, I learned the old schoolhouse we attended as children was to be sold at auction. I purchased it with the understanding that all school records would be left intact. Then the first church in Minden was to be disposed of, as well as the old B & M Depot that was at the end of the railroad in homesteading days. To save them from destruction, I purchased these also, as well as the original U.S. Government Land Office, Elm Creek [Native American] Fort, Bridgeport Pony Express Station, and other historic buildings. I then had to find a place to put them. From this small beginning the Pioneer Village has grown to its present size…It is my sincere hope that our generation, our children, and our children’s children will realize and appreciate the sacrifices that our forebears made in establishing and expanding our country. We hope that by displaying the items in the Pioneer Village, we will all come to realize the great amount of hard work done by these people of the past, so that we of this generation and children of future generations have a better understanding of the hardships endured in the founding of our great country.

A schedule of events is available here, however, additional activities and vendors will likely be added as the event dates get closer. For the most current information, contact the Pioneer Village office.

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FOR INTERVIEWS:  Contact Director Will Ascarsza: wascarza@pioneervillage.com  308-832-1181