New foundation designed to help Kimball County projects

Howard and Peggy Atkins are Kimball County natives and proud of it. They farmed north of Dix for 50 years where they carried on with the legacy of their parents and grandparents before them.

Howard’s roots grow deep in the Kimball County soil where his great-grandparents, Peter and Delilah Atkins and two sons, Dallas and Will ages 16 and 18, homesteaded on the treeless plains in 1887 after a journey from Missouri, through Iowa and across the eastern regions of the then young state of Nebraska. Howard’s grandfather, Dallas Atkins, and his bride, Minnie Brothers, followed with their own homestead in 1900 in the same area six miles north of Dix. They added a tree claim and a Kincaid to eventually own a whole section. Each generation thereafter farmed the section and it was all kept in the family over 100 years. Howard’s father, Vernon Atkins, once told him that his grandparents were never sorry that they had pulled up stakes and came west where there was nothing but an endless expanse of prairie grass. With hard work and perseverance they beat the odds, that often sent other homesteaders packing, and prospered.

Peggy’s grandparents, Frank and Emma Schmid, and two little daughters, LaVerne and Maxine, came to the Kimball County area later, after first farming near Bellwood in Butler County. In 1919 the family purchased a section of native grass northeast of Dix and were soon breaking sod and learning to farm on the high plains. Livestock and dryland wheat became their mainstay and their descendants carried on the tradition. Peggy’s parents, Harry and LaVerne Greathouse, and then Howard and Peggy farmed the Schmid section.

In their retirement years Howard and Peggy relocated to Scottsbluff, but their hearts have remained true to the people, the land and the good life they had in Kimball County. Through the years the Atkins have endeavored to give something back to the community. Howard said, “We want to honor our ancestors and families who came here, labored and endured, struggled and prospered through four and five generations.”

Fred Lockwood, a local CPA, introduced Howard and Peggy to the Nebraska Community Foundation. NCF is an organization that has set their sights on transforming Nebraska hometowns into stronger, sustainable communities by focusing on utilizing the available assets in our communities. These assets include our culture, our intellect and our entrepreneurial spirit as well as financial resources and philanthropy. The goal is to build hometowns that attract people, create opportunities, reflect the pride in the community and welcomes everyone who comes to make a positive difference.

Howard and Peggy have said that they want to make a difference by inspiring others to get involved in revitalizing Kimball and Kimball County.

“We have been saddened,” Howard remarked, “by the appearance of unkempt and empty main street buildings. We are also dismayed by some of the residential areas that reflect a lack of pride in Kimball. We think that the first step in making Kimball County a good place to be proud of is to have current residents show an attitude of supporting Kimball as a good place to live, work, play and shop.

“Through NCF, Peggy and I have established a self-directed foundation that will primarily be used to help, and encourage others to help by contributions of ideas, finances and volunteerism on projects that will improve the viability, quality of life and the appearance of areas in and around Kimball.”

Howard and Peggy are currently working with individuals and organizations in the Kimball area to fine-tune the inner workings of their foundation. Additional information will be forthcoming.