Christians in Action spend a day in service

Eleven members of the Christians in Action (CIA) group in Exeter spent Saturday, May 5^th serving the Exeter area for their Community Clean up day.  They picked up trash and sticks at two area parks and also helped two community members clean their flower beds.

Above– From the left, Malorie Staskal, Jozie Kanode and Patrick Murphy were part of the crew who picked up trash at the park.

Below – Planting flowers at the park in Exeter are members of the Christians in Action group.  During their Community Clean Up day Katie Mounce (far left), Alexis Uldrich (far right) along with Caitlin Murphy and Kayla Bonds (hidden) beautified the area around the Gilbert’s Park sign.

Exeter Class of 1958

The Exeter Class of 1958 from the left are:  Glory Pribyl Chab, Marilyn Loukota Harre, Lois Dumpert Thomsen, Carol Buell Grote, Robert Dinneen, Connie Drucker Gadt, Carol Finke Sternberg, Gerald Chapman.  Back row from the left: Tom Harre, Harold Casper, Jerry Chapman, John McCabe, Larry Starr, John Morgan, and Roger Schneider

Moore.

Fillmore County Newspapers to be digitized

Reading Fillmore County newspapers from as far back as the 1870s on your electronic device may soon be a reality.

The library directors from the five Fillmore County libraries have embarked on a journey to digitize the county's newspapers.  Upon the completion of this project, anyone with a computer and an internet connection will be able to access these accounts of life throughout Fillmore County's history.

The librarians have researched extensively to include as many Fillmore County newspapers as they can find.  Through this research, they have discovered over 20 different newspapers based in communities across the county, including (but not limited to):  Strang, Shickley, Ohiowa, Milligan, Grafton, Geneva, Fairmont, and Exeter.

Local print newspapers, including their microfilm counterparts, will be converted to digital format, then made available on a searchable website.  Advantage Preservation, a document management and preservation company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been selected to execute the technical phase, which includes utilizing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to make the newspaper images full-text searchable.

This endeavor is estimated to cost upward of $36,000, and slated to be completed by the spring of 2021 -- in time for Fillmore County's 150^th anniversary.  The Earl and Jessie Wilkins Fund, a donor-advised fund that operates under the Fillmore County Foundation, believes digitizing the newspapers of Fillmore County will preserve historic artifacts that are central to the narrative of this area.  To this end, they have awarded a two-to-one matching grant up to $24,000, to support the completion of this newspaper project.  Other generous support to kickstart this campaign has come from the Shickley Community Foundation, who awarded $3,500 to the project, and from the Fillmore County Genealogical Society, who pledged $1,000.

All newsworthy events, whether they be civic, personal or professional will be retrievable in the digitized newspaper images.  Anyone from around the world will be able to browse and search through advertisements, articles, obituaries, city and county events, sports and school announcements, club activities, political and court records, and much more.  One roll of microfilm can be sponsored for $130, which typically includes at least one year of newspaper images. 

 Monetary donations in any amount are welcome, and are tax-deductible within the extent of prevailing laws.  To make a donation, call or visit any Fillmore County library, where donation forms and brochures detailing the project are available.  Checks should be made payable to the Geneva Public Library Foundation.

York News Times Honors E-M Students

The York News Times honored Patrick Murphy and Kelsey Bigelow on their All-Area Academic Team for the past school year.  The students are chosen based on gpa.  Congratulations!

Exeter Class of 1948

1948 –  The Exeter Class of 1948 from the left are: Henry Schneider, Marion Kelly Geiger, Melva Loukota Green, John Wilson, Emma Jean Springer Dickey, and Cliff Peterson.

American Pickers are Coming to Nebraska

American Pickers’ will film in Nebraska EARLY SUMMER! The hosts are looking for people in your area with unique antique collections and interesting stories behind them. They are looking for large unique collections, interesting multi-generational family properties, or anywhere the guys can spend the better part of a day picking good stuff, get in touch with us ASAP! Sorry, no retail shops or single items. Please make sure people who have one of a kind items to sell reach out to us on our phone number 1-855-OLD-RUST (653-7878), or our email, which is AmericanPickers@cineflix.com. Mike and Frank only pick private collections so no stores, malls, flea markets, museums, auctions, businesses or anything open to the public. If you have additional questions, please contact Victoria Weinberg, Casting Associate, American Pickers on History, Email: vweinberg@cineflix.com, Phone: 646-561-8374

Fillmore County Development Corp attends conference

FCDC Staff Attends Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference

Patt Lentfer, Executive Director, and Mary Johnson, Administrative Assistant, of the Fillmore County Development Corporation attended the Connecting Entrepreneurial Community conference in Hastings on April 4^th and 5^th.

The keynote speaker was Josh Berry, of Econic, Inc.  Through examples of entrepreneurial communities, businesses and individuals, Berry shared the building blocks for getting started or re-energized for the entrepreneurial journey.  During his talk Berry discussed ways to cultivate the WHY (conviction + courage) and HOW (curiosity + action) of entrepreneurial success. 

Twenty-nine break-out sessions were held in various downtown Hastings businesses during the two days.  Topics were varied and covered everything from creating a vibrant downtown, transfer of leadership in rural communities, navigating cycles in communities and businesses, breaking down the retail apocalypse and understanding the emergences of bricks and clicks, and identifying business resources to address challenges to name a few.

Jessi Hoeft, Co-Founder of First Street Brewery and Ensign Beverage Co. ended the conference by telling her story of returning to Nebraska and her journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur.