May 23, 2022, laying out the footings

Junk was buried in this area as seen with this old bed spring that was dug up.

When the highway was brought into Manning years before it was paved in 1941, Willow Creek meandered back and forth from north to south as it made its way west toward the Nishnabotna Creek.
It wandered way out into what is now a pasture on the north side of the highway and if you take a close look at the location of the Heritage farm house on the south side of Willow Creek Road, you can see where the creek eroded into that sidehill before heading back north again.
This was long before the Willow Creek road was located.
So to avoid building a lot of bridges on what is now 141, Willow Creek was straightened.
During the 1950s there was a salvage yard and the old creek beds were used as a dump which eventually was filled in and then covered up to what eventually became Willow Creek Park.

Years ago I was visiting with Lester Wiese who grew up 1 mile east of Manning next to Willow Creek. He told me that when he was a boy and before Willow Creek was straightened, that when it flooded, they couldn't cross over to get into town for a week or more...this is because of the meandering creek with all of its oxbows and the slough grasses that slowed down the flood waters, which would slowly drain away.

Most people won't know this but before Highway 141 (originally Highway 44) was paved in 1941, the road came in to Manning from the west, then you had to turn north on West Street, then turn east onto Third Street all the way over to East Street, then south back to 141 and head back out east.
What we drive on now through both bottoms between West & East Streets were wetlands, which had to be filled in for the road grade to be built on in 1941.
The bottoms where Rasmussen Lumber and Spiese Fur are located on the west side and Caseys and VanWall (Puck Implement) on the east side.

May 23, 2022

May 24, 2022

May 24, 2022, footings

May 24, 2022

Looking east

Looking southwest toward the school

May 25, 2022

4 feet deep with 19 tons of concrete as a base footing and the core support above ground.
May 26, 2022