Hastings Museum holds final Naval Ammunition Depot tour for 2023

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - The Hastings Museum wrapped up its final Naval Ammunition Tour of the year. It’s something the museum has been hosting for five years now.

Attendees were able to see where it was located and where people were housed during World War II. They get to connect to a period where the Hastings community doubled in population. During the war years, the 76-square mile naval base produced 40 percent of the United States Navy Ammunition.

“The creation of the Naval Ammunition Depot had such an effect on this community... they needed so (much) temporary housing, people also opened their homes to different people, to make sure that they (could) kind of house all of these workers,” said Becky Tideman, Director of Marketing at Hastings Museum.

Tideman said they only offer the tours during the spring and fall because that’s when they can sell out a bus tour. She said those stories are important to the area.

“All military history, but I think anything that had to do with World War II in particular, is such a story that it resonates today; and we happen to know we’re uniquely able to tell this story,” she explained. “You know, we are a municipal museum, so we want to serve our area with the history that is theirs and that they deserve to know more about.”

Tideman stated the museum staff hopes people find the tours interesting and detailed.

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