Following Delays, Dannebrog Dedicates New Playground

The coronavirus pandemic has brought with it its share of delays. Perhaps none are more acutely aware of this than the residents of Dannebrog.

The 2019 bomb cyclone event had left the Howard County community decimated by floodwater, with an area roughly seven blocks long and five blocks wide having been inundated by rapidly moving water. On Mill Street, at its deepest, five feet of water had accumulated. Every business and over sixty residences were affected.

In the wake of this existential threat, facing real uncertainty about the municipality’s future, members of Nebraska’s Danish Capital banded together in collective action not merely to recover and rebuild, but to reinvigorate their community. “Nebraska Strong, Dannebrog Determined” became the dictum as a number of projects were undertaken as part of the village’s beautification efforts.

The sesquicentennial Grundlovsfest saw the culmination of the first phase of one such effort: The Dannebrog Park Project. After having ordered their new playground back in June of 2021 and having received it in February of this year, Saturday saw the dedication of the new playground in Dannebrog Park, the culmination of the work of countless community volunteers.

“Yay for the park,” said Lori Larsen during the structure’s dedication during a brief ceremony on Saturday. “There’s just been a lot of thought and help that has gone into this, and we really appreciate it.”

Jumpstarting the project, said Larsen, had been $10,300 designated to the village through the Nebraska Extension’s Wellness in Tough Times grant project, supported by the Nebraska Extension, The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Midwest Early Recovery Fund, and the Peter Kiewit Foundation.

“ S o m e community members did some work for us, and we earned this grant for the community,” she said.

A n additional $14,000 earmarked for community improvements from the village’s Keno Fund, as well as nearly $3,000 in additional donations from community members, also helped finance the estimated $25,000 project.

Farm Credit Services helped with the final steps to finish the project, with the business donating time and labor.

Remaining funds will go towards the next phases of the playground project.

Due to COVID-19, noted Larsen, the project had been “delayed and delayed and delayed.

“But now it’s done, and we’re just so excited about that, and excited to have a place for the kids to play.”

Gerald Blank was given the honor of cutting the playground’s ribbon, which, Larsen said, was fitting considering his dedication to the park.

“He did so much work after the flood,” she pointed out, noting that the park, now pristine, had been saturated by several feet of water following the bomb cyclone.

With the playground dedicated, the next phase of the project will be the installation of disc golf at the park. Phase three is expected to be a warming shed and fire pit for the ice-skating rink the village will put up in the winter.

In an interview following the dedication, Larsen said that Crouch Recreation out of Douglas County, who had been the village’s supplier on the project, had done a “really good job.

“Covid got in the way. It got in the way of everything, but they came through, and we are just really happy with everything,” she said.

A supervisor from Crouch Recreation had been hired to assist several community members in assembling the playground equipment on May 14th.

Terry Webb and Josh Webb were among the key participants in the project, according to Larsen.

“We got the thing put together, and then Terry and Josh did the concrete work.”

A number of volunteers with Farm Credit Services had spread the mulch at the playground on June 1st.

Old equipment at the park, including a slide, though impacted by the flooding, will stay in use, having been moved to the community’s ballpark.

“That gives a place for the kids to play down there, too,” said Larsen.

Asked to gauge the community response to the Dannebrog Park Project, Larsen said it had been “wonderful.

“Everybody’s been wanting this for a long time,” she said.

To this day, Larsen said, the flood and its aftermath still stir up strong emotions.

“Sixty to sixty-five houses were flooded in a rural community of 134 homes…and that’s where your treasures go, all your kids’ things that you put away.”

Even though the village’s path to where they are today had been a long one, and though the community still has further it would like to go, “Dannebrog,” Larsen concluded, “is determined.”

“Covid got in the way. It got in the way of “ everything, but they came through, and we are just really happy with everything.”

- Lori Larsen