I-80 W near North Platte, NE. (Jack)
I've driven through Lincoln 2-3 times since moving away when I was 17. Leaving Lincoln at that age felt good...I was ready to move on. But this visit has been the best. I am most impressed by how much the town has changed for the better. It was good to see some of the old neighborhoods in the company of my sister and mother, and recall sweet times together.

Understand, mine was the kind of mom who would "call the cow" if you didn't drink your milk. she would pick up the phone and start dialing, and Pat and I would gulp down our milk, even though we sort of knew it was a game. Or she would drive us to the outskirts of town on a July evening to watch heat lightning. I remember one April Fools' day when she put chocolate icing on squares of sponge she had cut up, calling it "sponge cake".

We also visited my mom's hometown, Fairbury, NE. Not so prosperous as Lincoln; most storferonts boarded up, bricks falling off the fronts of some buildings. Only the county courthouse is maintained. But mom's stories are priceless..she was one of the town rowdies, I think. I see the tradition continuing with my daughter!

Although fun loving, mom has by no means been unwise; for example, she married my dad.








-farther along the road-

Visiting this sod house replica reminds me of my (Great-great)Aunt Cora's homestead in western Nebr. If a person lived on the land for a year the government gave them the land. So uncle Jack stayed in town to keep the business going and she lived there alone. Aunt Cora kept a rifle handy to shoot rattlers and scare away the Indians. They would walk right into the house and help themselves to food.
Aunt Cora learned that her niece, my grandmother, Lola, was being treated badly by the evil Aunt Ella, so she rescued her. Cora brought Lola home to her soddie and
made some cute clothes for her. They went to barn dances where Lola was the belle of the ball because she danced wonderfully. (Also, aunt Cora had sewed a perfect figure into the
dresses.)