A "small world" story from Deanna Dikeman, granddaughter of the founder of Dikeman's Park:
In 2000, I attended a dance in Columbia, Missouri, where I was introduced to a lady named Beryl. When I told her my name, she asked if I was in any way related to the Dikemans who owned a park in Nebraska. I had heard my dad and his brothers and sisters talk about it, but I didn’t realize the park was such a big deal until Beryl began to share her memories of a visit there. She and her older sister Doris and five girl friends spent a weekend at a cabin in the park in July of 1935. She told me what the park meant to Nebraska folks who lived within driving distance. Later she brought photos and I corresponded with Doris, who filled me in on more details of their visit.
Here's the letter she sent me and the photos she shared.
Arlyn cooking
David Dikeman
Mable, Beulah, Beryl, Doris
Horseshoes: Doris, Henrietta, Beryl, Coletta, Beulah
Bridge disaster: Beulah, Coletta, Henrietta, Doris, Mable, Beryl in front
Church: Mable, Doris, Beryl, Beulah, Henrietta, Coletta
Pump: Arlyn in front
Sunday swimming: Phyllis Kiltz, Dorothy Grimes, Beulah, Arlyn, Beryl, Mable, Doris, Henrietta
Arlyn and Mable peeling potatoes
Mable, Doris, Henrietta, Coletta, Beryl
