"My Career in SCS"

I finished editing and printing the 10th and final chapter of, "My Career in the Soil Conservation Service" today. This would not have been possible without my Diaries, Journals, Highlights and  Biographical information which I prepared some years ago. My 33 year career included 10 years here in Seward at the local office working with farmers on conservation practices such as terraces, waterways, irrigation, dams, tree planting, grass seeding, etc. It then picks up 4 years in Lincoln during which time I worked on Watershed Planning, Construction and as an Administrative Trainee. At the completion of the training

program I was transferred to the USDA headquarters in Washington D.C. where I worked in Personnel,  Administration and. finished out my career. I not only worked my way up the career ladder to the Senior Executive Service but was also able to attain an MBA along the way. This would not have been possible without the support of my wife and an understanding family. My 10 Chapters include the names of hundreds of people that I worked with over the years. I don't know if anyone else will ever read it, but like many activities, "it's the journey and not the destination" that is most enjoyable. The journey of writing it brought back many happy, vivid memories.

USDA Yearbooks-Complete Collection

While Google helps to find many answers, it couldn't give me the first name of Mr. Folsome who followed Sy Pranger as the USDA Director of the Personnel back in the late '70's. After exhausting other sources, I went to my USDA Yearbooks. I didn't find it there either but decided the Yearbooks would make a good blog page. The first one was published for 1894 and the final one in 1993. 1943-1947 was combined in one book during WWII as was '50-'51. I have copies of the full collection. The early editions provided farmers with everything from "grain smuts" to making kerosene insecticides. I became acquainted with the books soon after beginning employment with the Agency in 1948. The 1938 book, "Soils and Man", became a classic. So to have '48 Grass, '49 Trees, '55 Water and "100 years" in '62. These five have been the ones most useful to me as reference books. 

While some of the books were bought in used book stores, most of them were provided by members of Congress. As the number of farmers declined, the books were directed more to urban people with such subjects as "Gardening for Food and Fun", "A Place to Live", etc. I didn't get serious about the collection until it was announced that the 1993 book on Nutrition would be the last. It was also about the time that they were being listed on eBay which I utilized in completing and then improving my collection. There was a 3-shelf Mission style bookcase on an Auction that I bought about that same time, that is just the perfect size to hold the collection. It may not compare in dollar value with a Gun collection but the cost/benefit ratio for me, has been much greater. 

A Fun Morning with Jack

Jack got to ride his Rocking Horse this morning for the first time. He didn't exactly fall in love with it but I believe it will grow on him. What he liked best about it was when I took hold of one of the handles and rocked him vigorously while singing "Pony Boy". Elaine had him at the kitchen window watching the birds in the back yard and of their activity around the feeder. I hope that by the time he starts to school, he will be able to identify many of our common birds. As much as my Dad enjoyed birds and could imitate their calls, he never passed on to me the interest in being able to identify very many of them. Soon after we came back to Nebraska, Dad and I were working out in the farmyard when he answered a bird call. We couldn't see the bird and I asked him what species it was. I don't know when Dad was ever more embarrassed by my ignorance than when he had to tell me it was a Cardinal. Jack has a great memory and when he saw our Piggy Bank, he remembered how much fun it was to put coins in the slot. This bank has a bottom opening where coins can be removed.

I opened it up and got several coins which he put in the slot one at a time. After a bit of that he would take several and take one from his left hand and drop it in with his right. It wasn't always perfect. He would drop some occasionally, and even tried to put in more than one, but he learned. At this stage he doesn't make any distinction between penny's and nickel's but the brighter color of the silver coins are most favored by him. After first holding the pig on my knee, we moved it over to the back of the Rocking Horse which I thought might increase his affection for it. We had a great morning.

Major General Alan J Armstrong

General Alan Armstrong was born on a farm north of Garland, NE, graduated from Garland HS in 1938, attended the University of Nebraska, began flight training at Pensacola, FL and was commissioned a Marine Second Lt. as a Naval Aviator in July of 1941. During WWII he served in the Pacific theater where he earned two distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal with six Gold Stars. Following WWII he served in several assignments including a couple years with the 20th Fighter Bomber Group, USAF. During the Korean War he served on the staff of MAG-33 and was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Commendation Medal. He then served in a variety of positions in Washington, D.C., was promoted to Major General in 1969 and served as Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Vietnam. Gen. Armstrong's last assignment was as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, at Headquarters, Marine Corps. He retired in July 1973 and died in 2003 at the age of 83. Col. Jerry Meyer who is heading up the development of the Nebraska National Guard Museum here is Seward, is stimulating a lot of interest in Nebraskans military careers. Gen. Armstrong's younger brother, Don was a classmate of mine at GHS and my best friend. In February of 1948, my brother Don, Ed Pollak, Don Armstrong and I drove my '41 Chevy back to Quantico, VA where Major Armstrong was stationed at the time, to pick up a car he was giving to his younger brother. We spent a few days with he and his family as well as visiting the sights of D.C.  I had classmates from the Marine Corps while getting my MBA at George Washington U., and they told of Gen. Armstrong having flown just about every plane in the Service. We had a good visit back here in Seward at the time of his Mother's funeral. He is certainly one of our local heroes and one of our highest ranking Service members.

Easter Sunday and March Madness

We went to the 8:30am Easter Services at Church this morning. It was good to see the sanctuary filled for the early service. Since there was no "social hour" we came home for coffee, rolls and reading the newspapers. Then we went out to Owenses for Easter Dinner. Sadie and Jack were standing at the glass storm door to welcome us. They were in good spirits with the Easter Bunny having been there. Included in each of their baskets was even some plastic eggs with jelly beans inside. We took out "Lil Red" for Jack and the "Snow" Beanie Baby for Sadie.

After eating, we enjoyed seeing some pictures on their TV screen, of their recent trip. They were most interesting but after getting up early, the need for my afternoon nap became apparent. After getting home and enjoying that nap, I did some editing on "My Career with the Soil Conservation Service".  Elaine and I also did some more sorting and "putting away" of the things I bought at the auction yesterday. So far, Elaine has resisted the temptation to start working on one of the jigsaw puzzles. We were shocked to see #10 Syracuse overcome a Virginia 17 point lead and beat another #1 seed out of the Final Four. We have yet to see the final of the #1 North Carolina vs #6 Notre Dame game in Philadelphia. Us oldtime basketball players continue to marvel and continuing evolution of the game. Strenght has become as important as skill.

Max Farney Auction

The Max Farney estate Auction was held today at the Ag Pavilion with Schweitzer Auctioneers. Max had a tremendous collection of guns as well as a lot of other memorabilia. We have talked about a little horse of some kind for Jack to ride when he comes to visit & thought this one would work. I got a picture of it when I went down this morning and Elaine liked it, so I went back down after lunch to see it sell. I ended up with it for a reasonable price but it was next to the last item sold. Meanwhile, I bought a box of several unopened Jigsaw puzzles for Elaine, some toys for the kids and a couple boxes of Nebraska Husker memorabilia. The boxes included Beanie Babies of some of the Husker football players.

Included are #7 Scott Frost, #60 Tom Novak, #30 Mike Rozier and #12 Jarvis Redwine. We never got caught up in the Beanie Baby craze when it struck some 25-30 years ago, but I couldn't resist bidding when Tom Novak was included. Tom was an All-American in 1949. He was married, had a family and lived in the same Lincoln neighborhood as we did in the late '50's. Our boys were in the same Cub Scout Club, played on the same little league baseball and flag football teams. We took our boys to a Husker basketball game one night after Scouts. As we entered the old Coliseum, I offered to buy the tickets and Tom said, "We don't need tickets, just follow me". I wasn't used to going somewhere with a celebrity.

Annual Bee Auction and Lawn Care

When I got home from downtown morning coffee, Elaine suggested we take the Easter Lily up to the Church. We went on to the northeast part of town where a couple new housing developments are underway. Since the Annual Bee Auction was scheduled for today and tomorrow, we drove on up past the old Flowerday farm to Bee. (The auction has been held on the last weekend in March for nearly 50 years) It has a lot of memories for us.

It was at the Bee Auction back in the early '80's that I bought the 720 JD Diesel tractor as well as several pieces of machinery. I even bought a small motorcycle there at one time. It has the same benefit for farmers that the Seward Clean-up Day has for the rest of us. The Auction is an ideal way for farmers to "get rid of" old farm items that they no longer use. There were many old pickups, van's, etc. today but very few farm tractors. Since there is rain forecast for tomorrow, we took advantage of the opportunity to spread some 13 13 13 on our lawn. I'm shown doing it the hard way since having sold my little spreader on a yard sale some years ago when we were having all applications done commercially with an annual contract. We enjoy our yard and appreciate a nice lawn but our standards are not as high as what my Dad's were after they moved to town. I'm reminded of an occasion when Cousin Ted and his wife stopped by the folk's place when we were there, and he picked up a leaf from the street and dropped it on Dad's lawn since he said, "No one should have a lawn that perfect".

A Busy Day with Jack, etc.

Jack was here this morning and had lunch with us. He had 2 small sandwiches, some orange, pears and cookie. He drank milk, pear juice and water. He sat on my lap through most of this and ended up with a wet shirt. Before leaving to go home, he got changed into this colorful outfit in preparation for his afternoon nap. While eating is very important to him, going down to the lower level and "dancing" to polka music and playing with model trucks is great fun. It starts by going down the stops on his stomach. We had an extra large number of birds at our feeder and in the back yard which he also enjoyed watching. We bought an Easter Lily earlier this week that we will take up to the Church for Sunday in memory of my Mother and Dad. There is always a large number of them on display. They have a special rack that presents them in a large cone shape.

We have enjoyed it on our piano and elsewhere as the blooms have opened. One of my "planned" projects for the day was getting my "mail order" prescriptions filled. I was well into when it was pointed out to me that the prescription needed to be renewed. I went over to the Clinic and began the process. While the new addition to the hospital has been open for some months, I never had been able to get a good picture of it. Since it was mid afternoon on a cool but sunny day, it seemed a good chance to get that picture. I had taken a series of pictures during the construction and needed this one to show the final product. 

Nebraska March Weather.

Our weather in Nebraska today is  typical of what can only occur during the Month of March. This weather map shows the variation from blizzard warning to winter weather advisory. The forecast for our area in southeastern Nebraska was rain this afternoon and possible snow tonight. We had heavy clouds and wind all day but when we left Lincoln about 3:00pm and headed toward Seward, the sun was shining brightly. Seward is only 25  miles west of Lincoln but it had changed when we got here. 

The birds were also forecasting a change in the weather by their amount of activity around the feeder. We did have a few sprinkles but no rain of any significance. The 6:00pm weather map also shows a Tornado watch area in southeastern Nebraska. Fortunately, we in Seward County are just west of the "yellow" area and are east of the major snow area . At one time this evening, there was a 50 degree variation in temperature within the State. The Annual 2-day Bee Auction will be this Friday and Saturday. The weather should be cleared out by then and there will be some bargains.

Pony Boy

Among Jack's activities at our house today was taking this "selfie" with the laptop. He has caught on quickly that if we have Photo Booth open, the cursor on the red dot, that all he has to do is touch thea pad. It clicks and a picture is shown. After eating some pears, he drank the juice out of the dish again today to make sure he doesn't forget how that's done. One of the lessons today was turning the lid on an empty peanut container. I showed him how it was done but instead of doing it the conventional way, he held the lid still and turned the container. We also played "chase the ball" and while he can throw with either hand, on one occasion, he moved the ball from his left hand to his right before throwing it. His biggest laugh of the day came while playing, "Pony Boy".  I learned in checking on the words, that the song and words were written back in 1909. The part that brought out the big "tooth showing" laugh, was the big kick on "Whooooa", my Pony Boy.

Easter Story at Kiwanis

The Spiritual Aims committee of our Kiwanis Club presented an excellent Easter program today. Shown here is Art, who wrote the script, Courtney, Jack and Andrew who played his Guitar and lead the singing of Easter Hymns. The script told an interesting story and gave examples of how we can usually identify winners and losers, but not always. Sometimes, there are losers without any real winners. 

While it could be said that death is a winner but as we consider Jesus death on the cross and his Resurrection, the winner of "death was swallowed up in victory." Most of us have grown-up with the Easter story of Christ's Resurrection but telling it by making comparisons to winners and losers was new to me. In these days of basketball "March Madness" it was particularly apropos.  Marv and John are on the lower picture. John gave the benediction.

Palm Sunday

Though this is the first day of spring, we have had Daffodils blooming at our entry way since St. Patrick's Day. We have had a couple cool, more typical March days but it is to warm up again. We went to Church on this Palm Sunday where the little kids walked around waving their Palm Branches. It's always a pleasant sight to see their expressions as they go by our pew. This was our first opportunity to hear the new Ministry Assistant, Jo Ellen Axthelm, as she helped with the service. Rev. Lambert concluded his series on "Stages of Life: Twilight Years". It seemed appropriate for us older folks. It was based on Samuel and that as you age and retire from your daily activities, you can never retire from God. It was a nice Service. Announcement was made of live performances this week of DaVinci's "The Last Supper" which the men of the Church have done for a number of years.Virginia played the Organ this morning which to Elaine and I, is always a treat. We even sang, "The Old Rugged Cross" and I couldn't resist singing the base part. I have a distinct memory of it being sang at my Great Grandmother (Walker) Carlson's funeral when I was about 9 years old. Interestingly, there were not nearly as many people in our Congregation singing it as their were the newer songs.

Sadie and Jack

Sadie and Jack spent some time with us today. Sadie came down to my office on the lower level where I was watching Duke beat Yale and also doing some work on income tax. She asked me what I called my office, and I suggested it was my "Man Cave". I asked her what she would call it and expected it to be something like "Library" or "office" but she called it "gunk". We had a good visit but when I couldn't get the radio turned on and tuned in as quickly as she knew her Daddy or Mommy could, she walked away and went upstairs. I came up too to tell Elaine that Duke blew a 27 point lead but beat Yale 71-64. Yale was within 5 points with about a minute to go. Jack enjoyed many things at our house but stacking blocks is a favorite. He seems to have excellent hand/eye coordination. He got it this high but trying to add the next one took it down. I think it may have been because of using both hands. I try to teach him something every time he visits and tonight, I taught him how to drink the pear juice out of the dish when the pears were all gone. It's amazing how quickly he catches on to everything.

St. Patrick's Day Party at the Senior Center

We attended the Seward Senior Center St. Patrick's Day Party last evening. These lassies served up a delicious Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner. The decorations and entertainment were also special. Lonnie Piitz, a farmer/entertainer from Brainard, NE, had the crowd of over 40 people in the palm of his hand. He played a Piano accordion, sang and also talked. It was all good entertainment. We hadn't heard him before so as he was setting up, I asked him if he had known a Leonard Piitz who played saxophone with the Ernie Kuceria Orchestra  and it was his uncle. I remembered him from years ago.

Leonard played "saxaphobia" as a solo with the big Polka bands and it was always a highlight. Lonnie also has a big band and he says they still play it. He told of farming 1,000 acres in the Brainard/David City area in addition to his entertainment activities. He had been at Brookdale care facility here in Seward earlier in the afternoon. He told of meeting his wife at a Polka dance at Pla-mor some years ago and their having 4 daughters between the ages of 12 and 3. He also told of having had an acid reflex problem a few years ago and temporarily loosing his voice. I think many of the elderly widows liked him like a grandson. I must admit that even Elaine and I enjoyed the evening more than many things we have attended recently. (We must be getting old or something).

Irish Heritage on St. Patrick's Day

Brother Don and Gladys came up from Syracuse, NE this St. Patrick's to visit and have a Corned Beef and Cabbage lunch with us. Don went to coffee with me as the ladies visited here at the house. After lunch we took a tour of the City and of all the changes that have taken place since they moved from the area many years ago. In recognition of St. Patrick's Day, Elaine took this picture of Don and I at the Chris Turner house.

Great Grandparents, Chris and Matilda came from Ireland in the early 1860's and settled in Illinois. He fought with the Union Army in the Civil was and then came to Seward. He was a brick layer by profession and built this house a few years later than Don and I stood in front of this morning. Our Mother is the little girl standing near the front door of the next 1907 picture. The next picture is of the Walker kids with the Donkey and buggy on Roberts street which also shows the same big house behind the trees in the background. Mother is sitting on the Donkey along with her smaller cousin. We always acknowledge our 1/4 Irish heritage on St. Patrick's Day and it blends well with our 1/2 Czech, a bit of German and Grandpa Walker would pat his tummy and say he also had a little Scotch in him.

Medical Information'

We were up early this morning for Carolyn to take us to the Eye Institute on South 70th street in Lincoln to have the bandage removed after yesterday's cataract surgery on my left eye. According to Dr. Linder, everything looked good. After the bandage had been removed, eye drops applied, and certain tests performed, I was left alone in the room for a few minutes awaiting Dr. Linder's arrival. I noticed this Monitor and recognized my picture. Then, without reading it, could see that it was the "full story" on my surgeries and all the data and observations that went with it.This was all "pulled up" and available for the Doctor as he walked into the room to examine and visit with me. What a fantastic way of making information available. While the portal is available for me to view, I haven't established my "account" since it's a bit complicated and will wait until my eyes "heal". It was interesting how much redundancy there was to assure the correct eye was identified throughout the process. I mentioned that at coffee and one of the fellows told of having a pair of trousers shortened by a family member and she made the mistake of shortening the same pant leg twice. Mistakes do happen and we've all heard stories of serious  medical mistakes when identification was lacking.

Round Two of Cataract Surgery

I had cataract surgery with Dr. Max Linder at the Lincoln Surgical Hospital this morning. It was a repeat performance to what was done on my right eye two weeks ago. Daughter Carolyn was at our house this morning at 6:45am to take Elaine and I down. We enjoyed a beautiful pre-sunrise on the way. I wrote a blog page after the first surgery commenting of the exceptional care that I received during the process which was replicated this morning. A few days after the earlier event, I received this "Special Thanks" card.

The card was signed by many of the people who were involved with the many administrative and technical activities that are a part of the procedure. Again this morning the care was exceptional. Any fears I may have had for it being scheduled on "The Ides of March" were quickly laid to rest. It is one thing to get the professional care that can be expected but quite special to be treated like family by everyone encountered at the Lincoln Surgical Hospital.  I was even provided a specially made cup of coffee and was walked to the car that Carolyn pulled up to the door. I had my oatmeal when we got home,, took a nap, and have been having a relaxing day. We are planning a similar ride with Carolyn early tomorrow morning as we go back down to get the bandage removed.

Kiwanis Ag Recognition Banquet

Kiwanis Club of Seward President Josh Fields Welcomed everyone to the 45th Ag. Recognition Banquet at the Ag Pavilion Monday evening. He is shown here with Doug Brand, MC for the evening. This event gets larger each year with close to 500 attending. For several years it was strictly a Kiwanis event where Farm Families were honored. The Seward Area Chamber of Commerce and the Seward County Ag. Society have joined Kiwanis to make this the truly outstanding Ag event of the year.

The Sloup family was recognized as the Farm Family Award Winner. The four siblings are shown here with their Mother. Gene died several years ago, and Shirley has done a great job of leading the family to successful Simmental cattle and corn detasseling operations. Mr. Ron Velder was recognized as the 2016 Agribusiness Award Winner. He is the CEO of the Area Farmers Cooperative. Several young people were awarded County Fair Ag. Scholarships and the new "Briggs Family Scholarship" was announced. Sally Clayshulte, with Bayer Crop Science was the featured speaker on their worldwide plant breeding activities and the new wheat research facility near Seward. Dinner was catered by Cher's Custom Creations of Friend, NE.

Spring Forward

Elaine and I have been advocates of having daylight savings time throughout the year. This position was further strengthened this morning as we "sprang forward". Some of our electronic equipment adjust automatically, other items involve just a twist of the stem or a push of the button. However, the big job is adjusting this kitchen clock. Thank goodness that Carolyn gave Elaine a Kitchen 2-step, folding ladder with a handle on which to hold for stability. As I took the clock down this morning to reset, I inadvertently broke off the little "hook" on the back of its mechanism that attached to the wall hanger. I was able to improvise a new hook with thin wire and got it hung back up and properly adjusted. It's a reminder of how even simple tasks grow logarithmically in magnitude with advancing age. As difficult as it is to make these mechanical adjustments, there is no way that we can adjust our circadian rhythms other than time. It usually takes us 3-4 days. With all the promises that we have heard from the Presidential candidates, not one has mentioned their position on daylight saving time.

Fiala Auction

Schweitzer Auction service conducted the Dr. Bob Fiala sale at the Seward Ag Pavilion today. As with most recent actions, I go to look at the "stuff" (like going to a Museum) and visiting with friends. Bob and Maxine enjoyed collecting items of interest from many trips to the Orient and elsewhere. They were both well respected educators and it appeared that many of their former students and friends wanted items as "keepsakes".  I didn't buy a thing but enjoyed the collection of various art forms.

There was a large amount of furniture, pictures, tools, garden equipment, etc. Bob and I served on the City Council together for several years and also drank coffee together so we knew each other very well. He lost his wife a couple years ago, has had some health problems, and is now living in one of Seward's Care Facilities. He had converted some 35mm slides to a DVD for me at one time and thought the "machine" may be on the auction but I didn't see it. He may still be using it or passed it on elsewhere. I was only there for an hour or so and came home to load up things to take to the Recycle Center. When we got there, we found that it now closes at 10:00am on Saturday mornings and we were used to it being open until 11;30.  I had things to do on the computer at home so didn't go back down to the auction.

Last of First Impressions

I went down to the Civic Center this morning thinking others may show up for a 1st Impressions meeting even though we all had calls to the effect that the committee "was under new management". The Seward Area Chamber and the Seward County Economic Development have merged and named a new head of the combined organization. I understand that an assistant will be hired and may provide a linkage between the committee and the new organization. I visited with Sue this morning who has applied for the job.

She indicated that plans are underway for the City Cleanup Day on April 23rd which our group handled previously. And, she said the committee may be reconstituted after the new hire is made. At this stage, all I can do is wish the new organization well. I hope we don't have to end up paying someone to do what has been done by volunteers in the past. We accomplished several notable projects during the 20+ years of our existence. One of the most significant is the Heritage Park monument to Robert Gale, the first homesteader in Seward County.

Presidential Debates and Fear

We are watching the Republican Presidential debate from Miami this evening and pleased to see that the candidates are conducting themselves in a more civilized manner. This is the last such debate before the several critical elections next week. Florida is one of those "winner take all" states. It is critical time for Senator Rubio where he needs to do well to stay viable. The same can be said for Governor Kasich with Ohio holding it's "winner take all'' primary. The discussion between Trump and Rubio on Muslims was quite heated but Kasich always seems to take a reasonable position on such issues.  One of my friends has been attending a series of  sessions held at Concordia on Islam and the Muslim religion.

While these weekly educational sessions were scheduled for 5 weeks they have been expanded to 7 because of public interest. They are conducted by a Medical Doctor from Omaha who was raised in the middle east as a Muslim but converted to Christianity as an adult. He came to this country to escape the wrath of his own family. It is supposedly only a coincidence that these sessions are taking place at the same time as the presidential campaign. However, I have heard other people who have attended the sessions say his information has certainly raised their level of concern of Muslims. One fellow reported that his wife who had been a  supporter of Clinton had switched to supporting Trump after hearing the speaker only once.  That sort of influence is concerning.

Follow-up Check by Dr.Mausolf

I had a 1:00pm appointment with our Opthomologist, Dr. Fredrick A. Mausolf as a follow-up of my cataract surgery last Tuesday. We always allow a little extra time when driving to appointments in Lincoln and with everything going well, we got there 20 minutes early. At about 1:30, I was awakened from a sound sleep in the waiting room and escorted in where Bernice (a new nurse) updated our records and gave me a visual test. I was somewhat disappointed that I could read a line lower with my left eye than the right, the one with the cataract removed. After another lengthy wait, Dr. Mausolf came in for 3-4 minutes but got called out and didn't get back for about a half hour. My eye was dilated and he used his "microscopic

 ' equipment to examine the inplant and healing, following the cataract removal. He was very satisfied with its condition. I will go back to the Eye Institute next Tuesday where Dr. Linder will work on the left eye and we will repeat the recovery visits and eye drop  regimen. Elaine had a scheduled appointment with Dr. Mausolf for April 29. He said it would be about the time for me to have my "new eyes" tested for new glasses. They were able to just add me in on Elaine's appointment. We were able to leave the office by 3:00pm but Elaine drove home. We had hoped to do a bit of shopping but after spending that much time there and not being able to see very well, decided to come straight home. We are enjoying the Folk Music this evening on Net.