Legends about local artifacts abound

Sue Doak

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society

Thanks to Lynda Budig Baumbach, I know now that Major Zurich did not return from World War II. Lynda tells me that her great aunt, Mrs. Ted Barnes, never gave up hope that he was alive but the family never saw him again. So that question is answered.

Another question is concerning artifacts found that tie this area to the Spanish explorer, Coronado. The story goes that the sword that hung suspended in a glass case in the Chuck-Adair Club (now Sports Night Club) was in fact a Spanish origin artifact that was found on land in Red Willow County. You have to have some years on you, as I do, to remember the original club and a fairly good memory to picture the décor of the club since it was built in the early 1970's. Here's the mystery. According to legend, the sword was taken from the club and honed down to a "big knife" size which someone attempted (unsuccessfully) to pawn. The true story may not quite fit the legend, but if someone knows the location of the sword turned knife, the Latino American Commission would like to follow through on determining its true origin.

The second legend revolves around the building of the original baseball complex in Culbertson. Rumor has it that some Spanish items were found when the dirt work was being done. The baseball field is long gone, if I have the location right, but where are the artifacts or did they even exist? Again, the Latino American Commission is very interested in trying to prove (or disprove) Coronado's expedition's venture into Southwest Nebraska.

SWNGS has an exceptional lineup so far for their annual October Genealogy Expo. McCook's own Linda Hein will be speaking on the Orphan Train which should be a fascinating subject concerning the trains that brought children from cities back east and placed them up for adoption along the railroad routes in the midlands. Orphanages from the late-middle 1800s to the early 1920s felt that children would fare better if raised in the heartland by loving families rather than remain in the city. The story of these children's journeys to new homes does not always have a happy ending but that is for Linda to reveal.

Our second main speaker will be from the Homestead Monument in Beatrice. If you have relatives that claimed homesteads within our state, those original records are now housed in Beatrice and digitalized for on-line research. This is a fascinating view of our ancestor's struggles to claim land and become a true example of living the American dream. Can you even imagine coming from a country in which you were near starvation and had no chance of ever having more than the right to farm the king's land, to owning your own ground and raising a family on it?

We have received many exciting new donations at our library in the last few months and our open research dates are as follows: Thursday June 11, from 6-8 p.m.; Saturday June 20, from 1-3 p.m.' Thursday June 25, from 6-8 p.m. Join us a 110 West C, Suite M-3 for help in doing research.