The Optimist club and NC Pioneer Booster athletic banquet will be held soon, but the organizers are having a hard time trying to pin down an open date and a speaker.
"I think we should just set a date each year and always have that time," Jim Brockhaus, chairman for the Optimist club said.
This year the group tentatively scheduled the banquet for April 15, which is Palm Sunday, the Rev. John Green reminded at the meeting the other day.
The speaker has not been engaged because of the time conflict, Mr. Brockhaus reported.
Up on the North 40.
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Hoffman are going to build a new home on North Tenth Street near the Guy Miller residence.
Jerry is employed at Farmers Bank in Nebraska City.
I told him he would have to check with Mayor Louie Genoa about a building permit because Joy Thornhill, the City inspector, has no authority up on the hill.
I don't think he believed me.
Oh, well, Chamber Manager Don McBride will follow through and get him seigned up and squared away.
The other day neighbor Fred Baker poured a concrete slab with the help of his son, Jack, for his camper rig on the back of the lot.
It was a day when the concrete didn't "set" as rapidly as it usually does and the next time Fred took a look at the concrete project, an animal had taken a short cut across the concrete.
We looked over the damage and surmised that the tracks were made by a cow, calf or a deer. We settled on a dog and figured the owner would know it soon enough because the animal picked up so much of the concrete in his paws that he was sure to track it in a home.
Meanwhile, Fred and son were thankful the concrete hadn't hardened and went back with their trowels and were able to fill in the holes.
My first thought was the Black Panther of Minersville had invaded the area especially since Henry Schemmel had moved to town.
I was assured that wasn't true because that cat would be looking for something softer than concrete.
Wayne Brown the businessman.
Wayne Brown of Gambles is observing 20 years of business in Nebraska City and he said if he had it to do all over again, he'd do the same.
Mr. Brown said he owes his business success to the town as a whole — "it's a good shopping town."
The WWII Army Air Corps captain said he never thought his business would grow as it has, but he's sure pleased. There have been times when his business future was in doubt.
"I remember when we had those school battles. I was told by many people that my business would flop because I took such an interest in the school fight. It did just the opposite. I really think those years were the start of the growing success of the business."
Mr. Brown followed through with his taxpayer interest in the school program by later being elected to the board for a six-year term and serving as president of the Board of Education.
Congratulations to Wayne and his fine family. It's people like you who make the town go!
Marie Kuessel writes from Batesville, Ark., that she is enjoying her visit and sent along a note from the Batesville Guard.
The newspaper published some of the beliefs of the late Winthrop Rockefeller, former governor or Arkansas. He was a candidate for the office when he listed beliefs which included truth, justice, the best education for the young, equal opportunity, law enforcement and opposition to organized gambling.
"I believe it was Winthrop Rockefeller who put Arkansas on the map," she writes. "It is too bad he was governor for just two terms."
Like it or not, the tornado season is arriving. May, June and July are the most prevalent, but mid-April planning is wise.
The Weather Service says tornadoes are born when warm air is trapped near the ground by cold air above it. The cold air sinks, the warm air rises and air near the ground rushes in to replace the rising warm air.
When the air mass begins to swirl, you have a tornado.
We are in what is called "Tornado Alley," a swath of land that includes, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas. The state had 30 tornadoes last year. There were no deaths in any of the four states.
Twenty-seven people died in tornadoes in 1972. The longterm annual average is over 100 and there were 156 deaths in 1971.
Tornadoes may have internal winds of up to 300 miles per hour, the capability of a sudden drop in air pressure than can cause buildings to explode as if bombed and upward winds that lift houses, trailers or automobiles hundreds of yards.
The Civil Defense storm signals for the siren on the Otoe county courthouse, appear in the upper right hand corner of the News-Press.
Meanwhile, in the dentist's chair . . .
Dr. C. C. Case: "How's things going, Ivan?"
Patient: "urgle urgle."
Dr. Case: "Ummmmhuh. How's the family?"
Patient: "Uh uh uh."
Patient: "uggle, oh, ah, uff, uff."
Dr. Case: "Oh that girl? She's Pastor Konvalin's daughter, Debbie. She's been a great help and has a lot of interest in the work."
Patient: "Urgle, agff, aine?"
Dr. Case: "Yes, Mary James is still running the office."
Dr. Case: "Going to do any camping this year?"
Patient: "Urgle urgle." SWOOOOOOSH (that was dental assistant-wife Mary Case operating the jasonvalve on the mouth vacuum watchamacallit).
(The doctor removes the tools from the patient's mouth)
Patient: "Whoo-ee, Cappy. How in blazes can I answer when you're cleaning my teeth?"
Dr. Case: "Oh, sorry, Ivan. Now open again, that's it, ummmm ummmmmm, not bad, ummmm. Oh, oh, ummmmmmm. Well, that's it for today. Better come back in a week. We've got a little work to do on you."
Patient: "Uh uh uh?"
Dr. Case: "You can speak English now, Ivan. We're all through."