Tumbleweed Festival in Haigler - October 17

COMING SOON--OCTOBER 17--HAIGLER TUMBLEWEED FESTIVAL

 

It's October--and that means Tumbleweed Festival Time again in Haigler.  The 8th annual Haigler Fall Tumbleweed Festival will be Saturday, October 17 on the Haigler Museum grounds south of Golden Rod Highway 34 and Porter Avenue.  Everyone is invited for this traditional event of fun-filled and enjoyable activities, great live music, and delicious food.  The museum grounds will be decorated for you, tents will be up, and flags will be flying.  Event planners encourage you to bring your lawn chair for the afternoon activities.  Admission is free but donations for Museum projects would be appreciated.

 

Attendees are encouraged to bring a decorated tumbleweed.  All registered tumbleweeds will be displayed in front of the One-Room Schoolhouse Museum, and cash prizes will be awarded.

 

Schedule of Events:

The day begins with village wide garage sales from 9 a.m. to noon MT.  Site maps will be available at The Station on Hwy. 34 and Porter Avenue and at the Haigler Country Cafe.  Jellies, canned goods, fresh baked cookies, brownies, breads, and treats will be available to purchase.   The Sunshine Thrift at the Cornerstone Center for Community Service will be having a $4 bag sale on merchandise, and the Mini-Mall shoppers will receive 50% off.  The Haigler Depot Library at the Center will also be open.

 

Lunch begins at 1 p.m. under the tents on the museum grounds.  New this year is a Chili Cook Off.  Your votes will choose the winner.  If interested in being a contestant, contact LaNeta at 308-340-1689.  Hot dogs, relish, & chips will also be served.  The Haigler Golden Inn will be serving homemade pies with icecream.

 

Live music will be performed throughout the afternoon with The Garage Bunch Band from Burlington, Colorado, and special guest guitarist/songwriter Phalen Sanford of Benkelman, Nebraska.  Afternoon activities include treasure hunts, horseshoe pitching, Maypole Merry-Go-Round rides, pumpkin decorating, games, face painting, and kids sparkly manicures.

 

New this year will be craft tents along with the Haigler Street Cat Assistance Program and Jellies/Baked goodies tents.  There will be name drawings for many great prizes donated by community businesses and individuals throughout the tri-state area.  Be sure to get your name in the jar.  The annual Maypole Award will also be presented.

 

At 3:30 p.m., the traditional Tumbleweed/Spook Parade for kids of all ages (includes adults) will begin in front of the Country Schoolhouse Museum.  People (costumed and plain), bicycles, tricycles, wagons, pull floats are all welcome; but no large motorized vehicles.

 

Open House at Haigler Museums:

Throughout the afternoon of Tumbleweed Festival, there is open house at the Haigler One Room Country Schoolhouse 67 South Museum, the Haigler Cornerstone Museum, The Station, and the Haigler Jail.  Festival goers will find many new items on display inside the museums and also notice the new  outside stucco and paint work at the Cornerstone Museum and the Station.  Donations to support the museums are tax deductible through the Haigler Community Foundation. 

 

It's Happening again in Haigler--so come spend the day in Haigler on Saturday , October 17, and enjoy the Tumbleweed Festival. 

IT'S HAPPENING IN HAIGLER!.......COWBOY and COWGIRL ROUNDUP

 

When?  Saturday evening, September 19 at the Cornerstone Center in Haigler.

Cheyenne has its Frontier Days event; Haigler is having its  Wild West event.  It is said there is a little bit of cowboy and cowgirl in each of us just waiting to be set free.  So put your boots on, saddle up, cowboy up, giddy up and head to Haigler for an evening of great entertainment.  Wanted posters are out for the best dressed cowboy & cowgirl-----but you don't have to dress country to attend.  Everyone is welcome!

 

The event begins at 7 p.m. mdt and ends at midnight.  The historic gymnasium at the Cornerstone Center will be festively decorated like the old time barn dances.  Enjoy eating barbecued beef hamburgers and hotdogs, baked beans, chips, drinks, and brownies.  Wet your whistle and enjoy drinking a beer or glass of wine in the outdoor tented beer garden.  Enjoy listening and dancing to live music with the Ron Scott Band, along with Kelly Hayward. 

 

Whether you are an 'old coot' or 'young whipper snapper,' bring pictures and stories of your cowboy/cowgirl events to share.  BYOR (bring your own rope) and join the fun of arena olympics.  Bring a stick horse and participate in the stick horse parade.  Try the Paul Jones Dance and the Boot Scramble.    Whether you are a participant or an observer,  it will be a good time.  Cash and prizes will be awarded for many of the activities.  Enter your name in the drawings to win  a hand woven saddle blanket donated by Tecker Ranch; angus beef steaks donated by Windmill Angus Ranch; various cowboy/cowgirl tack items; and other gift baskets.

 

There is no charge for this event; admission is free.  Over 20 local ranches, farms, feedlots, cattle companies, and individuals are helping to sponsor this event for our tri-state communities. There will be boots available to give a free-will tax deductible donation to the Haigler Community Foundation.  This event is the fundraiser kickoff for heating and air conditioning the historic gymnasium at the Cornerstone Center, and all donations will go towards that project.

 

Watch for fliers coming out soon.  Hope to see ya'll at the Roundup in Haigler!

2015 Haigler Bluegrass Festival was a Success!

People from far and wide attended the 2015 Haigler Bluegrass Festival.

Resetting the Visitor's Meter

Some of you may have noticed a Statcounter meter on this page.  I got an email from "StatCounter" today letting me know we have used 100% of our log space.  I can either upgrade (and pay money) OR reset the counter.  So today I am resetting the counter.  

Since August 8, 2008, (Seven years ago) there have been  119, 903 Page Visits and 68,791 Unique Visitors from many different countries.  Since July 20 you have come from 12 countries.

Thanks to our fans!  

FYI:  The StatCounter also lets me know where you are coming from, but not who you are.  Our visitors come from all over the world.  It is very interesting to see basic information about our visitors. I am going to watch so see where our new Number ONE visitor comes from.

-- Editor

Alfred Lee Zuege, May 20, 1945 - July 8, 2015

We received word that Alfred Lee Zuege passed away.

Obituary
May 20, 1945 - July 8, 2015

Alfred Lee "Al" Zuege, formerly of the Hot Springs area passed away Wednesday, July 8, 2015.  He was 70 years old.

Al was born May 20, 1945 to Albert F. and Sophia (Keller) Zuege at Saint Francis, Kan.  He and his brother Albert Jr. grew up on the family farm in Cheyenne County.  Haigler, Neb, was their hometown.  He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church.  He died July 8, 2015, at the age of 70.

The 1960s saw high school graduation from Haigler in 1963, McCook Junior College and Kearney State College, marriage to his high school sweetheart, Jeannie Wall and the births of two precious children, Kurt Eugene and Kimberly Elaine.  Al was athletic excelling in football and track.

Al taught at Cozad, Neb. before moving his family to Hot Springs to the beautiful  Black Hills where he taught mathematics and sometimes industrial arts for 20 years.  He then went to work for the Golden West Telecommunications for about 20 years until his retirement.

A special grandson, Zachary David, came to live in the Zuege home when he was a baby in 1989.  Zachary and Al enjoyed fishing and hunting.  Al also enjoyed gardening and woodworking.

He is survived by his wife Jeannie, his mother Sophia; his brother Albert Jr., his children, Kurt and Kimberly, his grandson Zachary and many other relatives and friends.

Preceding Al in death were his father and his in-laws, Richard and Laura Pearl Wall.

He requested no services, but some will gather at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, at the graveside in the Haigler Cemetery when his ashes will be buried.

Funeral Services for Willie Wall

RHoover,    

I am Willie’s oldest daughter, Greta Sawyer. My sister, Sherryl, and I want you to know that our Dad passed away Thursday, June 18 at the Benkelman hospital. The cause was congestive heart failure. Dad was not feeling his best for a few months and had good days and days he was extremely tired. But he was able to live alone until the last week and a half. My sister and I were here to care for him as he grew weaker. He had a really bad night Tuesday and we put him in the hospital Wednesday afternoon. He had medication to keep him comfortable. Sherryl stayed with him until midnight then came back home. The nurse called to tell us he had passed at 3:30 AM Thursday morning. When Sherryl and I went to the hospital he looked very peaceful. He told us he was “ready to go” so it’s a good thing for him even tho it’s sad for us. We will miss his sense of humor and his expressions of love. But we are comforted by knowing he is in a better place.

Services are Friday, June 26, 10:30 AM, MDT, at the Benkelman Methodist Church. There will be a luncheon following.

Greta Wall Sawyer and Sherryl Wall Williams

PIPE RAYMOND WINDMILL ADDED TO HAIGLER MUSEUM GROUNDS

A reconstructed Pipe Raymond Windmill, c. 1918 has been added to the Haigler Museum Grounds.  The Pipe Raymond Windmill was the most frequently seen vaneless mill on the Great Plains in the early 1900's.  Produced by Althouse Wheeler Co., beginning in 1912; the blades face away from the wind and fold back as wind speed increases, enabling the mill to turn at a constant rate.  the mill had red cypress blades dipped in white paint and trimmed in red.

Three years ago, Duane Wall of Cheyenne, Wyoming had a vision of moving his parents (Richard and Laura Pearl Wall) windmill base from the Wall farm to the Haigler Museum Grounds.  A group of volunteers moved the base, but soon thereafter, one of our southwestern wind storms destroyed the structure.  The base was rebuilt by Stan Carlock while Duane Wall and LeRoy Wright of Wray, CO began the process of reconstructing the top of the windmill.  Many of the old Raymond parts had to be researched and rebuilt as there are few Pipe Raymond Windmills still standing today.  Again, with the help of Haigler volunteers and Duane's nephew; the project was completed just before Memorial/Haigler Alumni weekend this year.  The Pipe Raymond Windmill stands just behind the Country Schoolhouse Museum and south of the larger Dempster Windmill on the museum grounds. 

Duane is a 1963 graduate of Haigler High School, lived and farmed for a number of years on the Wall farm west of Haigler.  He has donated this windmill project to the Haigler Museum grounds in memory of his parents, grandparents, and greatgrandparents--with a history of farming and ranching in the Haigler community.