Simanaitis Says
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MEET THE TAYLOR FOLKS
IT’S A TAD OFF MY U.S. RTE 6 MEANDERINGS, but Taylor, Nebraska, is a must see on any further coast-to-coasts. In fact, I learned about Taylor Folks in my recent copy of Smithsonian magazine.
A Nebraska ad in Smithsonian, July-August 2024.
“Like other small towns in Nebraska,” the ad reads, Taylor is filled with friendly, welcoming people. What sets Taylor apart are the 100 or so residents made of plywood.
This and other images from Atlas Obscura.
The ad continues, “They’re the brainchild of a local artist who wants to double the community’s population, and they’re practically impossible to resist.”
“Yes,” the ad says, “we know some people will still resist. But not you. So go to VisitNebraska.com for a free Travel Guide. And make some new friends. Or we’ll make them for you.”
This and other images from taylorne.com.
Word Gets Around. Atlas Obscura has an article on “The Villagers” devoted to these folks and their originator Marah Sandoz: “Artist Marah Sandoz’s goal is to have as many cut-outs as there are real people in Taylor, and she is about halfway there because the depleted town has just 182 residents. The cut-outs were conceived by Sandoz and a local economic development team as a way to revitalize the town by getting those who pass through Taylor to stop and take a closer look at the timeless shadow population.”
Marah Sandoz says, “We’re creating a really positive climate for antique and retro stuff, and so will see if we can get some other little businesses around the square that can fill those tourism niches.” Image from pbs.org.
Taylor, Google Maps tells me, is a little more than 200 miles west/a tad northwest of Omaha. The latter city is at the intersection of Interstates 29 and 80.
Taylor is a village in Loup County, indeed its county seat along the North Loup River. (There’s a Middle and South Loup as well.) It’s on Nebraska Rte 91. Thereabouts in central Nebraska U.S. 6, variously U.S. 34, runs parallel to 91. Were I ever to make that Rte. 6 Dellow trippin’, it would be worth the detour to meet these new plywood pals.
Nebraska Passport. It’s noted proudly that “The Taylor ‘Villagers’ were chosen as one of the 15 ‘Fan Favorite’ Bonus Stops for the 2024 Nebraska Passport Program to celebrate 15 years of the Passport Program.”
The website also has a “Click here to do the Taylor ‘Villagers’ Crossword Puzzle” as well as a well-executed array of PDFs and a Media Kit.
Wikipedia notes, “As of the census of 2010, there were 190 people, 82 households, and 51 families residing in the village. The population density was 730.8 inhabitants per square mile.”
Meanwhile in the O.C.To put this in perspective, I live in Orange County, California, among some 3999 other inhabitants per square mile (indeed, with only a few here and there replicated as street art.)
Good for you, Taylor! ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024
Simanaitis Says 
This reminds me of the CBC show “Still Standing”, where comedian Jonny Harris travels to small towns across Canada and does a series of interviews with locals and puts on a comedy show at the end of the episode in a local community centre. He highlights how these communities are coping with and trying to survive despite their shrinking populations, lost industries and other adversities. 101 episodes so far.
Anecortes reader Bill Rabel kindly sends along this equally charming reference to Bill Mitchell’s Mural Project: https://www.billmitchellmuralproject.org/
If we could turn half the people in the US into plywood, we might regain a semblance of serenity, less air, water, sound and light pollution.
The MAGAts a r e plywood, but unfortunately able to move around and vote.