The Love Test
Didya take the National Love, Sex and Marriage test the other night on the TV program?
We were disappointed at the low rating given to the Midwest so we conducted a mini poll of viewers to see how they fared.
Two out of three said they got below the 230 point mark (need work, marriage); one claimed he got a perfect score; a high school senior and a Peru State student did about the same (they got a "perfect" on the Trust section) and a young married man said he didn't need any TV to measure his strength . . . or weaknesses.
Well . . . you wouldn't have known about Nebraska City people unless we asked.
Best wishes
to Warren and Jean Griepenstroh on the new ownership of the Pete's Feed and Seed Store at 1121 Central Avenue. They had a ribbon cutting and grand opening during the week.
The weather didn't cooperate for an outside picture of the ceremony, so Sue Quinlan of the News-Press lined the group in front of displays and snapped the picture from an elevated position.
For the record, the picture was taken inside because on March 7, 1978, it was snowing in Nebraska City again.
And speaking of weather - many farmers will recall the first week of March last year they were readying their ground for planting of oats and in some cases, they had already put the seed into the ground.
Ralph Boerner recalled this time a year ago very well. He was fishing and enjoying the spring weather. (We had another inch of snow on March 7, 1978, giving us a ground accumulation of approximately 12 inches and a frost depth of 24 inches.)
Congratulations
to the winners of the Elks Most Valuable Student contest. They are Judy Todd, Union; Brian Shawn Underwood, Rock Port, firsts; Tim Causgrove, second and Kelly Stillahn, Syracuse, third. The other winners were Susan Roddy, Geraldine Petersen, Janice Halvorsen, Elisa Beth Stutheit, Julie Brockhaus, Marsha Stortenbecker, Denise Davis, Mary Kreifels, Kim Harding, Ann Marie Harney, Kristen Wakelin, Ross Sherwood, Sheri Horn, Amy Ellerbrake and Cynthia O'Connor.
Miss Todd is a senior at NCHS. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Todd, Jr., Union. Brian Underwood is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Underwood of Rock Port. He is a senior at Rock Port.
Congratulations to the students and to Jim Hanks and his committee for another big job, well done.
Tim also received a $500 scholarship to the University. Joe Wenzl, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walt Wenzl, also received a $500 NU scholarship.
The weather — 1931.
Thanks to Mrs. George Herring, 1102 No. 8th Street, for the clipping from the News-Press of 1931 which told about the welcoming of spring.
" . . . it was one (the last three months of winter) of the three years since 1870 when the temperature never once dropped below zero. It was an unusual winter also in that less rain fell than in almost any year since 1880. The month of January was one of the driest and one of the warmest in the history of the weather bureau," the newspaper reported.
Thanks
. . . to County Clerk Jerry Schmitz for providing statistical information on births and deaths in Otoe county over the past five years. The question came up on what seemed to be a high death rate and Jerry checked it out for us.
His five-year average showed 196 deaths a year in Otoe county from 1972-76. Nebraska City recorded 176 burials in Wyuka cemetery in 1977 compared with 101 the year before, according to City Clerk Gladys Wenzel's records.
The birth rate in the county is on the rise. The rate soared to 234 in 1972, then dropped to 190, then 165 and 169 and in 1976 went up to 204 for a five-year average of 192.
Superkids
Larry Wegener of the American Lung Association, points to the hazards of smoking, objects to federal monies being used to "subsidize" the tobacco industry and promotes a new program for third, fourth and fifth graders called "Superkids."
Mr. Wegener's job is clean lungs.
He hopes to get the program going in Nebraska City. It is run similar to the Superstar program on TV except that in this case, the "stars" are the small fry. The Optimist club is studying the program now as a possible sponsor.
One of the interesting competing levels considered is the separation of boys and girls. The truth is, Mr. Wegener pointed out, girls of that age will stomp the clumsy boys.
The program would probably be held on a Saturday morning. More about it later.
Arbor Day
The annual Arbor Day and Arbor Day Foundation awards night are coming up in a few weeks and Chamber Manager Dorothy Melchert's office is already buzzing with activity.
In fact, Mrs. Melchert is getting 50 to 100 letters a day from people who want to take advantage of the Foundation membership campaign.
"The letters are coming in and we aren't ready yet," Mrs. Melchert said. The mailing address for the national Foundation is Arbor Lodge 100, Nebraska City . . . and all the mail goes to the Chamber office.
The big attention getter in the Foundation membership campaign is, of course — trees. For sending in from $15 to $500 for a membership, the writer gets six free trees ranging from maples, to birch, ash, plum and redbud.
State Sen. Calvin Carsten, Avoca, is president of the Foundation board and is spearheading the campaign. Bill Dawson of Nebraska City, is chairman of the local Arbor Day celebration.
Stolen
from the Elberon Eagle, Allen Dose, editor.
A farmer said to his wife.
"Elvira, now that we've struck gasohol on the farm, you've got to get some decent clothes."
"Nothing doing, Henry," she said. "I've been wearing decent clothes all my life. Now, I'm going to dress like other women."