Loyal Seward
Story by Christopher Amundson Photography by Bobbi and Steve Olson and Christopher Amundson |
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| Click on the above image for a slide show of more images from Seward |
Greene County, Neb., was named after a well known Missouri senator, but when
the Civil War erupted and Greene was identified with the Confederacy, they promptly
renamed it Seward County after William H. Seward, secretary of state for Abraham
Lincoln. They were loyal Americans, a trait that must be genetic because everywhere
you turn in Seward today you find it.
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Click here
to listen to the afternoon prayer at St. Gregory the Great Seminary. |
The sound of trombones, trumpets,
drums and cymbals of the 120-year-old city band can still be heard coming from
the city band shell every summer Sunday evening. Vendors sell vegetables, pies
and pastries at a farmer’s market on the courthouse square on Wednesdays
and Saturdays. Residents of Seward genuinely enjoy their community.
This is a town, after all, that knows
how to celebrate. They’ve been gathering to honor America’s birthday
almost continuously since 1868 when early settlers stood on a mound on the town
square to deliver patriotic orations. Now, an estimated 30,000-plus people come
to this community of 6,500 each year to celebrate Independence Day with a flag-raising
ceremony, anvil firing, hot air balloons, quilt shows, air show, antique tractor
and car show, ethnic dancers, art, essays, concerts, movies, national pole vaulting
competition, parade, food and fireworks.
From 6:30 a.m. until fireworks at
10 p.m. the town of Seward is Nebraska’s Fourth of July City.
Today’s version of the Seward
Fourth of July celebration came from the “Whiz Bang Kids,” the Seward
High School class of 1969. In 1967, Clark Kolterman, his twin brother Mark and
other classmates decided that Seward needed a modern Fourth of July celebration
for Seward’s centennial. They organized the students and began a tradition
of youth involvement. Since then, there’s always been a youth chairman
as well as an adult chairman of the committee, and the celebration has been
organized in large part by young people. In keeping the youth involved, Seward
hopes it is grooming future leaders.
“We had a lot of overachievers
in our graduating class,” said Mark Kolterman, who married his high school
sweetheart (Suzanne, also of the class of ’69) and now runs an insurance
and investment business with her in Seward. “There was a competition to
excel and we had good role models in Seward. We had parents who said, ‘You
have to give back.’ ”
The Omaha World-Herald’s Tom
Allen first coined the term Whiz Bang Kids. Local community supporter, historian
and business owner Harold Davisson picked up on the term and made it stick.
In 1973 Governor Exon designated Seward “Nebraska’s Official 4th
of July City.” A State of Nebraska Historic marker stands on the courthouse
lawn.
Some in the class of ’69 moved
away, but many stayed – including Rick Endicott, Trish Davisson-Johnson,
Marilyn Hladky, Beth Peterson and others. And some are moving back after decades
of being away.
“They’re moving back because
the quality of life in Seward endures,” Kolterman said. “There’s
a lot of community pride in this small burg.”
“Seward is a neat town. It takes
care of its old streets and old buildings. We don’t have a bad area,”
said Becky Vahle of Cattle National Bank and Trust, who gave us a town tour.
A decade ago, Cattle National, one
of two locally-owned banks in town, built a new main bank on the east side of
the town square and sparked a revitalization project that overhauled the 1880s-era
downtown. The town added new street lights and upgraded all the curbs and sidewalks.
Rather than losing their brick streets first laid in 1909, volunteers and city
employees took up the bricks by hand and laid them back down at the end of the
construction project. It was hard work but worth it, they figured.
Seward residents are proud of their
downtown and have worked hard to preserve it and to keep the local businesses
in business.
“Our biggest attraction is our
historical town square,” said chamber director Pat Coldiron.