We've got camping fever.
It doesn't take much more than the drop of a hat to get us out of the house and on to the display floors of the camping shows in Lincoln and Omaha.
Yeah, man, we've got camping fever.
Johnny Bando, who owns and operates Bando's Camper Sales west of Nebraska City on No. 2, is a mighty busy man, despite a blizzard and a follow-up snowstorm.
Mr. and Mrs. Bando have displayed their camping equipment at the Lincoln and Omaha shows we attended and probably at other shows.
Johnny says one of the biggest jobs is the clean-up of equipment. People at the shows like to walk through the equipment and ask dozens of questions. And, they like to see nice, clean and well-waxed camping equipment.
That's the elbow-grease of the Bandos. And it apparently is paying off, judging by the large sales map the Bandos have posted at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln.
Among the many displays and shows (Homer and Jethro were on stage) there was one that drew considerable attention.
It's a water bed.
The mattress was filled with umpteen gallons of water and lying down on it is like reliving the USN of 20 years ago. The brochure pointed out the popularity of the mattress naming for example, Hugh Hefner of Playboy who has a king-sized model of the mattress, silly.
The membership of the Elks lodge in Nebraska City is expected to turn out in large numbers for a meeting Wednesday night on possible changes in the lodge facilities.
Elks will be asked at the meeting whether they want to remodel the old lodge at Fifth Street and First Avenue, build a new facility or do nothing.
A committee appointed by Exalted Ruler Richard Hoch has spent several months with an architecht making studies on what could be done. That report will be given to the membership and a decision asked.
The proposal for a new lodge gives consideration to the possibility of locating it on private property next to the new golf course at the south end of Wildwood park.
Undoubtedly, the new facility would be a fine asset to the City park system. The fact is, the taxpayers wouldn't be asked to foot the bill — that would be up to the Elks membership.
And that's a far cry from what's going on across the river.
A hearing will be held this week in Sidney on a proposed $40,000 club house for the golf facility located south of town.
It has been said that the taxpayers put up $3 for every $1 paid by the golfer. Money for the course comes from a one mill tax levy which yielded $32,000 a year ago.
And speaking of sports, North and South Table Creek have again become the ice skating rinks in Nebraska City. Park officials said their plans to flood the KC lots at Fifth Street and First Avenue washed away when the fill dirt over the basement soaked up the waterflow before a freeze could set in.
Last year's tennis court-ice skating rink worked out fine.
Wonder what the skaters used to do years ago?
Know what skating on "rubberized" ice is?
We remember Mary Lindell.
You saw her picture in the paper the other day and the announcement of her engagement and approaching marriage.
She's the young Miss whose design was accepted for the Otoe county Centennial seal. And she also accompanied the Centennial travelers on one of their bus trips.
Mary is a journalism major at the University. She's a sophomore.
Garry Ailes of Nebraska City Federal Savings and Loan Association, said he remembers Zean Carney of Lincoln. Mr. Carney is owner of Arbor Printing company and comes to the News-Press each morning at 6 o'clock where we print the Daily Nebraskan for him.
Garry and Zean were fraternity brothers when they attended Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Dan Ostransky remembers Zean's dad. The elder Carney was instrumental in helping Dan find jobs while he was going to college.
The last semester of college Dan was out of work because of an arm injury. Mr. Carney helped him draw benefits and as such, Dan finished his last semester and got his degree.
Music, music, music.
We didn't get to attend the concert of the J-Bonaires the other night at Johnson-Brock but we heard some pretty nice compliments from a couple who did attend.
Congratulations to Mrs. Ted Mabie, director, for a fine job, they said.
We were disappointed to read the other day that the youngsters at Nebraska City Lourdes will offer their "shows" every-other-year, instead of the annual pace they've been keeping.
Well, that's all right. It must be a whale of a job to get such a production done and the teachers feel that they've been taking their students from too much classroom duty.
Perhaps Nebraska City Senior High will come up with such programs and could offer productions on the opposite year of the Lourdes boys and girls.
I'm sure that the NCHS youngsters would get a "bang" out of participating m something like that. I know we adults would enjoy it.
A couple months ago we attended an annual meeting at the Fair Center in Syracuse along with about 300 other people and enjoyed the entertainment under the direction of Rocket Ken Carnes.
Actually, he had his boys so well polished, that he walked to the east side of the room, leaned against the wall with his arms folded and enjoyed his boys.
The boys sang a number of songs from "Paint Your Wagon." We remarked at the time, how well they did.
Well, Mr. Carnes has other plans. And we were pleased to read that "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" will be offered at Syracuse.
It's truly a humorous and entertaining musical and I'm sure the Carnes troupe will do it up admirably.
The best one we've heard this week came from a Nebraska City grandmother who thought she was going to be a mother.