A new family
Mr. and Mrs. Bill (Linda) Nelson and their two children will move to Boys Town this week where they will live on campus as family teachers.
Mr. Nelson will be missed. He guided the Lourdes football team to state prominence and had an insurance business before giving it up for the Boys Town job. He also "worked out" with other athletes and is one of the most respected wrestling officials on the mats.
The Nelsons will be in charge of six boys ages 11 to 17. They won't be teaching the three R's, but will concentrate on the new community living concept. The idea is that when boys leave the community, they must be trained to prepare their meals, do the housekeeping chores and care for themselves and their clothing.
It's a different job, but Bill sees it as a challenge. The boys will also be taught social graces and live under a merit system with strict discipline.
We know Bill Nelson. He'll make it work. Good luck.
Happy New Year
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Rains and their daughter, Wendy, as winners of the first baby of 1978 contest. Wendy arrived at 4:57 a.m., at St. Mary's tipping the scales at seven pounds, 13 ounces.
Mr. and Mrs. Rains have two sons, Dirk, eight and Mark, three years of age.
Maybe congratulations should go to Mr. and Mrs. Roy (Linda Thorson) Hauptman, Nebraska City. Their daughter arrived December 31 at St. Mary's.
Why? Well, not only for the new arrival, but for the "timely" arrival . . . you know . . . beat the income tax with another dependent.
We've decided that Society Editor Dorene Duffey will be the reporter assigned to cover First Babies of the Year. The stork doesn't always cooperate so well, but this year Mrs. Duffey was assigned to get the picture and story and she must have flashed her Grandmother's Housing Authority Card to get the stork to make an early landing.
Not enough snow
John Rayner, who works at the OPPD power plant south of town, says Nebraska City is a wonderful town in which to raise a family, but he misses the snows of Green River, Wyoming.
John and daughter, Carrie, stopped in the other evening and we got better acquainted while sitting at the kitchen table and visiting. He snowmobiles, skis and is an avid elk and deer hunter, but what he misses most is the heavy snow accumulation.
For example, six feet of snow on the level makes for a whole lot of fun for winter sportsmen and women, but it sounds to me like a whole lot of snow and cold temps.
John disagrees. He says the winters at Green River do not seem as cold as they are in Nebraska City. Perhaps also is the difference in humidity.
Congratulations
. . . to Gary Blakeman of American Meter Company on his appointment as vice president of personnel-organization for the division of the Singer Company.
Gary is a former Chamber manager and worked for a time at Clemmy Holmes Motor Company before joining American Meter. He has been with the company 14 years, nine of which have been as manager of the plant.
The appointment is effective February 1. Philadelphia will gain a fine family and we regret the loss, but we wish the Blakemans much success and happiness.
This will be a big year at American Meter in Nebraska City. The company will celebrate its 25th birthday in a major observance planned for this summer.
The vacation
Mr. and Mrs. Mel Todd, rural Union, can now go to Scottsdale, Ariz., for a winter vacation with comforting thoughts of watching grandson, Mike, on the wrestling mat.
The Todds have been planning the trip, but wanted to see Mike in action before leaving. Mike had planned on wrestling at Plattsmouth, but as with many wrestlers, he had a weight problem that week and couldn't reduce to the requirement.
He tipped the scales at the proper weight class the other night and made up for lost time by pinning his opponent in short order. We looked over to the group of people cheering for Mike. It was a family affair, Mom and Dad, the grandparents, little brother and three sisters, Jane, Beverly and Judy. Mike had a big smile. So did the family.
Have a good trip in the southwest.
Hello to Brian
Brian LaMaster, 16, is improving slowly at Clarkson Hospital in Omaha, with gunshot wounds. Brian's mother was killed and his step-father died later in the murder-suicide.
The tragedy of Brian has affected most of us in the community. We don't know him well, but we have seen him at wrestling matches, at school functions and we get regular reports from his older brother, Greg, who works in the mail department at the News-Press.
Brian has two slugs in his body, one in a hip and the other near the roots of the nerve system in the neck. He will have surgery to repair a shattered jaw as soon as the swelling goes down, his father, Gary, said.
He is breathing through an opening in his neck and is taking food through tubes in his nostrils.
Brian is not lacking in friends. He has had many teenagers call on him with words of encouragement. He needs that strength from the younger set. He's been hurt very severely but the strength of his young body is working in his favor.
You can help, too. Send him a card, to Room 968, Clarkson Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska 68105.