Once a year, McCook’s junior high students get to experience McCook’s history, up close and personal, as part of a Heritage Walking Tour. For five hours earlier this week, sixth grade students from McCook Junior High and St. Patrick Elementary visited the sites that make McCook….well, McCook. 

This year, the stops included the High Plains Museum, the George Norris House, Ben Nelson’s boyhood home, the Keystone Business Center, MNB Bank, United Memorial Methodist Church and Sehnert’s Bakery. These sites are recognized for their long-time history in the community and their role in the creating McCook’s heritage. 

The event coordinated by the McCook Community Foundation Fund and McCook Public Schools to bring the students into the community. And the day couldn’t happen without volunteers from those helping throughout the day by delivering lunches and dropping off bottled water to those sharing their expertise about their respective location, including Tom Bredvick, Laurie Sinner, Carol Schlegel and Charlie McPherson.

What is the purpose of the Heritage Tour? Why do our young people need to be exposed to these historical sites? What do we hope the young people take with them at the end of the day? Hopefully not any part of the mannequins at the museum. (Insert “ba-dum-dum” here for the bad joke.) 

But in all seriousness, why is it important to share the history and heritage of our community with our young people, with visitors, with our friends and neighbors?

For starters, we need to appreciate what is right her in our very backyard. Each of these locations and businesses have been around for multiple decades; some more than a century. 

We are fortunate to have locally-owned, locally-run businesses including Sehnert’s (usually the favorite stop on the tour, which probably has to do with distributing baked goods or coupons) and MNB Bank (which also got a few nods for best stop, although they could move up in the rankings by handing out a few bills).

The Heritage Tour also allows us to share and appreciate the community’s unique political history. McCook stands out for being the home to four of Nebraska’s governors, including born-and-raised here Ben Nelson. And Sen. George Norris is arguably Nebraska’s most influential politician, crossing across the aisle to compromise and get things done, something which is desperately needed these days in our current politicians, both locally and nationally. 

And the Methodist Church and the Keystone are two of the most recognizable structures in McCook, with the church towering on its corner of downtown McCook since the start of the 1900s and the Keystone offering the best views of Southwest Nebraska from its upper floors and having a history just as storied. (Insert another bad joke “ba-da-dum” here.) 

It has been suggested that the same tour be available for adults and there have been variations in the past, including a tour led by Sue Doak during the McCook Chautauqua last summer. Perhaps, the Heritage Walking Tour could become a regular addition to McCook’s Heritage Days each fall. But we must also remember that most of these locations are available to visit on a regular basis, open every day or by requesting a visit. A visit to MNB’s vault and the donut-making table at Sehnert’s might not be an option, but you can always ask.

There are many other sites, businesses and organizations which contribute to McCook’s Heritage, all which need to be recognized and celebrated. 

A brochure for the Heritage Square Walking Tour is available in the Keystone lobby and a project is underway through TravelStorys to develop a digital tour of the downtown area of McCook. 

And you may have noticed all the bad jokes and puns included in the column today. Remember, this tour included sixth graders, which meant trying to keep their attention for five hours about “old stuff and old people” and helping them realize its’ relevance. Not an easy task but important to help them learn about their hometown.

At the end of the day, I realized junior high teachers are a special breed which leads to this last joke: Why were the teacher’s eyes crossed? Because she couldn’t control her pupils. 

Ba-da-dum.