Blue Dog to the rescue

To the editor:

Autumn seems to finally be here. The air is much cooler than it was not many days ago. The heat of September is something many of us want to forget, but it was a great act of kindness in that heat that the fourth graders at Northwest won’t soon forget.

After lunch on the Thursday before LCHS’s homecoming, the fourth graders set out to walk from Northwest to the Farm Bureau building to decorate sidewalk with chalk art. As we crossed Union from Eighth St. to Broadway we could see the lights flashing at the railroad crossing near the depot. We continued to walk and the lights continued to flash. We passed a group of Central fifth graders taking refuge in the shade of a building. Because the gates were still down we turned on to Sangamon St. and found our own piece of shade across from the Blue Dog Inn.

And we waited…. And we waited….And it was hot.

The class from Central headed back the few blocks to their school. We had already walked over a mile and were not wanting to give up. We made the decision to decorate the entire sidewalk along the block of Sangamon Street.

This is when Blue Dog Inn came to our rescue. While the fourth graders were being creative, the waitstaff brought out cups of ice water for the 20 students that did not have water bottles for the hike. Next, the other 20 students crossed the street in small groups and refilled their water bottles inside the restaurant.

Our afternoon had been saved. We participated in the Homecoming Chalk Art project while drinking cold water and hanging out in the shade. Thank you Blue Dog for helping to make our outing a success.

BTW… the railroad crossing gates finally opened just before we headed back to Northwest.

Please remember the kind employees at Blue Dog Inn the next time you are choosing a place to eat in Lincoln.

Tammy Dietrich
Fourth grade teacher
Northwest School

[Posted October 25, 2019]