Nebraskaland

Nebraskaland November 2020

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1303636

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46 Nebraskaland • November 2020 needed a break. I had been sitting on a bucket for two days coaching 11-year-old softball players. Any sort of adventure, even a small one, was going to do me some mental good. So I went for a drive. This has been a long-standing mode of decompression in the Kurrus family going back to my parents when I was a kid. What was diff erent on this day, however, was I was armed with the Explore Nebraska History app — a tool that would change these drives forever. I came across the app by accident, while looking for additional information on the New Pennsylvania Cemetery historical marker near my home and hoping history.nebraska.gov would be able to tell me something. The site encouraged me to download the app. This is when my adventure began. The app divided the state's historical markers into categories. The Stories category allowed me to see what markers were in my area, making any day-long or multi-day trip as close as I wanted to drive. For example, when I pulled up my hometown of Gretna, 51 historical markers landed within 20 miles, with the New Pennsylvania Cemetery being just 1.31 miles away. I started to drive. My fi rst stop was at a rest stop just west of Gretna on Interstate 80 — The Great Platte Valley. In the distance, nothing impressed me: a cellphone tower, big machinery and crop fi elds. But I still couldn't help but think about some of the words on the marker: "The Pawnee and Oto established large earthlodge villages near here … By the late 1850s, it was estimated that 90% of all traffi c which crossed the Plains followed the Platte … The famous Pony Express followed the Platte Valley, as did the fi rst transcontinental telegraph line." So I made a note to myself to further my research on the Pony Express, seeking to learn who had written the quintessential book regarding this short-lived phenomenon in American history. The next closest site, according to my app, was at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park — the Prehistoric Burial Site marker. I had driven by this marker a hundred times before, not once allowing this line to resonate: "Archaeological evidence indicates that the bodies were exposed to the elements until only bones remained. Just Around the Corner Story and photos by Jeff Kurrus The Prehistoric Burial Site marker in Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is within eyesight of cabins and the park's mini-lodges. There are 53 marked graves at the New Pennsylvania Cemetery east of Gretna. I There are 53 marked graves at the New Pennsylvania The Prehistoric Burial Site marker in Eugene T Mahoney State Park is within An Adventure Story

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