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Doug Seegebarth shows where the generator would have been in the pump house at the old Mill near Johnson Park, Wednesday, July 10, 2022, in Norfolk. Seegebarth is one of the last to run the generator when it was operating.
Pictured are the gates used to control the water at the old Mill near Johnson Park.
THE RIVER AND DAM have evolved and changed since 1913. The generator and the building that housed it were added in 1929.
THE RIVER AND DAM have evolved and changed since 1913, when this historic photo was taken. The generator and the building that housed it were added in 1929.
Doug Seegebarth shows where the generator would have been in the pump house at the old Mill near Johnson Park, Wednesday, July 10, 2022, in Norfolk. Seegebarth is one of the last to run the generator when it was operating.
Pictured are the gates used to control the water at the old Mill near Johnson Park.
THE RIVER AND DAM have evolved and changed since 1913. The generator and the building that housed it were added in 1929.
THE RIVER AND DAM have evolved and changed since 1913, when this historic photo was taken. The generator and the building that housed it were added in 1929.
The wheel is long gone, submerged under the murky waters of the river that winds its way through the middle of Norfolk. For years, it created power needed to turn the giant stones that ground wheat and corn into the flour and meal pioneers needed to sustain life.
That giant wheel was a central part of a mill built in the early 1870s by Col. Charles Mathewson and his sons, Joseph and Charles. It was located along the North Fork of the Elkhorn River, near what is now the intersection of First Street and Braasch Avenue. Before the mill was even complete, the Mathewsons built a general store on the site. In time, more businesses followed, and the town grew up around it.
In 1885, C.S. Bridge and his father-in-law bought the mill from the Mathewsons. In 1900, C.S. Bridge became sole owner. The Bridge family retained ownership until the 1990s.
The river provided direct power for the grist mill until 1929, when a hydroelectric plant was added to create the power previously provided by the water wheel.
“I became warehouse supervisor in about ’74,” said Doug Seegebarth of Hadar, who worked at the mill from 1968 until the early 1990s. As far as he knows, he is the last person alive who operated the generator that was powered by a turbine turning in the water below it. The generator was housed in the square, brick building still located on the southeast side of First Street and Braasch Avenue, just east of the gates once part of the dam.
“Supervisors were in charge of the generator … which ran about eight hours a day, leaving 16 hours to restore the water level,” he said.
The generator supplied power to operate 10 hp motors, which operated the machinery that made, among other things, Bon Ton flour and Jersey Cream pancake mix, one of the first prepared pancake mixes. A breakfast cereal called Wheatling was also produced there.
Eventually, because of new regulations put on mills by the FDA, the owners stopped milling grain for human consumption and started producing livestock and poultry feed.
“The Bridges couldn’t afford to put in stainless steel elevators and mixers, so they started Norco Feed Mill,” Seegebarth said.
At that time, they installed a 100 hp … generator, but it didn’t produce enough electricity, so they started receiving electricity from Nebraska Public Power, Seegebarth said.
However, “they kept producing electricity from the water generator and sold it to NPPD,” he said.
Even though they could no longer produce food for human consumption, they continued to sell Jersey Cream pancake mix. It was produced at another mill, Seegebarth said.
For years, he said, the mix was used by the Lion’s Club members at their annual pancake feed, which was held right across the street at the city auditorium, which was convenient. If they ran low on pancake mix, they just had to go across the street to get more, Seegebarth said.
As with any equipment, the operation required regular maintenance, which meant once or twice a year, the flood gates were opened so the water level could be lowered to allow for the removal of debris from around the turbine, Seegebarth said.
The story is not without it’s share of tragedy. When he started working at the mill, another employee told him the story of a boy, who years earlier, fell into the river above the dam and was caught in the whirlpool caused by the turbine.
“Whirlpools were visible all of the time when the generator ran,” he said. The boy’s friend ran for help, and the turbine was shut off, but the boy did not survive. His body was recovered, Seegebarth said.
Norco Feed Mill stood at the First Street and Braasch Avenue location until the 1970s when it moved to Omaha Avenue. The original mill was demolished shortly after the operation was moved.
At some point, the generator was removed from the building where it operated for almost 50 years. But the building still has an important story to tell about the history of the mill and the town that grew up around it.