Dad remembrance pilgrimage: Day 7

Previous leg: Des Moines, Iowa to Omaha, Nebraska

July 16, 2022: Omaha to Columbus, Nebraska

Dad’s youngest brother Dwight is a pastor in Omaha. He and his wife Carol hosted me overnight after my visit to Atlantic. Dwight serves New Life Presbyterian Church and is administrator at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. Carol is a retired elementary school teacher. Their two cats were incredibly patient with hosting a two wheeled interloper overnight.

After having breakfast together, I said goodbye to Carol and followed Dwight to New Life Presbyterian Church and was reminded of the many forms ministry can take. New Life hosts a community dumpster day for neighborhood families without easy or economical access to bulk trash pickup. Their oldest 92 year old member was working right alongside members of the high school youth group making the neighborhood a cleaner place.

Ft. Calhoun, where it all began

Following a brief stop at Shepherd of the Hills we said our goodbyes and I headed north towards Ft. Calhoun, home of an early frontier fort and dad’s first ordained call. He served there 1975-1979. It is also where I was born. While they were there my dad got his first Great Dane. Bismarck was later joined by a Great Dane/St. Bernard mix, and (briefly) by a Scottish Terrier. We lived in the manse across the street from the church.

The current pastor Gregg Miller was incredibly hospitable and took part of his Saturday to show me around the church. Much had changed in the building since dad’s time. A new addition had been built, the education building got resided after repeated storms, and the city has put in a new splash pad where apple orchards once stood. I was young enough that I do not have any definite memories of the community, but have heard enough stories that it felt fairly familiar when arrived.

Ft. Calhoun Presbyterian Church has a very active quilting group which includes a couple of members remaining from my dad’s era. While he was there they made paraments based on the designs of the church’s stained glass windows. It was fun to see something from dad’s time nearly fifty years ago still in active usage.

The education building had a brick facade when dad was there, but that exterior was damaged by large hail in repeated storms. The siding was added and the roof was changed. The building hosts a preschool during the week and the pastor and administrative offices have also been moved from where dad’s office was located in the basement of the main building. An airbrushed paining in the stairwell reflects what the church looked like in dad’s era.

Eventually it was time to move on. Gregg and I said our goodbyes and I headed out, once more incredibly grateful for the hospitality I had received. The next stop was the fire station where dad began his volunteer fire fighting career. Part of what made stories of fire fighting in Ft. Calhoun so interesting is the fact that his department was partially responsible for providing backup coverage the nuclear power plant on the edge of town.

The college that wouldn’t be found

Because Ft. Calhoun does not have its own hospital, I was born right up the road in Blair. I visited the hospital before seeking out the campus of the former Dana College. Unfortunately, it took far longer than it needed to because the college does not appear on Google and every person I stopped on the street was either young enough they don’t remember the school, or visiting from out of town. Eventually I found someone from the community old enough to point me in the right direction.

Dad had a lifelong love of learning. He was a voracious reader. Even when he could no longer really take in printed words on the page he loved visiting bookstores with my brother. Dad’s love of learning led him to pursue a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He wrote his dissertation on the use of storytelling in preaching.

Although his coursework was done by correspondence and intensive seminars, his dissertation adviser was a professor at Dana College, an ELCA related school founded by Danish immigrants. It was a little eerie going onto campus and seeing relatively modern buildings decaying from lack of use. The site is for sale. If you’ve ever wanted to open your own university this is your opportunity.

Columbus, home for longer than expected

Before leaving Blair, I stopped for lunch and caught up on some picture posting. Finally, I set out for Columbus where my dad’s oldest brother lives. Doug and Randi have been here ever since they moved from Atlantic. My cousins, Carrie and Tracy, were both home at that moment and we spent the evening catching up, going through old photo albums, and playing rummy. At that point we had no idea that I was going to become a longer term guest than any of us expected.

Other than heat and high humidity, it was a good day for riding. It seemed like plenty of other people agreed, because I saw more riders out on the road than I had throughout the rest of the trip.

Day 7 mileage: 138 (1,349.6 total)

Next entry: Columbus, Nebraska, convalescence