I just spent the morning updating the community calendar (www.hastingscalendar.com) with summer events....
There is a lot going on this summer in Hastings... we are excited to host both the Nebraska Humanities Council Chautauqua and the Flatwater Folk Festival in July in addition to the already busy festival line-up including the Cottonwood Festival (June), Adams County Fairfest (July) and Kool-Aid Days (August).
Motorsport Hastings and the Smith Softball Complex have released their summer schedules and it doesn't look like there is a weekend this summer that we won't have racers or softball players in town. In addtion to their normal schedule MPH will host the Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing Showboat Grand Prix on August 29, 30 and 31st. If you have even the slightest appreciation for vintage cars or racing this event will blow you away.
Be sure check out the calendar for updates on special events coming up this summer and please if you are hoping to book a hotel room for a weekend this summer do it now!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Lodging up 26% in Adams County in 2007!
According to the state tourism office, in the first 11 months of 2007 Adams County saw a 26 percent boost in lodging tax receipts.
It was a busy year last year for Hastings. It was the first full racing season for Motorsport Park Hastings which draws racing enthusiasts to Hastings throughout the summer. We celebrated the opening of a new Holiday Inn Express and we welcomed a large influx of natural gas pipeline workers. We also continued to see the benefits of being a host community for the Amateur Softball Association at the Bill Smith Softball Complex and we also welcomed the NSAA State Softball Tournament in October.
We look forward to another strong summer in 2008!
It was a busy year last year for Hastings. It was the first full racing season for Motorsport Park Hastings which draws racing enthusiasts to Hastings throughout the summer. We celebrated the opening of a new Holiday Inn Express and we welcomed a large influx of natural gas pipeline workers. We also continued to see the benefits of being a host community for the Amateur Softball Association at the Bill Smith Softball Complex and we also welcomed the NSAA State Softball Tournament in October.
We look forward to another strong summer in 2008!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Vacation to Hastings....why?
By: Janell Bradley, Editor
January 09, 2008
©Newspapers of Fayette County 2008
As Iowans, perhaps most of us can't imagine planning a vacation to Hastings, Nebr. But after watching a recent news segment on a museum there, I've added it to my own personal "100 Places to See Before I Die" list.
Why? I'm not sure if they have anything else in Hastings, Nebr., but the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History seems to be a worthwhile venture. If you're over 40 years of age, you might have collected Kool-Aid package "points" to purchase Kool-Aid premiums like the smiling Kool-Aid face mugs, pitcher, canteen - and I think there was even a Kool-Aid tent!
As a kid, I mailed away for a purple Kool-Aid mug after downing numerous quarts of sugary Kool-Aid. Many of those items are now on display in the Hastings Museum. Everyone's favorite childhood drink, Kool-Aid® got its start in Hastings. The soft-drink mix, now owned by Kraft Foods, actually started out as a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack.
A young Edwin Perkins experimented with homemade concoctions in his mother's kitchen. Edwin's father opened up a General Store in Hendley, Nebraska. It was in the store that Edwin became entranced with a new dessert mix introduced by a childhood friend (and future wife) Kitty Shoemaker. The powdered dessert came in six delicious flavors and was called Jell-O®. Edwin convinced his father to carry the dessert line in his store. It was at this same time Edwin sent away for a kit called "How to Become a Manufacturer."
During the following years, Perkins graduated from high school, published a weekly newspaper, did job printing, served as postmaster and set up a mail order business called "Perkins Products Co." to market the numerous products he had invented.
In 1918, Perkins married his childhood sweetheart, Kitty, and developed a remedy to kick the tobacco habit called "Nix-O-Tine." By 1920, the demand for this and other products was so great, Perkins and his wife moved to Hastings, which had better rail service for shipping purposes. Another product that was proving to be popular was a concentrated drink mix called Fruit Smack. Fruit Smack, like Jell-O®, came in six flavors. But shipping the bottles proved to be costly and breakage was becoming a problem.
In 1927, Perkins developed a method of removing the liquid from Fruit Smack so the remaining powder could be re-packaged in envelopes called Kool-Aid. The product, which sold for 10¢ a packet, was first sold to wholesale grocery, candy and other suitable markets by mail order in six flavors; strawberry, cherry, lemon-lime, grape, orange and raspberry.
By 1931, the demand for Kool-Aid® was so strong, other items were dropped so Perkins could concentrate solely on Kool-Aid®. During the Great Depression, Perkins cut the price in half to just 5¢ a packet, a "luxury" most families could afford. Young entrepreneurs sprung up across the country setting up Kool-Aid® stands. While most of the profits were consumed by the youngsters, it was something most children enjoyed.
The Hastings Museum houses an impressive Kool-Aid® collection as part of the Kool-Aid: Discover the Dream exhibit, including the original Kool-Aid® Man costume worn in the television commercials. Hastings College has another collection on display in the Perkins Library on campus.
January 09, 2008
©Newspapers of Fayette County 2008
As Iowans, perhaps most of us can't imagine planning a vacation to Hastings, Nebr. But after watching a recent news segment on a museum there, I've added it to my own personal "100 Places to See Before I Die" list.
Why? I'm not sure if they have anything else in Hastings, Nebr., but the Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History seems to be a worthwhile venture. If you're over 40 years of age, you might have collected Kool-Aid package "points" to purchase Kool-Aid premiums like the smiling Kool-Aid face mugs, pitcher, canteen - and I think there was even a Kool-Aid tent!
As a kid, I mailed away for a purple Kool-Aid mug after downing numerous quarts of sugary Kool-Aid. Many of those items are now on display in the Hastings Museum. Everyone's favorite childhood drink, Kool-Aid® got its start in Hastings. The soft-drink mix, now owned by Kraft Foods, actually started out as a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack.
A young Edwin Perkins experimented with homemade concoctions in his mother's kitchen. Edwin's father opened up a General Store in Hendley, Nebraska. It was in the store that Edwin became entranced with a new dessert mix introduced by a childhood friend (and future wife) Kitty Shoemaker. The powdered dessert came in six delicious flavors and was called Jell-O®. Edwin convinced his father to carry the dessert line in his store. It was at this same time Edwin sent away for a kit called "How to Become a Manufacturer."
During the following years, Perkins graduated from high school, published a weekly newspaper, did job printing, served as postmaster and set up a mail order business called "Perkins Products Co." to market the numerous products he had invented.
In 1918, Perkins married his childhood sweetheart, Kitty, and developed a remedy to kick the tobacco habit called "Nix-O-Tine." By 1920, the demand for this and other products was so great, Perkins and his wife moved to Hastings, which had better rail service for shipping purposes. Another product that was proving to be popular was a concentrated drink mix called Fruit Smack. Fruit Smack, like Jell-O®, came in six flavors. But shipping the bottles proved to be costly and breakage was becoming a problem.
In 1927, Perkins developed a method of removing the liquid from Fruit Smack so the remaining powder could be re-packaged in envelopes called Kool-Aid. The product, which sold for 10¢ a packet, was first sold to wholesale grocery, candy and other suitable markets by mail order in six flavors; strawberry, cherry, lemon-lime, grape, orange and raspberry.
By 1931, the demand for Kool-Aid® was so strong, other items were dropped so Perkins could concentrate solely on Kool-Aid®. During the Great Depression, Perkins cut the price in half to just 5¢ a packet, a "luxury" most families could afford. Young entrepreneurs sprung up across the country setting up Kool-Aid® stands. While most of the profits were consumed by the youngsters, it was something most children enjoyed.
The Hastings Museum houses an impressive Kool-Aid® collection as part of the Kool-Aid: Discover the Dream exhibit, including the original Kool-Aid® Man costume worn in the television commercials. Hastings College has another collection on display in the Perkins Library on campus.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Summer Nebraskans!
I spent the weekend in McAllen, Texas at their International Travel Show promoting Central Nebraska as a travel destination. In speaking with people from all over the nation that call themselves "Winter Texans" I was pleased to meet a number of people who make their way to Hastings every summer.
In Hastings, we are blessed with a fairgrounds facility that is in a central location, can accommodate large groups, is air conditioned and has camping facilities on site. A variety of groups utilize the facility for conventions of all types throughout the year and a large number of camper clubs who meet in Texas in the winter reunite in Hastings in the summer.
I look forward to once again welcoming the "Summer Nebraskans" to Hastings!
www.adamscountyfairgrounds.com
In Hastings, we are blessed with a fairgrounds facility that is in a central location, can accommodate large groups, is air conditioned and has camping facilities on site. A variety of groups utilize the facility for conventions of all types throughout the year and a large number of camper clubs who meet in Texas in the winter reunite in Hastings in the summer.
I look forward to once again welcoming the "Summer Nebraskans" to Hastings!
www.adamscountyfairgrounds.com
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