The man from Pioneer Village

A familiar greeting sign for Pioneer Village.

Courtesy photo

Recently an old friend visited us here in McCook. Though he has lived in Illinois for many years, he explained that he wanted to bring his grandkids back to Nebraska to introduce them to some of his favorite spots, which included the Capitol in Lincoln, Fort Robinson, Plainview, and most of all, Pioneer Village, which he regards as one of the best museums anywhere. His enthusiasm reminded me of an encounter I once had with the man responsible for Pioneer Village. From Gazette archives.

Pioneer Village at Minden has been one of our family’s favorite places. Beginning with the time when we helped sponsor our daughter’s 4th-grade class field trip to Minden on the train, we have many times enjoyed showing that wonderful piece of Americana to children, grandchildren, and out of state visitors. Once, my wife, Jean’s folks gave an 1880s cast iron cauldron, used in butchering, to the museum, and we always include that exhibit so that we can show people how they did things on the Leisy farm in the “Good Old Days”. (for which they received a check for $10.)

Several years ago we were getting ready to take a vacation to Canada. There was a story in the paper about Harold Warp, the founder and guiding force behind Pioneer Village. He had received an award for his humanitarian service, and the article mentioned that he had a summer home on Mackinac Island, in Northern Michigan, one of the stops we planned to make on our trip. At the time I wondered why, with his great interest in a time gone by, that Mr. Warp did not retire in Minden.

Harold Warp.

When one steps off the ferry onto Mackinac Island, it is like stepping back in time. For many years the only way to reach the island was by ferry. Motorized traffic is banned on the island. Residents and visitors walk, ride bikes, or travel by horse-drawn taxis. All freight and supplies are delivered by horse-drawn drays. There is one hard surfaced road, which circles the island, an ideal bike path. It is absolutely flat, very little traffic, and a complete trip around the island takes about an hour. It is a state highway, but the only motorized traffic it carries is an ambulance or a fire-truck, in emergencies.

Mackinac Island is an attractive tourist destination, with beautiful flowers everywhere, sand beaches, interesting shops, and historical sites. During the tourist season, it tends to be a very busy place, but the absence of motor vehicles immediately puts one into a more relaxed frame of mind. I began to see why one might enjoy having a summer home time on that island.

Mackinac Island lies in the Straits of Mackinac, between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The Fort built on the island commanded the water route from Lake Michigan to the Atlantic Ocean. It played a crucial role in the squabble we had with the British during the American Revolution, and after. Initially the British built the fort and controlled the island. Then it changed hands several times, till the issue was finally settled after the War of 1812 when the island was deeded to the United States. The government land, which occupies much of the center of the island, was turned over to the State of Michigan late in the late 1800s for a State Park, and the old Fort, now restored, is one of the key tourist attractions.

The focal point of the island is The Grand Hotel, one of the largest tourist hotels in the world. It is certainly well named. Even if you have never been there you probably would recognize this landmark.

The distinguishing feature of the hotel is its front-porch, 660’ in length, with at least 100 rocking chairs, where one can look out over lush gardens and croquet courts, or watch the bowlers perform on immaculately groomed lawns. Every afternoon, formal tea is served on the lawn, ala 1880s style.

The hotel has been pictured featured in countless stories, and has even been the principal in several movies. The hotel’s swimming pool was constructed especially for Esther Williams for the movie, “This Time for Keeps”, with Jimmy Durante.

One movie, “Somewhere in Time”, starred Christopher Reeve (shortly before his debilitating fall from a horse), and Julia Seymour. Perhaps because of Reeve’s accident, this picture has now gained cult status, and each year a large contingent of fans gathers at the Grand Hotel in October, to watch again the film and exchange views about the stars, including the considerable mysteries of the hotel itself.

While we were taking a tour of the island via horse taxi I began to visit with our driver. He was a man who thoroughly enjoyed his work with horses. That he was skilled with the horses, it was easy to see. He explained that this was one of the few spots in the country where a man could make his living driving horses, much the same as it was in the last century. During the wintertime, he said, he built buggies and wagons and made the harness, in preparation for the next season.

On an impulse, I asked our driver if he knew Mr. Warp. “Harold? Sure. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him around the hotel. He usually comes over for lunch. He lives just a few houses west of the hotel.” Then he told us of the many things that Mr. Warp had done for their island, including getting the landing strip on the center of the island. He chuckled, “He sold the city fathers on the need, for medical emergencies, but I think he had ulterior motives. Harold hated that long drive up from Chicago”.

Later, after our tour, we walked around the neighborhood of the hotel and found ourselves in front of the Warp home. There was a man working in the yard. He was dressed in work clothes and was being directed in his tasks, in no uncertain terms, by a very determined woman. I assumed that he was the gardener, and when the woman went inside, I approached him to ask if this was indeed the Warp house.

When he turned I was surprised to see that it was Harold Warp himself. I introduced myself as a fellow Nebraskan. As soon as the word Nebraska came up he rushed over to shake my hand. It was as if I were an old friend.

“Sometimes, when I hear that there are Nebraskans on the island I wander over to the Hotel to meet them. I always like to hear how things are at home”.

We talked for a few minutes, and though he had not lived in Nebraska for years, I found he was well informed about his old home state. I answered his questions about the weather in Nebraska, the crops, and how I thought the upcoming election would go.

Then he said, “You know, it’s hotter than blazes out here. Let’s go inside and have a beer. You’ve got time haven’t you?” Remembering the lady taskmaster, I tried to excuse ourselves, saying that he seemed to be very busy.

“Nonsense! We’re just getting ready to close up the house for the season. We’ve got plenty of time. It’s not every day I get to visit with good folks from Nebraska”.

And for the next hour, while the lady of the house bustled about with the packing, Jean and I visited with Mr. Warp, mostly listened. He told us of his early life on a farm near Minden. He was the youngest of 12 children. The family was poor, but he considered the farm an ideal place for a boy. He gave us a copy of his book, “Over The Hill And Past Our Place”, which covers that part of his life.

It was a fascinating visit, like talking with a favorite uncle. He told us how, as a young man, he noted that chickens needed the ultraviolet rays, which were blocked out by window glass in poultry houses. This observation led to his development of wax soaked paper, which let in those rays, as a substitute for window-glass. At age 20 he left for Chicago, where, on a shoestring, he set up a plant for manufacturing glass substitutes. Though the road to success was often rocky, Mr. Warp eventually made his fortune in that business, patenting first Flex-O-Glass, then scores of innovative plastic film products for farm, home, and industry use. This in turn allowed him to indulge his hobby of preserving things from the past. His first acquisition was buying his boyhood schoolhouse when it went up for auction. Soon he had a number of historic buildings and had to do something with them. He had always had a dream in the back of his mind, and in 1953, he developed that dream, which became Pioneer Village. Over the years his idea grew to a super museum of some 10 acres, many buildings and countless artifacts.

In the last half of the 20th Century, Harold’s son and others continued the plastics business. Harold turned his full attention to Pioneer Village, developing it into one of the leading tourist attractions in the Midwest. As he explained, he wanted to tell the story of America’s past, using examples of the things that people used in their work, their transportation, their hobbies, and their play. Before we left he ushered us into a small office where he pointed to a chart showing the attendance at Pioneer Village, which employees called in to him each evening. He could compare, and did, the figures to last week, last year, last 5 years.

When I asked about his trips to Nebraska, he explained that his heart would always be in Nebraska. He said that he tried to spend at least three or four days per month in Minden. But he no longer tolerated the hot winds in summer, nor the wind and snow in the winter, and thank goodness he didn’t have to. That was the reason he spent his winters in Florida and his summers on Mackinac Island.