Surrounded

August 4-5, 2019
Grand Island KOA
Grand Island, Nebraska


There is absolutely no question in my mind as to whether or not Nebraska is an agricultural state.  As we boogie down the highway, which by the way is much better than Iowa's load unsettling experience, all we can see for miles and miles.....yes, things are rather flat here.....are crops in the field...and an occasional house/barn/silo.

We zipped down the road, which unfortunately turned to dirt about 900 yards before the campground entrance, and settled into our campsite for the next 2 nights.  There were 2 other rigs in the area we were camped in.

  Mmmmm...interesting...is it because this is not a popular campground?  Or ???  Maybe people don't like to be surrounded by corn?  Corn field in front of us across the road.  Corn field to the left of us.  Corn field behind us.

Well, Momma and Dad didn't waste any time taking in the corn field view.  We are only here for two nights so they hustled off the the Stuhr Museum seeing as tomorrow's plan was two tours.

Once again, the generosity of a family,  the Stuhr Family, has created a venue to enlighten the visitors on the history of the area.  What a great collection giving a glimpse of life in the earlier days.

Some highlights:

 How's this for toaster?

 Anyone remember this type of dentist drill?

How about adding curls to your hair ladies?

 Or maybe a treatment for dry hair/scalp?

 Corsets and hoops for the a small waist and full skirt.

 Traveling in style.

 Check out the gorgeous woodwork on these pieces.....all the intricate carvings and attention to detail.  No imitation wood used on these fine pieces.

And an extra bonus, they happened to be having a car show in the 'old town' area.....the community from the past with a general store, bank, hardware shop, livery, cobbler, etc.  

Well, remember that lonesome feeling upon arrival. Upon returning from the outing, we not only gained neighbors, but the campground is just about full.  And then it emptied out once again the next morning only to fill up again at night.

As I mentioned, two tours were lined up for Monday.  The day began at the CASE factory building huge combines using Henry Ford's assembly line technique.  

Case takes safety very seriously, including the safety of their visitors.  We were donned in yellow vests, hard hats, safety goggles and hard/steel toe rubbers that slid over our shoes.

And to enhance the experience, everyone was given a set of earphones so we could hear every word the guide spoke.  

Case uses lasers to fabricate some of their parts that are cut to specific specifications, bent into the proper shape, painted and installed/bolted and/or welded all in the same building. 

Picture frames are used to hang the pieces to be painted. The picture frame is then hung on the track that will move it long as it is primed, painted and delivered to the assembly line for installation.

Each Picture Frame has a special number so that the parts can be identified.  Look at the top of the frame and you will see letters and numbers used to identify the parts hanging on that frame.

Combines made for use in the US have a $10,000 emissions control system put on them....that big black muffler looking piece

If it is going overseas, it is built to that countries specs....a much smaller muffler for one thing!  Maybe a limit for top speed for that country's regulations.

They even have a special apparatus to move the huge, heavy tires into place.

All done by pushing and maneuvering the buttons/joy stick on a remote controller.

Case had a nice facility but it definitely was not AC cooled....just fans.  The Hornady Manufacturing plant on the other hand had great climate control.

Hornady Manufacturing produces ammunition  No pics allowed in the factory but let me tell you, it was an impressive operation.  They have a room where they heat the lead to melting point and mold it into large cylinders.  Another machine turns the cylinder into a wheel of what can be best described as a cable.  Another machine cuts the cable into the proper size for the ammunition that is being made.  And the machine that really boggles the mind......takes a piece of metal that is in the shape of a cap or short thimble, elongates it into a hollow casing, fills it with lead, crimps the ends, adds a tip and pops it out the other end as a bullet.  WOW!!  Needless to say, they have a crew of machinists who keep these machines in working order.

Now you may wonder why Hornady began making ammunition.  He was an avid hunter as can be seen by all the mounts hanging on every available space.

This is just a small sampling of the numerous displayed animals.

Hornady wanted a quality bullet that would allow him to consistently hit the target in the same place 10 times in a row.  And the rest is history as the business has been pasted down thru a couple of generations growing over time to employ 800 workers, including our excellent tour guide who shared that it really is a great company to work for. 

Many employees willingly drive over 30 miles one way daily to be able to work at Hornady.

So Tuesday we join the flow of departures as we leave Nebraska and head for South Dakota...another state to fill in on my growing map.  My US geography knowledge is growing!!

I'm Chloe