BROKEN BOW- The building of the new sod house attraction in Broken Bow, as a part of the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway was continued Sunday, July 16.
Construction for a sod house near the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway Visitor Center began recently and just saw its most recent progress. The progress involved the finished construction of the walls which, once settled, can have a roof placed on top of them. The project is led by Mike Evans and Rick Maas, with many other volunteers assisting. When speaking to Mike Evans on Sunday, he said that they have had a great turnout of volunteers to help.
“We have a nice crew today. A lot of people turned out. It was very nice.”
For the first day of construction, they had over 30 volunteers and many people contributing in other ways.
Solomon Butcher was a photographer from Broken Bow that helped preserve the past with his picture of families next to their sod houses. Many have learned about him in the Custer County Museum. This project pays tribute to Butcher and his photographs.
The building of the sod house has been in planning for years. The original idea of a sod house at the visitor center has been credited to Chard Hirsh when she told Terri Licking in 2009 at the grand opening of the visitor center that a sod house was needed there. 10 years later, in 2019, for the 10 year anniversary of the visitor center, they had a ground breaking ceremony, but due to little moisture, their shovels did not break much dirt. They postponed production until 2023 when the project was back on.
The sod house is 16 feet by 20 feet. It is estimated that a total of 2200 sod bricks, each weighing 83 pounds, are needed for construction to be complete.
Evans said that they will wait a week or two, depending on the weather, to start production on the roof.
“When that settles down and feel like everything’s compact as good as it’s going to get, then we’ll come back across the top with the roof and really go to town on the final stages.”
With over 30 volunteers, a homemade modern sod busting plow, and some hard work, they are hoping to remake history.
