Speegle's Column. The old ranch house at the Willow brook will be torn down by the new owners, the McBrides. The old ranch house sat next to the old RW highway and was a stopping place for stage coaches pulled by 4 horses. Now that the new alignment of that section of the RW highway runs straight from Beatrice to the area near Fields Landing. (Today 2012, the McBride ranch is mostly the Hum Bat Wildlife Refuge).