(music) Hey everyone, I'm Sheila Jenkinson and you are listening to the Growing Small Town Nebraska Podcast where I ask community leaders and business owners about their efforts in revitalizing the Cornhusker State. If you love your small town and you're looking for ways to make it even better, or maybe you're interested in what this revitalization movement may mean for you and your family. Join me as I talk with small town Nebraskans making our state the definition of "The Good Life."
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Dana Steffensmeier is a member of the Beemer Community Club, involved in the Beemer Fire Auxilary, co-owner of Bobcat Fitness and Marketing Director at Steffensmeier Insurance Agency and First Community Bank and is involved in many clubs and groups in Cuming County. Way to be an underachiever, Dana. So glad to have you on the podcast today.
I'm very excited about this.
Alright. Well, so I guess I'll start with this question. What would you say makes the town of Beemer so special?
I think what everybody else says about the towns, the small towns in Nebraska, the people. Everybody really has their back. They always say that Beemer supports Beemer and that's not far from the truth.
Awesome. Tell me a little bit about the Beemer Community Club and the collaboration that you see in your town when it comes to area events.
Yeah, the community club is put on by a group of individuals and businesses in the area. And we have a representative from all the members that are in the area trying to get events and different things like that going on for the town of Beemer and the surrounding people who couldn't make it a better place to live at the end of the day.
Oh, I like that. Okay, so about how many people are involved in the community club?
We have about eight to 10 that show up every month when we have our meetings, but the range of members get about 50 to 60 of them and it's a yearly membership it's for $40.
Okay, when you have those community events, you see a lot of them get together and help work those things?
Yes, definitely. We have our core members that kind of spearhead what's going on with these events, but then you can ask anybody in town, they'll be willing to help with whatever we have going on for that because they know the end cause is just to make Beemer a better place.
I always think it's funny with things like community club or different things where, so say one spouse is in it, it seems to me like I'm always recruiting my husband or he's recruiting me even though we're the ones that are involved in it.
That is not an exaggeration. My husband is on the fire department. So he recruits me for things on there. And since I'm running the community club with that he's always in my back pocket for things.
It's a two for one kind of deal.
Yes, definitely.
So let's talk about Beemer Play Daze specifically. When is that held each year? What are some of the activities that are featured?
Yeah, it's always the end of July. This year it's July 26 and 27th. A Friday and Saturday. The Friday usually kicks off with the alumni banquet, so that brings a lot of the old school classmates that people have from the area back into town. You can revisit with all those and there's always a big get together after the event is held and there's also a doubleheader Beemer verses Beemer. I know it's crazy, we have two Beemer teams, but a lot of people from around the area just join these and then people can come watch them down at the ball fields there. So that's all held Friday night along with some other things.
Saturday, we kick off with horseshoes and water fights at 9am. And then there's coffee and a pitch tournament down on Main Street. The parade starts at 2pm and that's free for anybody that wants to come join the parade or even just sit around and get the free candy that comes around. That usually starts around 2pm and starts at Colonial Haven going all the way down to Main Street which kicks off the rest of the events. This year, we are putting Play Daze on Main Street instead of one of the side streets. We're hoping to get more traffic there as well as putting the band right front and center. The band will be going between the two bars which will house a beer garden in between. Free inflatables there, kiddie and tractorpulls, there's a bunch of music. Fire Trucks, we'll have silent auction, bingo, you name it. And then our last headliner is The Drunk Monkey Band out of Lincoln, Nebraska, but has some ties from up this way. They're going to be playing right in the middle of Main Street on the B is what we say, which is painted in the middle.
I would be curious to know how that band got their name.
Yep. Right?
Right.
So single monkey, not a double monkey.
There you go. (chuckles) One monkey. All right. What's funny your your listing some of the events that happen in conjunction with that coffee and pitch on Main Street. I just thought I feel like that's so Nebraska, just coffee and pitch in the middle of Main Street.
That is usually held by the senior center son center. And it gets a lot of people in and out. It's so fun to see. And a very big age range of who comes in place pitch. And usually the younger ones are pretty good at what they do.
Yeah, so my kids both like to play pitch. I do not like it. I have never liked it. I'm not good at it. I don't, I don't get it. But yeah, and they're in their 20s. And they they're like, do you want to play pitch? I'm like, Are you serious? Right now? Pitch. Okay.
Right. I didn't grow up in a card playing family. So it was kind of knew to me, but I enjoy it. But I don't know what I'm doing for the most part.
So we did we played cards almost every night when I was growing up. And the thing in our house was if you lost you did not want to lose, you had to go down to the basement and get the ice cream and our basement was so creepy. You'd cheat, lie, steal whatever, whatever it took to win that card game if you could.
The Beemer community club really stepped up during COVID to help out the town's restaurants. And can you talk a little bit about what that group did during that time?
We put on an event called Takeout Tuesday. And it was for the businesses in town that were kind of struggling because they didn't get the people in and out of the door like they normally did for food wise. So we had the two gas stations as well as the three restaurants right there on Main Street. And what we did was a Takeout Tuesday. So every Tuesday if you got to take out, you could put your name in a hat and we would draw at the end of the day for Beemer Bucks, which is cash value we put on through the bank here and you can use the money at any business in Beemer and then come redeem it here at the bank. It's all put on through the community club itself. But it was a nice way to give back to the community. And some of those businesses really, really appreciated it because they didn't have the people in and out like they normally do.
Oh, that was great way to kind of reinvent things. That's not something that continued it was just out of COVID during that time?
You know we talked about bringing it back just as a fun, you know, something to do but it hasn't continued since COVID. We did it probably 12 different times. And we had a blast doing it. It was something to look forward to in the COVID time where you couldn't really leave or do anything and businesses got fun with it because they got different specials going on and races between who had more kind of thing. It was very fun to see.
So Beemer was also involved in the Cattleman's Ball in 2023. Can you tell me a little bit about how your town got involved in that and what that process was like?
Yeah, the Cattleman's Ball was held in Pender, Nebraska, right on the coming County border. And there is a bunch of people from all surrounding areas that got put on I did the marketing and design work for it. And we had the fire department helping out with taking shifts on it. We had plenty of people in town people going bartending or just working the event. There was kind of a group effort for everything for all the towns involved on it. But it was really cool to see at the end of the day, the impact that we made, the way that Cattleman's Ball works is 90% of it goes to the UNMC cancer in Omaha and 10% of the grant goes back to community members. So I know our fire department was able to get a good grant for it for all the work that they did. And there was a few other places in Beemer that got that they applied for.
That's a huge event. I think people like really look forward to it every year. And it's just grown and grown.
You know, this was my first Cattleman's Ball, I had never knew about it, because I'm from originally from Omaha didn't really know anything like that. And the last time it was in town, it was at that that was way before my time. So when I signed up for it, I didn't know what I was signing up for. But it, at the end of the day, made such an impact. And it was so cool to see. It was a lot of work. But it was cool to see at the end of the day this year as in Minatare, which is on the way other side of the state. But I know a handful of people are going to it already.
Oh yeah. No, I know, several that like that's an annual thing for them. When Clark and I first moved to Stanton, it's one of the first things that we went to it was held in Stanton that year, and I was with US92. And so they sent me for the radio station, and oh my goodness, and it wasn't even near as big of a thing as it is now. And I was so impressed. And then I didn't I didn't realize that how the money was dispersed. That's really cool.
I think what makes it cool, though, was leading up to it, the volunteers and I think that plays a big part in who Nebraska is at the end of the day.The volunteers for the site. We were packed house in Pender auditorium just trying to have a meeting because that's how many volunteers were leading it and then on top of it, the volunteers that didn't come to those meetings, you know, those were just the head volunteers to make that event happen. The amount of volunteers that they needed was just mind blowing. But people were wanting to write and let's do it.
Yeah, and, Nebraskans know how to get things done. They just do.
Definitely.
I mean, you're just, if something needs to be done, there's somebody to step up and be like, Hey, do you want help with that? And there it is.
(Music) Thank you to Stanton State Bank for sponsoring this episode. At Stanton State Bank you'll find old fashioned friendly service plus the technology to bring you the latest in banking, with locations in Stanton and Norfolk, visit Stanton State Bank today for all your banking needs. Member FDIC.
(music) Thank you to the Norfolk Community Theatre for sponsoring this episode. The mission of the Norfolk Community Theatre is to create live theatre, cultivate local talent, and collaborate in the production of the Performing Arts.
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Something really unique that I learned about Beemer is a refurbished school that I guess I don't even know how to talk about it except that you have a very unique building. Can you explain that a little bit?
Yeah, so our school is no longer as a school and it was just kind of sitting empty for a long time. If you talk to anybody that is from Beemer and that went to beamer school, they have so much heart in the school that they have. Beemer Bobcats, their pride in purple. And that's kind of the color that we go on. Everything's Go Bobcats, even though the school is no longer in session. The building was sitting empty for quite a long time. And they were trying to figure out the village itself was trying to figure out what to do with it. So they decided to move the library over there to occupy a third of it. This library is amazing. There's conference rooms in there. There's a big area for kids to play and kids to look at, but very well done. They're always doing something new with the library there.
And then there was the whole other half that they were kind of trying to figure out what to do. So back in 2019 ish. My husband is from here I am from Omaha, but he had always wanted to open a gym in the area for the community. So we kind of went into the village and said, What if we take over part of it as the gym. We use what was the gymnasium where the basketball was played and the volleyball was played for the school. And then we take over a few classrooms and put our gym in there. And then the other classrooms, there's four classrooms, I believe, that turned into a daycare site. So we are revitalizing the whole building. The gym has been open now since about 2020. And we are just thriving with it. We get people from all over the place. But we really, at the end of the day have always said that we're doing this for Beemer, we're doing this to give back to the community because it's something that was needed. And it was a building that was just sitting empty.
Right? Why not?
Yes. So We refinished the flooring. We brought back a ton of old pictures, we found the old track records in the basement. And so we have those broadcasted that the records are still standing from all of these old high schoolers that have had records. So far, we have taken over two of the classrooms and have changed it into our workout facility area in hopes to take over to more classrooms to expand.
That is really neat. And then I know that there are several events that are hosted throughout the year. Can you tell us a little bit about some of those events and about when they are each year?
The community theater is always a hit to go. It's usually the last weekend of February and and that's held down at our ballroom there. The Beemer Community Theatre is its own entity and they do an amazing job with that. They always have the fire department help out with the bar side of it. So it's kind of a group effort for the community club itself. We put on a bunch of different things such as Breakfast with Santa fish fries, trunk or treat, tailgate parties, takeout Tuesdays, all that kind of stuff. We are working on our mural on Main Street, which is hopefully going to be up this summer sometime. If we could cross our fingers. It's going to be before Play Daze but we have plenty of events going on all the time with different community and with the community club we always try to get different community clubs involved so we always have the fire department help out the Legion hall the community theater, different things with that be a part of our events. So it's a group effort with it.
And if people want to find out more about when those events are throughout the years there a spot they can go to?
Our Facebook page is very active with it. It's just Beemer, Nebraska. We always are posting things that are going on in town even specials that the local food places are having. We always put our events up there. There's going to be a full schedule of the Play Daze but that is the end all for the events that we have going on.
Oh that works that works. Is there anything else you want to talk about that we missed?
The only other thing I was gonna slip a plug in for that. It was our splash pad, our splash pad was put out in 2018 up by the park by the Colonial Haven, it's usually open from Memorial Day to Labor Day weather impending from there, but it's a free, fun thing for kids to do. And my kids just love it.
I wish splash pads had been around more when my kids were little. We'd always do like a tour of parks, you know, and, and we'd always go super early, or maybe in the evening because the equipment would get hot. And so you know, you'd slide down the slide and some of your skin was still on the slide. But so splash pads are nice.
Yes, our splash pad is kind of fun, too, because it's connected to a park itself. So I have one boy that loves a splash pad. And I have another boy that loves the park. And so we kind of get the best of both worlds that we can, you know, be at one place and they can both have what they want.
That's fantastic. I actually missed those days for sure. Well, I do have we always have one final question on the Growing Small Town Nebraska Podcast. So Dana, what do you love about living in small town Nebraska?
The community, I am excited to raise my kids here. I'm excited that they can grow up in a community that is looking out for each other, as well as somewhere that they can feel safe and not have to go to somewhere like a park and watch over their shoulders at all. I'm excited that they can grow up with the people from this community in the area that really have their back at the end of the day. And not only their back, but they have my back too.
Yeah, that speaks volumes right there. Well, you keep up the hard work and the great work and thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
Of course it was very exciting.
Thank you.
(music) Elkhorn Valley Museum located at 515 Queen City Boulevard in Norfolk Nebraska has something for everyone! Discover the history of Northeast Nebraska and more through their permanent and changing exhibits. Stay and play a while in the Children's Discovery Zone. Explore Verges Park or visit their research library. Enjoy the many events and activities throughout the year. The Elkhorn Valley Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10am to 5pm, for a small admission. Members are always free. Find out more at elkhornvalleymuseum.org.
(Music) Thank you to 4th Street Sweets for sponsoring this episode. For your chocolate fix or an original gift you can find 4th Street Sweets at 103 North Fourth Street in Norfolk. See their delicious treats on their Facebook page: 4th Street Sweets. Let them sweeten your day.
This episode was brought to you in part by Bobcat Fitness in Beemer, the Young family, Innovation Station of West Point, Cuming County Economic Development, Cowboy Construction, Visit Cuming County, and Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast in Nebraska City. Thank you for your support of the Growing Small Town Nebraska podcast.
(music) If you're interested in being a guest or a sponsor of the show, you can find out more information on the website or email me at growingsmalltownne@gmail.com. The Growing Small Town Nebraska podcast can be found on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Pandora, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Regular episodes come out the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Sheila's Shout Outs are on the first and third Tuesdays and sponsored podcasts launch on select Fridays. Join me again next time as I talk with business and community leaders who are working to revitalize the Cornhusker State. Thanks for listening!
