Red Cloud proves small-town success doesn't just happen
Red Cloud proves small-town success doesn't just happen
Article written by the Nebraska Community Foundation and published in the Omaha World-Herald
Earlier this month, former First Lady Laura Bush spoke at the dedication of the $7 million National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, Nebraska.
Late in March, this community of 1,000 broke ground on a 7,200 square-foot, multi-million-dollar early childhood development center.
In between these two events, two young couples opened “On the Brix,” a cool wine-tasting, art gallery, performing arts-kind-of-place, located on historic Webster Street. It’s slogan, “When you support small business, you’re supporting a dream,” could be changed up a bit for this series: “When you support small towns, you support big dreams.”
Of course, big dreams don’t materialize out of thin air. Community success is highly reliant on patience, trust, and usually, a good deal of charitable investment.
The new vitality we see in Red Cloud has been incubating for more than 20 years. It is the result of determined visionary leaders and hard-working followers. People who were willing to face the music and dance when confronted with great opportunity...
