Buffalo meat served at the first Christmas in Red Willow County

I picked up one of the booklets held in the SWNGS library. It was entitled “100 Year of Living-Indianola Nebraska 1873-1973”. There is a large amount of history contained within, most of which, according to a note within the book, came from Mrs. Asa Wolf’s personal collection. It seemed fitting that I found a story of the Christmas celebration of 1872 as told by E. S. Hill when he was 93.

E. S. Hill happened to be the first county judge of Red Willow County and performed the first marriage, that of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Fritch (maiden name Nettleton). He and his wife built a lavish home in Indianola which was torn down in 1973. His remembrance of that long ago Christmas dinner is as follows:

“There were eight adults and three children, representing four families and nearly all the people in Indianola or in the county at that time.” (When he was telling this story, five of the 11 were still alive: Mr. & Mrs. Hill, their son, G. C. Hill, Mrs. A N. Little and L. B. Korn.) “Mrs. William Berger planned the dinner and invited the group to the meal, to which each of the housewives contributed the best of her means, but which was then, only the most meagre of fares, and similar in every way to the every-day meal of early settlers here.” (Buffalo meat as the entrée was the only menu item that Mr. Hill recalled.) “The Berger’s lived southeast of Indianola and we had to cross the Republican to get to the farm. As it was bitter cold the party made the crossing on the ice of the river, there being no bridges. At that time there were probably six or eight families in Indianola.”

After a hectic two weeks of shopping, shipping, writing cards, decorating and still facing the freshening of beds, cleaning house, planning meals, etc., I am thinking of the blessed simplicity in what those settler’s must have celebrated that day. No doubt they sat down to that meal of buffalo meat with thankful hearts because they were able to celebrate Christmas at all. Maybe we should take a page from history and count the real blessings in our lives.

Many early families are briefly covered in the book, including names that are very familiar to me such as: Lord, Frank, Quigley, Welborn, Hotze, Harrison, Duckworth, Quick, Elmer and Allen. Pictures of early buildings, most of which no longer exist, fill its’ pages along with old advertising from early days and excerpts from early Indianola newspapers. It is one of a multitude of historical documents on file at our library which is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 110 West C, Suite M-3 from 1-4PM.