"The only thing new is the history we don't know." Harry Truman
Patriot Truck
Manufactured in Lincoln, NE in 1919 by Hebbs Motor company, this Patriot Truck is one of only fifteen known to still survive. Purchased new by the Jack Brashear family, it was donated to the North Platte Valley Museum in 1983. This rare truck is a beauty!
Simmons Quilt
The Mary Ann Jane Plumbly Simmons crazy quilt is one of the finest anywhere in the nation.The quilt is believed to have been made sometime in the latter quarter of the 1800s in New York and arrived in Sidney, NE by train, then by wagon to Scottsbluff, where the family settled. Although a cherished family possession, the quilt was donated to the North Platte Valley Museum. In 1996, a nationally known quilt expert arrived to catalogue the museum's quilt collection.She was thrilled with the Simmons quilt and recommended a preservation plan that included hand stitching the quilt to a frame and encasing it in Plexiglas, a task requiring hundreds of hours of work that was carried out by a dedicated group of quilters.In December of 2004, she agreed to organize a quilt display for the Smithsonian and requested use of the Simmons quilt.Sadly, the museum refused her request because the quilt would have to be removed from the frame to transport.However, if you want to view a Smithsonian quality crazy quilt, we have one at the North Platte Valley Museum.
Trails Across Nebraska Quilt
Trails Across Western Nebraska Quilt
In 1998 the Panhandle Quilt Guild created the "Trails Across Western Nebraska" to commemorate the various trails and historic places in the Panhandle of Nebraska prior to 1900.Four guild members and a helper from Colorado designed the quilt.Approximately two dozen women worked on the construction of the quilt.It took nearly a year to complete the design of the top and about three months to do the actual quilting.Divided into three panels representing the northern, central and southern panhandle, the quilt was used by guild members as a way to teach the history of the Nebraska Panhandle to school children.In addition to the artful depictions of the landscape, small copper colored stars identified historic sites in each panel. While not in use, the quilt was stored in a sewing room on the upper floor of a 1904 two story sod house.In April of 2000, a fire swept through the old soddy destroying everything in the sewing room except the Trails Quilt, which miraculously sustained only slight damage to the backing.At the next Panhandle Quilt Guild meeting, guild members voted not to repair the quilt, therefore allowing it a history of its own! On Jan 3, 2004 the Trails Across Western Nebraska quilt became a part of the North Platte Valley Historical Association collection.
Fold-down heated bath
This fold-down bathtub with the means to provide heated water had to be the height of luxury. No information about its origin is available.
Plastic Saddle
This plastic saddle was manufactured by the All Western Plastics Company of Lusk, Wyoming in 1949. The company made 60 saddles before they moved their business to Scottsbluff, NE. Though impractical for most purposes, the saddles were showy and used often in parades and special events.
North Platte Valley Museum P.O. Box 435. 900 Overland Trails Road . 11th & J . Gering, NE 69341 . 308-436-5411 . npvm@earthlink.net
Copyright 2011 North Platte Valley Historical Association. All rights reserved.
