If you would like to contact me personally with suggestions, etc….you can do so at sue@wheatgrowershotel.com

Last Friday, October 17, we gave a tour to Charmayne Cesal who contacted us about the Hotel. She is a member of the National Association of Wheat Weavers (NAWW) and wanted to do an article for their national magazine!! What a perfect fit for the Hotel.  I can just imagine the Suites decorated with wheat weavings, as well as, the restuarant and lobby.

For those of you who have not seen any wheat weavings, take a look at their website at  nawwstraw.org

Charmayne suggested we start offering wheat weavings in the Hotel’s Boutique right now!  What a great idea!

A great BIG THANKS to Fisher Roofing!!  We have no more in-door waterfalls in the Hotel!! Just went over and took a look on all the floors (since it rained pretty hard last night). What a wonderful site it was….ALL DRY FLOORS!! Fisher Roofing has been patching the old roof until we can raise the $30,000 (actually $29,900 we have had a few donations from the tours of the Hotel during Farmer’s Day last weekend) for a brand new roof and gutters.  We could use all the help you can give in this “Raise the Roof” fund.  Every dollar counts!

We had just about 300 people tour the Hotel last weekend for Kimball’s Farmers’ Day event. The guests were excited about the Hotel and it is ALWAYS a motivation for us to keep at it. Thanks to good weather that day for bringing out the crowd!   What is really inspiring is seeing the youth have such an interest in it.  They will be the generation that will really benefit from this restoration project.

Kent and I will be attending a “Perserving Historic Buildings in Your Community” conference in Lincoln next weekend. It is presented by the National Trust and National Parks Service. Hopefully we will come back with helpful, financing ideas! We will keep you posted.

Cheers,

Sue

Boy has it been raining a LOT here in the last couple of months!  Fisher Roofing graciously repaired the roof (TEMPORARY) until we can raise $27,000 to replace it!  Unfortunately the roof still has leaks and decay is still a huge problem.  Putting a new roof (plywood sheeting and the works) is  the TOP priority  for this Hotel.   We have got to stop the decay before we can move forward.  I use to like rain showers, but now I just dread them knowing that the Hotel is being damaged.  We are actively searching for donations for the roof….if you can help, or know of someone who can….PLEASE let us know!!  OR just send a check to the Wheat Growers Hotel P.O. Box 102 Kimball, NE 69145……a HUGE thanks!!!

Carpe Diem,

Sue

So, more ownerhsip shares have been bought lately….YIPPEE! And Don Lonsdale is bringing in another roll-off for our next Community Clean Sweep Day on June 21.

We are currently looking for corporate partnership for the restoration efforts. It will take Do-ers and Donners to make this Hotel into the beauty ’she’ once was. If you know of anyone who has a “link” to major contributors, PLEASE let us know!!

The eight new trees planted on the parking lot side are leafing out now. Sam Gingerich got a Grant to take out the old trees and plant new ones….they are beautiful. Thanks, Sam!!

The grass and weeds are starting to grow again, so the next Clean Sweep Day we plan on a bit of gardening!

If you have ideas, let us know!

Until next time,

Sue

The first Renovation Development Conference was held on April 26 and was tremendously informative. Dave McMorran- Renovation Architect from Reno, Tom Pinkerton-Commercial Electrical Company from Watsonville CA, Grant Landreth-State Preservation Historic Office from Lincoln attended the event. We also had contractors from Laramie, Scottsbluff, Sidney and Kimball. Discussions about heating, air conditioning, electrical service, structural engineering, etc. were held. We have so much more insight into what this renovation entails now. Information to take to investors.

Our next plan of action is to approach corporate investors (such as Lowes, Home Depot, HGTV, etc). If you know of more, let us know or make contact with them for us!!

Well, til next time…..Carpe Diem,

Sue

It would be interesting to know how many people are reading these posts!  Please drop us a comment, we would LOVE to hear from YOU!!

Well, it’s finally nice outside and the snow is GONE!!  Sam Gingerich, a Certified Arborist, received a Grant for the Hotel to remove the trees by the parking lot.  Monday night, March 31, a group of volunteers are going to plant ten new trees!!  It sure looks vacant without the old trees.  We are planning on building a “Train Viewing Platform” in part of the strip too.  Being right by the tracks and the Train Station no longer existing, we thought it would be a good thing for the Hotel to have one!

We are also planning a RDC (Renovation Development Conference) for Saturday, April 26.  The Nebraska State Historic and Preservation Office will be attending and the Renovation Architect.  Letters went out to contractors, suppliers and a few investors inviting them to this event.  A “BIG Think Tank” about how to proceed with this huge renovation is the main focus for this conference.  Should be an interesting day!!!  We’ll keep you posted.

Also, we haven’t heard any news yet about the $500,000 Grant we applied for from the DOR (Department of Roads).  No news is good news?????  Always looking for investors too!!

Well, for now….Carpe Diem,

Sue

Well, a lot of things have been happening lately!

We did our “homework” and applied for a Nebraska VIP (Valuation Incentive Program) which is:

What is it? VIP assists in the preservation of Nebraska’s historic places. The program allows a property tax “preference” for a historic property that has been rehabilitated. The preference can be described as a temporary “hold” on increases in property tax assessment that result from improvements made to preserve a historic property. The Valuation Incentive Program (VIP) is a property tax incentive that assists in the preservation of Nebraska’s historic buildings.

So, a property tax “freeze” for eight year after the renovation….YIPPEE!!! Then an increase of 25% for four years to reach the new renovated property tax assessment. The Project Manager, from the State Historic Preservation Office and other staff members, are coming on February 21 to tour the Hotel!! WOW…things are starting to MOVE!!!

Another wonderful thing we have applied for is the TEA (Transportation Enhancement Grant) for $500,000. We sent the Intent-to-Apply form in last week. We’ll keep you posted! Can you image what half a million dollars can do with this beautiful Hotel??

The other major event that we are working on is the RDC (Renovation Development Conference) on April 26 at the Hotel. The Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office will be here and we are flying in the Architect and the Commercial Electrical Firm. All the local contractors and suppliers are being invited to this informational “think tank”. We hope to map out the renovation plans and steps!! It should be an awesome day!

Anyways, we are working hard to get this HUGE project moving. It is such a great Hotel. It will be wonderful to see it full of life again. One sad note though….we just got called from the police department. A front window had been smashed! We went over and boarded it up…..YUCK! Why would anyone do that???

Til’ next time America.….Sue

Take a look at the Life Magazine article about the Blizzard of 1949.  Over 270 people got stranded in the Union Pacific’s City of San Francisco train!  They managed to get themselves into the Hotel and the rest of the story……go to History and look at the pictures about the Blizzard!!  Amazing times!