Queen City from Pile of Bones

Wascana is an anglicization of the Cree word for "pile of bones." Wascana is also the name of small spring run-off creek in south central Saskatchewan, so named for the large piles of bison bones in the area. "Pile-of-Bones" was the first name for a small site along the Wascana Creek adjacent to the future route of the Canadian-Pacific Railway, and the hamlet that resulted. The choice of this site for the headquarters of the Northwest Territories was a national scandal at the time, but the choice stuck anyway. The town was renamed Regina in 1882 after Queen Victoria, i.e. Victoria Regina (regina is Latin for "queen"), by her daughter Princess Louise, wife of the then-Governor General the Marquess of Lorne. Wascana Creek was dammed to create Wascana Lake, around which Wascana Centre was built.

Anselmo B. Smith

This morning I was reading about the "TINY" town of Bingham, where Dee and Cal spent last night (Wed). The population is said to be twenty, give or take a few, but it may have been as high as 200 in the 1920's. Surfing from this page, I clicked on links to Ashby, back down the road where the trikers stopped for a break yesterday, and Whitman. This then brought me to Hyannis. Hyannis, NE was named for Hyannis, MA, home town of the civil engineer who surveyed the Nebraska town, Anselmo B. Smith. End of story, except for the fact that Mr. Smith shows up in the histories of a number of Nebraska towns, including one named after the man himself, Anselmo, NE. Dee and Cal rode through this town between Broken Bow and the National Forest on Monday.

In the town of Anselmo, NE there happens to be St. Anselm's Catholic Church, nicknamed the Cathedral of the Sandhills. The church, of course, is named for St. Anselm. No one else may find this remotely curious, but it seems like a strange coincidence that the church named for a late 11th century cleric in a town named for a 19th century surveyor should have such similar names.

Incidentally, Anselmo B. Smith also platted the metropolis of Kearney, and one source I found indicates that he may have surveyed the city of Lincoln for the state.

Hooker County

Last night (Tuesday) Dee and Cal stayed in Mullen, NE, half way between Broken Bow and Alliance. It is the county seat of Hooker County, the least populous of Nebraska's 93 counties (population 793 in 2003). Named for General Joseph Hooker, the county has one post office (69152) and one K-12 school district. The Dismal River, a canoe trail, runs through the county. John Howell, safety on 2003 NFL Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, went to high school in Mullen.

(Note added later: General Hooker's penchant for booze and women was once claimed to be the source of the word "hooker" for prostitute, but the American Heritage Dictionary says this is not true. )

Kearney and Hazard

With 27 thousand inhabitants, Kearney ("car-knee") is the largest city Dee and Cal have encountered since leaving Hutchinson (40k), and probably the largest they will now see until well into Canada. The city is named for the nearby Fort Kearney on the Oregon Trail. The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument over I-80 that Dee and Cal wrote about (picture) is half way between Boston and San Francisco. Also of interest is that the name Kearney did not always have the first "e", but due to persistent misspellings, the current spelling stuck. Any guesses as to the population of Hazard? (The sign says 66.) Obviously friendly folks.

Red Cloud and Minden

While the trikers are taking a much needed break (and staying in out of the rain), I will make a few observations about their current location, Minden. NE. It turns out that more than fifteen states have towns or cities named Minden, apparently because there were so many immigrants from Minden, Germany in the 1850's. Minden, Nebraska is known for its Christmas lights and festival each year and for Harold Warp's Pioneer Village. The town had a population of nearly 3,000 people in the 2000 Census.

The trikers spent the previous night (Wed) in Red Cloud, NE. This town was named for the famous Indian chief, who was born in the region (though closer to North Platte). He is most famous for battles in Montana and Wyoming. The town of Red Cloud was founded in 1871 by a former captain in the Union Army, Silas Garber, and has a current population of a little over a thousand.