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I don't think I had ever heard of his story before...



Remembering Hermit Jim, Bellevue's social recluse who made his home near Fontenelle Forest

David Harding - Omaha World Herald wrote:After his experience as an infantryman in World War I, Baldwin decided to keep his distance from civilization. Around 1920, he retreated to the wooded hills next to Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue. He lived in a small cabin with his father and brother for a few years, then his father died and his brother moved away.

I've actually come upon the remains of his encampment when hiking in the southern part of the Forest.

Back in the early 70's during school field trips the tour guides would always tell the Hermit Jim Story and then tell all the kids that sometimes if everybody called out "Hermit Jim" the ghost of Hermit Jim comes out. The kids would call out Hermit Jim for a few times and get bored and move on.

GrandpaaSmucker wrote:Back in the early 70's during school field trips the tour guides would always tell the Hermit Jim Story and then tell all the kids that sometimes if everybody called out "Hermit Jim" the ghost of Hermit Jim comes out. The kids would call out Hermit Jim for a few times and get bored and move on.

Why didn't you come out when they called

nebugeater wrote:Why didn't you come out when they called

So you want GrandpaSmucker to tell you another hermit story? Okay......In the 1960's when I was just a boy there were a lot of hermits in Nebraska. Hermit Jim sounds like he was a hard core of the hard core of the hermits. It sounds like Hermit Jim had little or no shelter. Most of the hermits that I ran across had some form of shack made of what ever they could find. Some even dug themselves wells. One thing I strongly remember is they could generate a mega stink. You could smell one of those hermits places 100 feet away. My grandpa had a farm up by Fort Calhoun and a hermit lived in a forest on a back 20 acres. His shack was on top of a big ravine. He lived there for 50 years and never left until 1967 when he got sick and went to Imanuel Hospital and died at eighty something. Rumors got flying around that the hermit was actually rich and and had hid all his money around his shack. Sure enough there were people sneaking down there digging holes and poking holes in the shack trying to find his mythical mayonnaise jars full of money. I couldn't see how they could do it the place stunk so bad. It took at least 3 years for the stench to die down so that I could walk up and take a close look around.

nebugeater wrote:

GrandpaaSmucker wrote:Back in the early 70's during school field trips the tour guides would always tell the Hermit Jim Story and then tell all the kids that sometimes if everybody called out "Hermit Jim" the ghost of Hermit Jim comes out. The kids would call out Hermit Jim for a few times and get bored and move on.

Why didn't you come out when they called

|expletive| grand

GrandpaaSmucker wrote:

nebugeater wrote:Why didn't you come out when they called

So you want GrandpaSmucker to tell you another hermit story? Okay......In the 1960's when I was just a boy there were a lot of hermits in Nebraska. Hermit Jim sounds like he was a hard core of the hard core of the hermits. It sounds like Hermit Jim had little or no shelter. Most of the hermits that I ran across had some form of shack made of what ever they could find. Some even dug themselves wells. One thing I strongly remember is they could generate a mega stink. You could smell one of those hermits places 100 feet away. My grandpa had a farm up by Fort Calhoun and a hermit lived in a forest on a back 20 acres. His shack was on top of a big ravine. He lived there for 50 years and never left until 1967 when he got sick and went to Imanuel Hospital and died at eighty something. Rumors got flying around that the hermit was actually rich and and had hid all his money around his shack. Sure enough there were people sneaking down there digging holes and poking holes in the shack trying to find his mythical mayonnaise jars full of money. I couldn't see how they could do it the place stunk so bad. It took at least 3 years for the stench to die down so that I could walk up and take a close look around.

What was the stench from?

Coyote wrote:I don't think I had ever heard of his story before...



Remembering Hermit Jim, Bellevue's social recluse who made his home near Fontenelle Forest

David Harding - Omaha World Herald wrote:After his experience as an infantryman in World War I, Baldwin decided to keep his distance from civilization. Around 1920, he retreated to the wooded hills next to Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue. He lived in a small cabin with his father and brother for a few years, then his father died and his brother moved away.

I had never heard of this story either. I was 4 years old going on 5 when he passed away in 1966..

Very interesting and pretty touching story indeed...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

I mentioned Hermit Jim to my grandmother last year and she said she and her friends spent nights around the campfire in the forest with him! They brought him beer and she said he would sing songs. I want to ask her again about Jim. Are there any questions anyone here can think of? I am at a loss as where to start.

Also sorry for the necro post, I googled discussions about Jim and this was the most relevant result!