Friends and Neighbors: Preserving history, promoting agriculture are important to Atkins'

"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set." – Proverbs 22:28.

Brookside Farm, located just north of the Kimball city limits, has been in the Atkins family since 1917. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is home to Kendall and Beverly Atkins.

"The farm site is listed on the National Historic Registry, not just the house. It is the full set of buildings," Beverly said. "The reason it is on the registry is because the buildings tell the history of agriculture through buildings in this part of the nation. Not just Nebraska, but the Great Plains area."

The nomination for the registry, made in 1997, states that the property was deemed significant due to the rare and well preserved collection of buildings which accurately reflect changes in agriculture as well as development from a tree claim to a small farm.

"It was homesteaded by a man named Gridley. It was north of the creek and they built a tree claim over there and some of the trees might still be there. There was a little grove over there where we used to have picnics when I was growing up," Kendall said.

Following the original homestead by Gridley, the land was purchased by a sheep rancher named Howe, who built the home.

"There was a rapid change of property owners. At that time this was sheep country, we weren't raising much in the way of crops," Kendall said. "It was grazing country and they grazed sheep. There was a fellow who was a big sheep rancher south of Dix and he wanted his girls to go to school in Kimball so he bought this place. He built the house in 1899, but he only lived here three or four years."

The house, built with 20-inch-thick walls out of native limestone, was not the first building to go up on the property. The sheep shed is the oldest building, built in 1890, while the machinery quonset is the newest building, built in 1947.

"They built shelter for their animals first, and then they built the house for the people," Beverly said. "We take care of our animals. We are not what the Humane Society of the United States says."

The home was then purchased by the Faden family, who added the large white barn, Kendall said. The Fadens sold the property to Kendall's grandfather in 1917.

"My grandparents arrived in 1887 north and east of Dix before Kimball County was formed out of the original Cheyenne County. They had 640 acres, but they couldn't raise enough winter feed to keep their sheep and their cattle," Kendall said. "They had a chance to buy this irrigated property. So that gave them stable winter feed supply and the barn afforded them a place to store winter hay."

The Atkins are currently renovating their family home, and keeping it as historically accurate as possible is important to them.

"We found this picture with a bunch of other old pictures up in the attic. These are my great-grandparents. He was Peter and her name was Delilah. We brought this down, we thought it was fitting," Kendall said. "Apparently at that time when you ran sheep and livestock you were prosperous. We thought we would try to preserve this and retire here."

Although they do not use period furnishings in their home, one bedroom features many family pieces from both Beverly and Kendall's families. This includes the handmade cradle that Beverly was placed in as a baby and was then used years later for their son, Vance.

"There is a feather tick on that bed. My dad shot all the ducks for the feathers and my mother made that," Beverly said.

Throughout the years the family has made some upgrades, such as the heating system, plumbing, windows and fixtures. Though the property is their home, the Atkins have used the site to promote agriculture programs for area youth, including Ag Fest, since 1990.

"We've had 1,200 kids approximately go through that program," Beverly said. "We promote agriculture."

Fifth grade students from Kimball and the surrounding areas as well as those from Ogallala and Lake Alice have participated.

"We have had kids from North Carolina. They were pen pals with the little Lake Alice school," Beverly said. "We had eight or nine people from that school. They came from a private school."

The program began small with 50 kids at five stations throughout the property learning for a half day.

By the time they ended the program, there were nine stations and the Ag-Fest was an all-day event with approximately 100 kids.

Students learned about grains, animals, antique tools, conservation and farming and ranching techniques, as well as safety in the surrounding buildings and in the courtyard. The day did not include their home.

"I'd meet them at the buses and say 'Remember, this is my home,'" Beverly said.

In addition to their local agriculture efforts, Kendall and Beverly both have served on numerous boards, including the University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension board, the Natural Resources District board, the Kimball County Manor board, school boards and tourism boards and they continue to be active with the Farm Bureau at local, state and national levels.

"I guess you could say we are trying to promote Kimball and our area because our history dates back to before Kimball County was even formed," Kendall said. "We would like to see it prosper and grow."

Beverly and Kendall generously open up the property for tours occasionally, and they invite many to enjoy the land they lovingly tend, but their home is usually off limits.

Candidates for governor have been entertained at Brookside, as well as state senators. One year all the county's former outstanding farmers and ranchers were served breakfast in the hog house, which was built in 1919 by Kendall's father when he was still in high school.

However, Beverly and Kendall open up their home at Christmas following a tradition that Kendall's parents started.

The Atkins continue to care for their home and their land; they help others when they can; they promote and teach at each opportunity, and in everything they do, they keep their faith.

"We are really active in our church and are people of faith. We both have taught Sunday school; we have sung in the choir and served on boards," Beverly said. "We just live by our faith and I think a lot of the people in our area do, so we represent the people in our area who believe as we do."

"Now I play keyboard for entertainment and sometimes I open it up at the manor. A lot of those people I grew up with," Kendall said. "Often I open up with 'I Love Those Dear Hearts and Gentle People.'"