Minden, Nebraska: Harold Warp's Pioneer Village

This place has shown and is showing its age. Grounds are well taken care of, exhibit descriptions are clearly marked. There is just so much displayed, that you can't really take it in (even the Smithsonian puts up a portion of its stuff and rotates what it has). The restaurant has '50s style menu selections (good hamburger, but wish it had lettuce & pickles besides the tomato and onion) and the hostess to go with them. The sheets in the motel are so thin that it makes you afraid you'll rip them, but overall it's a very clean place. You have to use your room key to get ice!

This is an incredible collection. It contains many many lessons on American life of the past that cannot be taught from a book. The only drawback is you need more than 1 day to really appreciate it all. Driving by and thinking you are going to "take it all in" in a few hours ...just won't happen.

When we went they even had a coal fired merry-go-round and popcorn machine both working. For the detail-oriented folks, they have hand typed cards explaining each item. AND Harold Warp's own school house complete with HIS books and paperwork was charming. What a man!

Definitely worth the trip. The best museum around. Children and adults love it. I stayed in the PV hotel which was roomy, clean, great pillows, quiet and the admission price of the village was included in the hotel price. More people need to know what awaits them!

I grew up in Minden and still receive the local newspaper (courtesy of my father), The Minden Courier, even though I live in California. I was really tickled recently by a series of articles of the preparations for, and filming of a visit by Jack Nicholson for a portion of a movie in which Nicholson is traveling from Omaha to Denver following the death of his wife.