Old School Pictures

This one reads 50th Anniversary Picnic School District No 6 August 17, 1941, Fillmore County, Nebraska.  Did you know anyone who went to school at District No. 6?  The picture above is not dated.

1921 Exeter High Graduation Announcement

Exeter Centenial Parade on Video

Jennifer (Styskal) Faust found a copy of a video taping of the Exeter Centenial Parade.  Click here to go to youtube to view the Exeter Centenial Parade Video. Thank you Jennifer for sharing this treasure!

Where is it?

Where is it? Well, it's a new feature on the Village of Exeter website.  It is a picture taken in Exeter and you have to leave a comment on where you think it is. 
Here's the first one:

Exeter Man Receives Purple Heart Posthumously

This is a wonderful article about an Exeterite Hugh Wilson awarded the Purple Heart posthumous. Click here to read the article. He was the father of Hugh Wilson who lives in Exeter now.

Merry Christmas

Exeter Christmas Lights

 The Kuska's have tons of fun decorations at their house.

The Murphy's have a beautifully lit nativity scene.

Exeter Christmas Lights

 The lights at the home of Kay Due reflect on her honoring her son Alex Due who is currently serving in the Army overseas. There is a yellow bow on the top of the red white and blue lit tree.

 At the Mueller's home, the reason for the season is obvious.

Guest Story: Wayne Larsen

I grew up in Exeter during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s but left Exeter for college and then a life in Illinois. In July 2012, I visited Dayton, Ohio, to attend a theater festival. My partner had submitted a play script in Dayton Playhouse's annual play contest and was one of six finalists. At a reception for the playwrights, I met another contest finalist and his wife, Gretchen, who had come from Houston. While chatting with them, I mentioned that I grew up in Nebraska. Gretchen asked what part of the state I was from, and when I told her my hometown was near Lincoln, she asked the name of the town. I told her "Exeter."

"Oh, Exeter," she said. "Some of my family were from there."

I said, "What a coincidence," thinking she must be mistaken or she's kidding. I've lived outside Nebraska for more than thirty years and have only rarely met anyone who has even heard of Exeter.

I didn't pursue the subject with Gretchen then, and the conversation went to other things.

But later in the weekend, I met Gretchen again and asked the name of her family members from Exeter. She said the name was Larimer and that her grandfather and great aunt grew up in Exeter in the early part of the twentieth century. A little later, during the intermission of a play, I called my mother, Exeterite Bernie Larsen, who checked her copy of the EHS alumni directory. Sure enough, two Larimers graduated from the high school: Peter in 1905 and Alma in 1910.

When the playwrights and their partners gathered for dinner that evening, I told Gretchen what I had discovered. She was touched, and since then we've kept in touch. I recently sent her a postcard of the Exeter neon sign, and she emailed me, saying she had discovered the villageofexeter.com website, calling it her favorite site about Exeter. She especially enjoyed the stories about the Gentry family. And so did I. Thanks for a great way to keep in touch with all things Exeter.

Wayne Larsen

Murphysboro, Illinois

Thanks Wayne for sharing - glad you like the site.  Thank you for sending in your great story about what a special place Exeter is.

Does this look like grass?

The Village of Exeter recently transported its entire grass dump pile and had it spread out on a nearby field.  The pile in the picture is four days of a village employee pulling out the large chunks that were in the grass that was spread out that are obviously not grass, but were dumped by residents in the grass pile.  Chunks of concrete, pieces of signs, lots of large sticks and even a license plate were found in the pile.  The pile is for GRASS only. 

Christmas Lights Around Town

 The Tauriella's Home

The John and Janice Miller Home

Exeter-Milligan Jr and Sr High Christmas Program

The Exeter-Milligan Junior- Senior High Christmas Program was held Thursday evening in the Exeter gymnasium.

The Junior High Choir opened the evening performing “Deck the Hall” and “The First Noel” which was accompanied by Jordyn Brandt and Ella Wilkins.  The Junior High then gathered their instruments and played two band numbers, “Winter Fantasy” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

A special duet was performed by seniors Ashley and Meghan Miller, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” before the Senior High Choir was joined by the group Friends of Vocal, a group of selected Junior High choir members.  The group sang “La Loo, La Low.”

The five members of the Senior High Choir performed “Do You Hear What I Hear,” and “Sankta Lucia” with a special introduction by Madeleine Ensrud, a foreign exchange student from Norway who traditionally sings the song in Swedish each Christmas season as her father is from Sweden.

The Senior High Band did an outstanding job performing “’Handel’ For Christmas,” “Let It Snow! Let It Snow Let It Snow!” and “Winter Wonderland” before the Junior High band joined them to accompany the audience participation number “Christmas Sing Along.” (pictured below)

All of the evenings performances were directed by Mrs. Angie Murphy.

Exeter Bank Changes Name

First National Bank in Exeter recently announced that they would be changing their name to Generations Bank as of December 17^th.  

According to President Alan Emshoff, “The only change that our customers will notice is our name change, a new sign on the front of the bank and a new logo.”

The bank transitioned from a national charter to a state charter which required eliminating the use of national in the name of the bank, “We chose the name “Generations Bank” as a way to honor past generations of our customers, recognize the current generation and to continue the tradition of real community banking for the next generation.”

Generations Bank has been serving members of the area since 1934, and “we intend to continue to do so for generations to come,” according to Emshoff.