Information taken from archived files of the Blue Valley Blade and the Seward County Independent for the second week of March.
1925
Five men were taken into custody by the state and local officers in connection with what the officers believe to be an organized gang of thieves which is said to have been responsible for a number of burglaries in Lancaster, Seward and Otoe counties during the last fifteen months.
Seward high students are rallying to track this year with more interest that has been shown in former years, and at the first regular practice, twenty fellows were present. With both boys and girls in the field this year, the events will not only be many but will cover a good many different lines.
1935
Fritz Scherer has purchased the business known as Hunt's Coffee Shop, and will continue business in that location. Fritz has been employed in the United States for some time, and needs no introduction to the people of this community.
“What would happen if the people of Seward took their religion seriously,” is the sermon subject announced for the Methodist church next Sunday evening. The sermon is to be based upon the personal replies of fifty representative Seward citizens to the question. It should be interesting.
Camp Lancaster, the CCC camp at Denton, is sponsoring a community get-together for all farmers in Lancaster, Seward and Saline counties for the purpose of discussing erosion prevention methods, crop rotations, soils and similar topics of interest, according to Superintendent R.M. Babcock.
1945
Under a headline, “News Shorts Concerning Local and National Affairs:” Hitler's headache must be growing to gigantic proportions. The Russians have reached the mouth of the Oder river and they have isolated 100,000 German troops in Danzig. American, Canadian and British armies are along the banks of the Rhine river, while bombs from the air are constantly falling at all important points in Germany.
Sergeant William C. Kelly, 24, of Utica, former restaurant manager, is the chief cook in the enlisted men's mess hall of the United States Army's 55th General Hospital in England. “We have to cook our food in such huge quantities that it is more difficult to get it prepared properly,” Sgt. Kelly said. “But we have plenty of good food and the men are satisfied with the meals.”
1955
The Seward County Fair Board has announced that the George Stichka Rodeo will perform for the third consecutive year at Seward during the fair in August.
Mayor “Doc” Rousselle and J. Vern Willis, Staley feed dealer in Seward, will appear on television tonight over KOLN, Channel 10, from 9:00 to 9:30 on the Thomas Mitchell show, “Mayor of the Town.”
A record crowd of buyers and spectators jammed the sale arena at the Tom Wake farm north of Seward for the annual Hereford auction. Top price in the sale was given by Richard Swenson of Stanton, who purchased one of the Wake Hereford cows for $380.00.
The Beaver Crossing High School team gained a position in the state basketball tournament by defeating Concordia High School in the regional playoffs. Coach Don Meitzner's squad will open in the state tournament against Chadron Prep at the University of Nebraska coliseum.
1965
John Bredow, Seward Police Chief, who has served on the Seward police department for a total of 16 years, has resigned from his post with the department effective April 1.
Rebecca Ann York, Seward, is one of 10 University of Nebraska coeds announced as finalists for the 1965 Queen of the May title. The winner will be chosen on the basis of an all University vote and will reign over the traditional Ivy Day ceremonies on May 8.
Two Seward County teams enter the state basketball tournament tomorrow in Lincoln. They are surprise entries, Concordia high school in Class C and Beaver Crossing in Class D.
City superintendent and engineer Kenneth Govaerts announced this week that as weather conditions permit, many of the graveled streets in the city will be graded and re-graveled to be made ready for the spring and summer traffic.
1975
The Seward County Historical Society will soon be launching a door to door canvass in Seward County to collect funds for building a museum. Six acres of land has been donated by Doretta and Walter Goehner for the site of the museum on the northeast edge of Goehner. The offer will expire in May of 1976 if a structure is not begun by that time.
The new Pleasant Dale Elementary School will be officially dedicated this Sunday, March 16.
Seward High seniors will kick off Scholarship Week on Sunday, March 16, canvassing door to door for Dollars for Scholars. All money will go to the Seward Community Scholarship Fund and will be awarded to deserving students this spring.
1985
A bank in Utica and a bank in Hastings were both robbed by a lone gunman, Wednesday, March 6, but Seward County Sheriff Roger Anderson said he doesn't believe the two banks were robbed by the same man. The robbery took place about 9:30 a.m. The vehicle was lost after it headed west on a country road. Law enforcement authorities and local bank officials refused to release the amount of money taken from the First National Bank of Utica.
Discussion of a new county shop building dominated the Seward County Board's March 5 meeting. At a previous meeting, the board had voted to take the necessary steps toward constructing the new shop.
1995
A small group of Seward residents has been making big plans to provide the community an on-ramp to the information super highway. As a final destination, members of the group hope individuals and businesses in the area will be able to communicate globally via computer at minimal cost. Seward Public Library Director Becky Baker is chair of Connect Seward, Nebraska, Inc., is now in the process of filing articles of incorporation as a non-profit organization. The group is also seeking some financial commitments for the set-up of the computer link with Internet, which is expected to cost around $20,000. But if that initial figures sounds daunting, the group's aim is to provide access to the Internet to anyone in Seward for as little as $20 per month.
2005
The little round building on the northeast corner of Concordia University's campus may draw curious looks from passers-by. But Robert Herman, Concordia associate professor of physics, said the real attraction is what you can see from inside the little round dome. Through the lens of the Meade 16 Lx200 telescope at Concordia's Osten Observatory, the far off constellations of the night sky are brought into view.
The Seward City Council heard a report on street closings for the Fourth of July carnival during its March 1 meeting. Mel Bolte of the Fourth of July Committee told the council the carnival would be on Fourth Street one block south of Highway 34 and would go around the corner onto South Street because there are more rides.
2015
Representatives from multiple Seward entities attended a meeting to discuss the possibility of starting a smart phone application for the City of Seward. The meeting was led by Travis Hollman, co-founder of Hollman Media in Kearney. Hollman said his company is currently working with the National Guard Museum in Seward to develop a museum tour people can use on their phones. Some of the features of the potential app would include city tours, a comprehensive calendar of city and school events and advertising opportunities for local businesses.
Jane M. Erickson, vice president of Kiwanis International, will be the keynote speaker at the charter celebration of St. John Lutheran School's new Kiwanis K-Kids club and Builders Club on March 24.
