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Saturday, October 18, 2025, was a
day of celebration for the Logan County Tourism Bureau as the
long-standing organization within Logan County brought its board
together to greet the public with an open house event at the Mill on
Route 66 Museum in Lincoln. The event was preceded by a ribbon
cutting ceremony to reintroduce the LCTB to the community.
Those present for the ribbon cut were
LCTB board members including board vice-president Gail Apel Sasse,
members Lance Conahan as an appointee by the Logan County Board,
members Sam Downs and Steve Parrott as appointees by the city of
Lincoln, Logan County Board members Kathy Schmidt and Michael DeRoss,
Lincoln Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Bateman, LCTB newly appointed director
Wanda Lee Rohlfs, and guest LeRoy Lanthrum. The ribbon cut was led
by Karen Castelein and Richard and Nila Smith with Lincoln Daily
News.
Also there to witness the ribbon cut was City of Lincoln Director of
Tourism Scott McCoy.
It was noted that the reason for the cut was to celebrate several
changes that had taken place within the LCTB in the past few months.
The organization has done a pivot with a goal of renewing their
efforts to support tourism throughout the county. They have moved
their central office to a new location at the Mill, hired a new
director, and set new goals for their organization.
Mayor Pro Tem Bateman was asked to
speak on behalf of the city. It should be noted Mayor Welch was
hosting his semi-monthly coffee with the mayor and could not attend.
Bateman said that Tourism was an
important part of any community, and it was good to see the LCTB
continue going forward. He noted the new location, saying that the
Mill on Route 66 Museum held good memories for many people who could
recall stories of back in the day when it was a popular Route 66
stop, starting out first as the Blue Mill, then just “The Mill”
under the management of the colorful character Blossom Huffman.
Michael DeRoss volunteered to speak on
behalf of the Logan County Board, noting that the county was happy
that the LCTB was still alive and well. He said that the role of the
LCTB would be to support tourism in all of Logan County, welcome all
visitors to our community and motivate those visitors to spend some
of their money within our borders.
After DeRoss spoke, a moment was set aside to acknowledge the
presence of City of Lincoln Director of Tourism Scott McCoy. It was
noted that the successful exploitation of Route 66 in the 100th year
would come when the two entities worked together to that end.
LCTB Board vice-president Gail
Apel-Sasse was then called on to speak. She said that she was very
happy that the LCTB was still alive and going. She said that the
bureau had been going for a long time, and it was the hope and
intent of the board to keep it going for years to come.
The new LCTB director Wanda Lee Rohlfs
was then called on. She said that it was important to keep the Logan
County Tourism Bureau operating. She noted that in doing her
research as the new director, she had come to realize that the LCTB
has been in existence for nearly 49 years. She said that taking on
her new role as director of the LCTB had already been a very
interesting learning experience for her personally.
She moved on saying that she could guarantee that within the next
year there would be a lot of Route 66 tourists travelling on the
famous highway on the 100th anniversary year. She said that she had
also been amazed to see that since she took her position in mid-July
there had been more than 400 visitors at the Mill from 25 countries
plus the United States. She said that visitors are excited to see
the original Rt. 66 building still standing and adding to the
tourist experience.
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Rohlfs also noted that the Mother Road
was built in 1926, and the Mill was built in 1929, so it had been in
the landscape nearly the entire life of the highway. She said she
was thankful to predecessors who had kept the building standing for
nearly 100 years.
Rohlfs also announced that she is currently working on a grant
application that if approved would finance the restoration of the
windmill on the front of the building. During the Huffman era, the
paddles of that windmill had lights, and it was mechanized so that
the paddles actually turned.
During the speakers, there was an arrival in the building, LeRoy
Ranthum. Smith acknowledged Ranthum saying that he had been very
instrumental in the restoration of the Mill that took place starting
in 2006 under the leadership of former LCTB (then known as the
Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County) Director Geoff Ladd.
Rohlfs said that she was then certain that Ranthum was one who could
confirm that the hardwood flooring in the original Mill building had
been harvested from the second floor and brought downstairs.
Ranthum said indeed he and two other
fellows had done a great deal of work on the floor as well as other
aspects of that restoration.
Ranthum was invited to join the group behind the ribbon as it was
only fitting that one of the people who helped save the Mill was
included in the celebration of the revitalization of the LCTB and
its new headquarters for Logan County Tourism.
With that completed, the group stood
for the posed picture, then Apel-Sasse and Rohlfs did the honors of
snipping the ribbon.
Guests were invited to enjoy the
museum which is dedicated to all the Route 66 era eateries in Logan
County, shop in the well-stocked gift shop, and enjoy refreshments
provided by the LCTB.
[Nila Smith]
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