More than 40 years ago a friend employed by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development invited me to ride with him to a meeting in Thayer County. In exchange for my help with the meeting, I suspect he provided my supper.
The Nebraska tourism office was promoting the circle tour concept. Each Nebraska community was encouraged to promote tourism by planning a tour route that circulated the community. Circle tours may have been a good idea for central Nebraska communities but they weren’t a good idea for border communities like Superior for the state would not help promote out-of-state attractions. Superior’s biggest tourist attraction then and now is Lovewell Lake, a Kansas reservoir which could not be part of the circle tour.
On the way back to Superior, we expanded on the circle tour idea and made a preliminary plan for a nine-county, two-state, two-day circle tour anchored on the east by Lovewell Lake and on the west by Harlan County Reservoir. We recognized the tourism protential of the two lakes and were about to learn about a number of interesting but little known attractions. A few of which were Phillips County’s rodeo and Fort Bissell. Smith County had the Dutch Windmill, Center of the 48 States and the Home on the Range Cabin. In addition to Lovewell Lake, Jewell County had a threshing bee and steam engine show, Republic County had the Pawnee Indian Village and the third largest fair in Kansas.
Our plan was enthusiastically endorsed by the Kansas and Nebraska tourism departments. We secured funding from the Old West Foundation which paid for printing 50,000 brochures. We attempted to hold organizational meetings in each of the nine counties. The two state tourism directors met at this newspaper office with an artist from Lincoln and designed the brochures
On a day off from his state job, my friend drove his personal car and distributed brochures in each of the nine counties. He wasn’t allowed to take a state car into Kansas.We were disappointed when we got not a single request for additional brochures. It was obvious the individual counties did not share our enthusiasm for the project.
Move forward about 15 years and another group tried to organize a multi-county tourism project along Highway 136. They called their effort the Heritage Highway. Superior Publishing Company received the order to produce something like 50,000 brochures promoting the various things to do along the Highway 136. For a time the group met regularly but it appears to have faded for lack of support.
Move up to 2021 and a new group volunteers have expanded on the nine county area that was proposed 40 years ago.
The original plan most likely failed because the counties couldn’t agree on what should be featured. One county, for instance, said their attraction was the biggest in the nine counties and it had to be featured on the cover. Not only should it be featured on the cover, we were told they wouldn’t be a part of the effort if a water picture was included. They were disappointed for the state representatives who designed the brochure said their experience had proven brochures which featured water on the front panel were more likely to be picked up at tourist information stops. They insisted the brochure had to feature the lakes and Republican River. Since they represented the money paying for the brochure the final design featured a sailboat on the front panel.
I see great potential in the current tourism promotion plan but with the opposition and misunderstanding of its goals, it’s unlikely the plan will come to fruition.
Some who oppose the plan believe it to be part of a much larger federal plan to seize Midwestern land.
These days there are many poorly conceived, crackpot ideas being promoted by our national government. Among those plans there are several that will try to claim our property rights. That isn’t the intent of the current heritage group. Hopefully, they will overcome the opposition and be able to move forward.
Residents of both states need to work together and promote the tourism potential of the area between Interstate Highways 70 and 80. For our economic well-being we need to show other Americans the area we call home.
When it comes to economic development, the expansion of tourism is among the cleanist and least costly of all development ideas.
Before jumping on the opponents’ bandwagon and condeming the Kansas-Nebraska Heritage Area Partnership for promoting a land grab, we need to become informed and consider what the partnership could do for our area. Elsewhere in this issue, we include more information about what is proposed locally. While supporting the partnership plan, we need to keep a close watch on the various plans and programs being promoted by our governmental officials. Not all have our best interests at heart but neither are all bad.
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