Last year’s Hidden Treasures and Fading Places are detailed at Heritage Nebraska’s blogs, but I thought I’d highlight the ones in Central Nebraska:

Hidden Treasures:

Hamilton Avenue Church, Hastings
Prairie Loft Center for Outdoor Agricultural Learning, Hastings

Fading Places:

Archeological sites statewide
Aurora Apothecary/Knights of Pythias Hall, Aurora (which was partially rebuilt last year)
Hastings Junior High School and endangered schools statewide (Hastings’ school was bought last year with plans for renovation)
Naval Ammunition Depot, Adams and Clay counties
Oregon Trail statewide
Rural schools statewide

A couple of friends asked me yesterday what nifty small-town sites were worth visiting in Central Nebraska, which got me thinking about my own list of Central Nebraska hidden treasures* (as you can tell, I’m a bit of an outdoorsy type):

*You’ll notice there’s several very cool, outdoorsy spots in Central Nebraska I didn’t include, like Calamus and Sherman reservoirs, the Nebraska Nature & Visitor Center, Rowe Sanctuary and so on. I didn’t include them because while they may be treasures, they’re not very hidden.

Olson Nature Preserve, Albion: I visited last March and was amazed at the juxtaposition of so many ecosystems in such close proximity — a spring-fed river, forest, wetlands and even the eastern edge of the Sandhills. Worth a stop if you’re headed north on Highway 14.

Happy Jack Chalk Mine, Scotia: I’ve only checked out the mine while it was set up for Haunted Hollow, which was pretty cool (and scary) in its own right. But Happy Jack is more than scary: It’s the only underground diatomic mine in the U.S. that’s open to the public.

Central Nebraska’s vineyards and wineries: I’ve only visited Miletta Vista near St. Paul and Cedar Hills near Ravenna, and both have sensational views and a wonderfully relaxed ambience. I know George Spencer Vineyard near Gibbon (which is apparently temporarily closed?) and Prairie Creek Vineyards near Central City have been popular, too.

Fort Hartsuff, Elyria: In the last year, Fort Hartsuff has gotten a lot of support from surrounding towns and beyond, which is a great thing — it’s one of the country’s few remaining Plains and Indian Wars forts, and it’s in great shape. The wide open-ness of the Valley County hills give it as ”Old West” of a feel as anything else in Central Nebraska.

Broken Arrow Wilderness, Fullerton: This former church camp, now owned by Doug and Darla Russell, includes a beautiful bluff along the Loup River that also boasts some cool history (it was the site of the first Independence Day celebration in Nebraska, in 1844). Great place for a getaway.

That’s my short list of Central Nebraska’s hidden treasures: What would you nominate? I’d love to hear your picks.

Albion (and Ord)
— The Albion News reports that city sales tax receipts are on pace to beat the numbers from 2008, with $492,294 collected through June, compared with $485,597 last year. Ord is also ahead of its 2008 sales tax numbers, according to Valley County Economic Development Executive Director Caleb Pollard. That’s a solid economic indicator that the proverbial corner may have been turned in two north-central Nebraska towns.

Loup City
— Loup City’s new Subway held its grand opening Saturday. I visited earlier this month on the restaurant’s first day, and the excitement was palpable. This is the town’s first fast-food restaurant in recent memory, and it’s a pretty nice-looking place, at that. It had its own living-room-style seating area, complete with mock fireplace. Very impressive. The Independent‘s photographers are Subway addicts on the road, so I’m sure that won’t be my last visit.

— Also, per the Sherman County Times, the 35-page booklet by Dennis Welty about the history of the 1934 Loup City riot is now available for $10 at King’s Variety and the Sherman County Historical Society. I wrote a bit about Dennis’ work and the riot here.

Aurora
— I missed this one from the Aurora News-Register a couple of weeks ago: The China Garden restaurant, which was closed in February when part of the downtown Temple Craft building collapsed, has reopened in the former Chuck’s Drive-In along Highway 34 in Aurora. When I visited in July, they were concerned about having to revamp their renovations after some of them got a thumbs-down from the fire marshal, but it’s good to see them back open, and their place looks sharp. I wrote about their journey since the collapse here.