Koesters in the middle
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By Jonnie Tat' Finn / Lincoln Journal Star
GRETNA — If distance weren’t a factor, which city would rural Nebraskans rather visit: Lincoln or Omaha? Joe and Erin Koesters and their 2-year-old daughter, Emily, live equidistant to the downtowns of both cities. But the answer’s easy for this family: Omaha.
With the help of a global positioning system, the Journal Star mapped the midpoint between the two cities’ county-city buildings by way of U.S. 6. The Koesters’ home, which sits near the intersection of the highway and Melia Road, came out a mile or two from the middle.
“We knew we were in the middle somewhere,” Joe Koesters said. “Linoma Beach is just down the road.”
But considering each town’s expanding city limits, Ashland Mayor Ronna Wiig said she’d consider her town the midpoint between Lincoln and Omaha.
“Getting to 27th Street (in Lincoln) is pretty quick,” Wiig said, “but so is Center Street (in Omaha). You can get there — bing, bing, bing.”
For the Koesters, however, Lincoln might as well be on the other side of the state.
“Omaha seems closer, since it’s really starting to leak into Gretna,” Joe Koesters said. “For us, Omaha starts on Q Street, which is only about an 8-mile drive for us. Lincoln seems so much farther away.”
Still, Erin Koesters makes the trek to the Capitol City every weekday for her job in the theater department at Lincoln East High School.
“I spend an hour and 30 to 40 minutes a day on the road driving back and forth to work,” she said. “I calculated the impact of gas prices for our household to be about $400 each month for the last three months just for work-related driving. It’s crazy.”
Erin Koesters took the Lincoln job seven years ago after moving from Houston to live with and eventually marry Joe. With the drive time and the high cost of fuel, Erin Koesters said she’d consider working in Omaha if an opportunity presented itself.
“Joe wouldn’t consider working in Lincoln,” she said. “He doesn’t care for the town.”
Born and raised in Gretna, Joe Koesters settled his family just a few miles from the home he grew up in. As a self-employed construction worker during the summer and a snowplow driver during the winter, Joe Koesters said he enjoys working between Ashland and Omaha.
“I never really get to go to Lincoln with my work, because we don’t really advertise there,” he said. “But I’d rather work in Gretna, if I had a choice, because it’s close to home.
“I know Omaha like the back of my hand,” he said. “In Lincoln, all I really know is O Street. I had friends who went to college there and I’d party with them sometimes, but that’s about it.”
Having both grown up in smaller towns — Erin grew up in Conrad, Iowa, a town of about 1,000 — the Koesters said they’d rather raise their daughter in a similar environment.
“I’ve gone back and forth living in both small towns and big cities,” Erin Koesters said. “I even lived in New York for a while. But I always come back to the smaller towns. There’s just something about being in seclusion and enjoying the quiet life, but also having the option to get out and enjoy the big city whenever I want.”
The big city of choice for the Koesters is Omaha, though it’s not like it’s the standout favorite, Erin Koesters said.
“I really don’t know what’s more attractive to us about one city over the other,” she said. “We go where we feel most comfortable.”
And comfort means convenience and proximity to home.
“It takes us about 11 minutes to drive to Wal-Mart,” Joe Koesters said. “Sometimes (Erin) will pick up stuff when she’s coming home from work, but we mostly shop in Gretna or Omaha.”
Erin Koesters said the last time the whole family was in Lincoln was about six to eight months ago to visit Emily’s pediatrician.
“We really don’t identify with either city,” Erin Koesters said. “We identify with Gretna and Ashland more. Most of our friends are in Ashland and Gretna, although we have some sprinkled throughout in Omaha and Lincoln.”
Wiig said Ashland residents are in the same boat when it comes to which city they identify with.
“Years ago it would have been Lincoln, no question, because it was smaller,” Wiig said. “But now it’s a mixture. I’d say shopping and restaurants are what people travel to the cities for, but it doesn’t make a difference which city you go to.
“For me, I guess it’s a coin toss,” Wiig said. “Kind of depends on what the kids want to eat.”
Reach Jonnie Taté Finn at 473-7395 or tfinn@journalstar.com.
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