Monowi, NE, real America 7/6/2018

The tavern

After a quiet and restful night, and a couple of cups of coffee and breakfast, we were off to today's much-anticipated highlight: Monowi, NE. The Interstates are wonderful. They allow us to get from one place to another with relative speed and efficiency. But thee's nothing like back roads. Back roads are where America is. And it was 2 1/2 hours of beautiful, rural South Dakota and Nebraska back roads that brought us to Monowi, Nebraska. Located just south of the South Dakota-Nebraska state line and of the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska, it is a place that has the distinction of being the only incorporated town in the USA with a population of 1, Elsie Eiler.

In its peak years of the 1930s, it had a population of 150. Like many small communities of the Great Plains, it lost its younger residents over the years to the cities. During the 2000 census, Monowi had a population of 2, Elsie and her husband, Rudy, who died in 2004. Now as the only resident, Elsie, 84

years old, acts as mayor, granting herself a liquor license and paying taxes to herself. She is required to produce a municipal road plan each year in order to get state funding for Monowi's 4 street lights.

We arrived at the tavern mid-afternoon. We almost blew right by the non-descript little tavern, but Ray saw a wide driveway, and pulled in. Elsie was occupied with photographers from a NYC ad agency that had benn producing a documentary for Prudential Insurance. Yes, she's famous.

We had a few beers and a chat with Elsie. She told us that the building we were in had been built at the turn of the 20th century as a 2 story building. Some time later, the bottom was eliminated and the top was left. That was the tavern. We talked about the history of the building. In 1971, she and Rudy opened the tavern there. She cleans, cooks the food (burgers for $3.50), serves the customers, and loves her life. She has 2 children, a duaghter in Tucson, and a son who lives south in Nebraska.

It was a really cool visit, and probably will count as a major highlight of this trip. Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NJhdn9GE1tziAepm6