LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Grand Island Independent reports that Shady Bend, an old roadside business along the Lincoln Highway in central Nebraska, has been restored and is again serving customers on the east end of Grand Island. I reported on the plans two years ago on this blog. The images below are from the site’s Facebook page.
From the news report:
Shady Bend, once the site of an old-time tourist court, restaurant and store at Highway 30 and Shady Bend Road, has been reopened as a restaurant…. H.O. “Doc” Woodward built the original Shady Bend in the late 1920s after returning from a family trip to Arizona. Doc also donated the land for the first airport in Grand Island. Shady Bend has been passed down in the family to Craig Woodward, the third generation at Shady Bend….
He said Shady Bend was once a meeting place for farmers and everyone passing through. Since there were hardly any phones, people knew who was going to be there and could leave messages for when they arrived. It was a general store that had a lot of different people coming in and out.
“Not only is it historical, it was a fun place to go,” said Craig’s wife, Karen Woodward. “We want to be able to share the history with the people around here.”… The Woodwards started their restoration in 2008 but were delayed by family illness. Things picked back up in January 2010.
“Obviously, the plumbing, heating and electrical is all new and up to code,” Craig said. “We have a new full kitchen, but other than that, there haven’t been any changes. It’s true to what the State Historical Society has for requirements.”
Shady Bend opened its doors to the public on Tuesday serving pop, candy bars, beer, burgers and Italian food….
“I remember when I was 5 years old, my mom used to clean the cabins [now gone] and Fritz, Craig’s father, would pick me up from school and bring me back here,” [one patron said]. “I played on the merry-go-round and fished in the sand pit across the highway.”
Hours are 11 am to 10 pm Tues through Sat, and noon to 10 pm Sundays.
Tags: gas station restored, Grand Island Neb, highway history, historic highway, Lincoln Highway, Nebraska, Road trip, roadside attraction, Shady Bend, travel
Lincoln Highway News 
July 18, 2011 at 6:03 pm |
What a wonderful sight… I stopped there on the way out of town last year (july 25, 2010 ) when I attended the state meeting in Shelton, Nebraska…. They were just getting rolling again on the restoration…. Hope to see it on July 24th when Shelton again hosts the Nebraska meeting/Highway Festival…should be fun…
Nils anders erickson
John Sutter’s Mill
Three Mile Oasis
just three miles from the river…on The Lincoln Highway…and with the water rising…glad to be three miles away…
at Saddle Creek and Dodge Street (the Lincoln Highway from 40th to 78th)
Omaha, Nebraska
July 19, 2011 at 10:14 am |
Very pleased to see this!