Andy Kreifels of Nebraska City got one of the most interesting Christmas gifts we've heard.
A lobster.
You bet it was alive and snapping!
Jeanne Kreifels flew home for the holidays from Worcester, Mass., and brought the lobster with her. Dad was mighty pleased, particularly when he was served his private, one-man-only feast.
The preparation of a lobster is another story. But then, you'll have to ask Andy's wife, Margaret, all about those interesting and humorous details.
Congratulations to the Leonard Kaiser family, winners of the 1971 Duster in the Christmas retail promotion. They are a deserving family.
Leonard was working at Norman's IGA at the time of the drawing. When the drawing was over and the Kaisers were named the winners, friends took one look at Leonard's shaking hands and suggested he better not do any meat cutting the rest of the afternoon.
People who have received blood from the Otoe county Red Cross blood bank can thank men like Glen Cohn for this Christmas.
"My wife called the plant (Morton House) to remind me the Bloodmobile was in town."
Glen gave his 48th pint of blood — six gallons.
There may be others who have given more, we don't have the Red Cross records immediately available, but surely there should be some recognition for such a staggering gift.
We've given blood for a number of years, but we've not been as faithful as donors like Glen Cohn and Carl Wademan.
We know exactly when we first gave blood:
September 23, 1952, at the 406th Blood Bank, Tokyo, Japan.
There were no heroics to give blood while overseas — it was a sure way to get Navy "liberty" and that meant hitting the beach for the sailors for an evening of R & R, USN style, or at least until the evening curfew for occupation forces.
In those years, instead of good looking Jaycee Jaynes giving a sailor a paper cup of orange juice, we were handed a jigger of whiskey by a hairy-armed GI.
It was my first time in a blood bank. We were assured of two things: A jigger of whiskey and liberty, in exchange for one pint of blood. Believe it or not, we had to stand in line.
A black Army corpsman drew my blood. Whatever fear I might have had at giving blood was erased by his calm explanation of what would take place and his professional method of doing the job.
I thought sure I would faint (and Mrs. Leo Wirth wasn't around to walk me to a lunch counter) but I didn't. We were thanked and shown to the door with liberty passes.
Aha! Look out world, here comes the Navy!
Ira Glasser, superintendent at Arbor Lodge State Park, came up with some history on Nebraska City hotels.
The first in Nebraska City was built by Hiram P. Downs in the fall of 1954 where the blockhouse is now located near Fifth and Central. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1863, according to the Nebraska Centennial book written in 1954.
The Planters House was built in Kearney Hill in 1855 by Col. John McMechan. The building was destroyed by fire in 1863. The Nuckolls House built at Sixth Street and Central was a victim of flames in the 1860's.
The Cincinnati House at Eighth Street and First Corso, was built in 1866 by John Hamlin and was moved when the post office was built. Next was the Barnum House built in 1869 at Eighth Street and Central.
Mr. Glasser's records showed that in 1871, Jacob Shoff, "an old and wealthy citizen of Nebraska City, began erection of the Shoff House, the name of which was afterwards changed to that of the Grand Central."
The hotel (later renamed Grand Hotel), was built on the corner of Tenth Street and Central Avenue. It was three stories in heighth, contained 57 rooms and cost $50,000.
The structure, owned by nearly half a century by A.M. Stephenson, Nebraska City, was destroyed by fire on December 6, 1970.
Rockets to the Orange Bowl.
A number of parents of Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca bandsmen have called the News-Press or stopped one of us to say thanks for helping with the money raising campaign to send the kids to the Orange Bowl.
Ninety boys and girls leave this week for Miami, the first time a high school from Otoe county has been in a bowl parade.
We return an appreciation to those people handing out compliments, but we don't want to overlook a couple of items.
First, the kids in the school at Syracuse don't just represent a consolidated school district. They represent teenage boys and girls in school bands across the entire state. And we're pretty proud that "our" kids were selected.
Secondly, we've got a selfish interest here at the News-Press.
Our pressman is "Chuck" Johnson, son of B.A. Johnson, bandmaster at Syracuse. Chuck's pretty proud of his dad and the youngsters and he has helped personally and on the job.
The fact that the bandsmen earned and were given over $9,000 in a three-week campaign is somewhat staggering. Nebraska City's Community Chest is still lagging, but money (we don't know how much) was given in large numbers by Nebraska City business people to help finance the trip.
If there's any rivalry between the schools, it must have gotten lost in the first frost, because when the Rocket bandsmen walked Central Avenue in their green and white uniforms asking for donations, they admittedly were overwhelmed with the results that followed.
Someone in Nebraska City asked whether those communities in the Syracuse district would help this town if the Pioneers were selected to attend a bowl game.
We think so. We think the Rocket boys and girls under such fine leadership as "B.A." would surprise the City folks with what they would do to help.