Alan and Karen asked us if we’d like to catch a Huskers Girls’ Volleyball game – and of course we said yes. They had some pretty nice seats, and we had a great time!
Watching the pre-game warm ups were incredible! There were also some interesting moves by the cheerleaders…
The girls are truly amazing! Many times I was sure they’d “dropped the ball” but someone dived and kept the ball in play. One gal would perfectly set up the ball near the net, and then another would spike it down at about 300 miles per hour. And incredibly, lots of those got returned!
The Huskers won all three of the first sets, so they remained undefeated. The games were close enough to make it interesting, if not nail biters.
If you’ve already gotten tired of me talking about my 1931 Model A Ford, I feel for you, because there’s more on the way!
I found a 1931 Nebraska plate online, and got it registered to my truck. Then all I had to do was get rid of rust and flaking paint… and hand paint it to original colors.
This is what a good looking dashboard instrument panel looked like 95 years ago!
I joined the Cornhusker Model A Ford club just in time to find out about a touring event – Driving from Lincoln to Cook, Nebraska. Cook is about an hour’s drive south and east of Lincoln (depending on how fast you drive!)
We met at a gas station not far from our home; ten Model A Fords drove together, making quite a show on the highway!
Some highway driving, some smaller roads leading through farmland. I’m sure the roads are better now, but how much different was the view 95 years ago?
The bridge over this little creek (crick?) washed out in the 1980’s, and a local family decided to have it rebuilt as a covered bridge. Permits were sought, funding established, and the bridge was completed in the late 1980’s. The main thoroughfare had bypassed the bridge site by then, so this beautiful little bridge serves a couple businesses and an alternate route into the town of Cook.
We took a great number of pictures of our beautiful vehicles with the gorgeous scenery.
We had a local man give us a history of the bridge and its creation. He’s a farmer here, farming on land his ancestors homesteaded in the 1860’s. The farm is still in the family, and the 7th generation is still working there!
I’m guessing you can tell which was my favorite A of the group:
Herding old Model A’s is a lot like herding cats… but we finally lined up for another group shot.
In town the fall colors gave us a nice welcome!
After lunch, we went to the Cook museum, housed in an old church.
While not the most elegant of museums, there was a tremendous amount of information about Cook over the years.
This old clock hung int the school from the time my little truck was new!
Here’s the football team from 1907, and the controller for the scoreboard!
Carl Swanson was a Swedish immigrant who teamed up with John Jerpe in Omaha to form the Jerpe Commission. They started selling eggs and cream in 1899, Later they selling meats as well. Swanson eventually bought out Jerpe, and finally changed the name to C. A. Swanson and Sons. As men were called into service during World War II, women replaced many of them in jobs across the country. Seeing that they had less time to cook, Swanson developed frozen meals for their convenience. Postwar prosperity led to a majority of homes having television sets, and Swanson’s meals morphed into “TV Dinners.” The company was absorbed into the Campbell Soup Company, and this ad placed in Cook’s newspaper in 1945 caught my eye. All this going on right here in little Cook Nebraska (Johnson County.)
Lots of photos made our A’s look downright modern!
I’m not sure what this medical device was, but maybe it was used to threaten patients into getting better without needing medical intervention! A. S. Aloe started making medical instruments in the mid 1800’s, and for a time were the major supplier for surgical gear in America. The depression hurt the company badly, and they effectively disappeared when merged with Brunswick in 1959.
I had to include this graduating class from the Lincoln Dental College, 1918. Looks like a fun group!
This seems to be a parade forming up. Imagine the Red White and Blue banners on the lead car, all other cars eager to join the parade and show off their cars, while the horse drawn wagon is left behind.
The church, now a museum, has several beautiful stained glass windows.
One last photo of some fun loving hunters ready to roll in their new car.
Our vintage Fords seemed to fit nicely with the neighborhood…
The contrast at a fuel stop was a bit more stark.
We had a wonderful day! Willie Mac performed quite well for 95. If we got going too fast, he’d backfire and slow up a bit. We have some exploration to do, and hopefully get him more comfortable at high speeds (like 45 – 50!?) If any of you have suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments below!
The sky was so beautiful that even the headlights couldn’t help reflecting their splendor!
