SEWARD COUNTY, Nebraska (KOLN) – The lawns of Seward County may look a little plain to some, but in the distance you can see the hills that reminded Czech settlers of home and inspired poetry. Masu. This region is called the Bohemian Alps.
“The Bohemian Alps are so large that trying to photograph them can be very frustrating,” said Seward County Historian Pat Coldiron. “And they’re so big that you can’t get the full extent. And I ask, ‘How did they get the wagons over there and how did they get through here?’
Coldiron has created a self-guided road trip complete with brochures, games, maps and trinkets to share the importance of the Alps. This is part of her Little Brown Box program.
The Bohemian Alps are about 40 miles west of Lincoln. Although the vast terrain extends into other counties and many small towns, Coldiron prefers the route down Ridge Road near Garland.
You will pass through an area that was once home to a village called Oak Grove.
“There was a small village there, but there’s not a trace left of it,” Coldiron said as we drove through the hills. “They cut down so many oak trees there and carried them all the way to Lincoln when they boiled the salt in Salt Creek.”
Although the village of Oak Grove no longer exists, oak trees still dot the rocky hills. Coldiron said there were once quarries where people dug into the limestone and sometimes fossils were found.
“(The Bohemian Alps) were formed during the last ice age and are what I call a region of steep rolling hills,” said Scott Ruedke of the Nebraska Game Parks Commission. “Part of the reason these grasslands and forests still exist is because of their steep topography.”
Mr. Luedtke is the Southeast Regional Manager for the Private Lands Program. He works with landowners when they have questions about preserving parts of their natural landscape. The terrain includes lakes, farmland, and Nebraska’s remaining tall grass prairie.
“Landowners will say the grasslands are pretty rocky and that’s one of the reasons they don’t convert to corn or soybeans,” Luedtke said.
Today, some farmers still grow dryland crops in the Bohemian Alps. It is also the home of former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.
“And Ted wrote about the Bohemian Alps in ‘Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps,’ a series of essays about this region of Nebraska,” said Carla, owner of Chapters Books & Gifts in Seward. Ketner said.
Asked what drew him to the Bohemian Alps, Kooser said in an email: Others always walk by without looking. ”
He also said the area needed “management” to maintain its beauty.
“Most people who don’t know about Nebraska think of it as flat and boring,” Kettner said. “But the hills around here are truly beautiful in any season.”
As the leaves begin to change color, the Bohemian Alps become even more beautiful. Before people drive through Seward County’s scenic routes, Coldiron warns them to be wary of farm equipment on country roads and to be on the lookout for deer.
If you want a Little Brown Box, the Bohemian Alps Tour is available for $15 at Liberty House, 441 North 5th St. in Seward. If you would like your box mailed to you, please call (402)643-2555 or email Pat at patcoldiron@hotmail.com.
Click here to get 10/11 NOW’s daily digest and breaking news delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2024 Cologne. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
