Vrana Cousins Reunion

We had the Vrana Cousins Reunion today at Pat Grimes house in Milford, NE. Seated are (L-R)  Don & Gladys; Elaine & I. Second row is Bonnie, Peggy, Janice & Jan. Third row is Dale, Pat, Bob, Larry and Merle. We had a great visit and a good meal put together by Pat and guests with Chicken from Pizza Hut. We all sat around a long table and heard reports of everyone's family. This included not only kids, Grand Kids and Great Grandchildren. All told, the number would be well over 100. We missed having Ted  & Muffy among others, who were unable to be there. Ted is the oldest of the cousins, and I am next in line. Many old stories are retold at such reunions but invariably there will be new ones about some family history that we never knew.

This item is a heirloom that Pat had inherited from our Grandmother Vrana. She used it as a potato masher but with a solid bottom, it must have been more of a "smasher" than masher. A lot of people in the village of Bee were familiar with Grandma's Chicken soup. Whenever anyone was sick, she was at their doorstep  with her spciality. Pat's house is located near the Milford Jr/Sr HS. I was able to tell the fellows the story of the wooden guard strip that was fastened to a guy-wire on a telephone pole near her house. As I have understood the story, Ben Hughes served on a jury in Lincoln involving a lady driving a car into a guy-wire that she hadn't seen and suffered serious injuries. Driving back to Seward, he decided Hughes Brothers could make a wooden product, painted white that would be very visable to passer-bys'. They produced many of these that were installed on guy-wires throughout the country. These products have largely been replaced by yellow plastic tubes but many of the old wooden ones are still in use saving peoples lives. While I was able to pass this story on, I learned much more than I told. It was a good time. Thanks Pattie.