The Barneston Community Center was built as a gym area for the high school.
While the high school building has been demolished, the gym remains in use and is mostly original with few changes.
A resident of the area, Bill Peterson, had maintained the building for many years. He died in August 2021.
A board of community volunteers are now working to add new bathrooms. They would eventually like to refurbish the ceiling in the gym area and update the electrical.
In January, the Gage County Board of Supervisors approved a $23,000 grant from the Visitor Improvement Fund to add restrooms and a storage room to the community center.
Betsy Frerichs, one of four board members representing the center, spoke at the meeting and said with those funds, the group was around halfway to its goal of $100,000 for the project.
“The gym was built in 1952 and the bathrooms downstairs are very dungeon-esque,” she said. “There are concrete stairs down to the original bathrooms, and the men’s currently doesn’t even work. We just had a lot of issues with sewer issues and frozen pipes. There’s no heat downstairs unless we turn on space heaters to keep the pipes from freezing.”
County Board Chairman Erich Tiemann said the building is an asset to southern Gage County, and along with the popularity of the trailhead in the area, Barneston has seen a boost in recent years.
“This really is a treasure down there in Barneston,” he said. “My experience has been basketball for the kids or grown up volleyball. It’s really a great piece there in Barneston. The more people we can get there, the more it will get used.”
Previous grants were awarded to update the kitchen and the sound system at the community center. The group continues to apply for funds to update the building.
Frerichs said the center is regularly used for events such as basketball and volleyball tournaments, weddings, family reunions and community events.
“It’s been updated over the years, but the restrooms in the lower-level hinder events held there,” she said. “The building runs on donations, and the rental fee typically is just to cover utility fees to keep it open.
“It’s just a neat old building. The best part is when alumni show up at fundraisers and tell stories.”
The Barneston Community Center Facebook page posts upcoming events and fundraisers regularly.
