Livable Small Towns
Home | View All Livable Small Towns

Holdrege, Nebraska

Holdrege is poster town for mid-western values

If you were looking for someplace that embodied the kind of values America was built on – hard work, education, common sense, care for others – you wouldn’t have to look farther than Holdrege, Nebraska.

Located near the geographic midpoint of the country, Holdrege is one of those towns where all the downtown intersections are paved in brick. The churches near downtown – and there are many – are venerable and substantial, with traditional steeples and stained glass windows, many referencing having been founded in the 1880s or 90s. The trees are old and big – ash and maple and oak and elm – and the houses have spacious, well-kept lawns and generous, shady porches.

A community of about 6,000, Holdrege is the county seat of Phelps County and thus houses the County Courthouse in addition to a beautiful 1930s Post Office and City building as well as a whole collection of downtown commercial buildings with arched windows on the second story and fancy brickwork crenellations, typical of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

An attraction to dreamers

Rodale Emken, businessman, former mayor and current elected member of the County Board says, “If you have dreams, come to Holdrege. Holdrege attracts people with dreams. If you want to invest in a community and provide something better for the population, you will find the support you need to do it in Holdrege.”

Emken moved to Holdrege from Grand Island, Nebraska in 1966. He views the community as particularly progressive for its size.

“The health care facilities are second to none for a city this size.” Says Emken. “The city financed and built a park on the north side of town with a lake in which people catch fish all year long.” Emken also mentions the town’s state-of-the-art performing arts center, called the Tassel; the new YMCA of the Prairie, completed in the spring of 2006; newer schools, and a modern community landfill with a lot of emphasis on recycling.

How does Holdrege remain vibrant and add amenities to the community when many other small towns in rural America are losing population? Emken believes part of the reason is the city’s willingness to invest dollars in community projects, but also notes that many times in the community’s history, prosperous individuals have given back to the institutions they especially value. For example, he recalls the Erlandson family donated substantial monies to the Holdrege Memorial Homes, an elder care facility, and Erlandson Square, condominiums for elderly residents. Irene Anderson left money to the hospital, and the hospital expanded. More recently, many have made significant contributions to the Tassel and YMCA of the Prairie.

A refuge from urban problems

Mark Rona, current mayor of Holdrege was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. and after careers in law enforcement, education, and labor, Rona and his wife moved to Holdrege from Los Angeles to retire.

Rona likes to point out that Holdrege is a particularly well policed community, because the Sheriff’s Department, State Patrol and City Police all work out of offices in Holdrege.

“Holdrege is a safe place to be,” says Rona. “City police are skilled at community policing, and they are out on the street.” The mayor also points with pride to the fact that Holdrege streets, city buildings, parks and infrastructure are well maintained and in good condition.

“People who live in Holdrege can relax , enjoy their leisure time and not worry about the things that go on in urban settings,” says Rona. “If anyone is fed up with muggings, drive by shootings, drug activity, the hustle-bustle of city traffic and feeling alienated in your own neighborhood, move to Holdrege where leisure time is an art form.”

A healthcare system to be proud of

Strolling through sparkling clean, spacious, sunlit halls of the Phelps Memorial Health Center, Joyce Grove Hein, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Center recounts the history of medicine in the county.

“From the 1880s forward, Holdrege always was considered innovative in patient care,” she says. “Phelps County had a significant number of physicians who built and managed hospitals and clinics in the Holdrege business district.”

During the 1960’s the time was right to build a contemporary hospital, Hein said, and generous support from the community, the Phelps Memorial Health Center, a non-profit community hospital, was built.

Hein says the Holdrege healthcare model differs from most small communities, in that the hospital belongs to and is supported by the community, whereas doctors own their practices. Among the reasons Phelps Memorial Health Center provides high-level medical care in the region is physician leadership. Says Hein, “Physicians are forthright in attracting other doctors and demanding good equipment.”

Phelps Memorial Health Center offers primary/secondary level surgical interventions, cardiac diagnostic and rehabilitation services, physical therapy, and obstetric services. Fiber optic technology connects physicians with radiologists and other specialists in medical centers across the state. The use of this technology allows specialists far from Phelps County to assist in follow-up care and treatment, thereby permitting patients to stay close to home.

Skilled medical professionals offer a variety of other health care services in the community as well.

“Our dentists are contemporary and well trained,” says Hein. “We have a strong relationship with optometrists, and an ophthalmologist comes here to perform cataract surgery.”

An emphasis on youth

Holdrege makes a lot of effort to keep its young people engaged in healthy activities. In 2005, the community broke ground on a new $5.8 million YMCA of the Prairie. Funding for the 40,000 square foot facility was provided in part by donors that helped raise over $2.5 million. Designed by architects Bahr, Vermeer, Haecker, the new building will be completed in 2006 and will feature state-of-the-art sport and exercise facilities.

The community also gives young people a chance to express themselves through the arts. Dance, theatre, music, fine are and graphic arts are among the extracurricular activities offered by the public schools. The school district is the nominal owner of the Tassel, a beautiful, modern 22,300 square foot performing arts center with seating for 818 people.

 “The Tassel reflects the importance of the arts to the people who live in Holdrege and surrounding communities,” says Sylvia Person, a member of the Tassel Coordinating Committee and a long-time leader in the arts community. “Many, many people contributed their time and their dollars to finance and support a fine arts center of this quality.” The Tassel attracts a variety of concerts and plays, and draws its audience from may miles around Holdrege.

A solid school system

The Holdrege school system will stand up to just about anywhere in the nation, says Holdrege High School Principal Dick Meyers.

“Graduates of Holdrege High School hold a long, long tradition of doing well in post-secondary education, and they often reach the top of their career ladders.” Myers says that 80% of Holdrege graduates enroll in college or technical training centers, and the students do well when compared via test scores or speech, academic and fine arts contests.

Says Myers. “Holdrege offers advanced coursework in math (one-quarter of the students take calculus), advanced physiology, and an English honors program.” Students who perform well on calculus and English advanced placement tests receive college credit for the class. Holdrege schools curriculum also offers a wide range of vocational courses including business, family consumer science, technical training in agriculture, woodworking and many others.

A high percentage of the students participate in extra curricular activities, and many participate in more than one activity.

“Our fine arts, choral and band programs are second to none in the state,” says Meyers. “Our students do very well in art contests, and are often state and national winners.” Meyers also notes the schools sports teams are regularly at the top of their respective leagues.

Holdrege has little problem in the schools with issues such as violence or drug abuse. “Most of our discipline issues are about attendance or tardiness,” says Meyers. “We know most of the kids really well, and they aren’t going to get lost here.”

For more information, you can visit the school web site at www.thedusters.org.

A storybook place

Holdrege may be the perfect Midwestern town. Big enough to attract business and maintain a strong economy, but small enough to foster a feeling of community among its residents; old enough to give you a real sense of history, but modern enough to compete in the world today.

It’s worth a visit. You’ll like it.

Who to Contact

City of Holdrege
502 East Ave.
Holdrege, NE 68949
(308) 995-8681
www.holdrege.org
Rodale Emken
308-995-8223

Phelps Memorial Health Center
1215 Tibbals St.
Holdrege, NE 68949
(308) 995-2211
www.phelpsmemorial.com

YMCA of the Prairie
(308) 995-4050
ymcaprairie@atcjet.net

The Tassel
1324 Tilden St
Holdrege, NE 68949
(308) 995-2717
www.thetassel.org 

Holdrege Public Schools
505 14th Ave
Holdrege, NE 68949
(308) 995-8663
www.thedusters.org

back to top