[Vern]

My father's family were long time residents of the sand hills. Dad left Nebraska when he joined the Marines in 1936 and only went back every couple of years to see his folks. Our family made many summer trips there; it was great fun for a kid from the left coast. We rode horses, chased cows, fished the stock ponds and carried our .22's everywhere. All of the towns were small, but there was always a post office and a small general store. I remember the ice-cold soda pop in the cooler at the store; you had to put in the coins then run the bottle by the neck thru the maze. The cousins place had a couple of what they called "blow-outs" which were where they discarded the trash. There were always old rusted out cars like T's in them, we shot lots of holes in them. It would be interesting to go back through that part of the country, but my memories would be off I'm sure.