February 8, " A Day that will Live in..."

This is how Mother, Vivian, Donnie and I may have looked 85 years ago today as we were ready to leave our home in Seward and move to the farm northeast of Garland. It was to the farm where Dad's parents had moved to from the Abie area when he was 6 years old. I had a severe cold at the time of the move and don't remember much about it. Grandpa and Grandma Vrana had bought a home in Bee, NE, and left all the livestock, machinery, etc. at the farm for Uncle Joe and Aunt Ruth to take over at the time they got married. They moved on after a couple years and that's when we moved onto the place. Our house in town had electricity but no running water so going to an outdoor toilet was nothing new. Mother missed having an electric motor on her Maytag and an electric iron.

 I had gone to Kindergarten in Seward and had just moved in to a new elementary building after Christmas vacation as a 1st grader. I had several good friends among kids my age and couldn't believe the difference when I found myself in this Country School with over 30 big kids. I can't say that I was ever harassed but referred to as a "town kid" in not very complementary ways. Most of the kids in school were 3rd generation immigrant Germans or Czechs and often a Grandparent would be living with them. It was a difficult adjustment, but it was the best thing that could have happened to a "town kid".

Family Communications

Julie and Jack came to visit this morning. Elaine is feeling better but still not up to par nor really able to keep up with Jack. We were happy to see them both since we hadn't seen them for some 10 days. They were here when I came home form coffee, and I commented on how he had grown and his hair had gotten darker. Elaine had also talked of his having grown before I got home. He too isn't up to his normal self but still a great joy to have around. His vocabulary continues to grow to keep up with all the things he already knows, such as where things are around our house. Elaine felt good enough today to do a washing and went along down to Walmart this afternoon. This was the first time she had been out of the house since over a week ago. Carolyn called this evening after having been to Lincoln. We were also pleased to have phone calls from Verlon and Tim. They all keep up with us pretty well by reading my blog pages, but having a telephone conversation is next thing to being here and we appreciate them.

Patriots 34-Falcons 28

Was it just me, or was this the least interesting Super Bowl game ever played. Maybe my hoping to see the Patriots win (or at least be competitive) may have had something to do with it. Are the Falcons really that good and does playing at home make that much difference. When has Tom Brady ever been sacked as many times as he was in this one. I didn't even like the media production of President and Barbara Bush. We know that President Bush was very ill recently and that a stroke has affected his appearance, but why bring them out to "toss the coin". Have we no decency in our quest to break television records.

I will wait until reading the reviews to express my choice of commercials. Part of my problem is that I don't understand most of them.  I would like to say how much I enjoyed Lady Ga Ga, but you have probably already guessed what I thought of it. There was some redemption with the Patriot's touchdown and 2-point conversion that made it 28-20, but it looked like it was too little, too late. However, Edelman's catch, just ahead of the 2-minute warning, looked like "Divine Intervention" leading to a TD and another 2-point conversion for a 28-28 tie. This was the first overtime game in Super Bowl history. New England won the toss, elected to receive, went on to score a TD and won, 34-28. At one time Atlanta led 28-3 before the Patriots scored 31 unanswered points. The Post Game talk is that this was the most exciting game in Super Bowl History. I wrote most of this blog prior to the last 10 minutes of the game, and it's amazing how a win can change the impression of the whole event.

Busy Day in Seward, NE

Schweitzer Auction had the last of 3 auctions in Seward today for a fellow who lives in California and was the heir of his Mother's estate. The mother lived alone in a big old house for many years and at one time sold real estate. She never missed a Garage Sale and took in most Auctions. I don't know of her collecting any one thing in particular but rather, anything that she thought might be sold for more than what she had to pay for it. The Auctions of her items were considerably different than the regular estate sales. As an example, I must have counted over 25 suitcases of various size and shape.

 As always, the auction provided the chance to visit with old friends as well as an opportunity to meet new ones. On my way home, I went past our new Justice Center to see the demolition of the Jail which it is replacing. In a blog page earlier this week, I mentioned it being taken down from the inside out. Now they were taking down the outside. We worked on some Life insurance records this afternoon. I couldn't help but wonder how the gain on some of our policies over the past 50 years compares with the Estate Auction Stuff. But, there isn't any way to measure the value of the life insurance that wasn't used.

Family Roots, Limbs & Branches.

This picture was taken out at our farm east of Seward, in the summer of 1985. The occasion was a "Florence and Tony" Vrana family reunion. Many changes have occurred during the 31+ years. I'm sure we have the names of every one written down somewhere, but I don't have it at my finger tips. Mother and Dad are seated in front with us 5 siblings behind them. (I am holding our Granddaughter, Heather). Our spouses are standing in back of us. I won't attempt to go any further. Some of the young ladies are even Grandmothers now. We are all looking forward to our reunion this summer.  

This black and white picture was taken in 1927 and includes 5-generations of our family. The little girl is my sister Vivian who is sitting on the chair next to me in the '85 picture. The 5 generation picture was taken here in the Seward City Park. I have early memories of it since we lived nearby during my early years. I have no memory of Great-Great Grandmother Walker but remember the others very well. I will have to see about getting some enlargements of some of these old Family Reunion pictures to have available the summer when we get together at Mahoney State Park for our Reunion.

The Problem 0f Obsolescence

Nothing makes one realize how fast time flies than seeing "new" buildings being demolished. This is the "new Seward County Jail" being taken down from the "inside-out" with the new Justice Center being finished in the background. The building being demolished was build in the '72-'73 era which was during the 1962-1980 time frame when we were gone from the area. When we got back it was "The New Jail". I understand there was some dispute between the County and City at the time it was built, and a sign that included "City" was removed by the County and no City offices were included.

Hartmann, a local contractor is doing the demolition from "inside out" They are able to salvage the metal part of the building more easily that way and also are able to load it directly on a truck. It is much more efficient that knocking it down on a big pile and having to sort it out and handle it an extra time. As I understand, the metal can be sold and the rest of the debris ground up and reused in construction. My memory goes back to the "old jail" that was built on this site in 1915 and was left standing for a while even after the '72-'73 one was built. The new Justice Center will not only have the County Jail but also the Sheriffs Office, Court Offices, the Public Defender and County Attorney.

Computer Queston

This picture was taken back in 1989 when Elaine and I drove our '82 Chevy Silverado pickup truck to Alaska. I could write a book on that trip since we were gone for 6-weeks and slept in the back of the truck (It had a shell) for the most part and camped along the way. The purpose of this blog page however, is not to write about the trip, but rather, about the CD which provided this picture. Soon after getting the new DELL computer, I inserted the CD and a picture came up on the monitor which I had difficult getting removed. I have now been able to open the CD and bring back the pictures, but am unable to find a way to "eject the CD". I have never before had a DELL so am not familiar with its operations. I would certainly appreciate any suggestions on how to get this one to eject. We have a big Windows 10 for Dummies book but it doesn't cover this question. I have inserted a flash drive in the USB port which opens right away, and have found no way to eject it either, other than just pulling it out. Please write a comment on this blog page if you have any suggestions. Thanks