Where to go today? Hmmm! How about Dannebrog, Nebraska. It isn't too far from where I grew up. It was populated by Danish people and my father immigrated from Denmark.

The photos are: 1) downtown Dannebrog, 2) the Village Park in Dannebrog, 3) the Trestle Bridge over Oak Creek, and 4) a view of the Middle Loop River that runs near Dannebrog.

Dannebrog is a picturesque village nestled in a valley of Oak trees. The village is full of history and ethnic orientations. There are romantic style homes, a beautiful park with RV hookups and 3+ miles of hard surface hike/bike trail (with adjoining nature trail) in a wooded area. The Oak Creek winds through the village and the Middle Loup River is just a short distance outside of town.

It is the Danish Capital of Nebraska. Each June, the little village (named from the Danish Flag), hosts a weekend celebration honoring its heritage, during which the citizens of Dannebrog commemorate the anniversary of the signing of Denmark’s Free Constitution in 1849 by King Frederik VII. The word, “Grundlov” is from a Danish term meaning “foundation”. The first Grundlovsfest was held in 1988. The celebration has grown to include numerous activities each year. Activities in the past have included: Aebleskiver (Danish Pancakes), adult games, artists, bingo, a cake/bake walk, class reunions, cloggers, cow bingo, horse and buggy rides, a jam session, kid’s games, money dig and tractor pulls, a Melodrama, a Muzzleloaders Rendezvous, a parade (with floats, farm equipment, vintage cars, local/regional celebrities and bands), a quilt show and last but not least, a street dance and beer garden. During this fun-filled weekend, visitors can stroll down our beautiful main street to sample delicious, world-famous Danish foods, shop in our businesses or stop over at the arts/craft show. You can also catch a performance by various musical groups throughout the day. Dannebrog residents encourage visitors from around the state, country and world to attend the Grundlovsfest each year. The village’s quaint population of 354 swells to well over 1,000 during this special celebration the first weekend in June.

Danish immigrants founded Dannebrog in the 1870s and the citizens of the village take a lot of personal pride in their Danish ancestry. In Danish, “Dannebrog” is the romantic name for the Danish flag.
The village was founded by Lars Hannibal, president of the Danish Land and Homestead Company which was to secure a tract of land for settlers of Danish origin. In 1872, the first post office was established and in 1886 the first railroad track was laid through town.
The Nebraska Legislature proclaimed Dannebrog as the Danish Capital of Nebraska in 1989.
Visitors will notice the Danish atmosphere when they enter the village with the Danish business signs, paintings, sidewalk benches, flowers, gifts and food.
Dannebrog is a prime example of small-town Nebraska.

In the spring of 1871 several members of the Danish Land and Homestead Company from Wisconsin claimed land along Oak Creek. The migrants, led by Lars Hannibal, were drawn by fertile soil and the idea that Danes from across the U.S. and the Old Country could form a colony in Howard County. Hannibal called the settlement “Dannebrog,” the name of the red and white national flag of Denmark.
Construction of a water-powered grist mill on Oak Creek sparked the village’s early growth, and Dannebrog unsuccessfully sought the county seat in 1874. The town almost disappeared in the early 1880s, when businesses relocated to Nysted, but the coming of a railroad in 1885 brought new life. Dannebrog was incorporated in 1886. By 1920 the population peaked at 436.
Germans, Czechs, Poles, and Swedes also settled at Dannebrog. Although the founders’ dream of an exclusive colony of Danes was never realized, Dannebrog and the nearby towns of Nysted and Dannevirke preserve the Danish heritage. In 1989 the Nebraska Legislature proclaimed Dannebrog as Nebraska’s Danish Capital.

Today's Jumble (9/13/08):

SIGUE = GUISE, NORST = SNORT, DAWTOR = TOWARD, THEESE = SEETHE

CIRCLED LETTERS = GIESRTOWRSTH

Many authors of Halloween books are - - -

"GHOST WRITERS"

Today is National Peanut Day, Positive Thinking Day, Chocolate Day (in honor of Milton Hershey's birthday), Defy Superstition Day, and Scooby Doo's birthday.

Other things on this day in history:

509 BC - The temple of Jupiter on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September.
122 - The building of Hadrian's Wall begins.
533 - General Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire defeats Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimium, near Carthage, North Africa.
1224 - Francis of Assisi is afflicted with stigmata.
1440 - Gilles de Rais is finally taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
1503 - Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David.
1504 - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand issue a Royal Warrant for the construction of a Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) to be built.
1609 - Henry Hudson reached the river that would later be named after him - the Hudson River.
1743 - Great Britain, Austria and Savoy-Sardinia sign the Treaty of Worms (1743).
1759 - Battle of the Plains of Abraham: British defeat French near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War.
1788 - The United States' Philadelphia Convention sets the date for the country's first presidential election, and New York City becomes the temporary capital of the U.S..
1791 - King Louis XVI of France accepts the new constitution.
1808 - Finnish War: In the Battle of Jutas, Swedish forces under Lieutenant General Georg Carl von Döbeln beat the Russians, making von Döbeln a Swedish war hero.
1814 - The British fail to capture Baltimore, Maryland. Turning point in the War of 1812.
1814 - Francis Scott Key writes The Star-Spangled Banner
1847 - Mexican-American War: Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec. American General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City in the Mexican-American War.
1862 - American Civil War: Union soldiers find a copy of Robert E. Lee's battle plans in a field outside Frederick, Maryland. It is the prelude to the Battle of Antietam.
1882 - The Battle of Tel el-Kebir is fought in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.
1898 - Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film.
1899 - Henry Bliss is the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident.
1899 - Mackinder, Ollier and Brocherel make the first ascent of Batian (5,199m - 17,058 ft), the highest peak of Mount Kenya.
1900 - Filipino resistance fighters defeat a small American column in the Battle of Pulang Lupa, during the Philippine-American War.
1906 - First fixed-wing aircraft flight in Europe.
1914 - During World War I, South African troops open hostilities in German south-west Africa (Namibia) with an assault on the Ramansdrift police station.
1922 - The temperature (in the shade) at Al 'Aziziyah, Libya reaches a world record 57.7°C (135.9°F).
1923 - Military coup in Spain - Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
1935 - Rockslide near Whirlpool Rapids Bridge ends the Great Gorge and International Railway.
1940 - World War II: German bombs damage Buckingham Palace.
1942 - World War II: Second day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge in the Guadalcanal campaign. U.S. Marines successfully defeated attacks by the Imperial Japanese Army with heavy losses for the Japanese forces.
1943 - Chiang Kai-shek elected president of the Republic of China.
1943 - The Municipal Theatre of Corfu is destroyed during an aerial bombardment by Luftwaffe.
1948 - Margaret Chase Smith is elected senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
1953 - Nikita Khrushchev appointed secretary-general of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
1956 - The dike around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.
1956 - IBM introduces the first computer disk storage unit, the RAMAC 305.
1968 - Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact.
1971 - State police and National Guardsmen storm New York's Attica Prison to end a prison revolt. 42 people die in the assault.
1979 - South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa).
1985 - Super Mario Bros. is released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan.
1987 - Goiânia accident: A radioactive object is stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, contaminating many people in the following weeks and leading some to die from radiation poisoning.
1988 - Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane in the Western Hemisphere (based on barometric pressure).
1989 - Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
1993 - Public unveiling of the Oslo Accords, an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement initiated by Norway.
1993 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with PLO chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.
1994 - Ulysses probe passes the Sun's south pole.
1999 - Bomb explodes in Moscow, Russia. At least 119 people are killed.
2001 - Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the U.S. after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
2006 - At Dawson College (Montreal), Kimveer Gill kills one student and wounds 19 others before committing suicide.