(bright music) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Coming up on Nebraska Stories, a junior Olympian making extraordinary strides, (upbeat music) the enduring artistry of William Henry Jackson, A fast-growing sport hits the bullseye, plus faith, dreams, and the kindness of strangers on a Nebraska highway.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (intense music) (intense music) (intense music) - [Jaiya] I can make it to the Olympics one day and that's a really big goal that I have now.

(intense music) - [Coach] You hit that 10 yard.

(intense music) - [Jaiya] You can't give up, you gotta keep working.

And it's something that, it almost is like a sibling to me 'cause like you don't always like it, but you love it in the end.

(intense music) -[Sheree] We did not know that it would come to this, but we're grateful and we don't take it for granted.

- And at the rate, she's accomplishing what she's accomplishing, there is no limit.

(intense music) (intense music) - [Jaiya] My dad saw me running when I was like in my walker when I was a baby.

He said I wasn't just running, I was actually striding, which showed him that I had like the technique for a track runner.

-[Sheree] She started running at seven as far as officially in a track circuit.

She started to really perform at a higher level than expected.

It just caught us by surprise.

-[Jaiya] I made it to nationals my first year.

So that's kind of when I realized that this is something that I'm actually good at.

It's something that I can have a career in.

- Seeing her talent, my whole thing was, I know I can help her, (intense music) but it's gonna take a village to raise Jaiya.

(intense music) So I'm trying to bring the right people in to make sure that her gift goes as far as she wants.

(intense music) -[Jaiya] A lot of people think running is just going out on the track and running, but there's a lot of small things that you have to work on and it takes a while to master them.

And even professionals have to work on this.

(intense music) -[Coach] The little nuances of exercise, the nuances of her sprint mechanics, those are gonna be things that the best of the best do very, very well.

And so getting her to that level is kind of what we're all striving for 'cause the physical maturity will still come.

(intense music) (intense music) She's very naturally talented.

But I think what separates her from other people her age is her just desire to do the things she loves.

Ready.

(intense music) - [Jaiya] I love track a lot and I have a lot of fun doing it, but track is one of those things that it's also not always gonna be fun.

You can't give up.

- She is carrying on a torch that, you know, we didn't see coming.

(crowd chattering) (crowd chattering) - [Jaiya] I know I've trained like all season for this, so now's the time where my hard work will pay off.

(intense music) (intense music) -[Kevin] I knew she was gonna do well, but I did not know she was gonna do this well.

- [Announcer] On your marks.

Get set.

(starting gun pops) - [Kevin] She went out there and she dominated that race from start to finish.

-[Sheree] In that moment, I'm very excited that she's won.

But the way she responds to it and handles that is what matters even more than the fact that you have this title.

(intense music) Anything that she does, people are gonna pay attention to.

Not just the fact that you're a winner, but how you win, you know, and what you represent overall.

(crowd cheering) (intense music) -[Jaiya] My biggest goal overall is to break a world record in the 400.

But right now I just wanna keep focusing on getting better, getting my times down.

I can make it, hopefully make it to the Olympics one day and that's a really big goal that I have now.

- Yeah, I don't see her getting off track.

She's very focused on what she wants to accomplish and what she wants to do.

And I think that we can expect to see more great things from Jaiya.

(intense music) (soft music) -[Narrator] William Henry Jackson was one of the most prolific American artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

(soft music) He personally witnessed and recorded the expansion of the American West in thousands of photographs and in hundreds of drawings and paintings.

(soft music) At the age of 23, the young Civil War veteran headed West.

He landed in Nebraska City, where he was hired by a freighting outfit, bound for the mines of Montana.

Traveling the historic Oregon Trail, Jackson sketched landmarks and moments of everyday life along the trail that became iconic scenes of the West.

(soft music) In 1868, he opened Jackson Brothers Photography studio in Omaha and was commissioned by the Union Pacific to photograph the Transcontinental Railroad.

(soft music) He visited the Omaha, Pawnee, and Otoe reservations, recording rare images of tribal members.

(soft music) In 1870 Jackson's landscape photography caught the attention of Ferdinand Hayden, a geologist leading an expedition into Wyoming territory.

Jackson became the first photographer to successfully document the awe-inspiring wonders of Yellowstone.

His images conveyed the breathtaking beauty and unique natural features of the wilderness, convincing Congress to preserve Yellowstone.

It became the nation's first national park in 1872.

(soft music) During his extensive travels throughout the West, Jackson marked the profound changes that shaped our nation.

(soft music) He documented various groups of indigenous people in both artistic renderings and photographs, (soft music) capturing not only their unique tribal cultures, but creating an important record of their existence during a pivotal chapter in American history.

(soft music) Today, the Oregon Trail Museum at Scotts Bluff National Monument holds the largest collection of William Henry Jackson paintings in the world.

(soft music) Park visitors can immerse themselves in Jackson's vibrant tapestry of American Western history, as seen through the eyes of an intrepid explorer and pioneer in American art and photography.

(soft music) (soft music) (axe grinding) (axe grinding) (upbeat music) (thud sound) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Axe throwing is quickly growing in reputation around the United States, and rapidly becoming a popular pastime.

Sometimes called hatchet, athletes compete by throwing an axe at a target, attempting to hit the bullseye as close as possible.

-[Jesse] When I think of axe, I think of a big, like a long-handled axe, like you would use for firefighting, for forcing entry or anything like that, but it's actually more of like a hatchet.

So the hatchets themselves are about anywhere from a pound and a quarter to about five pounds.

- You have to be behind a 12-foot line, and then there's another 15-foot line, there's hatchet, big axe, duels, knife throwing, stuff like that.

- [Narrator] Modern competitive axe throwing began in the early 2000s, and it quickly grew into a sport that's accessible for nearly anyone.

With the introduction of axe throwing bars across the country, more and more people have been introduced to the pastime while enjoying their favorite drink.

- I would say, for most people, it's two things that definitely shouldn't go together, but we find a way like to make it work.

- [Narrator] Jesse Rood is just one of the many who fell in love with the sport.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and marrying his wife, Isabelle, the two ventured out to Colorado in 2019 for a summer camp.

While mentoring young children as a horse wrangler, Jesse found a new passion that exceeded his wildest dreams.

-[Jesse] One day I just picked up an axe and tried it and I was like, "This is pretty sweet."

And one of the older guys at camp was like, "Yeah, and all you have to do to double your rotations of the axe is just back up the same distance you are from the target, so just double your distance."

- [Narrator] With this new interest in tow, Jesse and his wife moved back to Nebraska to fulfill a childhood dream, one that would have slight parallels to his new passion.

-[Jesse] My dad was a firefighter all throughout my life various different departments, volunteer departments, so I knew early on, I wanted to go into firefighting.

I had my EMT, but I had no fire experience, so I kind of thought it would be a really difficult time.

But with COVID, there was some openings at the Air Guard base, so I kind of slipped in at the perfect time.

Obviously, for firefighting, you're using an axe for all kinds of things, forcing entry, helping with the halligan, but that's what we use axes for on the job.

It's a lot harder to throw those big axes.

(upbeat music) One night, when we were closing, I threw probably like a six rotation shot.

(intense music) - Whoa.

-[Jesse] And I was like, dang, I kind of wanna see what the world record is, so I went home, looked it up and it was around 72 feet at the time.

And just that night, 60 or so feet, I knew I was close so I was like, with some practice, I guarantee I could break it.

So I applied for the record and it took really long time to get approved to attempt it, maybe four or five months.

But in the meantime, Craft put me into contact with the Nebraska Sports Council and Dave Mlnarik, who works out there, he's a great guy, and he was super excited about having me do it for the Cornhusker State Games.

- [Narrator] In order to set a record, Jesse trained hard to hone his throw.

- I would say I was going like three to five times a week, depending on how busy I was.

But I'd go out there in the morning and just throw till the mid-afternoon and toss my headphones in.

- [Narrator] With his sights set on the 72 foot record, Jesse's goal was not only to break the record but to shatter it.

- Obviously, some days, if I wanted to focus more on like 120 feet or beyond, I wouldn't throw as many until I got to 120 just 'cause my arm was gassed.

And I also had issues initially where I was thinking, I think I overdid it.

(intense music) - [Steven] I mean, we lent him old, like half-used boards that he could practice on, we gave him a couple sprayers, 'cause if the wood's too hard, it's not gonna stick.

Just kind of gave him like the supplies he needed and the support of like an official, like, we're certified with the World Axe Throwing League.

- We had to reach out to Allied Surveying and Mapping, and they were awesome, volunteered their time to come out and get it certified.

(upbeat music) I think most of the nerves came from like the questions I was getting on the day of where people were saying like, "What kind of percentage are you hitting from, from like 75 feet plus?"

And I was like, "Well, I've never thrown in front of people ever."

And I was pretty nervous after about eight or nine that I invited all my friends and family to come watch me not stick an axe.

But then, I think I really relaxed, took a couple deep breaths.

(somber music) (crowd cheering) (upbeat music) I finally stuck from 89.3 feet, officially.

It was pretty sweet when I hit it.

And I think it was mostly 'cause I missed so many and I think I could kind of see that people were starting to question if this was like gonna happen.

But I was really excited after sticking to get a chance to hit from 120, because in warmups, even that day, I hit two axes from 120, so I really, that was my goal.

And even though it was only by like 10 or so feet, it's just cool to have your name on something like that.

-[Steven] He comes from a small town, I come from a small town, different small towns, but still like for that world record to be held by someone who came from rural Nebraska, I think that part was like the coolest part for me.

-[Jesse] I would love to do it again.

It was kind of a lot of hoops initially to jump through and I'm kind of am just enjoying the time of not setting anything up.

- [Narrator] As Jesse looks to the future, and potentially defending his world record, the popularity of axe throwing continues to spread.

- Some people do, you know, like spa days, stuff like that.

For a lot of people that come here, it's how they forget about a bad day at work or stress or whatever, it's just something to get your mind off of whatever you're going through.

(upbeat music) (solemn music) [Marie] I was running a filling station on I-80 in Shelton, Nebraska and I looked up one day and here was a Winnebago motor home.

It was just covered with scripture.

Every inch of it had scripture on it and I thought, oh, it's a band of hippies.

And I was relieved to find out it was just one man, 49 years old and he was headed west.

He kept saying the starter kept trying to engage as he's coming up the interstate.

He said, well, I gotta find a junkyard.

He thought he'd only be there a half hour.

And I said, well there's one at the next intersection.

(solemn music) My name is Leonard Knight and I made this mountain 22 years here and I'd love to give you a tour of it.

[Narrator] There's a man-made mountain in California called Salvation Mountain.

(solemn music) The mountain is a sculpture the vision of one man, built by one man, Leonard Knight.

(solemn music) It's also a testament to his faith his holy vision.

(solemn music) Where the air is dry and the sun burns hot Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain is built in southeast California.

The hillside visionary environment is built mostly of hay bale construction and covered with Adobe clay.

Knight used thousands of gallons of donated paint to coat his candy colored mountain that took almost 30 years of his life to create.

In 2002, Salvation Mountain was considered a unique national treasure but before building a mountain in California he tried the skies of Nebraska.

(solemn music) [Hal] Dad and Leonard met, it was a morning I'll never forget it he came in on this little moped.

Long, skinny guy.

He walked in back door of my dad's shop and he said he needed some parts.

That's how the friendship was born.

Leonard didn't have any money but dad tried to help him out the best he could.

And he stuck around.

My name is Hal Jones.

My dad was Coppy Jones, a friend of Leonard Knight.

Dad got that nickname when he was about five years old.

He lost his leg and the nurses up there bought a get well gift.

It was a police hat and they just called him Coppy.

From then on and it just stuck.

He was a self-taught mechanic blacksmith, welder, you name it, dad could do it.

[Narrator] Before Marie Gee passed in 2016 she shared her memories of Leonard in a phone interview.

[Marie] Getting back to Leonard.

He parked his little bus out back of my station.

Oh, he was just really kind of a pleasant guy to have around.

We had some very deep discussions.

His goal in life was to get the word of God out.

(solemn music) [Duane] Hadn't thought about Leonard for several years but his memories linger on.

He had a dream to become a preacher but the way he was going about it was a different way.

(solemn music) When you asked him what he did for a living or you asked him what he was and he said I'm an Evangelist.

Leonard's vehicle, he was driving a piece of art.

It was a Dodge mid-seventies van with a raised roof, white background paint.

Red lettering said, Jesus saves God is love.

The sinner's prayer written on the side of it.

It was unique.

It was, it was something you wouldn't see.

I mean, we didn't have internet or anything like that.

You just didn't see stuff like that.

(solemn music) [Marie] Then he got the idea one day that he bet if he had a big hot air balloon with scripture on it that just maybe, that would work.

(solemn music) Are you on now?

This story starts back in 1970 in Burlington, Vermont.

Approximately 20 years ago I saw a hot air balloon going over the main street and the kids were pulling their parents out of the stores having them look at the balloon and they were saying, daddy, what does the balloon say?

I just wished it said God was love on it.

There could have been a two, three thousand people looking up saying, God is love.

[Hal Jones] And Dad bought into Leonard's story.

Dad believed him.

Dad wanted to see that dream of his come true cause you could see the fire in Leonard's eyes.

And that was Leonard's purpose, was the tell God's story.

As soon as you did something like that back then you were, you were crazy.

You were deemed nuts.

And Dad found a balloon factory in South Dakota and that's the only way they were gonna get this balloon made was either buy enough yardage of fabric to make it themselves or buy the scraps.

They loaded up my dad's pickup and shut down the shop for four or five days and away they went.

Come back with a pickup full boxes of pallets of nylon scraps from that balloon place ♪ Every drop till it's gone ♪ Once they got home, Leonard took the scraps he starts laying them out and he started sewing that thing together with a with a sewing machine.

♪♪ These scraps and making the letters.

And by the time they got done with it, it wasn't perfect but it got the job done.

(country music) And I broke down in 1980 in Shelton, Nebraska and I was gonna stay two hours and the people treated me nice and I stayed four years and cut cottonwood and drove a corn truck and met hundreds of nice people in Nebraska.

And they all kind of helped me build the balloon and I sewed it with a sewing machine from scratch and had a lot of fun doing it.

♪♪ [Marie] And he would sew and sew and sew and I don't know how many thousands of yards of thread he said he used, sitting out behind my station.

♪♪ The newspaper in Kearney got a hold of his story and they had it up on the front page of their paper and they likened it to a whale in a harlequin suit.

[Narrator] Two photographs showing the inflated balloon behind Max and Marie Gee's interstate service station have been found.

(solemn music) And several articles appeared in Nebraska newspapers.

(solemn music) A video showing Leonard trying to inflate his balloon in the California Sonora Desert was shot after he left Nebraska.

Leonard never intended to take it for a ride.

Instead he wanted to raise it high into the air to spread the message that God is love which he sewed in big letters on the balloon.

(solemn music) laughing) When you used scraps you used everything you had and he had a dream.

He just kept going till he had all the scraps put together.

[Hal] Dad was the first one that ever gave him the chance for the opportunity.

And even then the money to get the balloon Dad made him do stuff around the shop.

The car that I still have from when I was 16.

Dad had him do the body work and paint that car to get the money to go get the scraps of balloon stuff.

[Marie] He would work out back and he would wait on customers.

And he was always pleasant.

He was always happy.

It was really a comfort to me to have someone else with me at that interstate interchange cause it got pretty scary at times.

♪♪ [Duane] I always said he was on a low budget.

He didn't get too interested in really staying with anything (solemn music) because he had this balloon and God on his mind and he was going to fulfill it regardless.

(solemn music) [Hall] Leonard would survive by generosity.

He never begged.

People would see a need and they'd, they'd pick it up and he might have a few bucks in his pocket but somebody would pick up his tab.

I was out here one year in 1979 and I liked the weather and I always wanted to get back here when it snowed a lot in Nebraska.

But people in Nebraska treated me awful good, too.

Good memories and I guess I got a thousand good memories.

(solemn music) [Narrator] Leonard had spent several years in central Nebraska sewing his hot air balloon after he rolled into the interstate filling station in 1980.

With very little notice Leonard packed up his balloon and in the fall of 1984, headed west.

[Marie] He just headed for California.

Well, he just came in and thanked us for all of our hospitality.

I remember, Coppy Jones was worried about him.

(solemn music) [Hal] To put this vision from his head to fabric from scraps to sewing machine it took a lot of talent to do what he did.

[Marie] Even artists have called him artistic and he'd just laughed.

He says, well, if you call making a lump of clay and running your fist into it and then painting it, an artist he said, I guess I'm an artist.

(laughing) [Leonard] I feel very privileged that I, I can do this.

(solemn music) Leonard had a dream like the rest of us.

We've all had dreams of doing things and accomplishing things (solemn music) and sometimes those dreams kind of go by the wayside.

And I think maybe he'd give up on a dream of balloons and he went to California and done something bigger and better where more people could see it.

(solemn music) [Leonard] And I never did get the balloon up although, I tried hundreds of times in Nebraska.

Probably 40 times in South Dakota and I never got the balloon up (solemn music) because I didn't have the right heat in the propane bottle.

Out here, I had the propane bottles and the people loving me but it got too rotten and it was, it ripped easy.

I'm glad about now because if it didn't have rotten out I might not have put this Adobe Hill up here.

So this is why the hill is up here.

It had the same message and it seems like everybody loves it.

And I'm excited about this mountain because I could have Catholics, Baptist, people who love God people who don't, black and white and they all seem to love me and gimme a compliment.

And I think love is like a snowball going downhill.

If they treat me good, I want to treat them good.

And in town, when I go into the restaurant I wanna check my mouth to make sure I'm as good as they are.

And the better I try to be, the better they are.

It's a beautiful thing.

God, I wouldn't want to trade this place for any place in the whole world.

(solemn music) [Narrator] Leonard never sought attention but with his many attempts to send his message into the skies and his three story tall and 100 foot long mountain adored with a cross, Leonard became a celebrity of sorts.

He's been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines videos and films.

Salvation Mountain is a destination and a pilgrimage for thousands each year and is maintained by Salvation Mountain a nonprofit organization which continues to fight for preservation and ownership of the land.

(solemn music) Put the camera where you think it should show God is love, real good.

[Narrator] With declining health Leonard Knight entered a nursing home in 2012 never to work on his mountain again only to visit on rare occasions.

Leonard passed away February 10th, 2014 at the age of 82.

(solemn music) (solemn music) (solemn music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Watch more Nebraska stories on our website, Facebook and YouTube.

(upbeat music) Nebraska Stories is funded in part by the Margaret and Martha Thomas Foundation.

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