South of highway 74, east of highway 10 (Brown Avenue) —  but only about half of this area

Total for today:  1:50 time  — no pedometer

Minden, Nebraska is my home town.  I lived there from third grade through high school. (well, actually on a farm about 10 miles north of Minden).  My parents now live in a house in town there, and we went there to visit this weekend.

I decided to add Minden to my streetwalking for the year.  I did one-eighth of it on this visit, and hope to be able to do the rest when we go back at Thanksgiving.  Minden’s population is just under 3,000, and I think about 15 hours should be enough time to walk every street.  It depends on whether I decide to walk every alley also.

Even though I went to school at Minden, and it’s a small town, there are still parts of town I am not familiar with.  I would go to school and back, and go to the downtown area, but there are many streets I’m sure I have never gone down.

Minden has two big claims to fame.  It is the home of Pioneer Village, which has a vast collection of relics from the past.  It is well worth a visit, and can take a day or two to even try to see everything there… it covers 20 acres.  It is also Nebraska’s ‘Christmas City’… and every winter the courthouse in the town square is decorated with lights and local residents perform a Christmas pageant.

Pioneer Village website

Minden, Nebraska wikipedia

I just noticed in the wikipedia article for Minden that apparently it has a third claim to fame.   Minden holds the record for the highest recorded temperature in Nebraska, at 118 degrees.  I find it a little strange, however, that it doesn’t give a date or even a year.

However,  I just did a little bit more research (via Google), & found this collaborating web site… which indicates that there is actually a TIE for that 118 degree high temperature… it shows that temperature was reached on July 24, 1936.  But two others towns also had that temperature earlier in 1936.  It also indicates the LOWEST temperature recorded in Nebraska was -47°, was recorded on February 12, 1899 at Camp Clarke and on December 22, 1989 at Oshkosh (90. years later!)

Nebraska Geography web site

Minden was named after Minden, Germany.   It’s population is about 80,000… so about the same size as Longmont.   When Jennifer & I and the kids went to Germany about 15 years ago, we went out of our way to spend half a day there just to see our ‘namesake’ home town.  A very enjoyable trip.

An interesting bit of trivia that I didn’t know is in the wikipedia article below.   The name of the ship that Francis Scott Key was on when he composed the Star Spangled Banner was the HMS Minden, named after Minden, Germany.

Minden, Germany wikipedia

For the purposes of my blog, I will split Minden (the Nebraska one!) up into four sections.  Highway 10 running north-south and highway 74 running east-west split the town into four quadrants roughly the same size.  The northeast (NE) section will take more time than the rest, I’m sure.

Today I did about half of the SE quadrant.  It took one hour and 50 minutes.  I didn’t have my pedometer, so don’t have the number of steps.

GRAIN STORAGE (I think)

 

 

MINDEN STREET NAMES

It occurred to me as I was walking that a lot of the street names in this part of town are the same as some nearby towns.  In particular, there are Kearney, Lexington, Hastings, Campbell, and Palmer.

And somewhat strangely, there is a Minden Avenue.  And a Nebraska Avenue.  Unfortunately, they both run north-south… otherwise somebody could live at the intersection of Minden and Nebraska in Minden, Nebraska.

There’s also a Colorado Avenue (which happens to be where my parent’s house is), which is appropriate for the Longmont Streetwalker.

 

 

 

 

 

MISSION II HAITI  / RON & LINDA BREWER

Before leaving town, we stopped in to see my old geography teacher, as well as track and cross-country coach, Ron Brewer, and his wife Linda.  We had a nice visit, and they told us about the relief work they have been involved with in Haiti, helping get fresh water to people in need.

Mission II Haiti web site

 

LOCAL BUSINESSES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND THE BEST OF THE REST of the photos…