It was a pretty big event for our family when our eldest, Denise, was handed her diploma Thursday night at Hayward park.
We've covered commencements for many years at different schools, and we've enjoyed the happiness others have had when their youngsters received their diplomas.
But it's different when it's your "own."
We think one of the happiest mothers in the audience was Mrs. Opal Conner. We couldn't see Opal from where we were located, but we betcha tears of happiness flowed.
Her children, Mary Jane and Walter were among the 113 graduates. Opal works at Newberry's lunch counter and we've always enjoyed her friendly attitude despite the badgering of the coffee drinkers and the fried chicken meal hounds.
We saw you, Joe Steiner, and noticed others who appreciated what you did. The speaker system was lousy and that lawn mowing didn't help any.
Gerard Timothy admits he's more in the Winston Churchill generation than in the "now" movement. After Roxy Hansen got her diploma and walked to her chair, she flashed the peace sign.
The kids got a bang out of it. So did Gerard, who said, "well, look at that, she gave the V for Victory sing."
Good ole' Gerard, he's right in there.
(Actually he was so proud of his son, Dennis, winning that nice scholarship that we think he also boo-booed and held his finger on the lens of his camera).
Thanks to Avery Lett, we enjoyed a flight that was scheduled for a round trip to Des Moines, Ia., the other day and ended up as an aerial search for the Green Berets on the Missouri river.
Don Mason, Adolf Wensien, Brownville, and myself accompanied Avery on the flight in his speedy six-place airplane. We toured a factory which makes camping equipment and had planned to head for home.
Trouble is, the return flight was so pleasant that we coaxed Avery to head south toward Rulo hopefully to photograph the Berets.
We didn't find them at Rulo so with a little more coaxing, Avery headed south again. This time, we decided there must have been a change in plans because we could see the river at St. Joseph (and the airport, for that matter), but no Berets.
So it was back home in time to get to the Jaycee installation banquet at the Legion club.
Memorial program Sunday.
If you happen to be a newcomer to Nebraska City, you might be interested in attending the veterans Memorial Day program Sunday at 9 a.m., at Wyuka cemetery.
Nebraska City veterans are a proud lot and they conduct somber programs saluting the men and women who died during wars.
One of the sad parts of the program is the attendance. It's always just a handful of people. Many times there are more participants in the program than there are people attending it.
Immediately following the cemetery service, veterans and auxiliary representatives conduct a brief ceremony at the riverfront for the Navy war dead. That program will be held on the dock at Steinhart Terminal.
Stan Gregg, who has been chairman of the program many years, shuddered when we asked him about rain and the programs.
"Oh, don't even mention it," he said. Then, he added, that the programs would be held at Memorial Building.
And now, the Green Berets.
Two dozen young, husky and adventurous men from the Special Forces (Green Berets) of the U.S. Army were given the red carpet treatment by Nebfraska City and representatives of veterans organizations Friday night.
For the record, the GI's (most are Vietnam veterans) are retracing the steps of the Lewis and Clark expedition and recording their 20th Century trip.
Two companies were offered a chance to volunteer for the expedition. They filled the bill and from what we were told by the Berets, there were a number of inquiries from soldiers in other companies who got a little "shook" because they didn't get a chance to volunteer.
The Berets are from all over the U.S. We talked with soldiers from Iowa, California, Virginia, Oklahoma and the Carolinas.
There was one thing on which they all seemed to agree — they liked the expedition.
Capt. Gary Barrett and his Company A facilities were opened for the Berets. The visitors were welcomed at the riverfront by a delegation and Friday night they were treated to the biggest steaks they could put down, plus a keg of beer, naturally at the VFW club.
The steak dinner was served by the auxiliary gals. You've never seen such appetites for the steaks, baked potatoes, bread, coffee, milk (they consumed three gallons) and tea, salad and strawberry shortcake.
On hand at the VFW club were the post commander, Aldean Grundman, Legion Commander Frank Bataillon, City Commissioner Clyde Stoll, Company A Commander Captain Barrett, Sgt. Don Lintz and others.
The Special Forces wants men who want to be better than the regular guy. He has to have a year and a half left on his enlistment to be accepted to the group. That's basic.
Then he starts the training and there are dozens of routes he can take, all of them specialties. He must also be knowledgable to teach others. That's what the Green Berets first did when they went to Vietnam six or eight years ago.
Another requirement is qualifying as a parachutist. One Beret told us he thought he would be scared on his first jump, but he wasn't. In fact, he gets a thrill out of each jump. Many of the Berets volunteer for the military version of free-fall that we see done by the skydiving clubs.
A captain said he is not sure whether he will make a career of the military service. He has served five years and must make that decision in two months.
Another said he is going to stay in for awhile because he thinks he likes the military service. His father is a career Navy man and his brother recently returned from Vietnam.
An ex-Muscatine, Ia., young man said he thinks he will get out when his enlistment is up and go back to school. The military life is okay, but he wants more education.
The Berets range in age from 20 years to about 40 and average 23 years of age. They said they have been treated royally at every stop.
All wore pins on their camouflage fatigues designating them as boosters of the Nebraska Cornhuskers No. 1 football team. The pins were gifts from the Falls City Chamber.
We found out why we missed them at Rulo. They arrived earlier than scheduled, boarded a Falls City school bus and headed to the town.
What we should have done was fly over the highway to Falls City — the school bus (driven by the mayor) broke down and had to be towed to town.
Records are being kept on retracing the steps of the Lewis and Clark expedition and that's important. But also important is the training the men are receiving.
"It goes on all the time," one Beret said. "I don't think we could have had a better chance to receive so much extended training on a regular assignment elsewhere."
During the time at the VFW club, the Berets relaxed and enjoyed themselves just talking with others. A couple of men were playing "stretch," a game played by tossing a knife in the ground a certain distance from another soldier's foot and stretching that distance without falling.
They were scheduled to spend the weekend in Omaha and then continue upstream.
"We've had it pretty easy so far. Wait until we start out on foot," one Beret joshed to another.
It was an enjoyable visit. Makes you feel proud of the type of young men defending this country . . . wished they could have stayed for the Memorial Day program . . . they would have added a lot of dignity.