You have to want it.
Hello
. . . to the Rev. and Mrs. Ralph Gray at Peru from their son, US Navy Midshipman William Gray who is attending the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
We had luncheon with the midshipman and several other midshipmen the past week as part of an orientation and education trip of the academy.
We learned a lot. Capt. Sam Nelson who is the liaison officer for the Academy in Nebraska, said the trip would be worth the chips because not enough people know about the offerings of the Navy school.
Captain Nelson is a reserve officer. His full-time job is principal of Lincoln High School.
The academy is tough. The students and faculty pull no bones about it and the brochures say it all in a few words — "You Have to Want It."
When a young man (oops . . . girls, too) graduates from the academy with a bachelor's degree, he's well qualified and educated in his field. Jayme Berger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Berger, and Fred Windle, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Windle, are among two of the local ex-NCHS students who graduated from the Academy.
More about the academy later. We'll have some pictures, too.
Thank you, Ramona
Rep. Charles Thone was not in Washington, D.C., when our 60-plus group met with the congressional delegation for breakfast, but he was well represented by Ramona Dietermeyer, former Nebraska Mother of the Year and now a member of the Thone staff.
Mrs. Dietermeyer and her husband, will not leave D.C., when the congressman moves out for a future campsite at the statehouse.
They have their roots now in the Capitol city and will stay.
Mrs. Dietermeyer and Pam Simpson of Thone's office, Senator and Mrs. Zorinsky and other staffers from the Nebraska delegation offices, welcomed the group.
Yes . . . Senator Zorinsky fielded more questions on the Panama Canal treaty. He is being constantly pressed for continued "no" votes.
The cherry trees were in full bloom. There were kids and tours shuttling back and forth and it was a quickie and delightful trip.
My roommate for the trip was the Rev. Thomas Ozanne of NC Lourdes and St. Mary's Catholic church. That's another story. I sang him to sleep every night using Methodist hymns.
A story...The Class of 1974
If you didn't read Mrs. Duffey's column, One Person's Opinion, in the Wednesday paper, dig it out and read the item on the Class of 1974.
Mrs. Duffey pointed out that six graduates from that class are in medical careers. They are Pat Dawson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Dawson; Jane Bonebrake, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. A.H. Bonebrake; Mike and Mark James, sons of Mrs. Norma James, Jon Sanchez, son of Dr. and Mrs. B.J. Sanchez; and Don Weldon, son of Dr. and Mrs. Clark Weldon.
FFA awards
David Blecha, Nebraska City FFA advisor, can be proud of the many achievements of his boys and girls as announced in the paper the other day at the state FFA meeting.
Doug Weatherl, the hard-working and popular FFA adviser at Palmyra, received the Honorary State Farmer Degree. Doug spreads his work with the young into the summer and the county fair and has done it for several years.