Summer Fun at The CalamusA quarter-century after its creation, this Sandhills lake is coming of age. By David L. Bristow |
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“I spent 25 years going broke at the lake,” said Scott Krause of Burwell. But these days, Calamus Reservoir seems to be “coming of age,” he said.
The Sandhills lake (locals call it simply “the Calamus”) is Nebraska’s
newest major reservoir. It is part of the Pick-Sloan system of dams for flood
control and irrigation that has transformed the upper Missouri River and its
tributaries. Work began on Calamus Reservoir in 1976.
Krause and his family farmed the valley before that. They were here long before
the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission developed roads, campgrounds, and a fish
hatchery.
But Krause saw what was coming and tried to help it along. He spent two decades
developing residential subdivisions, a restaurant and motel near the lake. He
and other volunteers built a nine-hole community golf course.
He was a little ahead of his time. After his years of “going broke,”
these days he chats with diners and cooks steaks and chicken at his Northside
Bar and Cafe on Burwell’s Grand Avenue square. The Northside, he’s
proud to say, is the only “museum with a bar.” The place is full
of photos and memorabilia of Nebraska’s Big Rodeo, an event that’s
long been the pride of Burwell – a cowboy town if there ever was one.