Don Smith turns 80 - Happy Birthday

Donald (Don) M. Smith was born on August 5, 1927 at Fort Morgan, Colorado in a farmhouse to Patrick and Catherine (Chandler) Smith. He moved to Lonestar, Colorado shortly after, and then to Yuma, Colorado. In the early 1930s, they moved to the Huey Ranch about 9 miles north of Haigler, Nebraska. He grew up on the ranch acquiring the love of farm life. He attended the schoolhouse District 76 near the ranch where he talks about the numerous rattlesnakes that frequented the place also. He acquired the enjoyment of arrowhead hunting and collected a unique accumulation of sizes and stone. During his father’s illness with cancer, he was blessed to be able to live with Rosie and Glen Himberg until his father was able to return. He holds them dear to his heart for their compassion and love shown. His parents took under their wing a girl, Teresa, and raised her at the loss of her parents. She went to visit an aunt in Missouri as an adult and ended up staying there and marrying Albert Beam.

In the 1940s Patrick and Catherine Smith bought the Boyd Hedge farm which was rented to Rosie and Glenn Himberg. In 1946 the Himberg's purchased their own farm and Don Smith then moved onto the farm prior to marrying the love of his life Mary J. Bullock on April 12, 1947. The farm was located about 6 miles north of Haigler. They were blessed with 54 years together. Mary died on Dec. 13, 2001. They had two children, Melvin and Patricia. They lived on the farm until the fall of 1968 when they moved to McCook to further their growing Amway business. Dad and mom together grew their business and were privileged to care for their parents also. Through their farm, neighbors, business with Amway and Amsoil they have been blessed with many friendships and precious memories. Today he is able to keep in contact with several via the internet and loves checking his email to see who emailed him that day.

Dad still continues to live in McCook but considers the Haigler area his hometown and enjoys reading about past and current events as others share their stories and pictures on the Haigler Blog. He has submitted some articles and pictures of his own about the Huey Ranch, his parents, the Himbergs, the Bullocks, and others, which readers have expressed appreciation for.

Don is blessed to have three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Please feel free to share a memory with dad by emailing him at dsmith@swnebr.net or via snail mail at 604 West G Street, McCook, NE 69001 or by phone 308-345-3933

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Happy Birthday, Dad!

(Click on picture to enlarge)

-- Submitted by Patricia Fortkamp

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Hope you have a great day Don, we will have to do this again in another 80 years.

Cal Freehling

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DON,
DALLAS ADAMS

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Don,Gene and I want to wish you the best of the best of birthdays.And hey your one year older than he is..LOL
You and Mary made a very goodlooking couple.We loved the pictures.
Gene remembered when you and Mary were younger and you haven't aged a day.So we will see what you will look at your next 80th birthday.
Best wishes Gene and Vie Pennell

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Happy (belated) Birthday!!! It is sooo cool to see all of these pictures. They bring back many many memories for me. What a beautiful family you have!!!

Hope you are happy and well.
Eunice (Gregory) Richard
Tucson, AZ

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Happy Birthday to Don Smith: This is a belated greeting, but didn't want to miss letting you know that we are thinking of you.

We enjoyed so much seeing you, Melvin and Patti at the Haigler Alumni. We did not go to school in Haigler, however, we have always felt close to the Haigler people and love that little town. Still can't get over how much Melvin looks like you. You are very blessed to have such wonderful children.

Hope you have many more happy birthdays.

Leah Gregory Brewer

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Send greetings to Don to be posted on the blog: Email to the Blog

Veda's Party

The 80th birthday celebration for Veda Douglass was a big success. All of her children were here for the occasion. Those attending by families were: Lorenzo (Doug) Douglass came from Leoti, KS and his daughter, Amanda Douglass, from Denver, CO.; Lloyd and Donna Douglass from Columbia, California and Tess Douglass of Fort Collins, CO; Norma Nelsen of Lincoln with Bethany, Sara, Deazo, Cruise of Lincoln; Roger and Deb Douglass of Columbia, CA, their son, Josh and wife Jenny and their two sons, and daughter Jessi Douglass of Littleton, CO. Veda's brothers Alden Forbes of Branson; MO, Vernon Forbes from Eufaula, OK; Bob Forbes of Elkhart, KS and Ernest and Gale Forbes of Guyman, OK were here for the occasion. Nieces and Nephews were: Dave Bashford - Richfield and David Terry Knowles and family from Colby, KS. Many friends from the community stopped by the Golden Inn to visit with the family and each other also to enjoy the refreshments.

Happy Birthday, Dwight Brewer

It seems like Dwight is really my brother because he has always been a part of our family. At least since he married my sister, Leah in 1963. I want to wish him a very happy birthday on July 30.

Dwight grew up in St. Francis, Kansas, the son of Clark and Anna Brewer and one of 4 boys, Wallace, Doug, Maurice (Barnhart) and Dwight. He went to high school there, graduating in 1959. He married Leah Gregory and worked for the Equity Co-Op for awhile before moving to Lincoln, Nebraska to attend Union College for a couple of years.

Dwight and Leah worked for Stan Smith of Lamar, Nebraska for awhile, then rented land south of Wray before going into partnership with Leah's parents, Rich and Alice Gregory, on the farm southeast of Haigler. They bought the farm and continued farming there until 1985 when they sold it to Steve and Tammy Workman and followed Rich and Alice to Tucson, Arizona. Dwight worked for Westcap Capacitors and Leah obtained her Real Estate license. They put their two girls through college and have been "helping" raise their 5 grandchildren. Dwight now maintains their rental properties and Leah is gearing down her real estate practice so they can retire and enjoy their St. Francis "playhouse" more than the few weeks in the summer that they spend there now.

Happy Birthday Dwight, I hope you have a wonderful day!

-- Sherri Gregory

Mamma's Hummingbird

Mamma's hummingbird had a nest right beside her patio/porch. Here is the nest and the hummingbird sitting on her nest.

-- Sherri Gregory

Update - Mark McVey

Talked to Mark and Karen McVey a couple of days ago. Mark is recovering, lots of bed rest and staying inside. Karen said he had a temp of 104. She said it really threw Mark for a loop, but he his improving.

Later--Calvin

Remember the Bluegrass Breakdown

Next weekend, Haigler's population will erupt with people from all over the 3 corners area when the 6th annual Bluegrass Breakdown occurs in the Haigler Park again this year.

If you are planning to be in the area next weekend, you won't want to miss it.

Come Help Veda Douglass Celebrate Her 80th Birthday

Veda (Forbes) Douglass was born Aug 11 1927 to Alma Emily (Ross) and Fred Leroy Forbes

She grew up in Elkhart, Kansas and was married to Lloyd Douglass on July 15, 1953.

Lloyd and Veda lived on the Douglass homestead located about about 10 miles southwest of Haigler. Their first son, Lorenzo, was born there. Then in 1956, they moved to town and lived in the Vanderford house, which they rented from Floyd Trembly. They later moved to the Wonder house where their second son, Lloyd, was born. In 1958, they bought the Crouse house from Orville White and Norma and Roger were born there.

In 1963 they bought the old Wiley shop and started the Douglass 6 Service and Repair business where Veda worked as the secretary.

In 1972, Veda acquired her GED in Sterling, Colorado

Her husband, Lloyd, died on July 22, 1975 and is buried in the Haigler cemetery. Veda had two kids to finish raising and worked hard to take care of them and in 1981 graduated from college in Goodland, Kansas with a secretarial degree and worked as a secretary in Imperial, Nebraska for a few years before moving back to Haigler and worked as a caretaker for the elderly.

Veda retired in 2002 at the age of 75 years old and has spent her time visiting her kids.

Happy Birthday, Veda
The story of all the happenings in your life was very interesting. I did not know you had moved to that many different homes in Haigler.
We hope to see you at the Douglass reunion.
--Esther Poe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VEDA,

DALLAS ADAMS

Happy Birthday, Veda. I hope you have a wonderful celebration and a happy birthday on the 11th.

-- Sherri Gregory

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Happy Birthday Veda!!! We are making plans to come see you and yours on Saturday.

LaVoine and Glenda

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Send your greeting for Veda to be added to this post.

Old Age and Treachery

When I got married, the wife and I decided that if we had arguments, the loser would take long walks to get over being so mad. I suppose I have benefited mostly by 68 years of fresh air. HEH!!!

Medically, I am benefiting by my loss of hearing --- that is good. Two kinds of hearing anyway????. Hearing and worth hearing. Ha!!

Retirement: The best thing is the never ending coffee break.

School: If I enroll in a class and then decide to cut class, no one calls my parents.

Retired: Retirees don't mind being called "Seniors" when there is a 10% discount.

Memory: I don't want to go there! All I will tell you is that it is tough and recall does not come easy. HOOOAAHHHHHH!!!!!! Hawaii has 16 letters in their alphabet. Why don't we??? Things would be easier to remember with less letters.

Treachery: I never knew there was such a word - or is it disguised by another word with a different meaning.

-- Submitted by Dallas Adams

Newborn Moose in the Yard!

These pictures of a baby moose with its mother on the front lawn of a house was sent by Vicky (Decker) Scott, who lived for a short time on the Mahon place north of Haigler with her parents Bill and Marcia Decker, when she was a child. The person who took the pictures is a friend of hers and writes:

In my 33 years in Alaska , I have never seen a newborn baby moose. This one was not even a half a mile from our house. The mother picked a small quiet neighborhood and had her baby in the front yard at 5:30 am. We were out bike riding when we came upon the pair. The lady across the street from this house told us she saw it being born. We saw them at 5:30 pm . So the little one was 12 hours old. What an awesome place we live in to see such a site.

Enjoy!

-- Submitted by Don Smith

The Golden Phone

A man in Topeka, Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there.

Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read "Calls: $10,000 a minute". Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign.

The pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to God. The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.

Finally, he arrived in Nebraska. Upon entering a church in Nebraska, behold - he saw the usual golden telephone. But *THIS* time, the sign read "Calls: 35 cents." Fascinated, he asked to talk to the pastor, "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute, your sign reads only 35 cents a call. Why?

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied "Son, you're in Nebraska now......It's a local call."

*American by Birth - A Husker by the Grace of God*

101st Dundy County Fair - July 26 - 29

--ads from The Benkelman Post and New-Chronicle, July 18, 2007

Mark McVey

Let's keep Mark McVey in our prayers. He has been diagnosed with West Nile Fever and has been very ill.

Thanks Cal for keeping us updated.

Haigler's 6th Annual Bluegrass Breakdown

Haigler's 6th Annual

Bluegrass Breakdown

Sunday, August 5th, 2007

Noon to 6:00 pm mountain time

at the Haigler Village Park

Haigler, NE

FEATURING:

The Blue Canyon Boys from Boulder, CO

The McLemore Family from Colby, KS

and The Bluegrass Sheiks from the Colorado front range.

Presented by HIC (Haigler Improvement Committee) with the support of the Nebraska Arts Council.

Meals available in the park.

Bring your lawn chairs.

No cover charge!

We will pass the boot and gratefully accept your donations! (Proceeds go towards village improvements and continuing the HIC Scholarship.)

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

--Jody Crouse

School 67 South alum visits Dundy

Senior U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright of Kansas City, Missouri, visited the Haigler/Benkelman area on Tuesday, July 10. He was en route to Vail, Colorado, for meetings, but wanted to re-visit Dundy County. Senior Judge Wright is an alumnus of the one-room country school District 67 South and was thrilled to learn of the preservation and restoration project of this old schoolhouse. He gladly added his name to the list of donors for the project, and said: "I look forward to returning to Haigler after the school is moved and will watch its progress on the Haigler Blog."

Born in a stone house on a farm west of Haigler to Jesse and Irline (Slaughter) Wright, he has wonderful memories of growing up in this area. His elementary school classmates included Lester Adams, Ward Wonder, Stanley Long and Harriet Long. Senior Judge Wright served as a Marine Corps aviator and member of a Dive Bomber Squadron during World War II before obtaining a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1950. His legal career alternated between private practice and stints as a prosecuting attorney. He was appointed to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and served as chief judge from 1985-1990. He assumed senior judge status in 1991.
--The Benkelman Post & News-Chronicle, July 18, 2007

Grandma went to High School in their One-Room School House

Question:

In the box of things you loaned me last time I was there, is a memento from the Shady Nook school dated 1906. It has Mae, Georgia, Arthur, Pearl, Ruth and Leah Bartlett all as pupils. Wouldn’t Grandma have been 20 years old that year??? Did those country school go clear through high school? I am just curious about why Grandma 20 years old and Georgia 17 years old would have been in school.

Answer:
Yes, Back in those days the older students went to school after farm work was done in the fall. My mamma went to school some years after she was 20. Gramma Bartlett told me 25. In Jewell County. I know that she was taking algebra but some crank in the district complained about the teacher taking time to teach high school subjects so she didn't get to finish. The older students would help with the younger ones so I think that it was unreasonable for a complaint.

It was soon after that that they moved to Cheyenne County. She and Aunt Georgia didn't go to school anymore . And Uncle Art had to farm. Some of the younger ones went to Parks and/or Benkelman high school. And then when Frances was ready for high school, grandma moved to St. Francis with her and Harry. I will ask Margaret if Harry finished 8th grade there--those years. Frances got married before she graduated.
Also Aunt Georgia moved in to town too and the girls went to school there. Margaret remembers the school there. She tells about coming home and telling about a little boy named "Blowey" in her class. (Wyndon Hurlock)

Groundbreaking for District 67 South Project

Floy sent me some pictures of the site where the District 67 South school building will be placed on the Carlock lot, just north of The Golden Inn.

The people in the pictures are some of the Wall family who were there for the groundbreaking ceremony.

It would be fun to hear from some of you who were in attendance to add your comments to the history of this project. I hope you will send your impressions and thoughts. Click here to send an email or click on the comments link below.

Can anyone name the people in the pictures?

New Highway Surface in Haigler

The new surfacing of Highway 34 through Haigler is appreciated, especially the smoothing over of the chuck holes created by last winter's snow and ground thawing.

A Note from Michael Palmer

I am not a Haiglerite. However I am checking out these pages for my mother. My mother Cleo (White) Palmer and my pa William (AKA Tabby) Palmer grew up in the area.

What is in the water around there? My father was also a twin (His brother was Stanley who passed at a very young age.

I believe ma was a school marm’ at the local school there in 43’. I will have to do some checking with the kin. Haigler has been a big part of our lives even though I haven’t been there for some years. After the second Great War, Ma and Pa ended up coming to Colorado to teach.

Some where along the line ma had to stop teaching to take care of the 13 little ones (now a lot of big ones). For many years we went back to see the old homestead, but when Uncle R’ (Archibald Palmer) passed those trips seemed to fade away. Dad passed in 2001, and we are preparing to celebrate ma’s 85th in October.

My thanks to Patty Ann for letting us know about the site. I will make sure that the older siblings find the site and they may share some or their memories with ya all’.

Michael Palmer
Pueblo, Colorado

Senior U.S. District Judge from Haigler

Senior U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright of Kansas City, Missouri spent Tuesday, July 10 in the Haigler area. He is an alumnus of country school 67 South and was excited to know it is being saved and restored. He enjoyed having lunch at Jakes' Place with the Carlock brothers and talking with Lester Adams--who was in elementary school with him at 67 South.

CBBQ Depot - Haigler, Neb 1969

This is the web site that I found the Haigler,Neb R/R Depot on. When you're looking at the picture, the window on the right was the main office. Glen Childers ran the depot and was the boy scout leader at the time. I had noticed a musket loader rifle on the wall and questioned him about it. He loaded the gun and I shot it out of that window. I didn't hit what I was aiming at, but it filled the office full of smoke.

--Richard Hoover
CLICK HERE! : Penny Postcards

Happy Birthday to Leonard Rose

Leonard Rose and his family lived along the same road we lived on when I was growing up. We sometimes caught a ride partway home from school with him when he came to pick up Connie from school. I was in the eighth grade that year and Connie was in the first. I remember that he would come and get the skimmed milk that we saved in a 50 gallon barrel after we had separated the cream off. He would feed it to his pigs, I think. I also remember one awful day when he was rushed to the doctor after getting his hand caught in the corn picker. I believe he lost his thumb that day.

We affectionately called him "Nerd". That was before we knew that the word meant something other than a nickname we made up for him because his name was Leonard.

He was a good neighbor and my dad liked and respected him.

Happy Birthday, Leonard!

Haigler Note in a Biker's Journal

Day 13 - June 15, 2003
Yuma, CO

It was Fathers Day today, so after breakfast, the first order of business was to call our dads and thank them for all they’ve done for us. With that completed, we carried on with our plans for the day.

More flat riding today. No real climbs to speak of, just miles of relatively flat roads with a couple of big rolling hills. Nonetheless, Jim was pretty tired today. Nothing seemed to get him into his groove. These long stretches of flats can take their own toll on the body. Maintaining the same position for miles can be extremely demanding and it becomes a real mental challenge to stay focused. Being the athlete he is, Jim managed to make it through another rough day, with Angie and me pulling on the bikes during our turns.

We crossed into Nebraska today and also into the Central Time Zone later in the afternoon. We made sure to take some photographs to mark our fifth state.

I experienced the goodwill and genuine helpfulness from the folks in Nebraska first-hand. I mistakenly thought that if a town was big enough to appear on a map that it would, at the very least, have a gas station. I pulled into Haigler, Nebraska, and quickly found out that it did not have a traditional gas station. I parked outside the Haigler Country Club Restaurant and walked in to get the scoop from a local resident. When I found out that the next gas station was nearly 30 miles away, I became a little worried. That’s when Gladys Holloway, owner of the restaurant, came to the rescue. She let me borrow her “co-op gas card” that allowed me to refuel at a location normally used to fill the gas tanks of tractors and cars of local residents. I pumped 10 gallons of gas, repaid her in cash, and thanked her for her act of kindness. She refused to take any money for helping me, so instead I told her I’d write about her in my update. Thanks, Gladys.

Riding Miles: 120

Link to Blue Canyon Boys Schedule

The Blue Canyon Boys will be one of the groups featured at the Bluegrass Breakdown on August 5.



Blue Canyon Boys Schedule

Wants & Warrants

A strange man was seen wandering the streets of Haigler on the week-end of July 7 & 8. The Ruggles Detective Agency snapped a shot of the suspect, looking for search or seizure information of the suspect. A warrant was not issued for the local jail, as bail could not be posted. Suspect immediately fled across the state border in order to keep from being apprehended for a night in the Haigler Jail! No bread and water for this kid who likes 'sit-down' menu service with waiters serving all the entree's of delicious food.

Not much information was obtained during the questions from the Ruggles Detective Agency as the suspect seemed to have a case of mild amnesia and had a hard time understanding why he was being entertained by the local Post Editor! (Heh)!!

Deputies from the surrounding areas started converging on the Haigler area, but the suspect knew the backroads of the sandhills and sand-dune areas. The red car ended up being grey-brown from the dust and went unrecognized, so the suspect made a clean escape from the whole territory - totally unscathed. The wants and warrants got squashed by the local district attorney as prepondance was not clear enough as to who htis eusive person was wandering the streets of Haigler. Whew!!! Narrowly got out of town - back to my domain. Yipee!!

The picture depicting the suspect in the photograph was not me - but a close image. You know what I mean???

-- Submitted by Dallas Adams

Haigler Visit

Dallas Adams was in the Haigler area for a family reunion this weekend and stopped by to see Ray and Floy Ruggles.

Floy snuck a picture of him and sent it to me. I'm sure Dallas will have some comments to share when he gets home and sees this post!

I hope he will tell about the family reunion and share some pictures.

Happy Birthday - Brenda (Brewer) Schilk

Brenda (Brewer) Schilk grew up in the Haigler area. She is the daughter of Leah (Gregory) and Dwight Brewer who farmed "The Gregory Farm" with my folks. Mom & dad retired and moved to Colorado where my mom taught school, then on to Tucson, Arizona and Dwight & Leah bought the farm from them.

But back to Brenda. She is a true farm child. She loved living in the country and had many "farm animal" pets when she was growing up. The one I remember the best is "Pet", the banty chicken who attended the family Thanksgiving gathering in 1983.

Brenda is now a nurse, is married and has two wonderful little boys. They live in Tucson, Arizona.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENDA!!

Dundy County Fair

From the article in The Benkelman Post and News-Chronicle this week, it looks like the Dundy County Fair will be a fun place to be on July 21 through 29.

The week's events are as follows:

Saturday 6:00 p.m., July 21 - The Enduro car race
Sunday 6:00 p.m., July 22 - Tough Truck Races
Wednesday 6:00 p.m., July 25 - Christian Music by the Franz Family
Thursday 6:00 p.m. July 26 - Turtle Races
Thursday 8:00 p.m., July 26 - Grandstand Show featuring Mustang Creek
Friday 5:30 p.m., July 27 - the Jaycee's Barbecue
Friday 6:30 p.m., July 27 - Mutton Bustin' - Sheep Riding Event
Friday 7:30 p.m., July 27 - Tri-State Ranch Rodeo
Saturday, July 28, All Day - Art Show
Saturday 10:30 a.m., July 28 - 2007 Parade, "Into the Next Century"
Saturday 12:30 p.m., July 28 - Mud Volleyball
Saturday 3:30 p.m. July 28 - Motocross Racing
Sunday 8:30 a.m. July 29 - Worship Service
Sunday 1:00 p.m. July 29 - Horseshoe Pitch
Sunday 6:30 p.m. July 29 - Demolition Derby

There will be a Bale Decorating Contest; an event open to anyone at no charge. The challenge is to decorate a large round hay bale which will be displayed beginning on July 23. The judging will occur by public ballot on July 27. Winners will be awarded prizes of $10, $25 & $50.

The 4-H exhibits will also be on display at the fairgrounds.

Contenders Wanted for Enduro Race

2007 MotoCross Race

Birthdays Anyone?

Surely there is someone that has a birthday in July!!

The calendar only shows two birthdays at the end of the month, so if you know someone who has a birthday this month, click on the calendar on the right sidebar and put them on so we can wish them a Happy Birthday!

It's easy to do: Just click on the date and enter the person's name where it says "Calendar Text" and choose the "Category" of Birthday. You can even enter something in the "pop up Text", which will pop up in a new window when people click on it.

If you have a Haigler Event that you would like to add, feel free to do that too.

Just CLICK HERE to go to the Calendar.

4th of July - Independance Day!

When I was a kid, the fourth of July was always a special day. We were almost always cutting wheat that day so it was a working day for us. And if you grew up on a wheat farm, you didn't go off and have a party, go to the lake or take the day off - etc. You always "made hay while the sun was shining!" (or in this case "wheat").

But my dad was not only a farmer, he loved parties, and gatherings of any kind. He thrived on "visiting" with neighbors and friends, so even though we put in a full day of hard work, we always hurried and cleaned up in time to rush the 20 miles to Wray to watch the fireworks. But first, he liked to tease us, his favorite kids, by pretending we weren't going "this year". We always fell for it and begged him to go until he would relent and load us in the car and take us, where we would meet up with Owney, Floy and our cousins, Mel and Garry Fisher and in later years, when we were big kids, our special little cousin Sharna.

No matter how we now celebrate Independance Day, we are always reminded that today is our country's birthday and still a special day to Americans. So however you spend the day today, HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!

Ward Bond - Dundy County Native

Click on the link below to read about Ward Bond

I will be visiting the Benkelman City park on July 7, which was named after Ward Bond. (Family Reunion is the reason for my visit)

There are pages and pages, or hours and hours of visiting time on this site.

-- Respectively submitted, Dallas Adams
Ward Bond
Biography