Thoughts on Comeca and Pickrell

There are some neat little tucked-away places in Nebraska that are truly hidden gems. One of my favorites occupies the hills south of Cozad, Nebraska. It sits on the high bank above the Tri-County canal a massive 1940s construction undertaking. It goes by the name of Comeca Camp and Retreat Center and is well worth the hour or so drive from McCook to investigate or attend.

For facilities, Comeca boasts a Holiday Inn-style lodge, several other fair-sized bunkhouses some with kitchens plus a number of rather sparse camp-style cabins. There is a large dining hall, with a commercial kitchen plus an attached meeting hall. For recreation in summer and winter, there is a large gymnasium with an indoor Olympic size swimming pool all donated courtesy of a Cozad-based benefactor. It is an awesome place for a business or family retreat, large family reunion or just a chance to get away from it all, isolate if you want and get one’s life in order.

Looking out the glass-faced chapel one sees the expanse of the verdant Platte River Valley. There is a zipline nearby the tennis courts. To the southwest, one looks down on the Camp’s beach complete with canoes to ply the large lake. Scholarships are readily available for the numerous scheduled youth camps all summer long. Yes, I have good memories of the camps that I attended so long ago.

The true beauty of Comeca Camp is the people who run it year-round. The Director is Justin Hoehner aided by his wonderful wife Amy. If the Hoehner name sounds familiar to McCookites Justin’s grandfather was the famed McCook High School teacher and coach Leroy Hoehner. Justin and his staff are committed Christians and lead kids' summer programs that are energetic and committed.

The Camp was originally put together under the sponsorship of the Methodist Church and was overseen until recently by the Methodist Conference in Kansas. For several years your columnist functioned as chairman of their board. Locals had the chance to buy the whole thing a year or so ago and have done just that. Now they are truly ecumenical with people of all faiths welcome. Want to know more just google Comeca Camp and Retreat Center.

Grannie and I had the privilege of a road trip to southeastern Nebraska this past weekend. The destination is a working farm near the small village of Pickrell, NE to attend a grand nephew’s wedding. For one whose veins run farmer blood, the wedding and reception that followed were held in a large, refurbished barn. It brought back memories of the large white barn that my grandfather Lynn Hoyt built, circa 1920, just east of the Stone Church south of Culbertson. The wedding itself was held on a dirt floor, and had a nice strip of carpet down the middle for the bridal party, but it truly had been an open-faced loafing shed. The “Four Generations Barn” had been spruced up with good hardwood floors, a stairway complete with a motorized chair up into the spacious former haymow. Clean and well lighted with a good sound system it was a really great place for the reception. Plenty of tables and chairs for the guests. Pretty cake, good food and happy new and old friends to visit with. Very well done and a pleasure to send Brenden and Andrea off to the start of a happy marriage.

Spring is in the air as shown on the drive east on Highway 4. Excellent pavement and little traffic. Wheatfields are showing brilliant green and pasture grasses are starting to peek through. Farmers are actively applying fertilizer and getting ready to plant. It is always day brightening to see mama cows in nearby pastures with their new little babies at side or stashed in a safe place guarded by a watch out as mama goes off to graze. No truck stops along that way but we found lunch in Lawrence at “Dick’s Bar”. Friendly natives no matter where we went.

Something a little different due to light winds we spied several large columns of smoke where tall grassy areas were control burned to eliminate the pesky western cedar trees and other unwanted shrubs. Here we fight wildfires but these were obviously intended and controlled.

The trip back home from Omaha was via I-80 and this is the time of year to observe Whooping Cranes. Small groups of a dozen or so up to huge flocks numbering in the thousands. A few flying but most out preening, doing the awkward little courting hop or just scratching around to fatten up a bit for the long trip on north to raise their broods. I understand that nature-orientated tourists come from countries around the world to observe the annual migration but for us native Nebraskans it is all free to look and enjoy.

The war continues in Ukraine but not so much on the news at present. Somehow I just can’t understand the purpose of the invading army destroying so much and killing so many of the population. Do they think that people seeing the population around them being killed raped and injured will somehow persuade their leaders to just give up and let the invading forces, Putin’s army, to take over and govern them in soviet communistic style? Such is the way of war from ancient times but in my mind, there has to be a better way. I also don’t think that the present leadership of our beloved USofA is covering themselves with glory in resolving the matter.

That is the way I saw it.

Dick Trail