Pioneer Village Museum in Minden, Nebraska

In 1924, a 20-year-old man from the farmlands of Nebraska chugged his way to Chicago in his Model T Ford with $800 in his pocket and a patent for a material he called Flex-O-Glass. Harold Warp had developed this special plastic-like window material for his family's chicken coops. Warp decided that Flex-O-Glass was a marked improvement over the ordinary window glass used at the time and went to Chicago to prove it.

The young man established a storefront factory on the city’s then-unpaved Cicero Ave. He even lived there while promoting his new product. His efforts led to the creation of Warp Bros., a company that became a leader in the plastics industry. Warp Bros. is still owned and run by the Warp family and adheres to the principles that Harold based his business on – top-quality full-weight products, national consumer promotion and hard work. A part of Warp’s philosophy was his belief that the history of mankind’s progress must be preserved.

"For Thousands of years man lived quite simply,” Warp often said. “Then, like a sleeping giant, his world was awakened. In a mere 120 years of eternal time, man progressed from open hearths, grease lamps and ox carts to television, supersonic speed and atomic power.”

Going back to his roots, the businessman founded the Harold Warp Pioneer Village Foundation in Minden, Nebraska, to tell the story of America andhow it grew. “We have endeavored to show you the actual development of this astounding progress as it was unfolded by our forefathers and by ourselves," Warp said.

There are 350 antique cars and trucks, seven historic flying machines and all sorts of rare articles from sleds, to guns to vintage clothing in Warp's museum. More than 100 antique tractors are displayed both inside and outside.

Pioneer Village is located 12 miles south of Exit 279 on I-80 in Nebraska. It is open every day except Christmas. Winter hours are 9:00 am- 4:30 pm and summer hours (Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend) are 8:00 am to 6:00 pmAdmission is $9.50 plus tax for adults, $5 plus tax for 6-12 years and free for younger kids. Call 1-800-445-4447for information.