Loup Generator — Fall 2020
The Ruthie cabin cruiser makes a big splash in 1939, the Lake Babcock Amusement Resort works to develop the lake into a "boating mecca", protecting the piping plover and interior least tern at the Genoa Headworks.
The Ruthie cabin cruiser makes a big splash in 1939, the Lake Babcock Amusement Resort works to develop the lake into a "boating mecca", protecting the piping plover and interior least tern at the Genoa Headworks.
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The Omaha World-Herald printed a picture<br />
taken from the Ruthie on Lake Babcock.<br />
The picture was also colorized and made<br />
into postcards.<br />
a non-profit association, was incorporated by 11 “publicspirited<br />
Columbus men.” Their goal was to promote and<br />
develop the recreational facilities of Lake Babcock.<br />
“Since Lake Babcock came into<br />
being, officials of the <strong>Loup</strong> River<br />
Public Power district have been<br />
‘stumped’ in figuring out some way<br />
to develop it as a real resort center,<br />
since, because of PWA regulations,<br />
the district could not use any of its<br />
funds on hand for that purpose,”<br />
the Telegram stated.<br />
All profits from the corporation’s<br />
efforts would go back into<br />
promoting the lake as a resort area.<br />
On June 10, the <strong>Loup</strong> board<br />
approved a lease granting exclusive<br />
amusement privileges of the lake to<br />
the corporation through July 5 for $1.<br />
The corporation was already planning a Fourth of July<br />
celebration to raise funds.<br />
REGATTA DRAWS LARGE CROWD<br />
An estimated 5,000 people attended the July 4th<br />
celebration. The entrance fee was 40 cents for all<br />
spectators over the age of 12. Fifteen boat owners offered<br />
rides on the lake for 25 cents.<br />
There were refreshment and novelty stands.<br />
The highlight was the races, with boats from<br />
Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. They topped speeds of 40<br />
miles per hour.<br />
The event also included a bait<br />
casting contest and surf board<br />
demonstrations.<br />
A 46-piece band featuring high<br />
school graduates from several towns in<br />
the <strong>Loup</strong> valley played for an hour.<br />
<strong>Loup</strong>’s diving crew gave a<br />
demonstration, with Bruce Albert in a<br />
diving suit and Walter Phillips guiding<br />
him.<br />
“Albert descended again to the floor<br />
of the lake, and presented something<br />
of an unexpected thrill for spectators<br />
when he tangled his air line for several<br />
minutes around a pier post, and was nearly struck by a<br />
floating log barricade in front of the speed dock,” noted<br />
the Telegram the following day.<br />
“With Phillips directing his course, Albert untangled<br />
himself without mishap, and made another journey into<br />
the lake.”<br />
The lake continued to draw as many as 500 spectators<br />
and visitors on the weekends through September 1939.<br />
<strong>—</strong> on page 8<br />
FALL <strong>2020</strong> 7