LYNCH, Neb. (KMTV) — Standing behind the bar at Bubba’s Tavern, Bradley Jerman recalls that fateful day in March 2019 when water began to rise around the town of Lynch.
“We got hit on Thursday, water started to rise. We were at the hospital sandbagging it hoping to save it. But it just kept coming and coming,” said Jerman.
Whiskey Creek — north of Lynch — and Ponca Creek — which runs through the town — quickly overflowed, leaving only one road in and out of Lynch.
Bradley and other volunteers rushed to help pull their neighbors out of flooded homes, some couldn’t be reached and would have to spend days sheltering in the upper floors of their homes.
Then he heard about what was happening on the nearby Niobrara River.
“We got a page on our fire pagers that the dam had been compromised and that we needed to get a hold of people on the river. One of the first people I called was Kenny Angel, no answer. Got a hold of Scott and he was on his way down there to get Kenny, but by then everything was gone,” said Jerman.
71-year-old Kenny Angel lived in a home that sat just below the Spencer dam and owned a bar nearby.
When the wall of water and ice slammed into the dam it collapsed, washing away Angel’s home. Even his car and tractor would be washed into the river.
Despite crews searching for weeks, Kenny would never be found.
The floodwaters left Lynch without water or power. It ruined dozens of homes and shut down business across town.
One business that closed, and wouldn’t re-open: Lynch’s grocery store.
That meant folks in Lynch would have to drive through devastated Boyd County to Spencer, O’Neill, or Niobrara to get food.
The situation in the little town of Lynch was dire, but the community wasn’t about to give up.
“It was a lot, we decided to form a cooperative and that’s just like selling shares. It’s a security,” said David Barnes, manager of Valley Foods Co-Op in Lynch.
Over the next few months, folks in Lynch teamed up with Charlotte Narjes from Rural Prosperity Nebraska to get everything they needed for the co-op.
That meant forming a steering committee and convincing the folks of Lynch to buy into the idea of a co-op.
And slowly the grocery store, known as Valley Foods Co-op, started to take shape.
“They did everything right. There were challenges along the way. But that’s the can-do attitude, instead of complaining about the challenge, they are finding a solution to make it work,” said Narjes.
Valley Foods Co-op has become a symbol of pride for the small town.
It’s run by a volunteer management team and when the trucks come in, volunteers from across town show up to help stock the shelves.
It’s not just the grocery store that’s doing well in 2024.
The town of Lynch is thriving and while the memories of those tough days remain, the spirit of Lynch is stronger than ever.
“We have several young couples in town, another young couple that moved in. Whenever there is a house for sale it sells, I think the town has rebounded pretty good,” said Barnes.
