House for Sale

This house for sale was posted on Seward Swap this evening. It caught my eye as the first house that Elaine and I owned and where we lived from 1951 till 1956. It was also the first house my parents lived in after living with Dad's parents for a few months. We sold the place to Elaine's parents in 1956 and they owned it as a rental property until 1983.  The large garage has been an addition during the past few years along with other improvements. We made some major improvements during the years we owned the property. We built on a bathroom  and connected up with the sewer in the back alley. I dug it by hand and had to go nearly 13 feet deep. We also took out the old brick chimney and installed a gas floor furnace. We had it wired and a fuse box installed. The cupboards look new but similar to what we had built.

This was  Elaine and our oldest son and the trench I had dug to connect to the sewer. It must have taken at least 10 days to get it dug. I recall Elaine's Dad coming in from the farm to help at least one day. I have shuddered since then when hearing of trenches in Hastings Clay soil caving in and trapping people. That thought never entered my mind while in the process. I remember the plumbers from Rupp Hardware laying the tile in the bottom of the trench complaining that the trench was almost too narrow for them to work in.

Special Days

Jon took the accordion out on the front entryway this morning and played while I worked in the yard. It attracted the attention of passing motorist and others in the neighborhood. One lady even walked over from the far side on the next block to meet Jon and visit. He is planning some "pre-parade" entertainment for those who convene on our lawn, driveway, etc. to watch the Seward 4th of July parade. There will be a couple hundred people within hearing distance at that time. Mary and Anna also keep busy with vacation activities and contacts with things at home. Anna was most concerned about her dog having health problems at the Vet's care facility. Jon spent some time with me on our PC as we went through list of problems. This is the 9th year for the HP PC which makes it pretty antique. I was concerned that Jon may insist that we get a new one but with some of the improvements  he made, will continue to use it. Being able to print from my laptop helps considerably.

Sadie was over this afternoon along with Carolyn as they stopped by to visit. We don't have as many things for a little girl to play with here as at Carolyn's place but one of her favorites is for me to take he down to my workbench. We have a small board of soft wood into which she drives nails, tacks, etc into with a hammer. Today's lesson involved the difference between a Phillips and Regular screwdriver. Her interest and curiosity at the workbench remind me so much of Julie when she was that age. The work bench has become much more cluttered during the interim, but that doesn't limit the learning that takes place sitting on a stool and working with tools.

Good Visit with Family & Doctor

Jon, Mary and Anna got in last night but before going to bed, Jon had to try out our "new" Hohner Accordion. He liked it and enjoyed it's unique sound. I haven't told him but suspect  he realizes that "someday it will all be his".  He went along to coffee this morning and enjoyed participating in the discussion. Jon has had enough wide-ranging experience to be able to contribute to most any conversation. His knowledge of computers has already paid off by teaching me some new "tricks", downloading some new updates, and showing me some "obvious" things. He and Anna both spent a lot of time on their laptops. They all went down to Pac n Sav after our telling them of the Ace Hardware becoming a part of the Grocery store. They had never seen anything like it. I spent some time over at the Hospital Specialty Clinic this afternoon for an appointment with Dr. Dale Hansen. It was a       follow up to the Heart Catheterization he did on me a year ago. He was pleased with what an Echo cardiogram showed today and scheduled another appointment for June of 2017.

Clifford Lowell at Seward Kiwanis

Clifford Lowell presented the program at Kiwanis today. He also gave the invocation and played the piano for our singing of, "God Bless America". We had a great meal of "chipped beef" over mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and cookies for dessert. As part of the patriotic theme, President Josh asked each table to take a couple minutes and discuss what makes our country great. Under "Good News" Paul announced that he had three stints installed down at Bryan Hospital this past Friday. Marv Taylor has been contacted by Kiwanis International in regard to our Flag Pole Project. We had reports on regular activities as well as the up-coming "Swim Party", the Kitones concert on the 4th of July and the recruitment of several "Early Risers" to help Richard put up flags around the downtown light post at 5:30 am. Clifford recognized that time would not permit his giving the full story on his 4-years in the US Air Force.

He did tell of serving as a Chaplin's assistant and of having spent the last 2-years of his service in England which he enjoyed. He concluded his presentation with a Reading along with the soft accompaniment of patriotic music. It involved the "Voices of our Founding Fathers" and their recognition of God in America. Clifford is a very dedicated Christian who serves as Church Treasurer and is closely involved with the Senior Center. This will be the 5th year that he has made 2 presentations for Seward's 4th of July celebration along with singing with the Kitones for their season ending concert.

Celebrating Change

This was the scene at the Owens house last evening after we had finished the Birthday Dinner and before dessert. My birthday celebration continued today as Elaine announced it among the "joys and concerns" at Church this morning. Recognition began on June 8th when we participated in the "June, Anniversary-Birthday Dinner" at the Senior Center. I announced it last Monday at Kiwanis where I was recognized and we have some Angel Food cake left over to have after Jon, Mary and Anna get here this week. It's been a good birthday and has helped me accept that I am an "old man".

"Change" was the emphasis of Pastor Dale's "farewell sermon" at Church this morning. He is retiring after having served the Seward Methodist Church for the past 3 years. We have certainly appreciated the leadership he provided during his time here and are pleased to know that he and Nancy are planning to continue living in Seward.  I suppose, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an appropriate hymn for a retirement or birthday since in acknowledges the ultimate change we all face. As we sang it this morning, it brought back the memory of a one-act, High School play where I was in "black face" and sang it while sitting in a rocking chair, on the stage with all the lights turned out. My younger sister, Janice was only about 5 years old at the time but after I got through the second verse, she hollered out in that dark assembly room crowd, "That's Buddy singing".  And with that, they turned on the lights and I needed no further introduction.

A Happy Birthday

Elaine and I got up to Heartland this afternoon to visit Charley and Ruth who are now making their home at this very nice independent living facility. Charley and I played golf together for many years. It was appropriate to include them in my birthday celebration since we used to "shoot our age" occasionally as we got into our 80's. Our visit there was just part of a very full day of phone calls, facebook,  mail messages, etc. We were out to John and Julie's for a picnic dinner of hamburgers, roasting ears, salad and cake. We ate out in their screened in back porch with very comfortable temperature. Jack and Sadie are always the center of attraction and rightly so. 

Jack learns new words every day. He just seems to "soak up" everything he hears or sees. Sadie made me a card which reflexes her feeling for my birthday. Some of the designs are difficult to interpret but she knows exactly what they  convey. She told her Daddy that he "got a good do" on the hamburgers. (Which he did).  Jack really enjoys corn on the cob. His number of teeth is limited but he has the important ones for the job at hand. It was a great birthday and it isn't over yet. Alex Gordon got a HR in his first game back with the Royals but they are still down 10-5 to the Astros in the 8th.

My Birthdays

I had a big 5th birthday party with neighbor kids and relatives at our house in Seward. It was only topped by my last one where Carolyn took the lead in making it a special celebration. Plans have been made for getting together with our "Seward Family" tomorrow for this year's event. I've enjoyed all the cards, letters and well wishes from friends at Kiwanis, the Senior Center, Church, etc. It was on my 15th birthday that I started writing in my Daily Diary. After filling the first 5-year book, I didn't start another diary until '48. Since 1948, I have missed only 2 years of recording what happened on June 25th. The first was in 1966 when I was finishing my BA at George Washington University. I was working full-time and carrying 12 credit hours of summer school. 

The second was in 1989 when we were packing to leave Washington, D.C. and move back to Nebraska. "My Birthdays" now cover 14 pages of single space "write-up". I switched from 5-year Diary's to Journals in the '70's which provided for listing more detail. Just reading where we were and what we were doing on this one day, is a pretty good chronology of our lives. We were traveling many years  which included time in Puerto Rico, Canada, etc. After retiring, I often played golf. We probably ate lunch at "The Olive Garden" in Lincoln more often than any other place. Elaine has baked an Angle Food Cake which was a tradition over the years. I'm sure it will be another Happy Birthday.

Seward County Justice Center

This is a view of the new "Seward County Justice Center" that is under construction here in Seward. The camera is on a pole at the NW corner of 9th St. and Main (Highway 34) which takes frequent pictures that are shown on the Internet. This view is looking toward the south-east. This facility is designed to house some of the "Law related" offices that are now housed in the County Courthouse and elsewhere. Several construction modifications have resulted in cost over runs  and delays of completion date. 

It was a year ago in early June that this picture was taken showing the demolation of a relatively new building on the site that housed the County Extension Office.  During my years of working with SCS here in Seward, we utilized an old CCC camp building that had been moved on this site, to house our pickup trucks, etc.  The small house shown at the left edge of the picture was moved to this location after the new elementary school was build in 1932. Prior to being moved, it was a part of the Seward School complex as a Kindergarten building. It was the first school I attended from which I have Happy Memories.

The Early Years

Elaine and I celebrated our 67th Wedding Anniversary earlier this Month. This picture is of the first of the eight homes we have  lived in and owned during that period. This also happened to be the first house my parents lived in after spending a few months living with Dad's parents. The house was a small 22'square, 4-room structure with 2 small bedrooms, kitchen and living room with a cellar under the kitchen. We built on a bathroom during the 5 years we lived there. We also built the stone wall, bought the  new'52 Chevy, and got our first TV during that time. Our greatest change was the addition of Tim, Carolyn & Jon.

Verlon was born  while we were still living in a rented apartment. We look back on these days and wonder how we managed. Elaine would load all four kids in the car (without seat belts) and go to her folks to pick and can vegitables out of the garden as well as peaches, blue plums, etc.  Along with my SCS job, I did several additional things to help us "make ends meet".  We didn't have credit cards and never ever considered any alternative to "living within our means". 

Coping with Change

I attempted to order some photo prints from Walmart this

evening and was not successful. It was on April 15, 2015 when I last visited the site to order prints. Since then, the website has been completely reorganized and I just wasn't able to work my way through it. I wanted to get some prints of our Garland High School Reunion, a couple when Verlon was here, as well as this Mother's Day photo. It is another example of why our resistance to "Change" increases as we grow older. As long as we keep doing what we have always done, we can cope with the aging process by adapting to minor changes. But attempting to start from scratch on those that are not extremely "user friendly" is most difficult. I have "written out" the steps to follow on some sites that I don't use very frequently. If people like Walmart would have a "tutorial" when they make changes, it would certainly help some of us older users. I may take my laptop down to Walmart and see if they will "walk me" through it. Or, I might just try to figure it out on my own, knowing son Jon will be here a week from tonight.

Seward Memorial Library

Becky Baker, Director of the Seward Memorial Library presented the program at Kiwanis today. She told of the many programs the Library has for people of all ages, especially for kids. She says that hundreds of them participate in various programs. One of the new initiatives is “Preserving Seward County’s History" by digitizing past issues of Seward County’s newspapers and posting them online. Their website at <www.sewardlibrary.org> already contains linkage to a wealth of information. The  Kiwanis motto of serving the children of the world, one child at a time, is closely related to what the Library does on a local basis. As it's programs on the Internet expand, like the History project, the bounds of their services are greatly expanded. Becky and her staff have done an excellent job of utilizing the expanded facilities with programs and services during the past 13 years in the new building.  Many of us are not taking advantage of the Life Enriching programs of the Library, to the extent that we should.

Garland High School Alumni Reunion

My brother, Don took the mic in response to being honored at the Garland HS Alumni Reunion last evening. He is the only remaining member of the Class of '46. He followed Virginia Bock who was in the Class of '36. The 2016 Officers and spouses are also shown at the Head Table. They are James Hartmann, Merle Schulz, Ila Deinert and Jane Piening. Members from the 60 and 50 year Classes were also recognized. The 50 year Class was the last one to graduate from GHS before being consolidated with Seward.

Here is Elaine and I with Dolores, my old HS girlfriend. She and I sat in the balcony of the Lincoln Theatre on the night of December 7, 1941 and heard radio reports from the projection room  of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She graduated a year after I did and we always enjoyed our occasional visits. Elaine is shown in this picture with Virginia, her daughter DeMaris and Dolores' daughter. During the Business Meeting, it was determined to meet for a noon luncheon next year rather than the evening meeting. With our youngest members having graduated 50 years ago, it seems that some are reluctant to drive at night. It's a tribute to our school  loyalty that we had 70 in attendance last night.

Gruntorad Auction

Schweitzer Auction Service conducted the Marilyn Gruntorad estate sale at the 4-H Building here in Seward today. There was an exceptionally large number of quality items. This 2007 Cadillac DTS, with 60k miles and in excellent condition, is an example. The Gruntorad's lived in Butler Co. but have relatives here in Seward. It was obvious that they had good taste in the selection of all their posessions and took good care of them. 

Another example of a quality item was this Melodeja, 4-row button accordion, made in Italy. I didn't stay to see either of these items sell but their was a good size crowd and things seemed to be selling well. There were many old, small items that were most interesting. One was this live "rabbit trap" like I remember seeing years ago. They also must have done cut glass work as a hobby, enjoyed Polka music, and done some traveling. They were apparently "good people" and even had a copy of the Butler County published Soil Survey at the time Gene Sullivan was the SCS State Conservationist here in Nebraska. 

Jack and Loyal Alumni

Jack came down to visit this evening. He always has a big time here at our house. Despite all the things he has to play with, putting the Doily on his head and seeing through the "netting" is one of his favorite "acts". With the Seward temperature shown as hitting 102 degrees late this afternoon, I decided it was time to switch my shirts from long to short sleeves. I counted 33 of the short sleeved ones in the storage closet downstairs but was rather selective in the number brought up. One of the problems some of us have, is disposing of a favorite shirt, regardless of it's age. I don't even want to think about how old some of those 33 may be. We have our annual Garland H.S. Alumni reunion tomorrow evening  where pictures will be taken.

I don't want any of my old girl friends comparing pictures with those taken 10 years ago and seeing that I have aged but still wearing the same shirt. Our small HS has always brought all alumni together for a school reunion rather than a class event. This will be the 50th anniversary of the last class to Graduate from "Dear old Garland High". The school stayed open for a number of years for elementary school before it also being consolidated with Seward. It is worthy of note that any organization can exist for over 50 years without having added any new members.

Business Changes in Seward

When I went to the courthouse yesterday to renew my driver's license yesterday, it reminded me of the time some years ago when Ben and I went up in the dome and took some pictures. This is looking toward the north side of the square. The stores shown are: Second Closet, Mueri Drug, Mailands Clothing, Stylecraft, Kroger's shoe store, and Norval Bros. The first time I was in the dome was back in 1952 at the time our SCS office was in the building. At that time the Co. Attorney and I went to the dome.

Here is the picture of several of the same buildings at that time The stores were: Brockhoff Drug, Curry Brothers Clothers, Stylecraft, Kroger's shoe store, Cattle Band and Graff Clothing. This is just part of one "down town" block on the Seward business district but it shows the change that has taken place. A current picture would again show several changes. The coming on Walmart had probably been the biggest factor in changing the "make up" of not only our local business district but many others as well.

A Hot Day in Seward

The Suhr-Lichty Insurance Agency in Seward  has this Weather Link on the network that is updated every half hour. It shows that we reached our high of 104 at 5:48 this afternoon. It is the first time this year that we have hit the century mark. We have been through a several day run of temperatures over 90. Ken Siemek, Channel 10/11 Weather reported recently that in 1934 we had something like 38 consecutive days of over 90 degrees. I believe it was in 1936 that we had a lengthy run of 100 + temperatures. While I was just a kid, I remember those hot temperatures very well. While we could tolerate it,  our corn crop could not. My dad and I drove home from Seward to our farm north of Garland one of those days when we practically watched fields of corn that were ready to tassel, turn white with the hot south wind. We eventually learned to plant various varieties of sorgums that were much more drought tolerant and helped get us through the drought.  Today, much of our area enjoys the benefit of irrigation but if  hot, dry weather continues, we may see milo return on dryland.

Jack & the Lawn

Jack came to visit early this morning while I was working on my Ipad for a meeting tomorrow. He will never know what it was like to live without the technology which he just takes for granted. He knows which button to push to start the 3 second "count down" to take a selfie with "Iphoto" on my Laptop. He still likes to have Elaine and I pick him up but he's getting to the point of being pretty heavy for Elaine. She always spends some time with him on her lap looking at birds out our kitchen windows.  She has enabled him to watch an educational TV program on NET while I am gone to my morning coffee. He is always happy to see me when I get home.

Here is the selfie that he took this morning. After a week of adjusting to having our lawn mowed for us, the fellow came this evening. It is a warm, humid evening and the fellow used a powerful "mulcher mower" to do a good job. He then did some trimming with a weed eater. I feel much better about having someone else doing the mowing, now that I've seen it done. It was some 60 years ago that I took care of Charley Campbell's lawn. We lived in the same neighborhood and  always looking for a way to make an extra dollar. I don't think I did as good a job on the Campbell lawn as this fellow has done on ours.

Kiwanis Club Communications & the Price of Steak

Seward Kiwanis President Elect Al Schmidt led  a discussion of the recent Member Satisfaction Survey at today's meeting. Only about half of our members completed the survey and this was to help clarify some of the earlier survey results. It is not surprising that communications was the topic of much of today's discussion. We are still in a transition from a Membership Directory that served us for several years into an internet system of which much of the membership hasn't become accustomed. We have our own Club Web Site as well as a Facebook site which are underutilized. The average age of our membership is older than the "smart phone" generation. While most of us have some level of computer technology, we do not post nor check on what may be posted to the Kiwanis sites like we might. I believe we will get to where we have an acceptable level of membership utilizing the system,  but it will take further acceptance, training,  and commitment.

After Kiwanis this noon, Elaine and I went down to Pac n Sav, our locally owned, only downtown grocery store. As I perused the meat cooler, I had to take a 2nd look (and picture) of this 2.95 lb. Angus Pride Tenderloin steak at $19.99 /lb for a cost of $58.97. I don't believe we have had Tenderloin Steak since growing up on the farm but distinctly remember seeing Dad strip out the Tenderloin after butchering a beef and telling me it was the choice cut. Mother prepared it, and we all enjoyed it but didn't realize how special it was. We say we were poor, but we ate well during those depression years. We wouldn't think of paying what it would cost today to eat like we did when we were poor and lived on the farm.

Rev. Dale Lambert's Retirement

Cindy Butzke, Chair of the Seward Methodist Church,  Pastor/Parish Relation Committee, read a tribute to Rev. Dale Lambert this morning at the conclusion of his retirement sermon. Rev. Lambert has served this local congregation for 3 years. He and his wife, Rev. Nancy plan to remain in their home here in Seward. Their family and friends from previous congregations were on hand to fill the church and enjoy the "pot luck" luncheon that followed. While we normally have 8:30 and 10:30 services it was a combined 10:30 with features from both included.

Several people were involved in making presentations to Rev. Lambert including Greg shown here giving him a picture of "The Lord's Supper" reenactment which Greg has taken part in for the past 20 plus years. There were several references to "Change" during the morning. It is a subject that seems to come up more frequently as we get older. Most of us wouldn't be able to remember the names of 200-300 people  we ministered to, if we moved from place to place every 3 years. On the bright side, Cindy stopped by our table during lunch and commented that all reports are good on the new pastor; and she said, "Each one brings new ideas and energy to make us a better Church".

Suspenders & Garage Sales

I found this very impressive Father's Day Card in an insulated mailer that arrived yesterday which also included black suspenders. It had a nice message inside from our oldest son in Richmond, VA. He was here a couple weeks ago working on our "home maintenance" and during the time he was here, we had lunch with Brother Don and Gladys. Don was wearing suspenders and told us of their virtues. It seems that as men get older, a belt around the waist tends to put pressure on an expanded stomach which can be relieved with suspenders. I worked out in the yard most of the morning getting the lawn sprinklers going for the first time this season. After getting wet in the process, I put on my old black shorts and tried out the new suspenders. They work pretty well but will take some "getting used to". They tend to slide off my left shoulder while reaching for things when working on the computer. I called Verlon to thank him for the card and suspenders. He told me the location of a favorite garden tool he used while here. 

We are in the midst of our first heat wave of the summer. It was in the upper 90's for the last 3 days with tomorrow to continue. There is some hope of rain on Monday but then hybrid corn farmers have been irrigating already. We have had such a nice cool spring that the heat is a sudden change. Carolyn and Julie had a Garage Sale today out at the Owens house. Elaine took care of Jack this morning while they were busy getting started. Sadie was involved with a Lemonade Stand. We sent out some of our surplus garden tools that didn't sell on our Garage Sale a week ago. I'm sure they will have things to go to Et-Cetera with what didn't sell. We will have our 2nd load to take down there in the near future.

Unplanned Visit in a Planned Day

I had an appointment this afternoon to see Dr. Mousolf for an eye exam after the Laser surgery following Cataract removal. We always try to combine activities in our trips to Lincoln and this was no exception. We have a tradition of going to Olive Garden for lunch as a part of celebrating our Wedding Anniversary. That was our first stop and when Elaine told the waiter that it was for our 67th, he gave us a complementary choice of dessert.

Our next stop was at Computer Hardware where the Technician shown was able to correct a problem and download an update.

I have had my Apple Laptop in for minor problems a few times since buying in there several years ago and am always amazed at how quickly they are able to resolve the issue. I ask him how he leaned the computer so intimately, and he said it was by experiencing trial and error. Education comes in many forms. After checking into Dr. Mousolf's office, the gentleman pictured with me said, "Hi Tony" and I immediately recognized him as a fellow I worked with at the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission back in the 1980's. We had nearly an hour of opportunity to catch up on the past 25 years since we had any contact. Adolph is a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge and had bought my Grandfather Walker's farm south of Garland when it was sold in the early 50's. He and I are close to the same age, and we talked about how the "young guys" that we worked with back in the 80's are now all retired. He was their for his wife's appointment, and I got to see the Dr. soon after she was released. My exam resulted in the prescription for new glasses which were ordered from Sutton Optical. We stopped by the Owens home where preparations for a Garage Sale tomorrow were well underway.

Our Yard

Verlon called this evening and asked about some of the new grass that he seeded while here a couple weeks ago. He also indicated having a new smart phone so thought I'd take this picture to let him see what it looks like. This Maple tree in our front yard seemed to be growing upward and exposing roots around the base. He took compost from our bin in the backyard, mounded it up around the trunk of the tree and seeded the grass. It's coming good. 

The Clematis at our entryway is blooming beautifully this year. It has already dropped many petals on the porch but continues to bloom. It was here when we bought the house over 30 years ago and has never missed blooming. However it does have a "twin" closer to the house with more dense ground cover that hasn't done nearly as well. I'm also showing a rose from our only Tea Rose bush. We do have a climbing rose along the backyard fence that just fends for itself and does quite well. There was a time when we had as many as 30 Tea Roses which we cared for and enjoyed, but I don't play basketball any more either.

From Bone Scan to Edelweiss on Accordion

I was over to the Seward Memorial Hospital this morning  at 7:30 where Linda injected a tracer in my blood stream. After going home for a while, I went back over for a "bone scan" on this machine.  Linda is just great and makes what could be a dreadful experience, something very tolerable. I can't say enough about her compassion and professionalism. She was involved with my "stress test" several years ago so it was like seeing an old friend. Dr Henslee had ordered today's bone scan since my PSA reading had gone up significantly during the past year. It has been 24 years since I had a radical prostectomy but  cancer cells apparently exist. 

Following the bone scan, Elaine and I went to the Senior Center for the June Birthday/Anniversary Dinner. We were recognized for our 67th Wedding Anniversary, but a Lady got the flowers for having had the most Birthdays. It was a "Chicken Fried Steak Dinner" with Cherry Cheese Cake for dessert. Entertainment was provided by Paul Siebert from Lincoln who sang and played a variety of musical instruments. He started with a Guitar and went on to a Banjo, Hammer Dulcimer, Ukulele  and Accordion. He not only played and sang but gave us a lesson on the history of the songs and instruments. He sang many of the songs from Rogers and Hammerstein movies and got crowd participation with such old songs as: "You get a line,  I'll get a pole and we'll go down to the Crawdad hole". We all sang, "God Bless America" but he told of Woody Guthrie writing "This Land is My Land", after hearing Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" every time he tuned on the radio.

Jack #1 & the Governor

Jack and I took a selfie this morning and he put up his finger to say he was our #1 Great Grandson. He hadn't spent much time with us during the past couple weeks and it's amazing how much he seems to change in those few days.  His "pitching arm" gets stronger every day. It was a beautiful, clear, low 70's degree day but he would have brightened the day had it been snowing. We did some sorting of left over Garage Sale items this afternoon and took it to Et-Cetera. We were happy to see it go, and they were pleased to receive it. We have decided that is much easier for us older folks to "recycle" surplus items in that manner than by having Garage Sales. 

This evening we were at the Nebraska National Guard Museum where Governor Ricketts spoke and the Kitones sang among many other recognitions  on the "Kick-off" of 4th of July celebration. Clark Kolterman MC'd the event; his twin brother Senator Mark Kolterman spoke. Rev. Pam Williams was recognized as the Community Service Award recipient. Seward has been recognized as the Nebraska 4th of July City and the Committee continues to involve people of all ages in planning and being involved in the celebration. The Governor recognized how appropriate it is to have the Nebraska National Guard Museum in our City.