CBQ Seward NE 3-1968 – a pdf of the scanned waybills
CBQ Seward NE 3-1968 – an Excel list of the waybills

These are outbound waybills billed by the CB&Q Seward, NE agent in March 1968. Besides Seward, the agent also handled the surrounding hamlets Tamora, Staplehurst, and Garland.

An Unlikely Sawmill in the Nebraska Fields

While the expected Nebraskan agricultural commodities are present, by far the largest shipper was Hughes Brothers, an electric utility supplier in Seward (still operating today.) Hughes Brothers operated a sawmill and metal fabrication shop to manufacture utility pole parts. As unlikely as it might seem, lumber was shipped from the Pacific Northwest to be further cut in Seward. The finished cross arms and cross arm braces were then shipped to customers around the country under milling in transit rates.

Besides shipping utility pole components, Hughes Brothers also shipped sawdust and woodchips to Ellinger’s of Sheboygan, WI, manufacturer of wooden bowls. Americans were eating their salads with dinner from bowls made of wood from Nebraska created from the manufacturing of utility poles. An unlikely logistics chain to be sure!