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Murdock Newsletter - March 9, 2011

HELLO MURDOCK!

 

Historical Tidbit of the Week

In the summer of 1873, a school was built on the SE corner of Section 4, near the corner of 298th and Mill Road.  It was called Maine Land School.  The schoolhouse seved as both a school and a church for the Mainelanders.  Early congregational preachers who served the community were the Rev.  J.B. Chase, Rev. Leavitt from Ashland, Rev. Diffenbacker from Ashland, and Rev. Dean from South Bend.

So why did the Mainelanders leave?  Perhaps language was the reason.  Some of the families became discouraged and went back east.  Some heard that more land could be homesteaded in the west. In this area, only an 80 was given by the government.  In some cases the head of the household died as with Samuel Carter and Luther Holden.  As Mainelanders left, first generation Germans bought the land.  Soon, Germans surrounded them on all sides.  It was probably difficult to communicate.  It was easier to move on to such places as Weeping Water, where a Congregational Church and community had already been firmly established.
(Thanks to Dale Vanderford for the Historical Tidbit)

Upgrades to the EM Junior/Senior High School

The Elmwood Murdock Junior & Senior High School is benefitting from the Build America Bonds set up by President Obama.  They have new speakers on the stage, new lights in the new gym, and new curtains.  They will be getting new bleachers both on the floor and the stage, too.  The most visible enhancement is the new parking lot being built across the street from the school.  The house that sat there was torn down last week.  The lot will be used for staff parking and buses.  It will be available for the next school year.

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Lofte Theatre Honors Its Volunteers


On Saturday, February 26 the Lofte held its Volunteer Recognition Banquet and Annual Meeting.  Nearly 80 people packed the Lofte stage and enjoyed laughter, fellowship, and great food.
During the course of the evening, three outstanding individuals were recognized for their volunteerism at the Lofte during the 2010 season.  Alyssa Di Paolo of Elmwood was recognized for her outstanding service as a Lofte usher.  2010 was Alyssa's first year at the Lofte and in addition to acting in two of its productions (Guys 'n Dolls and Jake's Women) she was the "go to gal" when it came to taking on the usher duties.
Connor Willingham of Omaha (formerly of Plattsmouth) was awarded the Outstanding Backstage or Technical Award.  Connor ran lights/sound for three of the five Lofte productions last year (Heaven Can Wait, Guys 'n Dolls and Jake's Women).  His outstanding focus and ability to run all light/sound cues perfectly earned him the respect and admiration of many at the Lofte.
Nikki Biesterfeld of Louisville won the Overall Best Volunteer Award.  A longtime friend of the Lofte, Nikki and her husband Jamion ran the Lofte's concession stand for eight years.  During and since that time, she has taken on many other duties as well.  Her enthusiasm to tackle any job and ability to complete them all with aplomb made her an obvious choice for the Board of Directors.
A special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Box Office Manager and Board Member, Jean Colbert.  Board Chairman Anne Pope said, "Many volunteers have come and gone over the Lofte's thirty-five  seasons, but none have dedicated quite so much to the theatre as Mrs. Colbert."  In honor of her many duties and shifting roles over the past three decades, a plaque was given to Mrs. Colbert and the box office ticket booth was named in her honor.
Artistic Director Kevin Colbert also announced his play selections for 2012.   The Sunshine Boys, Music Man, Almost Maine, Whose Wives Are They Anyway and Christmas at Leon's will all take their turn on the Lofte's stage next year. In the meantime, all are focused on the 2011 season and hoping that we see growth in both ticket sales and number of new volunteers!


Pictured below:  Lofte Board Chairman, Anne Pope (left) and Artistic Director, Kevin Colbert (right) honor Jean Colbert (center) for her 35 years of service to the Lofte Community Theatre in Manley.

Lofte

 

 

NACT Festival March 16-20

The Lofte is proud to announce that it has been selected as host site for the 2011 Nebraska Association of Community Theatre's Festival competition.  There will be a total of ten community theaters from across the states of Nebraska and Missouri competing in a one-act play competition.  This marks the largest number of registered participants in recent years.  Winners earn the opportunity to advance to the American Association of Community Theaters Region V competition in Salina, Kansas in April.

The NACT was founded in 1966 and is dedicated to the growth and development of community theaters throughout Nebraska.  The organization holds an annual conference at rotating locations across the state.  Every other year, they hold a festival competition in addition to their business meetings and workshops.  2011 marks the first year that the Lofte Theatre has been selected as a festival site.

The state of Missouri has a similar organization, MoACT, but they were unable to organize their own festival activities this year.  When NACT extended an invitation to some of the Missouri theaters to join in the fun, several accepted the offer with enthusiasm.

Closed rehearsals will be held at the Lofte on March 16 & 17.  Performances begin at 6pm on Friday, March 18.  All performances are open to the public.  Admission is $10 per person, per day.  Therefore, for a cost of $10, an individual can choose to see just one performance or stay for the entire day!  On-site concessions will be available during the course of the competition.

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Registration still open for Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop

Workshop rescheduled for March 22-23

The 2011 Governor's Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop is rescheduled for March 22-23 at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center in Kearney.

The workshop, originally scheduled for the first week of February, was postponed due to hazardous weather and travel conditions. All of the original speakers will be presenting at the March workshop, including keynote speaker Stan Meador.

Meador-founder, owner and general manager of the X Bar Ranch Nature Retreat in Eldorado, Texas-will share 15 years worth of experiences with starting and running a tourism enterprise on his family's fifth-generation ranch. This "nuts and bolts" presentation will help participants better understand why and how to diversify, how to manage various businesses operating on the same piece of land, and how to market a recreation product.

Previous registrants do not need to re-register. Those who now are unable to attend can contact Tom Tabor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for a refund. Others interested in the workshop can register at www.VisitNebraska.gov/industry. Lodging is available at the Ramada Conference Center. A discounted block of rooms is being held for the Governor's Agri/Eco-Tourism Workshop until March 8.

The rescheduled workshop falls during the peak of the annual sandhill crane migration.  Participants interested in viewing the cranes while in the area, can reserve a blind through the Rowe Sanctuary & Iain Nicolson Audubon Center, 308-468-5282, www.rowesanctuary.org; or the Nebraska Nature & Visitor Center, 308-382-1820, www.nebraskanature.org.

 

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Bowhunter

 

 

If you have a child (12 - 18) who is interested in the Hunters Mentor Program they should take this bow hunting course!  More info coming later about the program.  Get them signed up for this course!

 

EMMA_Pancake

 

Mahoney

small_business_fair

 

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Help us thank our 2010 Democratic Candidates at a "Roast for Those Who Ran"

Featuring: Ivy Harper, Mike Meister, Tom White, and Vince Powers as MC

Saturday, March 19, 2011

6:00 pm - Reception and cash bar

7:00 pm  - Dinner and Program


The Exposition Center on the Cass County Fairgrounds

132nd St. and Highway 1, north of Weeping Water


Tickets:  $25/individual, $40/couple

May be purchased at:  http://www.actblue.com/page/casscountyroast/

Or purchased directly from many Cass County Democrats.


Call (402) 434-2180

 

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Everything Chocolate Evening
by Kirsten Wood

The *Everything Chocolate @ Your Library* event was held on Saturday, February 26, 2011 with plenty of chocolate treats that ranged from frozen to flowing with plenty of choices in between.

Approximately 70 guests dipped into two flowing chocolate fountains with fresh strawberries, marshmallows, peanut butter pretzels, shortbread cookies, apples, and bananas for dipping.  Then once the judging of the chocolate competition was done, the buffet was open to sample the approximately 20 desserts brought to share for the event.  

The tables were then assigned as teams to compete in a library scavenger hunt using both floors to complete such tasks as find authors with the same last name of three of your teammates.   The winning team, *The Kit Kats* finished all 15 tasks in about 15 minutes!  They were rewarded with bags of chocolates to take home.

With names like *Heavenly Sundae*, *Double Chocolate Mocha Meringue Kisses*, *Oreo Truffles*, or Double Chocolate Mint Dessert, judging the chocolate entries was not an easy task.  Our three judges, Fall Harvest Festival King, Dean Meisinger, Chocolate Moose Owner, Kit Ostaseski, and City Councilman, Pat Dugan deliberated long and hard but the winner was *Chocolate Mice* with *Chocolate Sponge Candy* taking second place.  

Karaoke closed out the evening*s fun including Pam Osthus singing, *The Rose*, Terry Flaherty and John Payton singing, *To All the Girls I*ve Loved Before*, and a reminder that *Tomorrow is just a day away*.   

Thanks to everyone for attending, sharing treats, and singing along, it was a fabulous evening!

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“The Otoe County Genealogical Society will host its 2nd Annual Otoe County Rural Schools Reunion from 10:00am to 2:00pm on April 2nd, 2011, at Harmony School, which is located at 6265 ‘Q’ Road (8 miles south of Nebraska City on Highway 75, and ½ mile west on ‘Q’ road).  Harmony School is a rural schoolhouse that was built in 1879 and was eventually closed in 1997.  It was purchased at a public auction in 1999, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

This reunion will include a picnic-style lunch provided by the society, a Spelling Bee, and a tour of the 130-year old rural schoolhouse.  In addition, it will also give visitors a chance to assist the society in identifying numerous unidentified rural schoolhouse photographs from several different school districts throughout the county.  The society received these photographs through a donation made by the Otoe County Clerk’s office, where these photographs had been stored in their vault for several decades and were just recently discovered last year.  So please come join us at the Harmony School and help us pay tribute to the outstanding contributions that these rural schoolhouses made in the education of our county’s youth for the past 100 years now!“

 

 

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Elmwood Murdock School Schedule

3/8/11 SOS Meeting at Elmwood
3/9/11 School Board Meeting @ Murdock
3/10/11 End of 3rd Quarter
3/11/11 No School - Spring Break
3/14-18/ 11 Terra Nova Testing -- Grades 4,8,11
3/16/11 ECNC MS Quiz Bowl @ E-M
3/17/11 FBLA Meeting
3/17/11 FCCLA Meeting
3/18/11 2010-2011 Kindergarten Registration @ Elmwood
3/18/11 Malcolm Music Contest
3/19/11 Class "C" State Band @ Kearney
3/21/11 ECNC HS Quiz Bowl @ Palymra
3/22/11 10-12 Honor Roll Trip
3/23/11 ECNC Art Clinic @ Weeping Water
3/24/11 HS Track @ Platteview
3/25/11 7-9 Honor Roll Trip

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