Nebraska City Utilities manager pulled a sneaky trick . . . they took the gruffy voices off the radios and telephones and put on Mrs. Michael (Marcia) Smith.
So, now when you telephone 873-6611, the voice you hear is Mrs. Smith, the wife of a Peru State College student. She formerly worked with the utilities services at Auburn and is familiar with the terminology of the utility business, Manager Vern Livingston said.
Her job is also radio dispatcher to the fleet of service equipment operated in Nebraska City.
"She's doing a fine job," Mr. Livingston said. There were some raised eyebrows when she first started the radio dispatching. A woman's voice kinda caught the men off guard.
That applies also to tiger-Joe Barry. When Marcia fires a radio message to Joe to fix a gas regulator in some area, he comes right back with:
"10-4. Will do."
The Elks lodge at Nebraska City is awaiting a report from an architect with suggestions and cost estimates on remodeling the present facility or building a new lodge.
Ron Eiserman reported to the membership the other night that the report will be available by February.
Exalted Ruler Richard Hoch presided at the meeting. Dick has had a busy year, not only with leadership in the lodge but also as Governor Tiemann's counsel.
He has maintained his home in Nebraska City and commuted to the state capitol. There will be a new governor in the statehouse in January and as such he will have his own staff of advisers, Democrats of course.
Dick says he's not sure about the immediate future. The Hochs like Nebraska City; this is home.
We like the Hochs, too. Welcome home.
And speaking of Democrats, I will do some entertaining to pay off election wagers. I never was very good at picking a winner, but I do enjoy a party.
Glenn Kreuscher, who was appointed director of the state Department of Agriculture by Governor-elect Exon, told his listeners he was very much interested in Nebraska agriculture and so is his boss.
Mr. Kreuscher spoke at the annual banquet of the Otoe Soil and Water Conservation District and Extension Service.
The new ag chief told of his travels to other nations and across the U.S. and what he saw and learned about agriculture.
This is the greatest agriculture area in the country, he assured his audience.
Kreuscher should do well in his new job. He's been a newspaper reporter (which is no recommendation for anything) for many years and has specialized in agriculture. He is a farm owner and operator and should have a close insight into farm problems. What he can do to help the farm programs is something else. But we'll bet he will sure try.
The eruption of Kilauea crater in the Hawaiian Islands causes quite a bit of excitement. The molten lava literally pours from the volcano and rolls like syrup down the mountainside destroying everything it covers.
The volcano is on what Hawaiians call the "Big Island." It is so named because it is the largest of the seven.
It seems not so long ago, but it was in 1953 and on a dare, that we explored the crater. Twelve days later it erupted.
Just to back up the exploring, we took along a movie camera and several rools of colored film. We still have those pictures which show some pretty cocky antics of the four or five who walked the crater, plus the "finds" of vanda orchids growing like dandelions in Nebraska.
Hawaiian legend says that Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes, comes to the mouth of the volcano during an eruption and spews diamonds around the top, as an illustration of beauty and wealth.
It was a bit warm that day we explored the crater, but we didn't see much beauty, but I did find and still have several diamonds. My hands were pretty sore when I finished digging in ashes, but the tiny jewels were well worth the trip.
They say there's not value to the diamonds, but then, I don't anticipate walking across another volcano looking for them, either!
The biggest surprise we've heard came from Valerie Cooper, 13-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Cooper, when she found a pearl in a bowl of oyster soup.
Valerie had suggested oysters for the dinner menu and she says she will continue making suggestions. Who knows what the lucky Miss will find in a Chinese fortune cookie?
At the writing, it hasn't been determined whether the Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca band will be accepted to attend the Orange Bowl.
I hope so. It's a compliment to a lot of boys and girls to be accepted. It's also recognition to B.A. Johnson and the school administration for "hustling" for the Rockets.
Thanks to Elmer Yates of the Nebraska Children's Home Society for asking me to accompany him on a visit to the Emily Wirth home at 1716 Second Avenue.
We had the pleasure of meeting the Wirth sisters when the Society awarded Emily for her support of children at the home.
The three warm and friendly sisters greeted we intruders in a most hospitable fashion. We enjoyed our brief visit a great deal. Mr. Yates and I agreed that it's a good feeling to be received into a home with such good old fashioned pleasantness.
I was complimented when the sisters said they read "The Buck Ends Here" all the time . . . and how's that for admiration from an 88-year-young reader?