Sandhills Natural Water, Inc. is nestled in the Sandhills of Nebraska about 20 miles north of Oshkosh. There beneath the rolling hills of prairie grass bubbles the Blue Creek Spring. It was this spring, over 100 years ago, where Native Americans and early settlers stopped along an unnamed trail to gather the clean, refreshing water for their journey. During this time before bottled water and even plumbing, it was the pure great-tasting water that led Clarence Peterson to buy the land in 1905.

 

It was not until 1987 that Clarence's grandson Myron and Myron's wife, Kay, decided to share the clean, pure, great-tasting water coming from Blue Creek Spring with the world. Thus Sandhills Natural Water was established and a growing number of people came to know and desire Sandhills Crystal Pure Spring Water. At first, only the small community of Oshkosh knew of the incredible bottled flavor.

 

Soon, word spread to nearby Lake McConaughy and campers and recreationists from the surrounding area were quenching their thirst with the Sandhills Crystal Pure Spring Water. Now Sandhills Natural Water, Inc., distributes their Sandhills Crystal Pure Spring Water to seven states and is packaged under numerous labels. Sandhills Natural Water, Inc. employs 10 area residents and bottles about 21 gallons a minute. And although a more high-tech bottling system would be faster the Peterson's still do most of the work manually and with machines Myron built himself.

 

"It's a little more labor-intenstive than the modern plants, but it's paid for," Myron said. "I'd rather give these people jobs than buy equipment."