Heritage Park in Battle Creek, Nebraska, is coming to life at last.
Three historic buildings and the land surrounding them had sat padlocked and abandoned for years until work began there in coordination with the town’s 150th anniversary celebration Aug. 3 to 6.
“Heritage Park was in pretty bad shape,” Marcie Sextro said. “It had only been mowed and hadn’t had much TLC.”
That’s all changed in the past year at the park south of town on Nebraska Highway 121, thanks to an organizing group of four and lots of volunteers. Sextro is a part of that group.
The volunteers started renovating a former doctor’s office to use as a heritage museum for the site. Work on the historical Joseph and Katherine Severa Skala house, which was built in 1869, and a movie theater will be spread out over the next three to four years.
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Cement walkways and benches will be added and markers will tell the history of the town, which is about a 2-hour drive northwest of Omaha. All of the improvements will be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. That's important, Sextro said, because the park sits next to a nursing home.
The town received a grant from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, which helped to design and choose plants for an area of the park that surrounds the doctor's building.
“We wanted native plants and grasses from the state of Nebraska to fit the historical theme,” Sextro said.
A total of 341 plants and 42 bushes and trees have been added. Sextro said the gardens look gorgeous. She serves on the revitalization committee with local residents Jessica Fouts, Donna Murphy and Ginger Howser.
“The birds were walking through the plants. There were frogs,” Sextro said. “It’s just very peaceful.”
A ribbon cutting will be held Aug. 3 at 7 p.m., after which the park will remain open. The buildings will be open to view when renovations are completed.
Sextro said the project has been a lot of work. Organizers were hoping to have more done for the celebration, but they’re excited that a vision that people in town had years ago is finally happening.
“We’re trying to make that dream of that being a historical park come to pass,” she said. “We’re hoping to have a place to go that’s beautiful. A pleasant place to relax and read a book.”
