(Festive music) Hey everyone, I'm Sheila Jenkinson and you are listening to the Growing Small Town Nebraska Podcast where my co-host, Marcie Sextro, and 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 us as we talk with small town Nebraskans making our state the definition of "The Good Life."
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Madison is the Nebraska Passport Program coordinator and was raised on an acreage outside of Fairbury. She has a passion for Nebraska and its rural communities. And we welcome you to the podcast today. Madison.
Thank you for having me.
So we have talked a lot on our podcast to our listeners about the Passport Program. Sheila has done several things with it. And I've done one a couple of years ago. But today we're here to talk to you about a new passport for the holidays. So tell us how that got started.
So we decided last year to start the Nebraska Holiday Passport. We've had people for years saying that it would be so cool if they could passport, you know, not during the summer. Our summer program only runs from May to September. So we had kind of floated around the idea for a long time. And finally last year, it felt like a really good time after kind of COVID settled down a little bit to try to you know launch something new. So we're really excited about it! This year is the second year ever. It is something that will kind of be able to highlight different places across Nebraska than we can on our summer program. All these places are places that I like to think of as "going in the holiday season for a specific reason." So you might go to this stop during the summertime or during fall and think wow, this is really cool, but they have a specific reason why you should go during the holiday season. Really fun.
Fantastic. So I got online there and had them send me my Holiday Passport, which was super easy. So talk to us about some of the stops that are available this year.
Yeah,
Yeah, so there are 20 stops across the state. They're kind of all over the place. So we did stick a little bit to interstate 80 this year, because we had some weather concerns last year, and I know people are a little bit more comfortable traveling on the interstate during November and December. You never quite know in Nebraska. We have a big variety of places, so lots of great places to buy gifts. A handful of boutiques...there's the Rustic Riverside Mercantile in West Point. It's going to have like soap and linens and dishware. I'm sure they're gonna have holiday ornaments and all sorts of cool decor for your home. The Buy Nebraska store in Kearney. That's something I'm excited about. It's like the perfect place to buy all of your holiday gifts. All of the things that they provide there are from Nebraska-made vendors and it's everything from food to again, decor, clothing, all sorts of stuff. It's like the perfect one-stop shop for any of your holiday needs; especially for, you know, maybe teachers or family that you don't know super super well . I's like perfect! Everything there is just like delightful; and I don't know about you, but I'm big on buying Nebraska when it comes to the holidays!
Well...the Growing Small Town Nebraska, we have some merch there as well, so people can also put that in their packages.
I think that's just so important. You know the holiday season is so important for a lot of businesses around the state. And they think the most that you can do to buy local is is really awesome. I actually have a rule in my house that I don't allow candles that are not made in Nebraska. That's my one rule.
That's great! I saw that Ponca State Park is on there as well. So there's some places in the passport that are events. What will they be doing in the Ponca State Park?
So Ponca State Park has their like Christmas in the Woods every Saturday in December, which I always have like a wide variety of things. You know, there's sleigh rides. There's like a tree festival. Obviously you can do all the things you normally would do at Ponca State Park, like hiking, I think you can probably do ice fishing depending on the weather, and all sorts of really fun things. Also if you haven't been to Ponca State Park in the last few years they have all of these brand new cabin that are just gorgeous. They're super modern and beautiful. I know you have to rent them out a few months in advance. So, if you have not done that and you want to try to check it out, but it is a really cool, unique thing that Game and Parks does. It's kind of their big Christmas state park. I know they kind of put a lot of energy into Ponca State Park for the holiday time, so some really fun events.
Ponca State Park is just beautiful, anyway, it's gorgeous.
Yeah.
It is.
When our kids were little, we went there camping for quite an extended time. My husband did some work there at Ponca, and so oh my goodness, the memories, but I have not been there for a while, so...
I haven't either. We stayed in a cabin there too, but many, many years ago, so we'll have to check that out.
Mmm Hmm.
Yeah, you'll have to check out the new ones.
(They're) They're beautiful. And they're all kind of like secluded and just gorgeous. And they're all like brand new, really modern looking home, but also fitting the aesthetic of camping which is fun. Another one I actually really love to highlight is the Durham Museum and Omaha. Have eithe of you been to the Durham?
Years ago I sang in a group there, but that, again, many moons ago.
Yeah, it's been a long time.
Well, if you don't know the Durham is in the old Union Station in downtown Omaha. It's this beautiful museum, the whole main floor is just looks like a train station. And there's a lot of kind of 1940s inspired architecture for people who you know, especially if you're from kind of the Omaha metro area, a lot of people's grandparents have memories of World War II with the Union Station. That was the reason they would go there is you know, to send their their sons and brothers to you know, basic training into the war, which is really moving when you're there. And they put they also put up this giant Christmas tree. It's 40 feet tall. The Durham is something that's great to visit year round. But there's something really special about the Durham during Christmas time. And last year they had a Downton Abbey exhibit during Christmas and it was like the greatest thing.
Oh I bet! (Laughing)
I made my husband go with me.
Oh,
It was actually Christmas, that time that I sang there. And I remember the ginormous tree and it was so beautiful.
Yeah, that would be a really fun thing to check out. So this is the second year for the holiday passport. What kind of impact have you seen on small businesses or communities from having it last year?
Last year, we had quite a few people. I think we had thirty-one people go to all twenty stops on the holiday passport. You know, people out west will remember that there was a big snowstorm last year. So yeah, it's really impressive for those for those folks to be able to do that. But it kind of reflects itself well to the summer program in terms of like the amount of people and the time. You know, if you get 500 additional people into your doors during the month of December, I mean, that can have a huge impact on you. Like there is Dude's Steakhouse in Sidney, Nebraska, which is one of my favorite steak houses in the state. It's very kind of homey. It has a kind of a retro vibe, but it's been there for a while, but it's really, really delicious. And I'm a big steak girl, I grew up on a cattle farm. So it's important to me that people do that. But I think Dude's Steak House is cool, because you can go to a steak house any time of year. But if you spend a little bit more time there during the holiday season, you know, you can devote yourself to that a little bit more time with family to kind of make an event more out of it than you would if you just went there on like a Friday in July. Even things like that, that can really help these businesses in these small towns to kind of get some ideas flowing for people of oh, you know, shoot, we have Saturday free, maybe we can drive to Fremont and see the light display at the John Deere equipment implement dealership. It's a lot more about like the things you can do kind of when you have some free time to just spend more quality time with your friends and family.
Yeah, and you can always buy a gift certificate at any one of those eating establishments that are on the passport, which is another way to help them because it will bring more new people in.
Absolutely you can take pictures, posting on social media, you know, you can always come back to if you don't have time that day or something. It's always cool to be able to come back and be able to spend time there too. So it's not the impact to these businesses doesn't just happen during the passport season. It really happens kind of all year round.
You also made a point about a snowstorm last year, so it's a good thing to hurry up and get those holiday passports quick and get started while this weather is beautiful.
Right.
Yeah, and hopefully we'll have some good weather between then in January 7th, when it ends.
Yeah, we started in November to give people a little bit of time. Some of the places obviously don't start some of their holiday things until closer to, you know, the first of December, but we don't want to just define it to December because it's such a busy time. So feel free to go to as many as you can. But ,you know, maybe save one or two for like during that specific time of the year where things are going to be really festive, and hopefully there's no big ice storms or snow storms that prevent you from going.
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You know, another thing I like about the Passport Program is, I just use it like a guide. So I don't pressure myself. I'd love to be able to do it in the timeframe that's allowed, but I don't seem to have the time for that. But I use it as a guide of great things to do throughout Nebraska. So that is another reason to pick that thing up, you know, yeah..try to do it during the passport season. But if you can't, hey, then you can see some of the great things that are available. If a community or small business or maybe an event, if they want to be part of that next passport, how do they apply? And like what are the things you're looking for in a passport stop?
Great!
The application for the 2024 summer program is open right now. And it's completely free to apply and completely free to be a part of all we do is send you everything you need. And you don't have to do anything other than, you know, provide a friendly face after the application. So the application is really quick, it's probably about 15-20 minutes. All you do is kind of tell me about who you know what you are your business hours and contact information, maybe a handful of photos, just to give me a taste of why you think you would be a great passport stop, what you have to offer people who are coming to your destination. And it can be anything from, you know, we have really great cinnamon rolls, to we are a family run business, or it can be anything. You know, we highlight the history of our of our area, it doesn't have to be something really, really, really special. You know, I like to say anything and everything can and probably has been a passport stop. Maybe you don't think you're qualified for it, but you probably are. And if you have any really specific questions, but don't hesitate to reach out to me or our office to answer some of those. When we get the application, we do love people who have enthusiasm about the program. I really pay attention to people who have applied year after year. So if you maybe have applied two or three times, and haven't been chosen for whatever reason, you know, we do get about 350 applications each year. And since we only pick 70 for the summer program, please don't be too discouraged. It can be kind of a longer process for you to be chosen for whatever reason. So please just continue to apply. I have this crazy spreadsheet on my computer where I keep track of each stop, how many years they've applied, and if they've been on before. So it really does benefit you to apply every year. It's not a very intimidating application, it's pretty quick. Really, you just get to talk about the thing that you talk about all day long anyway, and, but there is a different application for the holiday program, mostly because there's a lot of places like I said that fit maybe a little bit better into the holiday program than they would in the summer program or vice versa. You know, there's places that apply for the holiday program. I say, actually, I would love to have you a part of it, but I actually think you're going to be a really great summer stop.
So it does go both ways. So feel free to apply for both, I'd be more than happy to see though the application. And the application for the summer program does close at the end of November. So November 30. So be sure to have that on your radar if that's something that you're interested in. And then the holiday application will open sometime in August, I believe.
So do you have any fun stories that you've heard from passport attendees or participants, or any of the businesses that have happened last year?
You know I've been in charge of the programs since 2019. So I have lots and lots of years of stories of people sharing with me, I remember a stop in 2020 called me and it was at the end of the program, and he said, You know, I was really skeptical to do this, I had heard lots of people talking about how great it was to be a sop and he's like, I'm gonna be honest with you, you guys saved my business, we were able to keep all of our staff on during COVID We were able to really provide, you know, a really great atmosphere for people here even in this really scary and hard time. And that was really meaningful. He, he just was so thankful for the program and I get that kind of feedback a lot. It can be really, really, really beneficial to these places in in these small rural communities to get people from all over. You also find new favorites. That's like my favorite thing, I think, about the passport you find favorite places that you're like, every single time I drive through Potter, Nebraska, I have to go here or every time I am even remotely close to to Tekamah, I have to go to Master's Hand and grab a roll. Like those types of things are the best. And you never know where like those people are going to come from. If you're a stop, like you might get a person who loves your store who lives in Arizona, and every time they're in Nebraska like well, why don't you go back to that one place. So I hear that kind of story a lot where people are like, Oh my gosh, this is the greatest place I've ever been or I didn't know this part of Nebraska history, it was so cool and so unique to me to learn that I get a lot of families that have done the passport every year. There's one family in particular that has four children, and last year, they posted a photo where every single one of their kids, and the parents had T shirts from different years because they had done the passport and they had been passport champions for so many years, that they had enough T shirts for every single one of them.
Oh, wow.
Which was so cool. Yeah, they had done it six years in a row. So they had enough T shirts for everybody in different years.
Well, we do really appreciate you being on the podcast. We're very, very excited about all that. Can't wait to get out there and hit the streets and the road trips and find out more about the Holiday Passport. But Madison, we do have one final question for you today. What do you love about living in small town Nebraska?
Oh, my goodness. Well, I Yeah. So I guess I grew up in Fairbury. I am super, super passionate about rural communities. I mean, I grew up on an acreage outside of town. I was just surrounded by love and community my entire life. It was so special to me to be able to the pride that we have in our high schools is something really cool. You know, growing up in February, our mascot is really weird.
What's your mascot?
The Jeffs?
Oh, that is different.
Yeah. Have you ever heard of it? Yeah. No. Fairbury is in Jefferson County. And so somehow along the line, we got the mascot, the Jeffman. And he is a cartoon character from the 1930s. He was a comic strip in the papers. And so, he kind of looks like the Monopoly Man or like Mr. Peanut.
Oh!
And he is so fun and unique. And I love that. (We were) just the pride that people have in their town, you know, it's something really special. I love going to all these communities and getting to talk to people about their, like, the history of the town or the things that have happened and things that have changed that have made it really unique; or businesses that have been there for generations that, you know, "oh, my grandparents went there." Or another thing I love is even if you live in, you know, Lincoln or Omaha or Kearney or a bigger town, you still have connection to your hometown, no matter where you are. The amount of times...even this morning, I was getting coffee. And I said I was from Fairbury. And someone said, "Oh my gosh, I go there every year and get a Christmas tree." And I was like, that's super random. But like but wonderful.
Yes, that's wonderful!
Yeah, so I'm very, very passionate about Nebraska. That's why I do this job. That's why I love this job. There's such a heart and such a love for for the people of this state. And I think it is really special. As cliche as that sounds, I think Nebraska is a really special place!
it is! it's the best place ever. So well. Thank you so much, Madison, for being on with us today. And we are looking forward to being able to share even more about the holiday passport. So everybody, get out and get onto the website. Get your Holiday Passport, and we would love to hear from you on what you do with it.
Thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
Yeah, thank you.
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