BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Historical Society’s annual pie and ice cream social boasted roughly a dozen pies, many friends, and a couple of surprises.
Some 60 historians, genealogists, and community members with fewer official titles but equal passion for the county’s past congregated despite the rain that, conditions considered, sprouted no complaints.
Among the community pie offerings were imprints of homemade berry and rhubarb, chocolate, and pecan, made all the sweeter and served a la mode with local legend Don Schauda’s violin. Schauda bowed gospel and folk songs, and even an old original, perennial work in progress: “Wheelchair Waltz.”
Alongside Schauda’s strings was a voice familiar, even if his face was not: wordsmith, cowboy, and county folk hero R.P. Smith, freshly shaved, triumphantly made his yarn-spinning return.
The pair traded poems and barbs for the first hour of the event, and afterward, as vibrant as ever, Smith said that a little rain in the evening would only serve to help roots grow.
“My mom was involved with this for years, and we brought her tonight. It’s fun to see her eyes light up when you say, ‘We’re going to the museum.’ She remembers being here and being a part of it, and that’s the fun thing about community.”
Custer County Historical Society Curator Tammy Hendrickson, in a rare chance to step away from the socializing, said that putting a roof over the parade made it impossible to get rained on.
“It’s a social, and you can see that happening, with the talk, and telling stories. One room is kind of noisy right now.”
The pie and ice cream were free-will donations, with Nebraska State Bank providing napkins and plates, and Custer County Grange volunteering to serve. The money raised by the museum from the event, according to the historical society, will go toward an outdoor panel mural to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the county.
