EdgarFest: Family fun for everyone
EdgarFest 2008 was billed as "family fun for everyone."
The day started with community-wide garage sales. Many out-of-county and out-of-state license plates were spotted at the garage sales. The Edgar Community Club sponsored the garage sales, which included advertising them in area newspapers.
The Edgar Church of the Plains was a "bee-hive" of activity all day. The women of the church displayed many quilts they have worked on this year, with many of them donated to the Crossroads Center in Hastings. They also served refreshments along with fellowship for the people who viewed their handiwork.
The HALO (Heaven's Angels Loving Others) youth of the church showed their industriousness by having a bake sale and a car wash. The proceeds of their endeavors will support their activities next year.
The antique tractor pull, organized by the Edgar Lions Club with sponsorship by local businesses and individuals, was another crowd-pleaser. Plaques for first, second and third place winners in the various classes were done by Lovgren Machining, and they provided a home-town trophy to be valued by the avid tractor pullers. Many spirited and competitive pulls were witnessed by a good crowd of spectators. The Lions Club concession stand reportedly did a lot of business during the tractor pull.
In the afternoon, 23 children and two adults met at the school for a bicycle road rally. Participants raced all over town while solving clues to their next destination. The Sandy Creek Wellness Council, under the direction of Brenda Searle and ReJean Elting, coordinated the rally.
The annual Edgar Fire and Rescue Squad beef pit barbeque with all the trimmings in the evening is always a big crowd pleaser and this year was no exception. The beef sandwiches were served to many hungry people.
The Little Tugger's tractor pull was a challenge for 39 children age four through 12. The top three winners for boys and girls in each age category also received a certificate to participate in the state Little Tugger's tractor pull during the State Fair on Aug. 23. Many competitors got a full pull of 50-feet, so "pull-offs" were required. There are apparently a lot of good future tractor drivers within the Edgar community. Results of the children's tractor pull are listed at the end of this article. This event was coordinated by the Edgar Community Club and underwritten by Guide Rock State Bank.
At 8 p.m., everyone assembled on main street to watch the parade of local individuals, groups, floats and a saddle club. Jason Searle, was the parade marshal again this year.
The last activity of the day was a free midnight swim provided by the City of Edgar and the lifeguard staff under the leadership of Janet Jones.
Results of the Little Tugger's tractor pull:
Girls age 4 - Brooklyn Nelson 1st, Hailey Bara 2nd, Jenna Beck 3rd.
Girls age 5 - Hannah Jackson 1st, Breanna Brennfoerder 2nd. Girls age 6 - McKensi Blau 1st, Lily Belknap 2nd. Girls age 7 - Kaylee Kathman 1st, Girls age 10 - Natasha Anderson 1st, Alyssa Brennfoerder 2nd. Girls age 12 - Sierra Jackson 1st. Boys age 4 - Zach Brennfoerder 1st, Tyson Kenton 2nd, Cale Lovgren 3rd. Boys age 5 - Josh Shaw 1st, Parker Shuck 2nd, Hayden Shuck 3rd. Boys age 6 - Nathan Nelson 1st, Seth Kenley 2nd. Boys age 7 - Luke Searle 1st, Joel Shuck 2nd. Boys age 8 - TJ Sorsen 1st, Peyton Johnson 2nd, William King 3rd. Boys age 9 - Dawson Johnson 1st, Tanner Johnson 2nd, Dylan Drennen 3rd. Boys age 10 - Brandon Skinner 1st, Austin Kinnaman 2nd. Boys age 11 - Colton Shuck 1st, Jordan Dole 2nd, Cody Stertz 3rd.

To return to the top of the page and choose another feature story, click here.

Deshler woman has long history with re-ride
With a passion for horses that just won't quit and a career of service with the United States Postal Service, Carol Anderson, Deshler, and the annual Pony Express re-ride seem to be a match made in heaven.
A Nuckolls County native, Carol is the retired postmaster of Deshler, where she lives with her husband, Jerry, a star route driver. She participated in her first re-ride in 1967 and has ridden every year possible since then.
This year, the first rider departed Sacramento, Calif., on June 18 and the final rider reached Pony Express Headquarters in St. Joseph, Mo., on Saturday. As in previous years, Oak was a featured stop along the historic route.
Depending on which direction the re-ride is traveling ­­ it alternates between east and west each year ­­ Carol is either the rider coming into Oak, or the rider departing Oak. This year's re-ride was west-to-east, so Carol relieved a rider who arrived at the station in Oak at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday. John Greer, Edgar, is the trail captain for a portion of the re-ride west of Oak; Dick Heinrichs, Hebron, is the trail captain for the Thayer County riders.
Carol rode the mile east of Oak, then was relieved by her daughter, Carrie Grimes, of Lincoln. Carrie is also a seasoned veteran of the Pony Express re-ride and typically trailers a horse from Lincoln for her leg of the journey.
"In 1967, my first year, I was pregnant with my first daughter, so it was a hot ride," Carol said. "Then for awhile, they didn't allow women to ride, but they had a difficult time finding enough men all the time, so they gave that up and let women ride again starting in 1990. All the years I could ride, I did."
Organizers were reportedly trying to make the re-ride as authentic as possible when they barred women; in 1860, only young, unmarried men were hired by the Pony Express.
Carol said she has ridden seven different horses in all her years with the re-ride. This year, she and Carrie rode the same horse ­­ a quarter horse owned by Carrie that is used to "pony" the thoroughbred race horses at State Fair Park in Lincoln. Carrie's husband trains thoroughbreds at State Fair Park and Carol said she now also owns one thoroughbred.
"The horse Carrie and I rode this year ponies race horses at a gallop for about 10 miles a day, so this wasn't much of a workout," Carol said.
Through the years, the unpredictable Nebraska weather has been a factor; one year, a tornado went through Oak shortly after the re-ride departed. This year, about an inch of rain fell in the area the night before, but the weather for the re-ride was reportedly pleasant.
"It was nice this year," Carol said. "It was a little muddy for the trucks and horse trailers, but nobody got stuck."
And if there ever is a problem along the route, Carol said today's "re-riders" have one distinct advantage over the original 1860 riders ­­ the cellular phone.
Among Carol's fondest memories of the re-ride is 1996, the year the Olympic torch was also carried on the route. Carol said they held practice sessions that year to help the horses and riders become familiar with the butane torches.
Carol's love of horses goes back about as far as she can remember. In the eighth grade at Nora, she rode a horse to school ­­ a seven-mile round trip ­­ nearly every day, and stabled her horse in the school's barn.
"I remember I would really be upset if my folks wanted to take me to school," she said.
She is the daughter of the late Clarence and Daisy Farver, formerly of Nelson. Her aunt and uncle, Gordon and Darlene Farver, still live in Nelson. Carol graduated from Nelson High School.
She and Jerry have four grown children: Gayle, J.D., Carrie and Jamyn. They also have three grandchildren and Carol said they are all pretty "horsey."
"I have about 10 horses myself, and when the kids are coming and going this summer, there'll be about 50 horses around our place," Carol said.
This year's route east was nearly 2,000 miles through eight states ­­ Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California ­­ and featured more than 550 riders and horses.
The Pony Express was a private mail service which operated between St. Joseph and Sacramento. It was founded April 3, 1860, and operated for 18 months until the connection of the transcontinental telegraph on Oct. 24, 1861.
It provided a 10-day delivery. Forty riders in the saddle in each direction, 190 stations and 400 station keepers kept the operation running smoothly. Riders were paid $25 a week and rode 10 to 12 miles before changing horses. They rode about 75 miles before being relieved.
Started by the Missouri freighting firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell, it was a dramatic attempt to capture a proposed mail contract. Although unsuccessful, it proved the central route as an all-weather transportation route. It is remembered as one of the enduring symbols of the American frontier.

To return to the top of the page and choose another feature story, click here.