A soft smile grows on Dominick Naegele’s face when he talks about childhood memories of downtown Sidney, Nebraska, and how Hickory Street Square connected most of them.
Riding bicycles with friends to get a slice and a pop at the pizza shop on 10th Avenue, just south of the square. Visiting mom while she made pies, cinnamon rolls and other breakfast fare at a restaurant around the corner. Watching the trains rumble along the north side of Hickory Street on their way through town. Just hanging out in the vicinity of that intersection that has become the city’s traditional site for a summer concert series, Saturday farmer’s markets and annual outdoor holiday events.
Entering his senior year at the College of Engineering, Naegele admitted that his hometown — a historic city in western Nebraska, less than an hour’s drive to both Colorado and Wyoming — seemed much farther away than the six-hour, 375-mile drive from campus to his parents’ house.
“When I came to UNL, I figured there weren’t going to be many more times I was going to be in Sidney except for family gatherings,” Naegele said. “Then, the pizza shop and mom’s restaurant both closed, so when I do go back, I don’t usually think about going down (to the square.)
