Information taken from archived files of the Blue Valley Blade and the Seward County Independent for the second week of October.
1926
The Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company who operates the Garland exchange, are now making preparations to move into their own building, which was purchased some months ago. Garland now has a telephone office which will compare with any telephone office in towns of a like size.
Under school notes: Last Friday, the Seward foot ball team played the Exeter team at Exeter. A large truck was provided for all students who wished to go. Twenty-two pupils were allowed to go. It was a lively bunch. Songs were sung and yells were yelled and a good time was enjoyed by all. It is hoped that the privilege may again be granted to support the team.
1936
A telegram from the Lincoln Daily Star states that “President Roosevelt will speak at three o'clock Saturday afternoon from the capitol steps in Lincoln and at the Coliseum at Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha at 8 o'clock Saturday night.”
Seward will originate a radio program for station KFAB, Lincoln and Omaha, on October 10 when “The Man on the Street” visits here. Lyle DeMoss, KFAB program director, will interview local Seward residents in front of the Brockhoff drug store at 530 Seward street starting at noon. At that time, local residents will have their first opportunity to see a modern mobile broadcasting studio in action.
1946
Under news shorts concerning local and national affairs: Heard over the radio that it is being suggested that the government take over all meat wherever found, either on the block or on the hoof. We believe that if that is tried, it will be the last straw and there will be serious objections.
A photo caption read: Above are four views of the wreck on the Burlington railway last week, six miles south of Seward and half way between the Ruby siding and the O street road where it crosses the tracks. Twenty-three cars and the big engine were in the wreck. A car of sugar and several cars of beans were included. Seventy car loads of cattle were in the train, back of the wrecked cars.
1956
Children in Seward are invited this year to participate in a new style “Tricks or Treats” on Hallowe'en. Instead of collecting sweets for themselves, they will collect money for the United Nation's Children's Fund. Children will be given marked containers for their collections. After an hour of Tricks or Treats, the children will meet at designated places, where parties will be given for them.
On the week-end of Oct. 13-14, the members of the Seward county amateur radio emergency corps will conduct a simulated emergency test of the Seward county emergency plan. The purpose of this plan is to provide the Seward county area with emergency communications in the event of a disaster. The simulated test will be one of hundreds being conducted all over the nation.
1966
A petition from Seward County residents to place a proposal on the ballot to increase the number of County Commissioners from three to five has been filed with the County Clerk.
Law enforcement officers in Seward spent frantic hours trying to trace a rumor that an abandoned baby had been found in the Seward City Dump south of town. City and County officials now label the story a “hoax” which wasted many man hours in both departments. City Police Chief Percy Wilcox stated, “The person who starts this type of rumor should be well commended for his stupidity.”
1976
Grain harvest is in full swing and so are storage and transportation problems, according to Tom Ramsey of the Tamora-Staplehurst Coop. The Coop's elevator in Staplehurst experienced an all-time high grain delivery of 68,000 bushels of milo on Oct. 9. That was enough to push the elevator over the quarter million bushel mark for milo in a four-day period.
1986
A lot of planning and organization came to fruition this week as the Seward Post 3 U.S. Army Mothers host the national convention of the group in Lincoln. Martha Novak of Seward is national commander, and she said she would have liked to host the convention in Seward. However, since 50-75 people were expected to attend the three-day event, the Army Mothers required a larger facility than they could find in Seward. The convention is being held at the Airport Inn, Lincoln.
1996
A photo caption read: The Seward County Courthouse dome gets a third coat of paint on Oct. 3. County commissioners decided the dome should be touched up after streaks in the initial paint job, applied in August 1995, failed to blend in after six months, as had been anticipated.
Last year, the Seward Turkey Walk to benefit the American Heart Association was the largest event of its kind in the state. This year, volunteers have set a goal of involving 490 walkers and raising $8,000 in the Oct. 13 fund-raising affair, the sixth annual Turkey Walk in Seward.
2006
The village of Cordova is prepared to take drastic measures to get 462nd Road paved. The village board voted 4-0 with one member absent to look into moving to York County if the Seward County Commissioners don't reconsider their Aug. 15 decision to not move the road up on the improvement plan. They gave the board a deadline of Dec. 31 to revisit the road issue.
A photo caption read: Friday, Oct. 13, is the fifth anniversary of the Seward High bus crash. In 2001, the bus, carrying members of the band home from a marching competition in Omaha, went over the side of a bridge, killing students Ben Prescott and Ian Koehler and parent Tracey Kohlmeier and injuring dozens of others. Eric Bader, another student, died of his injuries a week later. Families and friends erected a bench at St. John Lutheran School in Ian's honor, and a plaque donated by Awards Unlimited is displayed in the Seward High trophy case.
2016
Dogs can officially run free at the Seward Dog Park. The dog park officially opened during its open house on Oct. 9.
Concordia University continues its climb up the “Best Regional Universities – Midwest” category of U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges rankings. In the 2017 edition, Concordia is ranked in the top 40 of 163 universities listed in its category, an increase of 14 spots in the last four years. Concordia has been ranked in the top tier of the annual report for 14 consecutive years.
