Each week we’ll take a step back into the history of Great Bend through the eyes of reporters past. We’ll reacquaint you with what went into creating the Great Bend of today, and do our best to update you on what “the rest of the story” turned out to be.

It’s been ten years today since the World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington D.C.  Since then, thousands of World War II veterans have travelled with sponsors on Honor Flights fundraised and supported by American citizens who felt it was important for these former soldiers to see the monument dedicated to them.   According to the official memorial website, “Since its dedication in 2004, more than 40 million people have visited the Memorial.”
Within a year, what we call Honor Flights began.
“The inaugural Honor Flight Tour took place in May of 2005,” according to the official Honor Flight website.  “Six small planes flew out of Springfield, Ohio taking twelve World War II veterans on a visit to the memorial in Washington, DC.”
Today, Honor Flights have begun to take veterans of the Korean War to see their monument, and as long as volunteers continue to actively support the mission, they will continue to take veterans of subsequent wars to view their monuments.    

Pedal Play
About 5:30 a.m., May 29, Great Bend Fire responded to a report of a fire at the newly opened Pedal Play at Veterans Memorial Park Lake.  A wiring short was determined to be the cause, and while it didn’t take long for firefighters to extinguish the blaze, the damage was done.  Owners Jeff and Elsie Darr had some homeowners coverage to cover the loss of some of the items inside the small building, but not enough to rebuild.  The business had only been open about a week, and was already popular, and had plans to offer bike rentals in the near future.  Ultimately, it wasn’t reopened.
Since then, the country experienced a recession and drought has plagued the area, dropping the water level of the lake several feet.  In recent years, the lake has had a consistent problem with geese and the subsequent blue-green algae blooms that have made contact with the water dangerous.  In 2014, the Great Bend City Council approved a plan to both discourage the goose population and treat the water chemically to discourage the blooms.   Should that work, and should the drought eventually end, perhaps when conditions are right, someone may decide to take the plunge and give the paddle boat and kayak rental business a go.  

Feeling the bite
Great Bend Tribune reporter Pam Martin wrote a three-part series about West Nile virus which appeared the week of Memorial Day in 2004.  She interviewed local families that had experienced the effects of WNV first hand the year before.  A year later, the victims were still undergoing physical therapy to regain lost strength.  
Brandon Hill was one of the survivors.  “If I hadn’t personally experienced it, I probably wouldn’t believe the devastation a little mosquito bite could cause,” he said. After recovering, Hill began researching WNV and with the financial support of Great Bend businesses, put together a brochure with important information about how to recognize symptoms.  He printed 11,000 copies and distributed them with the help of family members at the 3i show and other communities including Wichita.
According to an Aug. 3, 2012 story by Karl Man  with KWCH 12 Eyewitness News, Hill has since become a physical therapist, helping a 2012 WNV victim with recovery.  
Birds carry the disease, and mosquitoes pick up the virus and spread it to humans.  The best defense is still topical application of DEET and long sleeved shirts and pants.   Eliminating breeding grounds for mosquitos was recommended then, and still stands today.

Business recognition
Two Great Bend businesses were in the news 10 years ago.  Perkins restaurant for receiving the Beautification Award from the Great Bend Beautification Committee, sponsored by the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce.  The restaurant is still the best place in town to find coconut cream pie.  
Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake Pizza held a ribbon cutting marking the opening of their store inside the front of the Wal-Mart Super Center.  Since then, Walmart has changed its official brand from two words to one, and Papa Murphy’s has moved into a free-standing storefront of it’s own at 3809 10th St.  

Gas prices hit new highs
Memorial Day weekend also marks the start of the summer driving season, as families with school-age children around the country start summer vacations.  And ten years ago, prices were on the move in a pretty big way. Prices were hitting record highs in the $2 range.  Today, those prices seem like a dream with Great Bend gas averaging $3.45 a gallon present day according to GasBuddy.com
Still, according to AAA, it wasn’t putting a damper on Kansans’ plans for vacation driving to Texas, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Arizona, as well as Kansas City, Branson and St. Louis, Mo.  These were the top destinations in 2004.   In fact, travel by car was still preferred over travel by air as memories of 9/11 were still sharp, and the changed security routines at airports still felt alien.  
The nation hadn’t yet felt the effects of major Gulf of Mexico hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita,  and the world economies heating up and demand for oil skyrocketing.  In 2008, a volatile marketplace attracted investors who began speculating on oil futures, sending the cost of oil over the $4 mark in some parts of the country.  
Since the summer of 2008, gas prices have fluctuated between $3 and $4 a gallon, with the occasional dip into the $2.90 range for a few days or a week at a time.