Harold Warp's parents both came to the U.S. from Noway in the 1870s. They lived on separate homesteads in Nebraska, until they married in 1880. They made their home in a structure that was half sod house, half dugout. As Warp grew, he saw innovations and inventions - the automobile, the tractor, electricity, indoor plumbing, the telephone - come to the farm and they left quite an impression on him. Warp rose from these humble beginnings to found, in 1924, a Chicago plastics company, Flex-O-Glass, Inc., that became a great success.

Warp became convinced that, beginning around 1860 until the modern day, mankind had entered into the most creative and productive era in its history and he decided he wanted to preserve the things that made America grow, during this period of time, into a great country. He worked for years on this project until finally, in 1953, his pet project, Pioneer Village, opened to the public in his hometown of Minden, Nebraska.

Here, in Warp's words, is a description of the Village:

"(Harold Warp's Pioneer Village) is the only place in these United States where one can actually walk down through history, so to speak. Here you see items that were used prominently in their day, by the average person, each in its respective chronological order of development.

A plaque is attached to each item of historical importance. The plaque tells when the item was invented or developed, when it served the most people and when the usefulness subsided in favor of the next item in line of development."

Well, it's a little more fun than all that. Pioneer Village contains over 50,000 items, from horseless carriages to a turn-of-the-century washing machine that was powered by a dog-propelled treadmill, from the first mechanical hay baler to a wide collection of sewing machines. At Pioneer Village, kids of all ages can ride the world's oldest merry-go-round for only a nickel, ring hundred-year-old church bells or watch brooms being made on equipment that's over 150 years old. And adult admission is only $5!

Built on 20 acres, Pioneer Village is made up of 26 buildings, including a house that served as a dwelling and an Indian Fort, a replica sod house (with period furniture), an old train depot, an original government land office and a one-room schoolhouse and a country church, both dating from late 19th-century. One building houses a collection of furniture, featuring a kitchen, living room and bedroom as they might have been furnished in 1860, 1890, 1910, 1930, and 1950. There's even a kitchen, circa 1980, although I'm not sure why. Give it 20 or 30 years and I suppose it'll be of interest.

In one building, a collection of home appliances is featured. A long string of sewing machines lines one wall, sheer heaven for Singer freaks. In the next collection, hobbies are honored; collecting, in particular. One display case holds an incredible number of ball-point pens, literally thousands.

Here are just a few of the tidbits one could pick up while strolling the grounds of the Pioneer Village: The dial telephone was invented by a St. Louis undertaker who feared his competitors were bribing the telephone operators. The man who dug the first oil well, the man who invented the typewriter, and the creator of the chronograph watch all died paupers. R.E. Olds retired the same year Henry Ford began turning out his cars. Both were 40. A Stanley Steamer reached the speed of 127 mph in 1907. Early autos were shaped like horse-drawn carriages to counter opposition to their growing popularity and to help calm the horses with which they shared the roads.

Pioneer Village is so well-intentioned that it wins one over. Sure, there are a few of the 50,000 items on display that probably belong in a Salvation Army thrift store rather than this museum-like setting but who am I to say? Maybe there's someone somewhere who would spend hours poring over each of those thousands of pens, one by one. Harold Warp, now in his late 80s, still makes the trip to Minden from Chicago nearly every month to keep an eye on his creation. Some years ago, he formed the Pioneer Village Foundation, insuring that this non-profit historical collection will remain available to the public for the foreseeable future.

From Pioneer Village, it was north and west to North Platte. North Platte is Buffalo Bill country. William Cody lived in this plains town for 25 years, building a ranch of some 4,000 acres that he named Scout's Rest. Although the total acreage of the ranch is much smaller today, the house and barn remain from Cody's day.

Probably no man experienced as fully what we think of as the Wild West as Buffalo Bill. He was born in 1846 in Iowa but his family was one of the first to settle in Kansas, in 1853. Cody had a brief childhood; at the age of 11, he began working as an ox-team driver for the wage of 50 cents a day (incidentally, this is the same pay I received when I worked summers for my father in junior high). Not long thereafter, he was assistant wagon master on a bull train.

He attended school for nearly a month in 1859 before quitting to rush for gold in Pike's Peak, Colorado. The next year, at the ripe old age of 14, he became one of the youngest Pony Express riders ever.

During the Civil War, he was too young to soldier so he served the Union as a ranger and scout in Missouri, Kansas, and along the Santa Fe Trail. When he turned 18, he enlisted in the Kansas Volunteer Infantry, serving until the end of the war. He then drove a stage coach from Fort Kearney to Plum Creek (now Lexington), Nebraska. In 1866, he married and began to run the Golden Rule House hotel in Kansas. Later that year, he went to work as a government scout at several forts in Kansas. Clearly, this guy had trouble deciding on a career path.

Wait, there's more; in '67 and '68, he was hired by the Goddard brothers to provide buffalo meat for workers on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He was paid $500 a month (think about it, that's some serious dough in 1867!). It's said he killed 4,280 buffalo in 8 months. From 1868-72, he served with the Fifth Cavalry in various missions against the Indians. He followed that by guiding the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia on a hunting trip and running, at the age of 26, for the Nebraska Legislature (he lost in a close vote).

In late 1872, a Broadway producer convinced Cody to come east and star in a play about the American West (Cody played himself!). Apparently, Buffalo Bill got greasepaint in his blood because he later made quite a living with a traveling show, a huge extravaganza that portrayed life on the frontier, Buffalo Bill's Wild West. In his various exhibitions over the years, he employed sharpshooters (Annie Oakley, for one), elite military troupes from around the world and many of the very American Indians Cody had faced as he scouted for the U.S. cavalry. Apparently, the Indians respected Cody as a fair man and a noble opponent.

Cody set up housekeeping, so to speak, in North Platte. This was his headquarters as he traveled the country and the world, beginning in 1883, with his Wild West show. He continued touring, off and on, through 1916. By this time, he had suffered financial hardship as a result of bad investments and been forced, in 1911, to sell Scout's Rest. He moved to Cody, Wyoming, a town he founded in 1896. Cody died at his sister's home in Denver in 1917.

The house at Scout's Rest, since 1965 a Nebraska State Historical Park, has been faithfully restored to its former glory, including much of the home's original furnishings. The barn is still standing, too; a short film on Cody's life is shown there on the hour. Those 4,000 acres that Buffalo Bill roamed in his day have been whittled down to 16 but the grounds remain much as he knew them. It's a fine stop for anyone interested in the history of the American West. On the edge of North Platte, out by I-80, is a trading post that, though it looks cheezy at first glance, actually contains some finds.

Ft. Cody, as the establishment is known, features a miniature version of Buffalo Bill's Wild West, comprised of hundreds of hand-carved small figures, created by a man who had seen Cody's famous exhibition as a child. He even got the opportunity to meet the man himself. As a tribute, he spent years creating this Wild West in miniature directly from his memories of the show. Hidden machinery and wires create movement in the exhibit: A man shoes a horse here, Indians dance there. It's quite a sight, available here for viewing free of admission charge. Ft. Cody also boasts a taxidermed calf, of the two-headed variety, and loads of goofy souvenirs. All told, Ft. Cody, belying its appearance, is well worth a visit.

Continue on the American Odyssey.
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