Kearney Military Academy/St. Luke's
The Platte Valley (Collegiate) Institute, a coeducational school, opened on September 6, 1892. The school occupied what were described as three large and convenient buildings. With the depression of the 1890’s the enrollment dwindled rapidly and the school went through some lean years. In the fall of 1898, the school changed to The Kearney Military Academy for boys, although a few girls remained for a time. During the Spanish-American War, attendance increased. In 1905 the school was filled to capacity and applicants were turned away. Cochran Hall was dedicated on December 18, 1906. In 1907, the vestry voted to build St. Luke’s. The first Annual Officers Hop was held in April, 1901. On September 11, 1992 St. Luke’s celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the Military Academy. The flu of 1918 took its toll, claiming at least 5 students. The first air strip in Kearney, Auxiliary Field, was located on eighty acres just east of the Academy. With the installation of a rotating beacon and border lighting in 1921, it was charted as an official landing for airmail pilots as well as an emergency landing. Pilots who made forced landings could be housed at the Academy until they could take off again. In 1919 the powerhouse was destroyed by fire. Later the gymnasium and an annex also burned. By September of 1923 the enrollment was too low to meet expenses. An executive committee voted to close the school on September fifth. The property was abandoned for many years. In time Cochran Hall was the only building remaining. In 1940, an agreement was reached between officials of the Episcopal Church and the City of Kearney whereby the building and thirty-one acres of ground would be deeded to the city with the provision that the property would be "for public use only." The building was refurbished and used for an NYA trades training center. During World War II it temporarily housed prisoners of war; and had also been used as housing for military and civilian personnel. In 1948, the First Lutheran Church renovated the building, opening it as St. Luke’s Hospital in 1950.
John Bancroft, a retired physician, said his father was one of the doctors who began working at St. Luke’s Hospital after it opened.“I’m sure that they started it over some dissatisfaction with Good Sam,” said Bancroft, who was just out of high school when St. Luke’s Hospital opened.“There were probably things that didn’t go the way they wanted, and that’s just the way things go. I remember one time he brought in his own anesthetist. The nuns did a lot of stuff themselves, you know, and they mixed up a local and it didn’t work. I remember him cussing that, and then making sure it was from the factory rather than homemade.”Bancroft said St. Luke’s Hospital also could have opened because of religious reasons. There may have been people who wanted a non-Catholic hospital, he said.“They just never got enough business to get anything going,” Bancroft said of St. Luke’s.
By 1952, it was closed for financial reasons; in 1953 it was converted to St. Luke’s Home for the elderly. Today the old building is part of the St. Luke’s Good Samaritan Village, operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society. A day care center occupies the first floor of the building. Steve Chamley, Administrator, said that the building is structurally as sound as most of those in town but, without an elevator, they are not allowed to use the top floors.
The building is currently part of St. Luke’s Good Samaritan Village at 2201 E. 32nd Place.
*I believe that, now, even the day care has been removed. There are anecdotal stories from former employees about occurrences such as rocking chairs that frequently/regularly moved by themselves, etc. Considering it's history, the building would surely have much to still teach.*
Update: As of Fall 2010, I do not think that this location will ever be possible to investigate. Still, it is an intriguing location.
John Bancroft, a retired physician, said his father was one of the doctors who began working at St. Luke’s Hospital after it opened.“I’m sure that they started it over some dissatisfaction with Good Sam,” said Bancroft, who was just out of high school when St. Luke’s Hospital opened.“There were probably things that didn’t go the way they wanted, and that’s just the way things go. I remember one time he brought in his own anesthetist. The nuns did a lot of stuff themselves, you know, and they mixed up a local and it didn’t work. I remember him cussing that, and then making sure it was from the factory rather than homemade.”Bancroft said St. Luke’s Hospital also could have opened because of religious reasons. There may have been people who wanted a non-Catholic hospital, he said.“They just never got enough business to get anything going,” Bancroft said of St. Luke’s.
By 1952, it was closed for financial reasons; in 1953 it was converted to St. Luke’s Home for the elderly. Today the old building is part of the St. Luke’s Good Samaritan Village, operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society. A day care center occupies the first floor of the building. Steve Chamley, Administrator, said that the building is structurally as sound as most of those in town but, without an elevator, they are not allowed to use the top floors.
The building is currently part of St. Luke’s Good Samaritan Village at 2201 E. 32nd Place.
*I believe that, now, even the day care has been removed. There are anecdotal stories from former employees about occurrences such as rocking chairs that frequently/regularly moved by themselves, etc. Considering it's history, the building would surely have much to still teach.*
Update: As of Fall 2010, I do not think that this location will ever be possible to investigate. Still, it is an intriguing location.