Son of a . . . what?
Minersville GOP
Mrs. S. was introducing the new deacon to her very Republican husband.
"Henry," she said to her elderly mate, "this is Mr. Wilson, the new deacon."
Henry cupped a hand over an ear and returned:
"Hey? Did you say New Dealer?"
"No, no, dear, not New Dealer —new deacon. He is the son of a bishop."
Henry: "I know, I know. They all are!"
Traveling
Our annual Christmas cards tell us much about our readers and where they are living. Mr. and Mrs. Lester Ehlers write from Grand Island that they will pull stakes this weekend for "winter quarters" at Harlingen, Texas.
Les was Otoe county engineer-surveyor before taking the Hall county surveyor's job about 20 years ago. He still is the surveyor, but with a deputy he can take leave of absence.
Congratulations
. . . to Rod Bliss, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bliss, on receiving a $500 scholarship at the University. Rod is a junior at NU majoring in business construction, but he's still got his eye in the sky. He's in the Air Force ROTC.
The anonymous note
We don't print anonymous letters to the editor. Letters must be signed by the writer, but if he wishes we will not print his name.
We had an anonymous note recently from a reader who felt that the cheerleading squad at Syracuse--Dunbar-Avoca deserved some news attention. We didn't print it, but we checked.
Well, whoever you are . . . thanks. The picture appeared on Page 1 of the December 14 paper. We've enjoyed watching and listening to the Rocket cheer squad and we've enjoyed the presence of Shane Pfeiffer in our living room and where else do kids congregate but in the kitchen.
The party
We enjoy all parties, but there are two a year that we are particularly pleasant to attend — the Morton House Quarter Century club dinner and the City Utilities Christmas dinner.
At both of those events, we have an opportunity to see and visit with the "retired." Thanks to Ray Ott of Morton House and Bill Brockley of City Utilities for the invitations. We enjoy visiting with friends "Bub" Conley and Melvin Baker and others.
The Farm Strike
A farmer who has been active in the Farm Strike, walked into the bank the other day to report he had Good News and Bad News.
"Let's have the bad news first," the banker said.
"I don't think I can make a payment on the principal this year" he said.
"Ummmmm. That's not good," the banker said.
"And what's more," the farmer said. "I don't think I can pay any interest this year either."
"Ummmmm. That's not good either," the banker said. "What's the rest of it?"
"Well," said the farmer, "The good news is that I'm going to stick with your bank for another year."
Congratulations
to Mr. and Mrs. Jim Woodson, 1117 South Eleventh Street, on winning a trip to the Orange Bowl.
The contest was co-sponsored by Jim Petro of Petro's Derby Service in Nebraska City. The Woodsons were among six winners in a contest which ran from August 12 to November 27. Former Chicago Bear great Gayle Sayers selected the Woodsons from the list of 400,000 entries. Gayle and his wife will accompany the winners to Miami.
And that's what you call some Christmas present.
Christmas rush
Ken Clark, manager of Penney's in Nebraska City, says this Christmas shopping season has got to be the busiest. Mr. Clark ran a special on jackets, 'jamas and jeans and the store was swamped.
The phone rang in the basement mail order department and a voice asked for a light blue jacket of a certain size. The clerk writing the order asked:
"To what name and address shall we send it?"
"Oh, don't send it," the caller said. "Just bring it to the front of the store. I'm calling from the phone upstairs."
Hot lunch at NCL
Thanks to Mrs. Tom Bryant and her staff for the hot lunch the other day at St. Mary's Catholic Church hall. The meal included breaded chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and pears. It was good.
We sat through a couple of "shifts" and watched energetic and orderly youngsters bubble all over the place.
Our table partners included Sister Mary, chemistry teacher, Msgr. Jerome Murray, superintendent, and the Rev. Tom Ozanne who at the moment was acting as sort of a lunch room supervisor over the students.
Sister Mary, we learned, is the nun who has been taking Red Cross first aid courses and hopes to be accepted as a member of the Nebraska City Rescue Squad. We wish her success.
Msgr. Murray, we learned, at one time drove a mortician's limousine. He explained that it was a pretty handy vehicle because he was involved in the scouting program at York and the large vehicle accommodated a lot of youngsters on trips.
And my friend, Father Tom, well, you know he watches the weather reports, regretting that winter has kept him from motorcycling. An optimist always, soon as he can, he hopes to get a leather jacket. Only leather can keep a winter cyclist comfortable . . . dang it, forgot to ask him about snow shoes (snicker-snicker)