By STEVE MARTIN
Sheridan Historical Society
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one is no exception.
Pictured above is Marilyn Nicholson Godby (Sheridan Class of 1966) and her 10-year-old granddaughter Samantha DeBoer. They live in suburban Omaha, Neb., now and are back in Marilyn’s hometown this summer vacation to visit family and old friends. Folks familiar with Sheridan will certainly recognize the Nicholson and Godby family names.
They stopped by the museum to peek around, and Marilyn immediately recognized Sandy, the old Ben Franklin Store pony she rode when she was a youngster growing up here. Sandy was in front of the old Ben Franklin Store on Main Street for years and years. The Sheridan Historical Society acquired Sandy and restored her to a working relic. Samantha just had to take a ride like Grandma did when she was 10 years old. Well, as you can imagine, that made Grandma Marilyn happy and proud to no end.
The Sheridan Historical Society’s Stephenson Cultural Heritage Center, a.k.a. the Museum, is located at 315 S. Main St. in beautiful uptown Sheridan. It is open on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m., and through Labor Day weekend on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Museum is also open on Main Street First Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. The Museum is located at the site of the old Hippodrome Theatre. That is why the theatre-like façade was chosen for the new location, a unique feature for the “fresh look” of Sheridan’s Main Street.
If you have not been to the museum in a long time, if you are new in town, or if you are just visiting, you need to stop by and have a look-see. The docents on duty are a bunch of friendly old folks, full of old folk’s jokes, and we love kids. If you have roots here, we probably already know who you are and can share a story or two about your family. And if you don’t have roots here, we will try to change that.
We hope you will drop by the museum and see us. Sheridan has quite a story to tell, from the arrival of George Boxley, through our boom times and bad, to the glory of impressive basketball and football dynasties, to the resilience of Sheridan’s people, and to the challenges yet ahead of us.