Small-Town America...in Nebraska? (Omaha, Kearney: stores, budget, pine)

[tpabes]

Shelby Nebraska
Eustis, Nebraska | Friendly Small Town Living in Southwest Nebraska!
Elwood, Nebraska - Chamber of Commerce

Here are the city sites for those 3 communtities you mentioned.

[stotan88]

well after doing much research i think i've decided with Shelby. It seems like a really nice town and has the exact landscape and economy i'm looking for. However, (i know i'm being so picky), if anyone knows of a town similar in economy/agriculture/landscape/population as Shelby, Ne but is FURTHER away from Lincoln or Omaha, that would be absolutely ideal...I really want to make the setting seem very remote, as if getting to these cities isn't that easy to do. I think Shelby is about 65 miles or so from Lincoln. If there is a town further away from the two major cities but is similar to shelby, please let me know! Thank you all for your help!!

[Dave1215]

What about Bassett?

Shelby = 690 population
Bassett= 652 population

Shelby = Cattle/Hog production
Bassett = Cattle/Hay production

Shelby = 114 miles from Omaha
Bassett = 240 miles from Omaha

Shelby = 70 miles from Lincoln
Bassett = 244 miles from Lincoln

Shelby = German/Irish/Polish
Bassett = German/English/Irish

[stotan88]

Originally Posted by Dave1215

What about Bassett?

Shelby = 690 population
Bassett= 652 population

Shelby = Cattle/Hog production
Bassett = Cattle/Hay production

Shelby = 114 miles from Omaha
Bassett = 240 miles from Omaha

Shelby = 70 miles from Lincoln
Bassett = 244 miles from Lincoln

Shelby = German/Irish/Polish
Bassett = German/English/Irish

hmmm...sounds good to me. I'll definitely look into it. And several people have said Bassett is a very attractive town too. Thank you for the information

[StealthRabbit]

I would suggest you get as far away from the large cities as possible, and remote from the Interstate highway or any 'medium' sized cities. This to reduce 'bedroom' (commute) communities and to get something with a soul of its own. Possibly away from a 'Walmart' /mall if you are interested in the economic soul of a community. There are some significant differences from farming and ranching based communities, as farming is very 'weather' centric, ranching avails a little broader latitude. Thus western and eastern NE have some differences. I'd try a couple communities in each area and spend a week in each to get a feel for your project. I have lived in both areas and enjoyed the variety and challenges faced in small town America. Because of local ethnic, power families, and life events / history, the towns seem to have a personality of their own. Some are very easy going and easy to infiltrate / participate, in others you will ALWAYS be an outsider, and in some, never welcomed.

[stotan88]

Originally Posted by janb

... Because of local ethnic, power families, and life events / history, the towns seem to have a personality of their own. Some are very easy going and easy to infiltrate / participate, in others you will ALWAYS be an outsider, and in some, never welcomed.

That is SO interesting! The town I am imagining for my novel is a small town, and though the residents all know each other and are friendly to each other, they do not like change and, therefore, new people. Lots of gossip would go around. They all live a very comfortable life and do not want it to change or be disturbed by newcomers. Likely I'll have to find out for myself what kinds of towns are like that, but if anyone has any experience living in one of these towns/visiting one of these towns, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by stotan88

hmmm...sounds good to me. I'll definitely look into it. And several people have said Bassett is a very attractive town too. Thank you for the information

It is very attractive. A great little hotel/restraunt downtown that is historic too... Folks coming in with their cattle would stay at the hotel and eat in the connected restraunt (RangeLand Cafe). There is a mural on the wall that I remember being there when I was a kid (40+ years ago).... that picture brings back so many memories of spending time on the ranches of various aunts/uncles. It is a town that has taken hold of itself and tried to make things better... they have taken advantage of the arts of all things with their Arts Council.

Take a look at this page... scroll about 1/2 way down and you'll see it starts with the arts schedule then goes into entrepenurial (can't spell) things...

Also, great little article I just found about the hotel and restraunt... will give you a little perspective on the spirit of the town.

[stotan88]

Thanks to Dave1215, I realized Bassett is very similar to Shelby, and is slightly more ideal because of it's more remote location in Nebraska.

I was curious is anyone had any specifics on the type of agriculture in that area. I know Dave1215 said there was cattle and hay production, but if anyone has some more information about agriculture in the area, it would be greatly appreciated

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by stotan88

Thanks to Dave1215, I realized Bassett is very similar to Shelby, and is slightly more ideal because of it's more remote location in Nebraska.

I was curious is anyone had any specifics on the type of agriculture in that area. I know Dave1215 said there was cattle and hay production, but if anyone has some more information about agriculture in the area, it would be greatly appreciated

A point of reference: Bassett is in Rock County which is the northcentral part of the state referred to as the Sandhills - nothing else like it in the US (or the world)

Cattle and Hay would be the largest types of ag in the area, but others would be Wheat, Corn for grain, and Soybeans. Remember you are in the Sandhills region so not really condusive to crops, unless some irrigation is introduced but the sandy soil isn't the best for that.

The US Dept of Ag has a Nat'l Ag Statistics Service (NASS) which provides a great variety of information on US agriculture. Its data comes from various census' so its available at both State and County levels. Here is a link to the NASS site for Nebraska. Several different maps (some interactive) and multiple methods to pull both crop and livestock data.

Besides the NASS site for statistical stuff you would probably find the Nebraska Dept of Agriculture to have lots of information and be of great assistance.

A quick one-page overview giving A Look At Nebraska Agriculture (a state-wide view not a county or region view).

Probably your best source of information would be the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. Each part of the state has an Extension Office. Here is the link to the Cooperative Extension for Brown, Keya Paha and Rock Counties. I bet a quick email to this Extension Office (pbauer1@unl.edu) will get you tons of relevant information - very very nice people who's job is to help the local public with information.

[Synopsis]

Eustis is the "wurst" town in Nebraska!

Neat websites for all of those nifty little towns.