Nebraska's 4th of July City

Here is Governor Pete Ricketts at the Governor's reception at St. Johns this afternoon. Many of the people involved in the Parade were invited to the reception and then taken to where we were picked up for the parade. There was a brief rain shower which cooled the weather down a few degrees and provided some shade. Elaine and I had the pleasure of riding in Mark's red convertible. This was a first for us and an interesting experience. Since it goes right past our house very early in the parade route, Carolyn was able to get some pictures of us going by. We got back to see several on the later portions of the parade including the model A Fords, etc.

We were invited to a Band Shell presentation of Awards after the parade but we deferred by having Jon accept my plaque as the "Seward County Community Service Award" winner for 2017. I will use this opportunity to Thank all of those that were involved in the process of my selection. And, also thank all of those that helped in carrying out those community projects and activities for which I was recognized. Elaine is certainly #1 in that category and was pleased to have  her ride along. One of the highlights of riding in the parade came while stopped near the end of the route when a fellow walked up to the car to shake my hand. He had been a student at Concordia back in the '70's that roomed at my folk's farm house. He wanted to make sure I was a 2nd generation. He said while the Tony he knew was a "tough old bird", he couldn't possibly still be alive. (Dad died in 1990 at age 93).