The Unexpected Joy of Leaving the House
A journey to see Joe Stecher, Creepy Jesus and the Wayne Chicken Show
Last Friday, the weather looked grim. On the forecast: grey skies and no sun. Also: lots of humidity.
Sometimes at my incredibly advanced and decrepit old age, my body hurts just getting out of bed… so why would I go out on a mini photo adventure in crappy conditions?
I weighed the choice of staying at home to dwell in existential dread, or leaving the house to go on a mini photo adventure through the country.
I’m so glad I walked out the door!
I chose one camera (the OM SYSTEM OM-3), and hit the road.
CHAPTER ONE: NEFF SCHOOLHOUSE
I often go to the same places, and the Neff Schoolhouse is one of my favorite spots.
I used my camera to dial-in some monochrome looks to match the gloomy, overcast skies.
I love this place. It’s got a feel to it, resting in retirement on the crest of a gentle country hill.
I can’t find much online about this school at all, except that it was once a part of the town of Spiker. According to a post I found, a fire burned most of Spiker’s business district and that was it. No more town.
Today, this old place is all that remains… and one day there will be no trace at all of Spiker, NE.
I can imagine schoolchildren looking out this window into endless fields:
CHAPTER TWO: SCRIBNER, NEBRASKA
Not far from the Neff schoolhouse, I drove to the town of Scribner.
Unbelievably, even thought it’s pretty close to my house (60 miles away), I’ve never explored main street before.
I LOVE details on these old buildings, like this Opera House.
CHAPTER THREE: SNYDER, NE
I’ve probably been to Snyder, Nebraska five or six times. Maybe more. It’s a much smaller town than Scribner, but it’s got some real charm to it.
At this point I switched to color on my OM-3’s Creative Dial because the grey skies were clearing. The light was wonderful.
CHAPTER FOUR: DODGE, NE
Dodge proudly declares itself the home of Joe Strecher, so I went into town searching for him.
I only found out later that he’s a long-dead professional wrestler (world champ!), but if he were alive today, I bet this would have been his car:
Most of these old towns have very cool (but usually abandoned) town halls.
I wish newer buildings had such unique characteristics.
Dodge also has, what I call, a “Creepy Jesus.”
There are a lot of these “Creepy Jesus” cemeteries all over the country, and finding them is one of life’s great joys, even if they can be nightmare fuel.
INTERMISSION: ZION PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
The evening was coming quickly, and I honestly didn’t want to be out too late. My family was at home, and I wanted to spend some time with them (by this time, I’d already been out for about five hours on the road.)
However, I couldn’t help but snap a few shots of this spot:
I’ve been here at least three times previously.
It used to look quite a bit different, and I had heard at one point someone was going to fix it up.
This was in 2020:
CHAPTER FIVE: THE WAYNE, NE CHICKEN SHOW
Getting out of the house means experiencing new things, like this “Chicken Show,” which is obviously kind of a big deal, and I had no clue when I left in the morning I’d end up here.
There was a lot of stuff going on.
The star of the show for me, though, was the car show.
I’m not “really” a car guy… but my dad was a body shop mechanic for 90% of his life, and he and I would bond over talking about cars and going to car shows.
He would have LOVED this show.
I walked these streets and thought of him. I miss him a lot.
We would have bought hot dogs and soda, and slowly walked the streets. He’d talk endlessly about the different engines and history of the cars.
Car shows are endlessly colorful and fun to photograph.
I have a feeling this Chevy would have been my dad’s favorite of the show:
My favorite though, without a doubt: this incredible Plymouth Superbird. It’s a car that was only produced for one year (1970) and sold so poorly they were deeply discounted on the lot.
I remember my father telling me the story of this car at a different car show, decades ago. He would have said, upon seeing it, and with grave seriousness: “I should have bought one.”
The older I get, the more I realize how little time I have.
I don’t want to watch TV, or pick up my phone to read camera reviews.
Trips like this are a reminder that experiences are everything.
Living real life is leaving the house, and on this day, I’m incredibly grateful I did.
I made a video (a little more camera-centric) you can check out here:
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