I remember my Mother walking me to West Ward for my first day in school and being apprehensive about this new experience. I overcame my insecurity and soon settled into the kindergarten routine. My teacher was Mrs. Maxine Morrison whose husband Frank would be elected Governor some 15 years later in 1960. Mrs. Morrison told me 50 years later that as a kindergartener I was well behaved and neatly folded my nap rug each day. That neatness didn’t extend to my hair, which caused one of my third grade classmates to make fun of me. That criticism was a life altering experience since I responded by becoming fastidious with my grooming, particularly my hair.

   Mrs. Rene Creasman, my fifth grade teacher and one of the kindest persons I’ve known, challenged me to learn with gentle persuasion. I wanted to please her because I could tell it made her happy and her reaction was as important to me as what I learned.

  During my days in junior high I continued to make friends, enjoy social activities, band and athletics. Unlike some, I know I have always resisted the temptation to be a revisionist and exaggerate my athleticism. As a kid, the coaches might have been thinking “He’s not big but he sure is slow!”  

  My high school days were action-packed, fun-filled and very productive. I balanced my schedule with academics, intramural sports, being an Eagle Scout, extracurricular activities and a job. Then came 16 when I was almost overcome by fumes (car fumes and perfumes), but I continued to study to prepare for college and work to save money for that purpose.

  I was sports editor and then ultimately editor of “The Bison”, on the yearbook staff as well as president of the science club, making me a bit schizoid not knowing whether to pursue the sciences or the arts. For a while, I was preparing to enter Journalism School at the University in Lincoln, but shifted to philosophical studies and after a Masters degree, ultimately law school.

  As editor of “The Bison”, I developed a close rapport with my teacher and sponsor, Mrs. Hope Rees. She was a no-nonsense task master, but fair and demanded professionalism and absolute accuracy. I wish some journalists I know would have had Mrs. Rees. I also was on the debate team and won both debate tournaments and speaking awards in the state tournament. This experience was invaluable in preparation for law school and to be a member of the National Moot Court Team. People are amazed to learn that our debate coach was McCook School Superintendent Ralph G. Brooks, who was elected Governor in 1958. What is equally amazing is that same year while he was serving as our coach; he actively campaigned and was elected. What an impact that had on the team! Inspired by this I ran myself in November 1958 for Governor of the HI-Y Model Legislature held in Lincoln in the state capitol.

  I likewise was elected Governor of the HI-Y and for a short period in 1958 McCook had two Governors. That experience set the stage for the rest of my life. My long-range plan soon became to run for and become Governor. When conditions and family responsibilities permitted, I did in 1990 and the rest is history.

  I’ve always wondered if I’d grown up in another community, would my life have turned out as richly as it has. Perhaps. But perhaps not. I might not have had such exemplary teachers, neighbors and fellow students, all of whom, along with my family, guided, shaped and molded who I am. McCook is a special community. McCook’s schools were special schools. I knew it growing up and I know it now.

  The combination of my education and experiences in McCook made possible everything I’ve been able to do. Outside of family and friends, school is the single most important influence in one’s life. I’m blessed to have had the best of all of it. Thanks McCook !

  P. S.. Thank Johnny Thuman for making me care about my hair. Can you imagine if he would have criticized Tom Klingner instead?

Recipients must attend one of the following colleges:

1.  Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska

2.  Mid-Plains Community College in McCook, Nebraska or North Platte, Nebraska

3.  University of Nebraska-Kearney in Kearney, Nebraska

     The McCook Community Foundation Fund’s Scholarship

     Selection Committee will serve as the Scholarship Selection Committee.

     Application deadline is April 1.

     All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m.,                     

     April 1st at the following location:

     McCook Community Foundation Fund

     P.O. Box 36  111 West D St.

     McCook, NE 69001

  SW Nebraska Genealogical Society (swngs@hotmail.com) is comprised of members who dedicate their time to saving historical documents relating to the people who settled SW Nebraska.  Their website:  www.swngs.nesgs.org/ offers information that has been painstakingly recorded by the members, and links to other websites to assist in searches.   Member, Sherrie Dack, (sherriedack@yahoo.com) provides fee based look-ups, copies of wills, land transfers, etc., upon request. 

  In early fall, SWNGS sponsored a “grave witching” workshop that demonstrated the use of “witching sticks” (think of witching for water) to locate unmarked grave sites in cemeteries and determine if the site held male or female remains.  During the workshop they ascertained that MHS alumni, Corvin Alstot ’41, killed in action during WWII, was buried with his parents at Memorial Park Cemetery even though there were conflicting reports saying he was buried in Okinawa.

  SWNGS is having a membership drive for 2012. It costs $ 20 a year to be a member of SWNGS, which includes website access and supports efforts to digitalize records of SW Nebraska.  The SWNGS library is open to the public on the 3rd Saturday.  Meetings are held the 1st Saturday.  Tom Corey’72 president & webmaster, Nancy Nickerson Corey ’75 , Lesta Dinnel Jaggers ’52  Susan Coady Doak ’68 , Linda Booth Hein ’65  and Maribeth Augustyn (Teacher) are some of the MHS alumni members.  A membership form can be obtained by an email request.   Bison Forever!

  So begins the first scene of my screenplay for a feature-length animated film. I am in the midst of the third rewrite and preparing to polish it up and send off to industry producers — but more on that in a minute.

  As a longtime visual artist and illustrator, screenwriting is a fairly recent endeavor for me. All art forms feed each other, and all experiences feed the artist regardless of how long ago or far away those events occurred. As it turns out, McCook continues to show up in my art in one way or another.

  Perhaps it was the impressionable, preverbal years, or maybe the eighteen months I spent hauling my easel around Red Willow County in the early ‘90’s, I still gravitate toward farmsteads and big, stormy skies when I settle on a painting subject. I live near the Continental Divide in Southern Colorado, but my eye finds the flatlands; single trees holding their own against the wind; outbuildings that out-weather the elements of nature.

  And now, writing a screenplay, images that were impressed upon my young mind, decades ago, continue to play out with imaginary characters and fantastical situations. Good dialog is loaded with subtext; the meaning behind, under, outside the words. I needed no better training in subtext than to have my ear tuned in McCook. The conversational rhythms, pauses, inflections, nonverbal cues, and everything not said often has far more meaning than the spoken word. Rita Doyle Roberts ‘83 is an artist, writer and illustrator living in Monte Vista, Colorado.. She attends the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and will soon finish a masters degree in illustration and screenwriting.  She can be reached at rita@ritaroberts.com

  My big dream for this script is to have a small army of animators from Pixar or Dreamworks descend upon McCook. The story is intentionally not set in a specific time period and my hometown is the perfect backdrop. I imagine field studies of the area landscape, visual vignettes of architecture, attitudes, gestures, and postures that are prevalent, always, in this small town. What better place to find models for animated characters?

  How did art, film, and McCook come together for me? In the Fox Theatre, of course.

  It was in this theater where I originally formed my love of movies. I spent many Saturday afternoons there in my childhood…and Saturday nights during my teenage years. For me, it was a place of magic and deserves its distinction as the centerpiece on Norris Avenue.

  This historic building (built in 1927) is under renovation and in need of funds. The basic intent of the restoration project is to preserve the character and charm of the theatre, while upgrading the facility to current safety needs, code compliance and ADA accessible conformity.

  The Fox Theatre Benefit Art Auction on April 14th will include many original artworks. My painting titled “Side Door”, with a retail value of $1,200 is one item up for bid. (See the painting at www.ritaroberts.com)

  I would like to extend the option to everyone with ties to McCook to support the renovation. If bidding gets too steep, or you can’t be there in person, you can still own artwork that makes a donation toward preserving this example of 1920’s Americana.

  You can participate with me in fundraising in the following ways:

   •  Attend the auction on April 14th.

   •  Buy a limited edition print on canvas of the auction painting, “Side Door” at anytime between now and April 30th at www.ritaroberts.com

   •  For Bison Alumni only, purchase any item on the site,

      including prints and original art.

   •  Prices start at $18 for a pack of greeting cards; $78 for prints watercolor prints on paper; and $150 for limited edition prints on canvas. Canvas prints are ready to hang with a black border which wraps around the stretcher frame. Additional framing is optional.

  I will donate 30% of the profits from any art purchases made between now and the end of April, 2012.  Artwork can be ordered immediately through PayPal in the Print Shop link. Or send me an email with FOX or BISON in the subject line to arrange any other purchase.

  Let’s preserve a portion of our collective history together.

  The building will also be home to the Boulder County Head Start Program with approximately 66 children. The Acorn School and Boulder County Head Start will occupy the main floor, while the partner services will be housed on the second floor.

  This collaboration will bring together The Acorn School’s high quality educational resources along with medical, social-emotional, language and other “wrap-around” services provided by the various partners in the project. 

Matt Eldred ’92 has undertaken a state-of-the art early childhood project to create a community collaboration with multiple early childhood, health, mental health, and parent outreach programs all under one roof.

  The building will be undergoing renovation to transform it from an office building into an educational facility during the spring and summer of 2012, and will be open in August 2012 for the new school year. 

  As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, The Acorn School was able to apply for and receive grants from the City and County of Boulder as well as numerous private foundations in order to fund The Wilderness Early Learning Center project. A capital campaign scheduled for 2012 will complete the funding of the $3.3 million project, for which $2.2 million has been raised as of January 1, 2012. 

  “This has been a dream of many early childhood professionals all around Colorado” Eldred says.  “It’s an honor to put into action many great theories and practices that are recognized nationally and internationally for best practices to provide the quality services that are accessible to all children and families.”

  Eldred believes that his upbringing in McCook has given him the ability to “play together” with other programs and partners that have like-minded missions.  “Growing up in McCook, I didn’t know that we had the option to NOT work with those around us.  We left our keys in our car just in case the neighbors might need to borrow it.I am very thankful for teachers and coaches that helped me see that we’re all in this together.  From Mrs. Hein in Kindergarten at East Ward, to Mr. Cuellar in junior high student council and Mr. Rasmussen in high school cross country, and Mr. Hartman with leadership programs and opportunities to teach younger kids in elementary school.  All of these folks shaped my beliefs, values, and work ethic.  So many people like the Dennys, Frosts, Hoehners, Cappels, and many more taught me so much about honest, hard work and the reward for doing your best, always.”        

  Eldred is in his 8th year as the Executive Director of The Acorn School for Early Childhood Development.  The mission of The Acorn School is to provide high quality, accessible, early care and education programs and to advocate for higher standards in the field of early childhood education.

  For more information about The Acorn School visit www.theacornschool.org and for more updates on the Wilderness Place Project visit

  That was until Feb. 4, when the 64-year-old Grand Rapids man completed the 50-mile Rocky Raccoon run in Huntsville TX.

  Andrews recalled his first attempt at an endurance run. President John F. Kennedy was promoting physical education in schools; it was March 2, 1962.

  “The local editor in our (Nebraska) town said none of the kids were physically fit to walk 50 miles,” Andrews said. “It finally hit me that I could do that.”

  Returning home after a late night gig with his band, The Ladens, a motivated Andrews woke up his dad and asked him to drive Andrews and a friend to the race site.

  “Back in those days, we didn’t have running shoes,” Andrews said. “I was wearing Hush Puppies; my friend, (Bob Harris ’63) was wearing Pat Boone white bucks.

  “We ran the first 25 miles,” Andrews said.

The run took a toll on the young runners — Andrews lost 15 pounds; his friend’s feet were bloody, and he wanted to quit.

  “I said, ‘We only have 25 miles to go,” Andrews recalled. “He said, ‘You’re nuts.’ I held on to his belt the last three or four miles to get across the line.”

  Andrews finished in 10 hours and 45 minutes, he said.

  After that, Andrews moved from his first trail endurance race to the race of life. He went to college to major in zoology (and raised a mountain lion in his apartment), worked and went to medical school.

  While he pursued what he considered a “well-rounded life,” running fell by the wayside.

  “I didn’t start running until I came out here, when I was recruited in 1978,” said Andrews, a psychiatrist at Wood County Human Services in Wisconsin Rapids. “I started running then at about age 34.”

  This time, he had running shoes.

  “It took me a month before I could run a mile,” he said. “I’d walk a block, run a block.”

For a while, he ran on asphalt, then took to the woods, running the trails around Lake Wazeecha. The weekend before Sept. 11, 2001, Andrews was a pacer for his brother in a Salt Lake City endurance race.

  “I didn’t have any idea I would take off and start doing these things,” he said. “It’s really a survival thing … you’re pushing your body to the limit. “My goal was always to go a little farther.”

  And this month, he did.

About 87 percent of the runners finished the Rocky Raccoon race, according to the race’s website. Running though rain and mud, Andrews, one of two Wisconsin runners, finished in 19:34:23, in 7 inches of rain. He was 256 out of 366 runners.

  “I finished it,” he said. “I came across the line. They helped me to the chair, put warming blankets on me and gave me a medal.

  “They don’t give you a medal if you’re a half a mile short,” he said.

He said he was inspired by others — many from other countries — who participated, a woman with one leg, running with a prothesis, Marines with backpacks, a man with cerebral palsy.

  “We all have our passions and things we do,” Andrews said.

  “And this is one thing I do.”

Cutline:  Steve Andrews’65 of Grand Rapids poses in his office at Wood County Human Services in Wisconsin Rapids. Andrews is wearing the medal he got for running the 50-mile Rocky Raccoon Run recently in Huntsville Texas. Andrews is holding a T-shirt that co-workers at human services gave him as a gift. / CASEY LAKE/DAILY TRIBUNE

  Thirty-seven classmates and 20 others including spouses got together at the Pebble Creek Resort in Goodyear, Arizona, just outside Phoenix, Oct. 28-30, 2011 to celebrate our 50th class reunion from good ol’ MHS. Those hosting the event who now live in Arizona were: Chuck and Jan Campbell, Fred and Bernie Corey, Cathie and Cliff Gibson, Ted and Glenda Moffitt, Ron and Gretchen Olberding, Deannie (Wigent) and Bob Price, and Judy (Lindquist) Stark.

  Events for the Friday night banquet included a toast given by our class president, Larry Thompson. The toast was presented with gold-rimmed wine glasses imprinted with a red Bison head and “Class of 1961, 50th Reunion October 2011.” They were taken home as souvenirs.

  E.Vee (Riggs) Myrberg and Janet (Decker) Turley conducted a memorial service for 28 deceased classmates. Deannie (Wigent) Price read the class will of those present.

  Saturday was spent golfing, sight-seeing, attending an arts and crafts festival, or watching the Nebraska football game at Augie’s Sports Barn, with several wearing their Nebraska red shirts. Those present for the gathering Saturday evening filled out an information questionnaire in which we found out Teresa (Guzman) Sample had been married the longest, the class newlyweds were Vince and Kay (Hoyt) Wasia, Linda (Segar) Patterson had the largest family and those who traveled the farthest were Larry Crook, West Palm Beach, Florida and Barbara (Foster) Peters, Strasburg, Virginia.

  Of the 37 attending, 10 have two-year degrees, 23 have further degrees, which included six with master’s degrees, one MD, one PhD, and one JD. The classmates who attended live in 14 states — AZ ,CA, CO, FL, IA, ID, KS, MO, NE, NM, OH, TX, VA and WA. A farewell breakfast was held Sunday morning at the Comfort Suites where most of the classmates stayed. Plans are forming to meet in two years, 2013, to celebrate our 70 years of enduring life (How about embracing life or enjoying life? We are just so thankful to have been given these years!) with the possibility of going on a cruise. Keep this in your minds and hearts and start saving!

  Fred Corey has a class archive on DVD’s now, and will add more pictures to it. You can email any pictures you have, whether they are from our growing-up years or from any of our reunions, to fred.corey@kimley-horn.com. Or mail to Fred Corey, 8508 Wildhorse Road, Pinetop, AZ 85935.

Cutline:   Graduates of McCook Senior High in 1961 gather for a class reunion and photograph in October. Available for the photograph were: front row from left, Gary Corder, Judy Hakenkamp Kamp, JoAnn McMullen Brand, Sharon Felker Kluge, Mary Meister Horvath, Beverly Hamler Wilcox, Nancy Thompson Wetherholt, Ron Huet, John Wilcox and Fred Corey. Second row: Barbara Foster Peters, Teresa Guzman Samples, Dian Keene Trail, Beth Droskin Elliott, Judy Lindquist Stark, Linda Segar Patterson, E. Vee Riggs Myrberg, Carolyn Sitzman Harper, Roxanne Zulhaf Clark, Deannie Wigent Price, Cathie Gochis Gibson and Gary Dolan. Back row: Bill Noll, Jerry Dorram, Janet Decker Turley, Pam Axelson Lofthouse, Kay Hoyt Wasia, Vince Wasia, SteveWalker, Larry Thompson, Chuck Campbell, Ron Olberding, Howard Berg, Jerry Wesch, Larry Crook, Ted Moffitt and Cliff Gibson

  Amanda Fuchuck and Matt Chitwood were crowned 2011 MHS Homecoming queen and king.  First attendants were Emily Tolliver and Austen Sis, with Kelsey Collicott and Gabe Marentes as second attendants.

  The Marching Bison Band earned superior and top Class A honors during its 2011 competitive marching season.  The theme of the season was “Going Gaga” with selections coming from popular performer Lady Gaga.

  Thirty MHS student council members and their sponsor, Sharon Bohling, attended State Student Council Convention in Lincoln.  The McCook Council received a plaque for contributions made to help grant a Make*A*Wish and a silver level Outstanding Council Award.  A special highlight for the McCook delegation was when they discovered that kindergartner, Signe Morrow,  who thanked NASC for her Make-A-Wish swimming pool, turned out to be the granddaughter of Jerry  ’58 and Sherry Brant ‘59 Vap  and the daughter of Stephanie Vap Morrow, a 1990 graduate of McCook High School.

  For the first time in its 55 years of existence, McCook Senior High now has air conditioning! Work began on a new heating and air conditioning system this summer and was finished in time for winter.  All buildings in the McCook Public Schools system are now equipped with air conditioning, so early outs for heat days should be a thing of the past.

    The recently constructed Strikers Pub at TJ’s Family Fun Center on U.S. Highway 83 features a banquet area with seating for 120.  McCookites already showed their approval for the expansion as more than 70 were in attendance for a comedian performance.

    Fresh paint has been applied to the outside of the Fox Theatre.  The ongoing renovations of the historic building just recently reached the exterior of the building. Weathercraft Roofing has re-roofed the marquee and J.M. Stevens painting will take care of the painting.  Light bulbs will be replaced and Cambridge sculptor Gary Ginther ‘65 is creating replacements for broken/fallen stars.

    The Hormel Family Foundation, in partnership  with Invest Nebraska  Corp. conducted its Fifth Annual Business Plan Competition at McCook Community College.  Three McCook entrepreneurs presented their business plan ideas to local judges for the chance to win a $25,000 equity investment. The winning company, HomeSpun, is owned by Sarah Risenhoover.  Her bakery and lunch business currently operates at 402 East B Street, but with the $25,000 investment award, she plans to expand to a larger building to better serve her customers.

    Construction workers have completed the drywall work on phase two of the Community Hospital expansion.  Community Hospital President Jim Ulrich said they are installing ceiling grids and flooring in some areas, including a seamless floor that will be poured in the surgery area. In March the hospital will begin gaining some access and moving into some of these areas.  In early April, the hospital will be able to deliver surgical care from the new areas.  The expansion will provide anticipated enhancement to security and privacy for the hospital.  Surgery, labor and delivery and emergency care areas will be accessible via key card only. The changes will also eliminate public contact between the emergency room and operating room areas, which share a public hallway in the current layout.

    A $150,000 anonymous donation was given for the construction of a new warm-up barn that will enhance the Kiplinger Arena located on the Red Willow County fairgrounds. The new barn will be 75 by 125 feet and positioned with 70 feet on either side of it between the Ag Complex and the poultry building.  It will be insulated and have a dirt/sand floor.

    Baxter Black has been on the radio for 20 years and entertaining folks for 30 years with newspaper columns, including his “On the Edge of Common Sense” that appears in the McCook Daily Gazette.  He brought his unique cowboy perspective to life at the Fox Theater in November as part of “An Evening for Hospice” fundraiser.

    One of the most prestigious watercolor exhibitions  in North America was in McCook in November.  Forty paintings from the 144th International Traveling Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society went on display in November at the Wrightstone Gallery on the McCook Community College campus.

    Area leaders gathered to show their support for the East Ward Village construction project, during a groundbreaking ceremony at the project site. The 27 unit development will focus primarily on senior housing and is anticipated to be completed by the fall of 2012.

  Pat Weskamp ‘88 owner of Weskamp Floral & Gifts, recently moved into his newly relocated flower and gift shop in downtown McCook.  Moving this summer from 307 Norris to 324 Norris provides Weskamp with more floor space for expanded merchandise lines and improving the shop’s exposure to street traffic.

  The 15 employees of Springer Magrath were given 30 days notice that the company headquarters was being relocated to Glencoe, Minnesota.

  Construction work at the former West Ward School building lot is under way.  The site will soon be the home to a new municipal facility that will house police, fire and the city offices.

   McCook Public Schools purchased the former armory for $82,500 and is turning it into classrooms for the LIFT alternative education program; tank bays in the basement will be used for bus storage.  Work inside includes new paint, carpeting and gymnasium flooring; Affordable Plumbing installed a handicap accessible restroom.  McCook Contracting poured new concrete and new handicap accessible ramp at the front door. Also a new fire alarm system has been installed throughout the building.