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Murdock Newsletter
Annual Fourth of July events 2007
A wonderful day was once again had by all who attended the annual Fourth of July events held in Murdock.
The day began early with breakfast served starting at 7:00 am at Bulldog’s. Excitement filled the streets as preparation for the parade line up began to unfold.
Entries included:
Flying Wheels Fun Center of Elmwood. Kids from all over the country come to skate at the Flying Wheels.
The Elmwood-Murdock Band fell into formation in front of the Junior-Senior High School.
This is a 1980 replica of a 1929 Ford Model A. It was built by Ford and sold through Ford dealers. It has been owned for 20 years by Dale and Rosalyn Vanderford of Murdock. It was driven by Aaron Stewart with passenger Jordan Vogt.
If you went to Callahan Church, or town church, you would remember this car. This is a 1960 Cadillac owned by Dale Vanderford Jr. of Murdock. It was bought new right off the assembly line in Lucerne Minnesota by Dale’s great uncle Walter Meierjurgen and it has been in the family ever since. It was driven by Matt Stewart.
This is a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Dale Vanderford Jr. of Murdock. It is original including the 28,000 miles on the odometer. It was driven by Luke Luetchens.
This year’s Miss Murdock was Kelsie Scholting, daughter of Mike and Kim. Kelsie is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church and is active in 4-H. She has also been involved in community service, and enjoys coaching many little league softball, volleyball, and basketball teams. This upcoming fall, Kelsie will attend Concordia University and major in psychology as well as compete for the Bulldog volleyball.
Sergeant Julie Synovec was in the parade with an Army Hummer to represent our military. The vehicle is from the 561st division in Omaha. Julie is a Murdock resident, a three time Veteran, and a member of the 394th CSSB in Fremont.
The Murdock Fire Department was represented by this 1997 Red Fire Truck Pumper driven by Shannon Fries with his wife Angie and son Cody as passengers.
Tomorrow’s Producer’s 4-H Club rode on their float carrying signs for free watermelon after the parade.
Hoss’s Lawn Care advertised their services of seeding, snow removal, and mowing. Owner Steve Hauschild operates out of Weeping Water.
Jake Ita drove a 2005 micro sprint car at the parade. Jake races at Wave Link Raceway Park on Sundays.
A long time return to the line up was Dave and Deb Fischer in their 1993 Harley-Davidson Police Special with Sidecar. Dave and Deb are owners of Frontier Harley-Davidson out of Lincoln. It has been a long time tradition for Dave to give motorcycle rides to the community members after the parade. THANKS Dave!
Sam Behrends, Abbie Meyer, Alex Callaway, Nicki Meyer, Jenna Meyer, Cody Bornemeier, and Josh Meyer represent the Elmwood-Murdock baseball and softball teams as the ride their float. The program had around 170 boys and girls playing this year. This included ages 4 years through 16 years. It required a lot of volunteers to coach, run concessions, keep books, and a lot of other duties to make the games a success. The little league would like to thank all those who helped and gave so generously of their time.
The parade’s first entry was of course the American flag carried by the Weeping Water Legion Post #237 including Mike Bose, Fritz Staack, Eric Clark, Lyle Thomassen, and Willie Kunz. Patrons rose to salute the flag as Angie Friesell sang our Anthem.
Trombone players Brandon Luetchens, Adam Neels, as well as percussionists Jennifer Hromanik, Quentin Drake, and Josh Vice prepare to perform as the approach the judges.
People of all ages come out each year to enjoy the day of festivities. Long time 40 year Murdock resident,
Gene Munch, enjoyed the parade as he stood on the corner of Main Street, while younger ones,
Harlee (age 3) and Kylee (age 5) Wilson actively take part in gathering candy that was abundantly thrown by the parade entries.
Last year, Joey Moore of Huntsville, Alabama, also enjoyed the abundance of sweets he collected.
Everyone said “hello” to the lovely lady in the straw hat. Her name is Jenny and is owned by Dustin Anderson, a member of the areas newest 4-H club, Critters R’Us, sponsored by Oxbow Pet Products. This club has a lot of interests, but they all love animals. They meet once a month at Oxbow. Please contact Oxbow if you are interested in joining.
As the parade concluded, there was red-ripe watermelon handed out, as promised, by the Tomorrow’s Producers 4-H Club. Hungrier ones were served lunch by the Lion’s Club at the old Fire Hall. Those with a sweet tooth moseyed on down to the United Methodist Church for a pie and ice cream social. The church basement was a refreshing relief from the heat of the day.
Micki Nolan traveled from Lincoln to enjoy a fresh piece of blueberry pie with ice cream scooped up by Lorene Stock. Lorene also made a pecan pie for the event. Lorene has been a member of the church for 60 years. The United Methodist Women and other volunteers also donated pies. Nancy Luetchens said, “I heard the PEACH pie was very good”. I think Nancy was the baker of a fresh peach pie J
More entertainment including the Kiddies Tractor Pull started around 1:30 pm.
Bailey Frahm of Elmwood entered the four year old session. Little Tuggers Youth Tractor Pull provided the tractors for the competition. Trophies were awarded for many different age groups.
The museum was open all day for visitors to enjoy.
Katie Vice, Tori Sillman, and Lisa Sillman stopped by to view what the cheerleaders wore decades ago.
Down at the ball field, the annual softball game was played. Cookouts were random through out the town. Good food, fun, and fellowship were once again accomplished on the Fourth of July in Murdock, Nebraska. There’s nothin’ like a small town celebration!
News to the Editor
- Please send all your Murdock area news to me. Birthdays, anniversaries, announcements, events or news are welcome and will be added to the upcoming newsletter. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Teri Bowman
Editor@murdocknebraska.com
