By Con Marshall
Chadron recently was in the limelight on the Fox News computer website. It was cited as the best town in Nebraska in which to live. Here’s what was said:
“The City of Chadron is a bit off the beaten path. It’s not Omaha or Lincoln, but rather on the Great Plains. It takes a certain type of individual to want to live in what many consider to be more of a rural environment. With that said, Chadron has a ton of natural beauty.
“Unsurprisingly, outdoor enthusiasts love this area. There’s plenty to do in the sunshine—particularly in the Nebraska National Forest. Interestingly, the city of Chadron is also said to be in the midpoint between New York City and Los Angeles.”
Both selections apparently were made by Stacker, which says it provides “Compelling, research-driven stories that enrich publishers’ coverage and put the world’s events into context for readers. Our team of data-minded journalists, product leaders and media operators make our coverage possible.”
Among Stacker’s specialties is providing lists of “bests” and rankings on a wide variety of topics. Being included on the lists appears to be a plus, especially when our town has the top spot on positive list.
It is disappointing that Chadron State College was not mentioned in the spiel about the city, but neither was North Dakota State mentioned in the description of Fargo as the best town to reside in that state or the University of Central Oklahoma referred to when Edmond was tabbed as that state’s best place to live.
These are not the first times Chadron has been ranked among “the best.” In 2000, the Chadron Record carried a story which said Chadron had been named one of the “Top 50 Sports Towns” by Sports Afield. The magazine cited the area as having some of the best turkey hunting in the West, along with a prominent mixture of whitetail and mule deer.
The story also suggested that anglers try Whitney Lake and Box Butte Reservoir, and also said Chadron is noted as one of the four best mountain biking towns in the United States.
Sports Afield stated that it looks for out-of-the-way communities “where the people are real, the prices are low and your dog is as welcome as you are—maybe more so.”
In 2009, the website Forbes.com selected Chadron as one of the top 10 American towns the visit by car. (It’s hard to get here any other way). The accompanying information that time gave special attention to the Museum of the Fur Trade, while referring to the people who were attracted to its world-class displays as “wacky aficionados.”
Jim Hanson, who has been associated with the museum almost since its founding in 1955, said he took the reference as a supreme compliment.
“We have spent 50 years (now more than 60) collecting the very best there is. If that doesn’t make you a wacky aficionado, I don’t know what does,” Hanson was quoted as saying.
