FAMILY STORIES

Neumann High School and Kearney State College. He is presently employed at the Pioneer Health & Fitness & Sports Warehouse in Aurora, Colorado, as their sales representative.

Jerry and Dolores Peterson

   Both Jerry and I are active members of the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. Submitted by Dolores Peterson

   Marvin Peterson and his wife Yvonne, the daughter of Alvin and Annie Knudsen, and two of their children, Karen and John, moved to the family farm in Richland Precinct in 1966. The following spring their third child, daughter Julie, was born.

Front Row: Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Peterson; Back Row: Julie, John and Karen.

   The farm has remained in the family for three generations. Marvin's grandfather, Emil Peterson, who immigrated from Sweden and his wife, Mary, purchased the farm in 1898. Emil's son and Marvin's parents, Elmer and Mildred (Anderson) Peterson, assumed the farming responsibilities and maintained the farm until 1960.

   Marvin graduated from Ceresco High and Luther College of Wahoo. He served in the Armed Forces in Korea from 1958-1960. He worked at American Stores of Lincoln and farmed the family farm since 1966. Yvonne also graduated from Ceresco High and from the University of Nebraska of Lincoln and has taught elementary schools in the Ceresco area since 1955.

   Karen is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and is currently teaching at Cedar Bluffs. John is a sophomore at the University. Julie is a sophomore at Raymond Central High School where both her sister and brother graduated.

   Our family has been active in our church, Ceresco Evangelical Covenant, in community activities, and in sports. We feel it is a privilege and blessing to make our home in this great country, enjoying the "Good Life in Nebraska." Submitted by Mrs. Marvin Peterson

   My parents, Charles and Leona Peterson, are longtime residents of Wahoo in Saunders County. I grew up in Wahoo and attended Wahoo Public Schools where I graduated. After graduation, I attended Peru State College.

The Robert C. Peterson Family

   Except for 2 years in Arizona, I've spent most of my life in Wahoo. I am presently employed by Burlington Northern Railroad in Lincoln, Nebr.

   I married Mary L. Schiffern, daughter of Gladys Schiffern, and the late Charlie Schiffern. She was raised in Keya Paha County where her parents were ranchers. A graduate of Keya Paha County High School in Springview, Nebr., Mary attended Norfolk Jr. College and Wayne State College. She is presently employed as a teacher's aid in Special Education in the Wahoo Public Schools.

   We have four children, Tracy Ann (13), Amy Lou (11), Jennifer Lynn (5), and Jeffrey Robert (3).

   We are members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wahoo, where I was baptized and confirmed. Tracy, our oldest daughter, will be confirmed there in 1983. By Robert Peterson

   I, Doris Ann, was born in a little two-room farm house east of Valparaiso to Louis and Irene Zetocha Tvrdy on September 26th. This home was without electricity or plumbing. It was heated with a cob and wood-burning heater. The windmill provided us with water which had to be carried in by the bucketful.

   I started my education with a daily mile and one-half walk on an ungraveled road in Dist. 49 in Rock Creek township. Here I completed my K-8 grades. I boarded a bus to enter Valparaiso High. During my senior year I thought bus riding was enough and I decided to ride with a neighbor girl to school. I graduated with 22 classmates in the year of 1955. After graduation four classmates and I enrolled at Midland College in Fremont, pursuing a teaching career. Dormitory life was a new experience for me. I received my teaching certificate and returned to Saunders County to teach a rural school.

   Gene was born on November 21, 1935 near Loma, Nebraska in a farm house and attended a rural school near Loma. Later, his parents, Charles and Agnes Pesek Petrzilka, moved to Dwight where they purchased a business. Gene attended Assumption School. He loved to play football as a center, and lettered for five years. He graduated in the year of 1953. After graduation he attended Milford Trade School for two years and received his diploma in electronics.

Mr. and Mrs. Gene Petrzilka, Steven and Deanna

   Gene and I were married on June 25, 1957 at St. Mary's Church in Valparaiso. After a honeymoon to the western states, we made our first home in Tecumseh. Gene worked as a television technician in a store. Later, we moved to Lincoln where Gene continued his work in the electronics field. We moved back to Saunders County where I taught my home school, District 49. It was a thrill to teach in my school which I attended while I was a little girl. It brought back many fond memories.

   On December 3rd, 1959, our first child, a son, Steven, was born. He received his formal education in the Lincoln Public Schools. He graduated from Lincoln High. At the present time he is a senior at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He is majoring in the electronics field. His hobbies are photography and stamp collecting.

   Our daughter, Deanna, was born on March 7, 1968 in Lincoln. She attended Belmont and Goodrich Junior High School in Lincoln. She belongs to the Girls Scout Troop 180. She plays the violin and has taken ballet lessons for four years.

   My hobbies are crocheting, knitting and sewing clothes for Deanna and myself.

   We enjoy traveling, having driven across 26 states visiting historic sights. The most impressive was our vacation to Washington, D.C. A beautiful city with its lovely parks, magnificent public buildings and memorials. We spent several hours in the Smithsonian Institution and hope to return someday. Submitted by Doris Ann Tvrdy Petrzilka

   Douglas was born April 25th, 1844 in Wyoming County, New York. On August 5, 1862, at the age of eighteen, he volunteered service in the United States Army. He married Clara Harrington in Alexander, New York and they were the parents of four children: Marion A., Grace, May, and Alice. They homesteaded in Saunders County near Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska in 1868. They moved to Wahoo in 1879 where he operated a lumber yard with F.M. Stratton. A few years later, he purchased his own

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lumber yard which was incorporated in 1907 as the D.R. Phelps Lumber and Coal Company. He died August 3, 1907 and his son, Marion A., became president of the company. (Mrs. Douglas Phelps died March 20, 1907.)

   Marion was born June 10, 1871 in Saunders County, Nebraska. He graduated from Wahoo High School in 1889, and attended Lincoln Business College in Lincoln, Nebraska. He married Myrtle L. Nichols on September 21, 1898. She was the daughter of Wesley J. Nichols. Their children were Leland A., Edward, and Genevieve. He served as President of the Nebraska Lumber and Merchants Association, President of the Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Volunteer Fire Department. He was a member of the Lions Club, the Scottish Rite Masons and Sesostris Temple of the Shrine. Mr. Phelps died April 11, 1948. (Mrs. Phelps died December 31, 1963.)

   Wesley was born August 16, 1835 in Oswego County, New York. He served four years in the Michigan Light Artillery in the Civil War. In 1871, he moved to Saunders County southwest of Wahoo where he homesteaded until 1899 when he moved to Wahoo. He married Harriet Kenyon on February 13, 1868 and they were the parents of two children, Fred and Myrtle (wife of Marion A. Phelps).

   Leland was born November 10, 1899 in Wahoo, Nebraska where he graduated from Wahoo High School in 1917. He served in the United States Army, and attended the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska School of Business. While in Wahoo, he worked at the D.R. Phelps Lumber and Coal Company and served the community with officerships in the Wahoo Lions Club and the Volunteer Fire Department. He moved to Fremont on April 2, 1923 as Secretary of the D.R. Phelps Lumber and Coal Company and manager of the Fremont yard until it was sold in 1944. He is a registered Public Accountant, Past President of the Nebraska Association of Public Accountants, Past Board Member of the Nebraska State Board of Public Accountancy, Past President of Kiwanis, Past Commander of the American Legion, Past Chef de Care 40&8, Past Master Fremont Masonic Lodge #15, Past Patron Eastern Star. He is also a member of Tangier Shrine Temple. On September 10, 1924, he married Lucile Mapes and they have one daughter, Mary Louise (Mrs. Donald B. Keyser). Leland was also a life member of the Scottish Rite in Lincoln. Submitted by Ruth Way Anderson

   Schuyler, Nebraska was the place of my birth and for the first five years of my life. My father and mother, John and Bessie Hoagland, with my sister, Carrie, and brother, Glen, moved to a farm east of Central City, Nebraska. I particularly enjoyed the freedom of country life and it is still very much a part of me. After graduation from High School, I worked in Grand Island, Norfolk, then attended the University of Nebraska. Lincoln was my home until moving to Wahoo.

   I had qualms about moving to Wahoo. However, it soon became a very special place -- the friendly folk. Plus it is within easy driving distance to the cultural and sports events of the surrounding cities. Having strong feelings about the improvement of the community where one lives prompted my interest in the Girl Scout program. I became a leader, later serving as the Established Camp Director for northeast Nebraska for five years for the Prairie Hills Girl Scout Council. I also served on their Executive Board. With Mrs. Gus Anderson of Wahoo, we promoted the Girl Scout House in Placek Park, which is now used as a permanent meeting place and each summer for day camping. Working with young folk is rewarding and it was my good fortune to be chosen as Mother Advisor for the Wahoo Assembly, Order of Rainbow for Girls and selected a member of the Grand Cross of Color in connection with the State Assembly.

Mrs. William Placek (Gertrude)

   Not being one who formerly enjoyed group affiliations, that, later, has brought many of my most treasured memories: my membership in Stella Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star; serving as Worthy Matron; District Supervisor for the State for eight years; a Grand Officer in Grand Chapter for six years and elected as Worthy Grand Matron of Nebraska in 1969. Fine programs are sponsored by this Order, such as the Masonic-Eastern Star Home for Children at Fremont, ESTARL (Eastern Star Training Awards for Religious Leadership), and an Educational Loan Fund available for college students. My membership in the Naphis Temple, Daughters of the Nile, at Lincoln gave me an opportunity to serve as an officer and become better acquainted with that fine group.

   It was a privilege to serve as President of Chapter I, PEO; as Saunders County Chairman of the American Cancer Society for 14 years; also on the State Executive Board of that organization for 12 years. It was rewarding to serve on the Wahoo Masonic Temple Craft Association for 18 years. There is now a close association with all the Past Grand Matrons and Patrons of Nebraska as I serve as the Secretary for their group. With my husband, William, the Wahoo Saddle Horse Club was organized.

   Most of all, I treasure my membership in the Presbyterian Church. Happy events cannot be wrapped up in a few words, such as one's family, traveling, Canadian fishing trips, owning horses and attending sports events. All one could ask for is continued good health. Thank you, Lord! Submitted by Gertrude Placek

   William Placek, now living in Wahoo, Nebraska, was born in Milligan, Nebraska, May 30, 1900. He is the grandson of Jan and Katherine Placek who immigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1868. In 1872, railroad land was purchased near Milligan where they moved from Crete, Nebraska. He attended school in Milligan. While in high school, he worked his Junior and Senior years as a bookkeeper for the Nebraska State Bank. He graduated in 1919. In 1920, he became associated with the Nebraska Culvert and Manufacturing Company of Wahoo. March, 1920 he went to live in Grand Island. The summer and fall of that year he spent on a construction job, installing culverts on a highway project. That fall he entered the Nebraska School of Business in Lincoln. After graduation he returned to Grand Island to sell culverts and road machinery. On June 24, 1925, he was united in marriage to Carrie Hoagland of Central City, Nebraska. A daughter, Willa Jean, was born to this couple. He lived in Norfolk, Nebraska from 1929 to 1935, then was transferred to the Wahoo Office. In 1939, he was promoted to the position of Sales Manager. After a short illness, his wife died December 17, 1940. He was united in marriage on February 25, 1942 to Gertrude Hoagland of Lincoln, Nebraska.

William Placek

   In 1942, the Nebraska Culvert and Manufacturing Company became a part of the Iowa-Nebraska Division of Armco Drainage and Metal Products, Inc. of Middletown, Ohio. At this time he was elevated to State Manager, which position he held until 1955, at which time he was appointed Manager of prefabricated steel building sales, with headquarters in Wahoo. Mr. Placek is a veteran in the culvert industry, having spent over forty years in sales and promotion of drainage products.

   During his years in Wahoo, among his many activities, he served as President of the Wahoo Chamber of Commerce; seven years as a councilman for the City of Wahoo and served as a bank director for several years in Wahoo and Malmo, Nebraska. January, 1962 he joined the staff of the First National Bank as Vice-President. He retired from that position in 1972. While on the City Council, the committees he served on were responsible for opening the swimming pool, developing three new parks (Belaire, Cook and Placek), promoted the need for a new City Hall, fire station and library, which was built during his tenure.

   Mr. Placek is a member of the Presbyterian Church and affiliated with the Shrine, Scottish Rite, Masonic Lodge and the Order of the Eastern Star. He is now serving as the Secretary of the Wahoo Lions Club. He is a charter member of the Saunders County Historical Society which was organized in 1963. He served as Treasurer for 15 years, retiring in 1978. At present he is associated with the Economy Housing Company, serving as president of the Company. By William Placek

   On a cold January Sunday in 1946 Paul and I came to live on a farm three miles south of Weston. We came from St. Paul, Nebraska where both of us were born, grew up, and were married. It was in the same church and with the same priest that my parents were married by that Paul and I were married on June 1, 1943.

   My parents, Lewis and Lillian (Polansky), lived in Omaha the first few years of their married life. They then moved to a farm near St. Paul until

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