Burt County provides diverse attractions in northeast Nebraska

Burt County, Nebraska, offers visitors a range of attractions – from an overlook along the Missouri River to a look at a community’s Swedish heritage.

Lisa and I had been interested in taking a driving tour of the small county northeast of Omaha. I used to live in Oakland – the Swedish Capital of Nebraska – and Lisa’s dad and step-mom lived in Tekamah, the county seat.

So, we jumped in the family fun mobile and drove about an hour from Omaha.

Our first stop was north of Decatur to check out the Missouri River overlook. Decatur is a village of about 640 people along the Missouri River. I fished there a couple of times as a kid.

The overlook – Blackbird– offers a pretty view of the Missouri River along Highway 75. It’s along the Lewis and Clark scenic byway.

The overlook has a visitors center in the shape of a Native American earth lodge. It provides information regarding the Omaha Indian tribe, as well as information on the river and the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Afterward, we headed to Oakland. Anyone familiar with the area may ask why we didn’t stop in Tekamah first. Well, there was a method to our madness.

Oakland, population about 1,300 – and I swear almost everyone was of Swedish descent. My family lived in Oakland for about five years in the early to mid-1970s. My dad (step-dad, but truly my dad) lived there when he and my mom married. So, off we moved to the land of the Vikings. The high school was known as the Vikings until the merger with Craig resulted in the new name Oakland-Craig Knights.

We checked out Sue’s Shoppe along Oakland (main) Street. We made this stop a priority. We bought a Swedish Dala (horse figurine) when my dad passed away in 2007. So, I wanted to visit again.

The floral store has a beautiful arrangement of flowers. But, what intrigued us more were the gifts and decorations she offers. During our visit, she had a selection of Fall decorations and holiday items.

The fall colors were beautifully arranged. Who doesn’t like some pretty leaves and pumpkins for viewing?

The holiday displays could put Ebenezer Scrooge in the holiday mood without the help of ghosts. A red apron and cap were prominently displayed.

Ornaments were nicely placed along trees.

Swedish decorations and gift items were also displayed. A nice selection of Dalas were on a shelf.

During our visit, it turned out that Sue and I were classmates for a short time during our freshman year of high school. She transferred in from a small country school that fall. My family moved to Fremont (about 28 miles south) at the end of the first semester. So, we didn’t know each other, but we were able to rattle off a few names of people we both knew back then.

After our visit to Sue’s, we walked across the street to Nelson’s grocery store. I used to hang out here after school. They had a pop machine in the back. For 10 cents, you could buy a Coke. You had to leave the bottle or pay a deposit.

The store was a lot smaller than I remembered. But, things usually are when you grow up. I found a newspaper ad for the store on display. It was from a 1974 issue of the Oakland Independent.

Following our visit to the store, we were fortunate enough to get a tour of the refurbished Swedish Heritage Center. The center is located in an old church across from the high school.

Tom Wallerstedt returned home after living in several places, including Omaha, over the years. He is the de facto caretaker.

The heritage center provides visitors a look into the history of Oakland and the Swedish influence in it.

Items on display include symbols from each Swedish province, photos of earlier days and exhibits depicting life during various historical periods.

We found the display on wedding gowns interesting. They ranged from a simple white gown to a well-designed, colored gown.

An exhibit depicts a mother and children at the Oakland train depot. Unfortunately, the depot no longer exists.

The Swedish center also offers community meeting space for parties and such.

Even though there were a couple of other places we could have visited in Oakland, such as the “Troll Stroll” and the golf course/city park area, we had a tight itinerary and headed to Tekamah for the rest of the day.

Once in Tekamah, we wanted to check out the Burt County Museum.

During our walk to the museum, we stopped by the county courthouse. There is a small military memorial near the courthouse I wanted to check out.

The courthouse, itself, is a historical building. It was built in the 1850s. It was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1990. Burt County is home to 11 locations on the Register.

The county museum is in the former of EC Houston, a well-to-do gentleman. The house is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

The house has 14 rooms on four levels. It was designed in the neo-Classical Revival style.

The main level has the parlor area. The room is large today, but it originally was separated into two rooms. A previous owner had removed the wall. We liked the layout.

The room features a painting from the 1700s depicting The Last Supper. The painting was donated by a local priest.

During our walk through the house, we visited the formal dining room and kitchen.

The third floor features a sitting room at the top of the oak staircase. In the room sits an old chest from 1714.

The floor is home to bedrooms. The house was considered unique for its time because it had two closets in each bedroom, rather than the standard armoire.

A toy room is located on the floor. It features a variety of toys from years past, including a dollhouse and a Buck Rogers ray gun.

The top floor is the music floor. The wide-open floor has enough space for dancing, as well as musical instruments. A stained glass window stands behind a drum set. It was from the courthouse. It had to be removed in order to renovate the building.

The basement features displays of tools, including an ice cutter, irons and weapons.

Following the museum, we visited a couple of wineries in the area.

Silver Hills has been in business since 2000. They specialize in using Nebraska-grown fruits for their wines.

The wine selection runs from dry to sweet. Lisa was particular to the semi-sweet choices.

The winery is open usually April-December. Winter hours are by appointment and based on weather. Since the winery is in the country, they are at the mercy of the snow and ice.

A few miles down the road is Big Cottonwood winery. Based on a map of Nebraska wineries, it doesn’t appear to be common for a rural county to have multiple wineries.

Big Cottonwood also had a nice selection of dry to sweet wines. We both actually tasted the raspberry wine. Very tasty. Lisa was the taster for our trip.

I liked how Big Cottonwood uses the pelican on some of its bottles. The pelican was identified by Lewis and Clark during their travels up the Missouri River. Tekamah has adopted it as the city’s mascot.

The winery has similar hours as Silver Hills. Winter hours are also dictated by the weather.

We headed into town for our last stop of the day – Master’s Hand Candle Company and Gift Shop. The store is a family favorite. We discovered the store last year during a visit to Lisa’s parents. For more on that visit, please see our story at http://thewalkingtourists.com/masters-hand-tekamah-candle-maker-grows-into-chocolate-and-gifts/.

We often stop to check out the displays and pick up chocolate treats for family members. So, we HAD to stop in and check out the holiday preview going on that day.

The store has been changed into a winter wonderland, with ornaments hanging from trees and other places. The store smells like Christmas! The fragrance was perfect.

We love checking out the Christmas displays. Susie and her team do a great job in transitioning the store for each season.

They had samples available for visitors, so we tried some cookies and chocolates. And, since we will miss out on Lisa’s step-mom’s outstanding apple cider this holiday season, we had a couple of cups of Susie’s cider. It was delicious.

With the holiday shopping season about to go full board, we encourage people to take advantage of the shop local and support the area’s business on “Small Business Saturday” Nov. 29th.

With our day in Burt County coming to an end, we bought our required chocolates for certain people in Omaha (I will not say who (Steph and Mal)) and off we went.

We had a fun day in Burt County. I had a great time visiting some old stomping grounds. I encourage you to take the drive to the county some weekend and take in the sights. If you live elsewhere, take the time to learn more about your area by visiting some rural counties. The areas are full of history and some great attractions.