Mining engineer and federal administrator. Ankeny began his career in the coal industry and joined the United States Bureau of Mines in 1934. During World War II, he served as a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy and participated in the Normandy campaign. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him director of the Bureau of Mines in 1956, a position he held through 1964. After retiring from federal service, he continued working as a consultant on mine safety, mine disasters, and mining law.

Comedian and Magician. Gayle began performing as a child in 1967 with his dad, Leroy. Gayle has performed at thousands of conventions and banquets nationally and internationally. Those Gayle has shared the stage with include: Carrot Top, Sawyer Brown, Bill Engvall, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, and Phyllis Diller. Gayle has done performances for both HBO and Showtime. Gayle and his wife Cindy operate Becwar and Associates, entertainment agency in Lincoln.

Extensive art awards including: 2000 Grand Prize "Realism Today" American Artist Competition, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco Ca. 2005 Elected Professional Sculptor Member of the National Sculpture Society (NSS). Solo Exhibitions in: Jane Sauer Gallery -New Mexico, John Pence Gallery -California, Turner Carroll Gallery -New Mexico, DC Moore Gallery -New York, Midtown Payson Gallery -New York, Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Horwitch Newman Gallery -Scottsdale AZ, Santa Fe East Gallery -New Mexico, Caixa De Barcelona -Spain

Prominent U.S. lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Son of a Nebraska Preacher. One of the architects of modern Wall Street's legal culture. Fought corruption in the New York Police Department. He is credited with coining the term "associate" for junior members of a law firm. His chief assistant at his law firm ( John Marshall Harlan II ) later served on the Supreme Court. His philosophy was: "He who wields the instruments of justice wields the most powerful instruments of government. In order to assure their just and compassionate use, a prosecutor must have an almost priest-like attitude toward his duties.

Buckner practiced this attitude without deviation."

Contemporary multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture, pencil carving, painting, ceramics, glass, and mixed media. Chinn began her career in commercial art and animation, including work as lead animator for a video game based on Disney's The Lion King. She and her husband moved to Chester in 2006, where they transformed the former school building into a large studio and creative space. Her work includes intricate pencil micro-sculptures, monumental recycled-metal animals, plasma-cut antique saws, and the ceramic series Faces We Wear.

Her artwork has been exhibited in the United States and internationally, and she is represented internationally by Post-American Fine Arts.

Versatile architect, who helped design the model community of Reston VA. He oversaw the restoration of the Greek Revival temple that served as Brooklyn NY's seat of government. Mr. Conklin was the principal designer of the United States Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington -1987, and with Mr. Rossant designed many other prominent structures. He was an electronics technician in the Navy where he monitored signals from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His father, J. E. Conklin was President of the bank and a state legislator. His mother, Wilhelmina (Barrett) Conkiln was V.P. of the bank.

Journalist, educator, and public official. Connelly moved to Thayer County with his parents in 1883 and attended local common schools before moving to Kansas in 1888. He became a teacher, county superintendent of schools, newspaper owner and editor, mayor of Colby, and member of the city council. A Democrat, he represented Kansas in the United States House of Representatives for three terms from 1913 through 1919.

Civil War veteran, Thayer County public official, and advocate for women's voting rights. Coon served in the Union Army, moved to Nebraska during the pioneer period, and became active in county and state government.

In 1880, Thayer County voters elected Coon to the Nebraska Senate while electing fellow suffrage advocate Erasmus M. Correll to the House of Representatives. Both men belonged to the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association. Their election placed local supporters of equal voting rights in both chambers as Nebraska considered the constitutional amendment campaign of 1881 and 1882.

Newspaper publisher, legislator, and nationally connected advocate for women's rights. Correll surveyed the site of Hebron in 1869 and founded the Hebron Journal two years later. The newspaper became known for supporting equal rights and, in 1879, began publishing a regular column devoted to women's concerns and political participation.

Correll invited Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to speak in Hebron, helping create the momentum that produced the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association in 1879. In 1881 he founded and edited the Western Woman's Journal, Nebraska's first newspaper devoted to woman suffrage.

After his election to the Nebraska House of Representatives, Correll introduced House Roll No. 162. The measure proposed replacing the word "male" with "person" in the voting section of Nebraska's constitution and placed woman suffrage before the state's voters in 1882.

Writer, organizer, and one of the most important early women's rights advocates in Nebraska. Lucy Correll wrote for the Hebron Journal and the Western Woman's Journal, using the press to discuss suffrage, education, work, temperance, and the legal position of women.

She was instrumental in establishing the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association in Hebron in 1879, recognized as Nebraska's first permanent woman suffrage organization. In 1880, she joined Clara Bewick Colby, Harriet Brooks, and other activists in organizing the Nebraska State Suffrage Association.

Lucy worked alongside her husband, Erasmus, but her writing and organizing made her an influential advocate in her own right. Her accounts preserved the story of how visits by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton awakened many local women to the difference between legal rights and privileges.

Actor Mike Cruise married Emily Viola 'Violet' Beck in Hebron in 1893. They lived in Davenport and Hebron Nebraska. He worked as a teacher in country schools and taught in Gilead school. Later in life he pursued acting, and landed the role of the fiddle playing barber in the 1940 Columbia movie "Arizona" filmed near Tucson Arizona. He also played the fiddle near the end of John Wayne's "Red River". A son, Theodore S. was born in 1911, in Hebron, the 12th. of their 14 children. He attended U of N law school and became a special agent for the FBI. Later he was Deputy District Attorney for Santa Clara County Texas.

He died May 27, 2005.

American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized with 3 Academy Awards and 1 Grammy Award. Ken provided vocals for the Munchkinland Mayor in the Wizard of Oz. He was a composer and production supervisor for Walt Disney Studios, and was choral and vocal director on the 1946 Disney film classic, Song of the South. He was Marilyn Monroe's vocal coach for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).

He was also the principal composer of the 1956 Elvis Presley hit "Love Me Tender" for the movie of the same name, but signed the rights over to his wife, Vera Matson, whose name appears as co-lyricist and co-composer with Elvis Presley.

Singer and Performer. She was the singing voice of Gloria Franklin, who played Nina, in the 1939 movie “Lady of the Tropics”. Harriet sang, “Each Time You Say Goodbye (I die a little)”. In the 1920's she attended UNL in Lincoln, and was part of the Riverside Band. Harriet Cruise did 13 programs a week in 1932 on stations WBBM and WGN-CBS. She was a contender in the IT contest of singing stars. In 1958 the Lincoln Journal Star called her Lincoln’s Dinah Shore. Her father Pete Cruise was manager of the lumberyard and elevator in Hubbell. She graduated from Hubbell High School in 1923 and attended Nebraska University in Lincoln.

When she died in 1984 she was living with her sister, Catherine, in California and had a cousin, Mrs. Ralph Dewald in Alexandria.

A 1962 Hastings College graduate, Harold Dittmer is founder, president and owner of Wellhead Electric Company based in Sacramento, California. The primary business of Wellhead and its affiliates is to develop, construct, and operate independent power generation plants and invest in related businesses. Wellhead has business activities throughout California and internationally. Mr. Dittmer earned his MBA in finance and marketing from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He worked as a management consultant for 15 years prior to founding Wellhead.

He is active with Vistage, an international organization of CEO’s; the Hoover Institution; Independent Energy Producers; and Association of Energy Engineers. Mr. Dittmer served as Board Chair of the Hastings College Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2016, and is a director of the Hastings College Foundation.

Roy Wesley Eaton has been a continuous resident of Nebraska since 1879. He is the son of Charles Wesley and Frances Adaline (Moore) Eaton, the former an educator, farmer and soldier of German and English descent. Charles Wesley Eaton was born at Willet, New York, and died at Davenport, Nebraska. His wife, Frances Moore, was born at McDonough, New York, and died at Chapman, Nebraska. During the Civil War she served as a nurse. Thereafter she was a teacher in the public schools. Roy W. Eaton attended Happy Hollow one room school south of Davenport until 1894, and was graduated from Davenport High School in 1896.

In 1903, Mr. Eaton received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Fremont College, and in 1904 received the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy, and in 1905 the degree of Bachelor of Science from the same institution. He received another Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska in 1913, and in 1920, was awarded his Master's degrees from that university. During 1924, Mr. Eaton attended Harvard University. On June 3, 1903, he was united in marriage to Daisie Serena Hansen at Wymore. Mr. Eaton is known throughout the Midwest as an educator and author of educational pamphlets and textbooks, and has attended scores of grade school contests and teachers' institutes as a lecturer and conductor.

He is included in Who's Who in North American Authors. He is a member of the firm Omaha School Supply Company and editor of the Middlewest School Review. Among his textbooks are: Eaton's Graded Speller, (1914); True Blue Contest Speller, (1914); Eaton's Contest Arithmetic, (1914); Eaton's True Blue Bible Contest, (1918); True Blue Picture Study, (1918); True Blue Geography Note Book, (1920); Silent Reading Text, (1924); Nature Study, (1929); True Blue Grammar Review, (1929); True Blue Book Review, (1929). He was also the editor of the Middlewest School Review.

Football player for Harvard University, while pursuing a degree in Psychology. Four-year letterman. Nominated for First Team All Ivy League, and All American Farm Team, in his senior season. Also, during his senior year, he was nominated captain of the team. He graduated Cum Laude in 2000. Chris played in the NFL with the New England Patriots, several seasons with the Patriots, the Packers, the Browns, and the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe.

Educator and inventor of six-man football. While working at Chester High School during the Great Depression, Epler developed a version of football that allowed small schools with limited enrollment to field teams. The first formal game was played under the lights at Hebron College on September 26, 1934, with combined teams from Belvidere and Alexandria playing Chester and Hardy. The game spread throughout rural America and gave generations of students at small schools the opportunity to play organized football. Epler later earned a doctorate in education from Columbia University.

American Actress that appeared in over 35 films from 1945 to 1972. Best known for acting in Three Stooges movies: "Goof on the Roof", "Husbands Beware", and "Muscle Up a Little Closer". Gates was also acclaimed for her singing and dancing talents.

The daughter of Robert W. and Lydia (Kuhlmann) Geisler. Giz was the first female veterinarian in the state of Nebraska and practiced for 36 years in Lincoln after graduating from Kansas State University. She owned and operated Geisler Animal Hospital. She belonged to numerous organizations including Nebraska Medical Association, American Medical Association, American Small Animal Association, Nebraska Art Association, Professional Women's Fraternity and the Arbor Day Foundation.

Hebron suffragist and one of the local women who helped turn national ideas about equal rights into sustained community action. Mary and her husband, William Green, worked closely with Lucy and Erasmus Correll through the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association.

Family accounts identify the Green home as Elizabeth Cady Stanton's lodging during her influential 1879 visit to Hebron. The family preserved signed material connected with Stanton, including inscriptions in family autograph books. Those records helped later generations document Hebron's unusually important place in Nebraska suffrage history.

Hebron resident and early male ally of the woman suffrage movement. William and Mary Green were close friends and neighbors of Lucy and Erasmus Correll, and the two families worked together as the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association organized meetings, petitions, and community support.

According to family accounts, the Greens hosted Elizabeth Cady Stanton during her 1879 visit, connecting their home directly with national suffrage leadership. William's participation also illustrates the support local women received from a number of Thayer County men at a time when only male voters could determine whether voting rights would be expanded.

Charles "Charlie" Grugan graduated from Hebron High in 1918. He became a Flight Engineer and Test Pilot at San Fernando California. Charlie was the oldest Experimental Test Pilot and Flight Engineer in the US when he retired from Lockheed Association after working with the SR-71. Witness to The Lockheed UFO Case near Yucca Valley California December 16, 1953, later called the Lockheed UFO Case or Project 1947.

Professional Basketball player for the Washington Generals, the opposing team that competed on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters. He also played 'forward' for the Kansas Jayhawks. Dale at 6' 5", was Hebron High sports royalty king in April 1969, and was a Nebraska Class 'C' all-state first team player.

Business leader, university regent, and philanthropist. Hawks was born in Carleton and later lived in Bruning, where he graduated from high school. In 1987, he co-founded Tenaska, which grew into one of the largest privately held independent energy companies in the United States. He served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and supported higher education, health care, and community causes throughout Nebraska. The University of Nebraska College of Business building, Howard L. Hawks Hall, was named in recognition of his leadership and generosity.

Public official and education leader. Hill moved to Hebron with her husband, Ralph W. Hill, in 1927. Governor Dwight Griswold appointed her to the Board of Education of State Normal Schools in 1944, and she later served as its president. After her husband died while serving as Nebraska State Treasurer, Governor Victor E. Anderson appointed her to complete his term. When she took office on July 17, 1958, she became the first woman to hold a statewide elected office in Nebraska.

Businessman, livestock producer, and public official. Hill graduated from Hebron High School and the University of Nebraska. He operated a furniture business and a stock-raising operation before representing Nebraska's 22nd legislative district from 1949 through 1955. He was elected Nebraska State Treasurer in 1954, reelected in 1956, and served from January 1955 until his death in office in July 1958.

Major League Baseball Pitcher. He played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1907 and also had a long career in the Pacific Coast League. Rhino was 5-10 and 200 pounds. Win-loss record 6-10, Earned run ave. 3.40, Strikeouts 63.

American Singer-Songwriter and Musician. Lead artist for rock bands: "Southern Cross" and "Xtreme Devotion". First CD "In My Dreams" released in 2002. Second CD "Dirt" in 2006. Appeared on TV in 2007 Toby Keith Christmas production, and a Saturday Night Football promotion with Faith Hill. Lucas Hoge hosted Animal Planet's TV show "Last Chance" and wrote the theme song. Awarded "New Artist of The Year" 2011, Christian Contemporary Singer/Songwriter of the Year 2006, and Country Album of the Year (Los Angeles Music Awards) 2006. He is married to actress/singer Laura Lynn Thorsen. A popular military song he has recorded is "Medal of Honor".

Hoge has opened for Martina McBride and in 2016 he signed a recording deal with Rebel Engine Entertainment. He has since become a Brand Ambassador for Cabela's. The album Dirty South was released on July 28, 2017, and debuted at No. 12 on Billboard's Top Country Albums with 7,000 copies sold. The following week it reached No. 5 on the chart and was the best-selling country album of the week with 9,900 copies sold. Rolling Stone named Lucas Hoge TOP 10 artists You Need To Know 2017.

Journalist, Author: Attended grade school, and Belvidere High School. BA, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1957; MSJ, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 1958; MLIS, University of Hawaii, Manoa; PhD in American Studies, University of Hawaii, Manoa. Beverly arrived in South Vietnam in 1962, age 26, and reported for seven years to several papers including: New York Herald Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, and Newsweek. She taught journalism and communications at the University of Hawaii for 29 years. Beverly wrote several books.

Death Zones & Darling Spies: Seven Years of Vietnam War Reporting was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and received recognition as a One Book, One Nebraska (2015) winner, and Nebraska 150 Books honor, 2017. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award, Hall of Fame of the Society of Professional Journalists, Hawaii Chapter, 2015, the Distinguished Retired Faculty Award, University of Hawaii College of Social Science, 2015, and other honors.

Farmer and Political Figure. Director of the Saskatchewan section of the United Farmers of Canada. Representative of the Gull Lake Farmer-Labour Group.

American stage and film actress and director. She was the daughter of prominent publisher John Jacob Kern. Her first major stage role was in 1907 and she made her debut on Broadway in 1909. Cecil starred in: the film 'The Gray Towers Mystery' as Miss Southerland, the film 'Rainbow' as Estelle Jackson, and the 1921, ten episode film, 'The House of Mystery' where she played Marion Lake.

Finance executive and philanthropist. Korff graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1965 and later earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He worked for Goldman Sachs as an international investment banker from 1974 through 1992. Korff remained closely connected to Nebraska and supported programs in music, business, health care, and cancer research. In 2013, he gave $8 million to the University of Nebraska's School of Music, which was renamed the Glenn Korff School of Music in his honor.

Author and internationally recognized scholar of religion. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Religion for eight years and helped establish a major doctoral concentration in Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism. His books examine mysticism, comparative religion, the paranormal, and popular culture. His first book, Kali's Child, received the American Academy of Religion's 1996 History of Religions Prize.

Son of Oltman and Luke Anna Hoefling Lahners, married Anna Bowman at Flanagan, Illinois, on November 25th 1883. Moved to Nebraska in 1890 and settled on a farm two miles north of Belvidere. Thomas Lahners served the Nebraska House of Representatives from 1905-1907 and in the Nebraska Senate from 1915-1917. He was also a delegate to the Nebraska state constitutional convention in 1919-1920.

Actor / Comedian Host of "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" Voice of the principal (Robert White) in "Doug" Fireman on "Sesame Street" Teacher on "Ghostwriter" Host of "Total Panic" Pool Player on "Mad About You" Crazy Al on "The Drew Carey Show" Rob on "George Lopez" Rick in the pilot of "News Radio" Commercial for "Crunchy Graham Flipz". He is also known for NBA All-Star Stay in School Jam, and Perfect Imperfection. Greg performed live on the Token Show in Nashville. His father, Richard Smith, was killed in a plane crash in April of '63. He was a young, 22 year old preacher with the Church of Christ in Davenport Nebraska.

Greg was just 18 months old. At 17 years old he went back to Davenport for a short time, to work a pig farm with a guy named Vernon Coreman Jr.

United States Jurist, and Judge of the United States Court in China. Author of books on international and comparative law. Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska and received his PHD there. He also taught law at University of the Philippines Law School, the University of California, the Comparative Law School of China, National University Washington and at the American University. Charles was one of the two people that graduated from Hebron High School in 1881. This was the first graduating class of what was then District Seven. He was the son of a Christian minister in the Hebron area.

Minor League baseball player. Bats: Right, Throws: Right ! Height: 6' 2", Weight: 195 lb. 1960 2 Teams D-C NYY 1960 Auburn 1960 Fargo-Moorhead 1961 Modesto NYY 1962 2 Teams C-B NYY 1962 Idaho Falls 1962 Greensboro

Janice attended UNL where she met her future husband, Roger Moore. Together they opened the first Amigos restaurant June 17, 1980. Many of the locations were co-branded with A&W until A&W was bought by Yum Brands in 2002. Amigos then acquired Kings Classic. While they had at one time expanded to other states, they later altered the path of their business, and now it is exclusively a Nebraska chain of Restaurants called Amigos/Kings Classic. The chain is in all areas of the state with 14 of the locations in Lincoln. In June of 2017 the business transitioned to employee ownership. Roger remained as President.

Businesswoman, preservationist, and public official. Muenster grew up in Hebron and later settled in South Dakota. She became the first woman elected to the Vermillion City Council and operated businesses involving antiques, collectibles, real estate, and historic property restoration. Elected to the South Dakota Senate in 1984, she served five terms and became the Democratic minority whip. The Muenster University Center at the University of South Dakota is named for Karen and her husband, Ted, in recognition of their service to the university.

Ben Murray spent nearly a decade as an actor. He is known for acting in Stonebrook (1999), American Dreams (2002), and The West Wing (1999). Ben is also known for his roles on several NBC shows such as Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and ER.

Charles Frederick Pohlmann was an Automotive Designer and later, an Interior Design and Liturgical Consultant. He received a Bachelor of Industrial Design from the Pratt Institute. Prior to founding his own firm, Pohlmann Design, in 1966, Mr. Pohlmann was Design Director for Sacred Design Associates, Inc. and had ten years of experience as a Staff Designer at General Electric Company and General Motors Corporation. He was a theologically oriented, professionally trained designer who provided interior, product, and graphic design services to architects and their clients.

In 1984, he received an Interior Design Award from the Minnesota Society of American Institute for Architects. At General Motors, Pohlmann designed the bodies of several Cadillacs. Later on, Chuck Pohlmann and Peter Brock designed the XP-96 roadster that became the basic body design for, V.P. of styling at G.M., Bill Mitchell's '59 private Sting Ray, race car. This is what is now know a the '63-'67 Corvette body. Chuck Pohlmann married Marjorie Ford who also worked at G.M. and became one of Harley Earl's elite group: "Damsels of Design."

American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. Glenn was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to its first NFL championship in 1935. He also set an NFL record of a 54-foot field goal in 1934 which was not broken for 19 years. NFL Scoring Leader in 1933, Field Goal Leader in 1933, Nebraska Hall of Fame 1973. He was the first former player to coach the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He coached one year, 1942, before leaving for the war where he served three years in the Navy.

He returned as assistant coach for one year. At the end of his life he was the oldest living former NFL player.

Marvin Priefert served in the Navy during WW II. He designed and patented a mechanical hay loader and a grain wagon which got him a mention in Reader's Digest. In 1964 he designed, patented, and began manufacturing a gliding-action, fully-opening headgate used for cattle. He added a squeeze chute and other livestock equipment. In the 1970s he expanded into hay equipment. In 1980 the business, Priefert Manufacturing, expanded into a new 27,000 square foot building. Numerous other innovations followed. Sixty years later the company employs over 900 people, has over 20 acres under roof, and sells product coast to coast, and overseas.

It is the largest farm, ranch, and rodeo equipment manufacturer in the world.

Jennifer, at age 14, won the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. on June 8, 1967 by correctly spelling the word (breed of dog) Chihuahua. One official of the contest stated, "Jennifer Reinke is most deserving person to win this contest because while she could have asked for the words use in a sentence, country of origin, or other pronunciations, she never asked even one question." She was honored June 11, 1967 on the Ed Sullivan Show. Sharon Gerdes, also from Peace Lutheran School in Deshler, made it to national just 3 years earlier.

In 2016 a new library in Deshler was named in Jennifer's honor.

Manufacturing executive, inventor, self-taught engineer, known for pioneering several innovations of modern-day mechanized irrigation, personally acquiring 30 patent claims, including the first reversible, electric-gear-drive center pivot irrigation system with an undertruss support called the Electrogator in 1966, and an alignment system that kept the systems straight on rough ground; self-employed since 1954.

Founder of Reinke Manufacturing Company, which had by the turn of the 21st century acquired over 50 patent claims on irrigation systems and other products and maintained more than 170 dealerships in North America and 60 distributors in 30 countries, he also developed other products, notably his 1976 invention of aluminum corrugated shingles which have been installed on buildings nationwide and in five foreign countries, and fertilizer trailers, one in which the tank is the frame, allowing farmers to more easily pull them; his honors included recognition by the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement in 1982, the National Award for Agricultural Excellence in technology from the National Agri-Marketing Association in 1985, and the Irrigation Association Industry Achievement Award in 1992. Consult Lincoln Sunday Journal and Star, June 15, 1969, pp. B-1, B-6 and July 3, 1977, p. B-2 and Deshler, Nebraska, The First 100 Years 1887-1987 (Deshler Centennial Committee, 1987) 175-176 and Deshler Rustler, June 5, 2002, p. 1 and Lincoln Journal Star obituary, March 4, 2003, p. A-6 and Omaha World Herald, June 19, 2004, pp. D1, D-2. See also Who’s Who In The Midwest, 13th ed (Marquis, 1972-73) 608 and Men of Achievement, Vol 3 (Melrose Press Ltd, 1976) 588 and agri marketing, May 1985, p. 121 and Badger Common’tater, Vol 44, No 12 (December 1992) 17-18.

Was a pollster known for his pioneering work in market research and opinion polling. In 1934, he cofounded Cherington, Wood, and Roper, a marketing research firm. When that partnership fell apart, he founded his own research company, Elmo Roper, Inc. He was hired by Henry Luce in 1935 to run surveys for Fortune, continuing these surveys for 15 years. His prediction of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's electoral victory over Alf Landon in 1936 was correct to within 0.9%; his 1940 prediction of Roosevelt's victory was correct to within 0.5%, further solidifying the reputation of Roper's techniques.

In 1940, Roosevelt hired Roper to assess public opinion of Lend-Lease prior to its implementation. In 1942 he was hired by William Joseph Donovan to be the deputy director of the Office of Strategic Services; Roper subsequently worked with the Office of War Information. After leaving the OWI he founded the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut in 1947. Roper Opinion Research Company (the "Roper Poll") was later renamed Roper Starch Worldwide Company and eventually acquired by NOP World and then GfK in 2005.

Businessman, health care administrator, and public official. Ross earned a business administration degree from the University of Colorado and worked in business management and health care administration. Governor Mike Johanns appointed him director of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services in 1999. Ross was appointed Nebraska State Treasurer in 2004 and served until January 2007.

A teacher, administrator, and professor of secondary education. John was an authority on curriculum, supported a program of national assessment but opposed national testing. He was an author or co-author of more than a dozen books on curriculum, and contributed to several encyclopedias and education journals. John was a delegate to a White House Conference in 1960, to a conference on programmed instruction in Berlin, Germany in 1963, and to the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession in Seoul, Korea in 1966.

John Saylor is the recipient of honorary doctorate from McPherson College in 1962 and Distinguished Contributions to Curriculum Award from the American Educational Research Association in 1983.

Known throughout the region as "Rube" or simply "Coach," Reuben H. Schleifer became one of the most accomplished and respected figures in Chester High School history. After three and a half years of military service during World War II, he accepted a teaching and coaching position in Chester in 1946. He taught history and American government, coached three sports, and remained in the community for the rest of his 41-year career.

Schleifer coached football and track for ten years, compiling a 58-18 football record that included an undefeated season in 1951. His basketball coaching career spanned 30 years and produced a remarkable 456-167 record, 22 conference championships, and one of the greatest seasons in Chester athletics. In 1953, his Bulldogs finished 24-0 and won the Nebraska Class D state basketball championship in Lincoln.

His influence extended far beyond wins and championships. Nebraska Wesleyan University named him Nebraska Outstanding Teacher in 1988. He was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame and, in 2010, into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Chester's Reuben H. Schleifer Athletic Fields were named in recognition of his lasting contribution to the school and community.

Before beginning his career in Chester, Schleifer served as a staff sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps and United States Army. Because he spoke German, he was transferred to Army Intelligence and worked as a translator and war-crimes investigation analyst at Allied headquarters in Frankfurt. He examined captured documents and helped trace evidence connected with Nazi war crimes. In 2014, the University of Nebraska honored him as an Honorary Gate Sentinel at Memorial Stadium in recognition of his World War II service.

George Soule grew up in Davenport Nebraska. He is a six time great grandson of George Soule who came over on the Mayflower in 1620.

Harold Struve began in business for himself after returning from the Army of World War II in a small way. His first major venture was the organization of Modern Appliance shop of Deshler. Later he purchased the Deshler Motion Picture Theater. Then he bought other theaters and bowling alleys in the surrounding towns. In the years to follow, Harold added construction and contracting. Eventually his business, Struve Enterprises, would own hundreds of apartments in Kansas and Nebraska towns. Harold held positions on many boards including mayor of Deshler. He had a passion for history and organized the Deshler Centennial celebration in 1987.

Harold took the lead in gathering, organizing and putting into print a grand history of Deshler Nebraska. Harold and his wife Lois, had a fireplace in their home that was constructed with bricks acquired from the White House of Washington D.C. remodeling, when Harry S. Truman was president. They formed the Struve Foundation and donated generously to the area communities. Later on they would own and operate the Deshler Rustler newspaper. After Harold's death, Lois continued operating Struve Enterprise for another 20 years.

She was an active member of the Thayer County Historical Society for decades, and continues to support it.

Mr. Struve established the post office in Friedensau in 1878, and soon after, bought a mercantile store. In 1887 he, along with other businesses, moved to the new site of Deshler. The same year he started a creamery, also in Deshler. In early 1893 he bought into a 3-year old broom business in Deshler owned by Joseph Steiner. By the end of the year they employed 15 people. He was granted a broom patent Oct. 27, 1914. For a time, electricity for the town was provided by a steam generator at the Broom Factory, that burnt waste product of the factory.

The factory reached its peak in the 1930s when 1400 brooms were sold in a single day, and up to 24 railroad cars of brooms were shipped out in a single day. It was the world's largest broom factory, and held that position for decades to come. In 1940, for the 50th anniversary, the world's largest broom, 60 feet tall, was made. H. J. Struve was appointed to the advisory committee for the Broom Industry. The factory was operated by the Struve family for 70 of the just over 100 years of operation.

Treva grew up in Davenport Nebraska and graduated from Davenport High School in 1981. She began professional acting at age 18, and later, graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BFA in Dance. After college she moved to Chicago and worked with Frank Galati, Robert Falls, and director Gary Griffin. One of her teachers was Steve Carell. Treva is an actress that has been in over 40 theatre productions, over a dozen films as co-star and lead, and at least 10 popular television shows, such as: Switched At Birth, Grey's Anatomy, 90210, The Tonight Show, iCarly, The Shadow Men, Passions, X Files, Vital Signs, Roseanne, and Auld Lang Syne.

Hans moved to Denmark as a boy and already played the organ, violin and piano. He was a pupil in Varde under Svend-Ove Moller and at age 12 replaced him as organist. Thorvald Aagaard was his teacher later on and became an Exam organist at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 1931. Hans helped create the Logumkloster Church Music, developed the ground in the 1960s and helped in other departments.

National reformer and one of the most recognized leaders of the American woman suffrage movement. At the invitation of Erasmus M. Correll, Anthony came to Hebron in 1877 and delivered a lecture commonly identified as "Bread versus the Ballot."

The Hebron Journal reported that Anthony's address awakened local interest in equal rights and converted many leading citizens to the cause. Her visit helped prepare the community for the permanent suffrage organization established in Hebron two years later.

J. Howard Beales is the grandson of Henry Heipmann and Katharine 'Pohlmann' of Deshler. Henry was the first resident of the Parkview Haven nursing home. Howard visited him there many times. Henry joked that he only had to go to school for 8 years and it took Howard 20 years to get educated. "That Howard must not be too smart" :). Professor Beales’ has published numerous articles addressing a wide variety of consumer protection regulatory issues, including privacy, law and economics, and the regulation of advertising.

From 2001 through 2004, He served as the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, where he was instrumental in redirecting the FTC’s privacy agenda to focus on the consequences of the use and misuse of consumer information. During his tenure, the Commission proposed, promulgated, and implemented the national Do Not Call Registry. He also worked with Congress and the Administration to develop and implement the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. His aggressive law enforcement program produced the largest redress orders in FTC history and attacked high volume frauds promoted through heavy television advertising.

Dr. Beales previously served at the FTC as a staff economist, Assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Associate Director for Policy and Evaluation, and Acting Deputy Director. Immediately prior to joining the faculty at GW, he was the Chief of the Human Resources and Housing Branch of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget. Howard Beales received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Georgetown University.

American Rodeo Performer and Rodeo Star. Invented three rodeo maneuvers. Performed alongside of Gene Autry. Faye and her husband ( Vic Blackstone ) were both inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1982.

Lecturer, newspaper publisher, and one of Nebraska's most influential suffrage leaders. Colby lived in Beatrice, where she established a free public library, worked in education, and organized for women's political equality.

She contributed to Erasmus and Lucy Correll's Western Woman's Journal and joined Lucy Correll and other activists in building the Nebraska State Suffrage Association. In 1883, Colby founded the Woman's Tribune, which became an important national suffrage newspaper and continued publication through 1909. Her close work with the Corrells gives her a direct historical connection to Hebron and Thayer County's role in the movement.

Inventor and manufacturer. Started the Angus Automobile Company by Angus Nebraska and manufactured 147 "Fuller" cars from 1907 to 1909. In the 1930's he invented and built a gold mining, dry separation machine.

Educator, television producer, film director, and screenwriter. He worked as program executive/producer for ABC-TV shows Batman and Bewitched and NBC-TV shows Little House on the Prairie and others. Lewis was involved as producer and writer of more than 20 major length productions, including the 1981 television movie Fallen Angel for which he received an Emmy nomination and won a Writer’s Guild Award. Author of "Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting" while UCLA professor of screenwriting. He is recognized as one of the best screenwriting teachers in the United States. Steven Spielberg has called Hunter "the best screenwriting teacher going".

His bestselling book on screenwriting is entitled Screenwriting 434. Hunter has a bachelor's degree and honorary doctorate from Nebraska Wesleyan University and has master's degrees from Northwestern University and UCLA. Hunter helped to found the American Screenwriters Association and has been inducted into its Hall of Fame.

United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient. While serving as a private in Company E of the 19th United States Infantry, Prentice rescued his mortally wounded commanding officer under direct and constant rifle fire during the Battle of Stones River on December 31, 1862. He received the Medal of Honor in 1894. Prentice is buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Hebron, creating an important connection between Thayer County and one of the nation's highest military honors.

World War II as a lieutenant colonel. Brigadier general in the Kansas National Guard in October 1946. Re-established the Kansas National Guard. In 1951, he handled the recovery of the Great Flood in Kansas City. In 1955, he oversaw recovery efforts in Udall, Kansas after a tornado. General Searle's military decorations include: Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, the French Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. In 1951, Washburn honored Searle with its Distinguished Service Award. In 1962, Searle was named the Topeka Phi Delta Theta Alumni Association’s “Phi of the Year.”

In 1981, the Kansas Army National Guard posthumously inducted him into its Hall of Fame.

Starting outfielder for the 1966 World Series Champion Baltimore Orioles. Russ Snyder played in the major leagues from 1959-1970. Inducted to the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame. Snyder had played an uninterrupted 18 consecutive years of professional baseball, a feat in itself. Bats Left, Throws Right; Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb. Debut April 18, 1959 Final Game September 30, 1970

National women's rights leader, writer, and principal author of the 1848 Declaration of Sentiments. Erasmus Correll invited Stanton to Hebron in the spring of 1879, where she delivered her lecture "Our Girls" to the community.

Following the public address, Stanton led a private meeting with local women on April 15, 1879. That gathering created the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association, recognized as Nebraska's first permanent woman suffrage organization. The association continued meeting, circulated petitions, and became a foundation for the statewide campaign that followed.

Civil War general, United States senator, and governor for whom Thayer County was named. Thayer served in the Union Army and rose to the rank of brevet major general. After the war, he participated in Nebraska's 1866 constitutional convention and became one of the state's first two United States senators. He later served as governor of Wyoming Territory and as governor of Nebraska. His name remains part of the county's identity and history.

Inventor, balloonist, and pioneer of modern hot-air ballooning. Yost developed the modern propane burner system, synthetic balloon envelope, maneuvering vents, and other innovations that made hot-air ballooning practical. On October 22, 1960, he launched from the former Bruning Army Air Field on the first successful free flight of a modern propane-powered hot-air balloon. The flight made Thayer County the site of a milestone in aviation history.