A pleasant retirement, Larry Parker.
Our friend and across-the-desk reporter, Larry Parker, has retired after working for four years with the News-Press.
He's only been gone a day and we miss him.
Larry came to us after working for several years as a radio newsman. It was a tough road for him to switch to the printed word, but he did it in a dedicated fashion that typifies him as the man he really is.
We've had a lot of fun with Larry. He's been my springboard for some of the corn in The Buck. When I wrote some of those little bits, I'd read them to Larry to try them out.
And when he let out with that deep, Ha, Ha, Ha, I knew the item would be something you readers might also get a bang out of.
So, if this column gets worse and worse, you can blame Larry.
A pleasant retirement to you, friend. And stop in to see us when you get bored watching the Democrats on television.
This picture really is self-explanatory . . . that is if you can get Virg Miller to explain what in the blazes he's doing.
This is Hawaii. And, according to Virg who just returned from a meeting of bowlers in the Islands, this is what it's really like.
Before he left, Virg said, "please don't put anything in the paper that we're going to Hawaii" (Only the good guys read the News-Press).
"Okay," we reluctantly agreed, "providing . . . that you return with a special picture of your trip."
That was the deal.
The other day the Millers returned, but Virg didn't bring in the picture. Velma did.
"Are you sure you want to print this?" she asked.
Virg said the people in the islands were just wonderful and the 1,800 folks in the group attending the convention had a grand time.
One of the two girls in the picture is Miss Hawaii. Virg couldn't remember which-one.
Who cares?
Up on the North 40.
It was the Fourth of July all over again.
There was a k-a-b-o-o-m! It was the same signal given by the Legion at the start of its annual fireworks display. Only this time it wasn't at Steinhart park, but north of Jerry Jacobson's house.
The "leftover" fireworks of Doug Wymore and Jim Kleveland attracted the attention of a pretty good sized crowd the other night. And we had to admit, it was an entertaining display.
One neighbor said the glasses in a kitchen cupboard came tumbling down.
But we never heard any complaints from the kids in the neighborhood. They appeared in rapid fashion and were having a ball enjoying the brief show.
The City commission has ordered additional off-street parking and work will get under way soon for approximately 40 parking stalls on the south side of First Avenue from Eighth to Tenth Street.
City Finance Commissioner Bill Carroll said diagonal parking will be built along the street, in the same design as was done on the east side of the Safeway store.
The spaces will be paved. There will be no parking meters, Commissioner Carroll said. City crews will do some of the work and the concrete pouring will be done by Otoe Concrete Products and Materials company.
Don Haith, manager of Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph company, welcomed the additional parking. He said the telephone company has maintained the grass on the parking for many years.
Many of us thought the strip of grass was about the best watered in town. Don agreed, saying that the water is runoff from the air conditioning. "We just put it to use rather than run it down the dram."
We were asked . . . how'd you get to the county jail so fast after they caught the escapee?
Well, we weren't so fast, but thanks to Sheriff Seals we got the call in good time.
Our family believes in the old tale about togetherness, so when one of the youngsters is involved in an event, we pack up and go. The other night was no exception. Our youngest, Jeannea, had a softball game at Steinhart.
No. 1 daughter, Denise, was left at home. She had been in Topeka, Kans., with her Peru State summer class, got car sick, so skipped the ball game and stayed at home.
When the telephone rang about the escapee being apprehended, only Denise — the paleface — was at home. She picked up my notebook, pencil and camera and drove to Steinhart park.
So you see, it's like we say again and again. It takes the help of everyone to put out a paper.