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OBERT — The village of Obert is getting a new life.
Hartington veterinarians Ben and Erin Schroeder are helping the village gain new residents, a refreshed look and a safer stray cat population.
The vets, made popular by their show Heartland Docs, are no strangers to renovating. The couple restored the Hartington Globe Clothing store in 2015, the Hartington Hotel in 2018 and helped remodel the old Surge building into a brewery as well as putting their creative touch to a few area houses.
The rundown Kelbert schoolhouse turned storage shed caught the couple’s eye when they noticed a For Sale sign.
“We drive by the schoolhouse every single day,” said Ben. “One day, Erin drove by, and there was a For Sale sign down on the highway for it. She stopped and called the previous owner, and she told me that we were going to move it down to the river.”
Unfortunately, that plan was not in the cards once they realized moving the two-story brick building would not be possible.
Originally built in 1912, the schoolhouse held classes until 1969, when the state began to pressure schools to expand.
After the schoolhouse was no longer in use, the couple believe local residents bought the building and turned it into a bed-and-breakfast for hunters for about 10 years. After the B&B’s closure, the building was used as storage for 34 years.
The couple said the owner did his best to take care of the building, trying to prevent water damage and wild animals from making it their home.
Most of his efforts were not in vain; however, the couple said their main obstacles included fixing water damage, repairing the roof and removing generational pigeons from the bell tower.
“They really felt like that was their ancestral home,” said Erin, good-naturedly.
Along with fixing damage and removing pigeons, the couple also said it was important to preserve some aspects of the structure. This included keeping most, if not all, of the original layout, flooring, stairs, doors and lights.
The original plan for the schoolhouse was to flip and sell it as a three-bedroom and three-bathroom house. However, the more they worked on it, the more the building began to grow on them.
This project was a family endeavor as they completed most of the project with the help of their sons, Charlie and Chase. Erin said their youngest son, Chase, is going into construction and took a leadership role in this project.
“He was involved in every decision and carried out a lot of the work that needed to be done,” said Erin. “I think that’s really been the most special part of this.”
The Schroeders said their kids have grown up with the family working on numerous renovations, so it was extra special now that they could take an interest.
“Chase said I think I want to make this my home,” said Erin. “So, at this point, both of them will live there. We’re so proud and happy that it’s going to hopefully stay in our family.”
One of Chase’s projects was to add a fireplace to the basement. The couple said one of their family’s favorite areas in the house is around the fireplace.
“It is a really neat hangout area, and we call it the bear’s den,” said Ben. “And Erin, her father actually shot the bear that we have hanging above the mantle on that fireplace.”
The couple said many of the appliances came from Habitat for Humanity ReStores, which is a nonprofit home improvement chain.
“The kitchen was purchased at a restore for 1/10 of the cost of a new kitchen,” said Ben.
Sixteen months in the making, final touches were being made over Memorial Day weekend as former students contacted the couple. Alumni from 1965-69 asked if they could come and visit their old school.
“When we had the alumni come through, Charlie was downstairs, in the kitchen, and they told him that right where he was going to have his stove was where the Bunsen burners were for the science class,” said Ben.
The Schroeders said they are 95 percent complete with the project. They plan to focus on painting and landscaping for the summer, but said they also have another project coming up.
“We are going to do another project in the town of Obert, because we were able to get our hands on a different property,” said Ben. “I don’t think we’re just a one-and-done here, I think we are going to keep doing some stuff.”
The couple’s next restoration will be the Lutheran Church in Obert, but they are not sure what they plan to do with the building.
“That’s the fun about these, we can kind of just do them and then figure it out,” said Ben.
Rural Nebraska is not a common place for refurbished and renovation projects, but the Schroeders have taken on numerous projects.
“I think it’s just important to keep all of the history alive in these old towns and these small towns,” said Erin. “It truly is probably a lot easier to tear it down and build something new, and I just think you can’t get that history back.”
The couple said keeping rural Nebraska alive starts with buildings but ultimately comes down to young people staying and people taking pride in their community.
“The only way you can keep small towns going is by having young people come back,” said Erin. “Our boys and all their buddies and people who helped, all got to be a part of that, so they feel like they can take ownership in it. They feel proud about their town and what’s being done, and I think that is really important. In order to want to keep something alive, you have to love it.”
Breathing life into one building has led to an increase in traffic to the village. The couple said they have had visitors from all over Nebraska, Iowa and Colorado. With more interest comes more people.
“I think we have increased the drive-through by 6,000% because everybody’s driving by,” said Ben. “It’s a lot of fun for people to just drive by and look to see what is new, they’re following along on our social media, and they want to see what we’re doing.”
The vets weren’t only focused on restoring the building, they also took an interest in helping their feline neighbors.
“There were a lot of stray and feral kitties in Obert,” said Erin. “So, we have been working with the residents in town and doing a trap, neuter and return program.”
She said they have done around 23 cats in the last six months. Their goal is to keep the disease down and stabilize the cat population.
“A lot of people are always like, there’s a million cats in Obert,” said Erin. “But, there are no mice, no birds, just pigeons.”
The Schroeders hope to inspire people to continue to keep small towns alive.
“We hope that by doing these and by sharing all of this, it inspires other people who have unique buildings to really give them a second look,” said Erin. “Sometimes people just need to see something get finished. This isn’t even our profession, but you just have to have a dream and be will ing to work hard.”
