Early McCook structures funded through donations

We have always been a giving town and proof of that generosity stands right before our eyes if we just look for it. When I attended the public hearing at the City Council chambers last night, I wondered if we had not forgotten our history of giving and instead look to government to provide all forms of services.

That, if true, is a sad because, of course in my opinion, we as a people seem to have more appreciation for the things we have come together to provide rather than what is just handed out to us.

So, let’s take a walk back in history and review what has been created in our town through donations.

The first general hospital in McCook was built with donations raised by the ladies of our town. Their tireless solicitations offered discounted hospital services to those who donated and reminded those prospective pocketbooks that their donations would also help to provide free services to patients who could not pay! The second hospital, St. Catherine’s, was again built with donations from both the public and the Catholic church. The third hospital, our current location, was originally built following a large fund-raising campaign and to this day adds services and buildings with the help of generous benefactors.

The first swimming pool built in McCook came about from an investment by private enterprise; Donald Snoke and George Phillips joined forces and leased land on which the Bixler Auditorium on West C Street had been located prior to being destroyed by fire. Called a “Bathing and Swimming Pool,” it was completed in 1910 and one of the early managers was Frank Traver. Our second swimming pool, in it’s current location, was built on land donated to the City and was a WPA project. (In 1910, Indianola also had a swimming pool owned by a Mr. Elmer and Fred Dow worked for him at that pool.)

McCook’s first public library was a lending library consisting of donated books and located in a donated storefront downtown. Our second library was of course the Carnegie Library, now part of the High Plains Museum (also built by the generosity of our community) and was built with a combination of Carnegie funds and gifts from the community. The present library was built on donated land. (The committee in charge of the Carnegie chose the Spanish influence architecture to reflect the fact that it was believed some of the Spanish explorers came through this area.)

The first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building (again Spanish influence architecture) located on the corner of Norris and E was built with donations. It was fitting that when McCook decided to start a Junior College, classes were initially held in the YMCA building. Our second YMCA was also built with a community wide solicitation for donations.

Many of the buildings housing the now McCook Community College were either fully or partially funded by donations.

The Jaycee Ball Park was built through the giving of our little burg in conjunction with grant funds.

The Temple building (Norris and D Streets) which housed not only the Masonic organizations but also an opera/theater house, storefronts and offices was built solely by donations. The McCook Tribune posted who had given to the cause and shamed those who were able to give and did not.

Our beautiful auditorium on West Fifth Street was a combination of gifted money and a WPA project.

If you want to look at a more recent example, you need only to drive up to the Red Willow County fairgrounds and watch the activities created from Tom Kiplinger’s extraordinary gifts.

Big or small, benches, buildings, trees or statues, money or time; we are a city populated by generous citizens and when it comes to fulfilling some of the dreams for our future mentioned at that meeting, I believe we can be generous citizens once again. The proof, as the old saying goes, will be in the pudding!

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society’s library, located at 110 West C, Suite M-3, continues its open library hours on Tuesday and Thursdays from 1-4. While we do not sell DNA kits, we will help you determine which kit will answer your DNA questions and assist you in ordering your kit online or analyzing your results. Your credit or debit card is required to complete the order.