RAGBRAI 2012: People-watching in Nemaha

Mon, Jul 23, 2012 | by Michael Morain

Nemaha — Marlys Waters had one of the best people-watching spots for today’s entire RAGBRAI route. She watched the hordes from air-conditioned comfort, at the picture window in her bookstore in Nemaha.

“This is just so much fun,” she said. “I’m just having a ball.”

A few days ago, the wife of a rider who celebrates his 40^th birthday this week (along with RAGBRAI itself) called Waters to ask if she would post a sign outside to wish him a happy birthday. Waters did, and it did the trick.

“He was surprised,” she said. His wife somehow “made sure he rode by and saw it.”

Waters fielded other out-of-town calls, too, including one from a Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote a RAGBRAI article that mentioned Nemaha is the smallest incorporated town on this year’s route. (Population: 85.) She told the reporter about some of the preparations, which called on area farmers to clean up the area as they had the last time RAGBRAI came through, in 1998, and for the town’s centennial the following year.

“People around here are just magnificent,” she said. “They never get tired of doing this stuff.”

But at least one person looked exhausted:

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