Blue Springs bridge a piece of pride for community
What began as a unique way to welcome people to town for the Cattleman’s Ball quickly transformed into a town staple and a major sense of town pride.
By News Channel NebraskaBLUE SPRINGS, Neb. - What began as a unique way to welcome people to town for the Cattleman’s Ball quickly transformed into a town staple and a major sense of town pride.
The red, white, and blue bridge sits in the town of Blue Springs, just north of Wymore, in southeast Nebraska. It’s drawn people to town from across Nebraska.
“We wanted to do something memorable for people who came to Blue Springs… Even if they were here for just a moment, we wanted to leave them with something to remember.”
Rex Adams is the Chairman of One Property At A Time, a non-profit in the town of 275, responsible for sprucing up the town, by taking out older worn down homes and building new ones. The lights on the bridge were provided by Envision Landscapes out of Beatrice and it was painted by Mary Ellis and Shirley Martin.
One Property At A Time has taken down 43 houses in seven years, but is also responsible for the bridge.
“People are proud of how communities change,” Adams said. “There’s new investments, there’s new opportunities, there’s new people.. We just want to show we have a quality of life that’s worth exploring. We just want them to come see the bridge.”
People have driven in as far as Omaha to see the patriotic lights on the bridge. That’s something Adams loves, but not necessarily because it’s going to bring business right then and there, but it may just draw them back another time.
“The people coming to see the lights, they’re here after everything’s closed… We’re not going to make any money off them,” Adams said. “We want to show them that we’re a touch of Mayberry. You want small town living, this is small town living.”