Columns

BULL

Following a long discussion this weekend with a few friends, mainly about the upcoming basketball and wrestling seasons, it took me back to the “old days,” while growing up in Shelton, the days I was a Bulldog.

While I played, there were only four classes in basketball, just as wrestling still is today; A, B, C and D.

We didn’t have the breakdowns in C and D as there are now, which honestly, I wish there would have been, because in the early 80s when I played, there were more schools in Nebraska, so Class C, which Shelton was at the time, we played many larger schools, including Gibbon, Wood River, Kearney Catholic. At least at the time they were larger.

We battled tough against the big schools, at least on the basketball court. Football, well that was another story during my run at good ole SHS.

RAMBLES

In August I took a vacation. Now, I know August seems like it was forever ago (at least to me it does), but that vacation stands out vividly in my mind despite the time that has passed.

In roughly four days I drove more than 1,700 miles around Nebraska. And when I say around, I mean I made a literal circle.

Obviously my starting point was Sutton, and from there I made my way up to my mom’s house in Oakland, where I spent a day and a half with her, along with visiting my siblings, grandma, niece and nephews.

Early that Saturday morning, I started my journey west, with no particular path in mind other than heading some place new.

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By Tory Duncan

Monday night as I was penning the Bull, I thought throughout the day Monday and the entire month of November, what/ who am I thankful for.

You see, it all began with a “challenge” from the heart I received in October. Select a person or people that you are thankful for and reach out to them. As the “rules” were laid out to me, reach out to people that maybe you haven’t seen or heard from in a long while. Maybe it’s someone you see everyday, but make an impact on their heart, as well as your own heart. Go see someone that you haven’t for the longest time. Send a card to someone that has impacted you in some way or another.

Being thankful, what does it mean to you? As you sit down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day, send a prayer from your heart to someone that needs a little extra pick me up; for that matter, simply let someone you know that you care!

By Ashley D. Swanson

At this time of the year, families are bustling with activity, whether it’s school concerts, sports games, or simply preparing for the upcoming holidays.

I was thankful for a break on Sunday from the constant go that is life.

Loetta turned 16 years old! So naturally we had to celebrate her; turning 16 is a big deal.

Due to the recent births of two more cousins, our family has grown quite a bit, so although Sunday served as a break for everyone, it was busy with two new babies, as well as five other kids.

It’s rare that all of my cousins can get together, and although we were missing my brother and youngest sister, it was nice to see all of them together for once.

My family is pretty amazing. No matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other, when we all finally have a chance to get together it’s as if we only saw one another the day before.

By Tory Duncan

Sunday was a day in which a great deal of emotions were being shared both personally and through social media (for me directly...Twitter). It was the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended World War I. Obviously never having been through war and conflict, I found a “share” on Twitter that really hit home...it put me back in time...1918, Nov. 11, 1918 to be exact.

THE OBSERVATION

The following is a reflection from Eddie Rickenbacker, an American air ace, describing the moment of armistice from 500 feet above “noman’s land” in his plane. “I glanced at my watch. One minute to 11, thirty seconds, fifteen. And then it was 11 a.m., the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. I was the only audience for the greatest show ever presented.

By Ashley D. Swanson

The village of Byron has a population of 81, according to the 2016 census. It has one grocery store, a barber shop, a bar, bank, volunteer fire department, post office, community center, an auto repair shop, a small fabric shop and an elevator.

Why am I telling you about this small speck on a map? Simply because it’s small and yet, despite a massive drop in population between 2009 and 2010, and a continual decrease since then, the village hasn’t died yet.

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By Tory Duncan

Nebraska in many ways, regarding high school football, is very unique in some aspects...in other ways, we’re just like most other state’s playoff systems, but something really made me think after the first week of the NSAA playoffs for all six classes.

First off, the D-1 and D-2 playoffs with still having 32 teams advance to the playoffs is far too many teams. This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this, especially after the C-1 and C-2 playoffs backed off from 32 teams to 16.

Class C-2 was the only class this year that didn’t have a team with a losing record advance.

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By Ashley D. Swanson

Loetta and I spent Saturday in Clay Center preparing for the community club’s second annual haunted house.

This year our mission was to scare people worse than last year, which sounds mean, but it was all in good spirit.

A majority of the day was spent setting the 4-H building up—with the amazing help of the Piper family. Then 5:30 p.m. rolled around, which meant it was time for makeup.

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