Paul Kolterman Describes His Fun July 4 in Seward

Paul Kolterman wrote:

I was fortunate enough to get to go home for the weekend to Seward. I left Saturday about 5 a.m. and drove down from Norfolk, Nebraska (about two hours). I made it just in time for the firing of the ANVIL, which kicks off the celebration.

Then I went over to the Civic Center and had Breakfast for $5. One of the St John organizations was sponsoring this Breakfast as a fund raiser.

Then back to the Seward Band Shell for a little entertainment, and I watched the Volunteer Firemen have a water fight. This is a contest where three fireman on each team and they shoot water at a barrel suspended from a cable about 15 feet in the air. It’s fun to watch.

Then I went over to my sister Ellen’s and got ready for the Parade. What a GREAT parade.

Then I went up to my brother Clark's and watched the fireworks. They had a band from about 7 pm until dark and then some parachute-stunt folks (four of them) jumped out of a plane and landed on the baseball diamond to Patriotic music. Then the fireworks lasted about a half hour.

The next morning at 9 am at the “New” Concordia University Gym (Athletic Complex) was the St John Church Service Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of St John Lutheran School. Pastor David Peter was the guest Minister and what a Super Service with Great jubilee. The Sermon started out:

Is it Worth It? Is it worth it to have a Lutheran School? Is it worth it to start one and keep it going????

Then it went on about Blessings and how Blessed we all are that have been touched by this ministry of St John Lutheran School. What a wonderful Service and a wonderful day!!

I am so Glad I went, I will always remember this day. I really enjoyed seeing some of the people I have not seen for a Long time. This Ministry of a School has touched people and lives around the globe and continues to do so!! What an awesome deal.

One thing I always think about when I go home to Seward, is even though it changes (some) and it isn’t exactly the same as it was 30, 40, 50 years ago ... It is very much the same to me. It is really a very unique place and the best town in the State, but then that is just fact not opinion.

Thought you would like my update on this weekend to share with others.

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING -- ST. JOHN LUTHERAN SCHOOL 1884-2009

What a True Blessing Indeed. ReJoice. The whole committee for the 125th should be commended for such hard work and planning. What a GREAT DAY!!!

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Thanks, Paul. I and many other people wish we could have been there, and I am grateful that you reported your experience and especially that you shared your enthusiasm.

Pastor Peter began his sermon with some hard questions that many people have pondered, and I am sure that he answered them well.

I have been thinking about those same questions as I write my blog. Seward has been the host town for Concordia University, which continues to prepare young adults for careers in education, ministry and social leadership for the Lutheran Church. St John School continues to be a laboratory for that preparation and a model for Lutheran education.

The town of Seward has been good for Concordia, which has been good for St John School. Conversely, St John School has been good for Concordia, which has been good for the town of Seward. I hope that these mutual relationships will continue to develop and adapt.

If anyone else participated in the weekend and feels inspired to write a short article, I will be glad to post it.

Family Kolterman

Don Kolterman, born in [year?].

Jean Kolterman, born in [year?].

.

Clark Kolterman, born in [year?].

Mark Kolterman, born in [year?].

Ellen Kolterman, born in [year?].

Paul Kolterman, born in [year?].

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From Who's Who In Nebraska.

KOLTERMAN, FREDRICK AUGUST: Merchant; b Millard, Neb Nov. 24, 1883; s of John Carl Fredrick Kolterman-Anna Gertrude Kennenbley; ed Blair & Milford; m Hulda Marie Prochnow Nov 10, 1918 Seward; s Donald Carl; d Eleanor Marie; 1903-05 with brother C F oprd Buckeye Roller Mill in Blair; 1905-08 rancher in Atkinson; 1908-09 with Nye-Schneider Elevator & Lbr Co, Fairfax S D; 1909-14 homesteaded Colome, S D; 1914-15 with brother C F in Blair; 1915- Burke Racket Store in Seward, changed name to Kolterman Variety Store & 1923 to Koltermans 5c to $1.00 store, 1936 changed name to Ben Franklin Store; mbr vol fire dept 23 years; past mbr town coun; Fedn of Neb Retailers; dir C of C; past mbr Rotary; Golf Club; St Johns Luth Ch; Rep; hobby, travel; off 600 Block; res 140 Lincoln, Seward.

From Nebraska Life:

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.

Bicycle Mania on Campus

Paul Kolterman wrote:

I thought of something else that really sticks out in the ole memory banks -- riding bikes around campus at CTC. I always loved the sidewalks there. You would ride along and boom the sidewalk would jut at an angle a different direction. Or go in a circle or some other way. It was shady and different than riding in the street or on a regular sidewalk. Just a neat place to go ride bikes as a kid. The sidewalks were wide too, so you had plenty of room to ride.

Out in front of Founders Hall was a mezzanine area with benches kind of a rendezvous point when riding bikes, and there were like bulletin boards there with stuff posted on them about happenings at campus. Just a neat campus.

The Endicott kids and Lukert kids and the Kolterman kids would ride bikes there because it was close for us. We would go down our alley to the north and come out on Pearl Street, shoot up Pearl street past Brandhorst’s house and then cut over to the campus. My Dad didn’t like us riding over at the College because he thought we were bothering the kids on campus.

I remember it like it was yesterday. How fortunate we were to be raised in Seward -- Nebraska’s best town.

Another thing I remember were the old bridges on 2nd and third street. The railroad used to run through there (by the baseball field at St Johns school now). We used to play around and under those bridges. Then they cleaned that all up, tore out the bridges, planted grass and made it a football field/baseball field.

My favorite memories were at the swimming pool in Moffit Park. What a hoot.

In an earlier post, my brother Steve remembered:

Bicycle hide-and-seek on the CTC campus, with the front steps of Weller being home.

I remember this activity too, and I had intended to write about it eventually. Since Paul has raised the subject so compellingly, however, I will not delay with writing my own memories too.

This was a activity that we did when the college students were away -- on summer vacation, Thanksgiving break, etc. -- and so there was little foot traffic on campus. If we had played this game during a school term, many CTC students would have been run over and killed by us small but speedy bicyclists -- thus prematurely terminating many teaching careers for the Lutheran school system and leaving some future Lutheran school children with reduced educational guidance.

And so, although the Concordia campus was created for the divine purpose of enabling us neighborhood boys to play this game -- which I call Bicycle Mania -- there was also a divine limitation that we play it only during college vacations. So, concerned parents such as Mr. Kolterman were mistaken when they worried and discouraged.

I don't think this game had a standardized name. Although Steve calls it "bicycle hide-and-seek" and Paul calls it "riding bikes around campus," I think that you might agree that the most descriptive game might be something more like:

Bicycle Mania

or even:

Bicycle War

Essentially the game consisted of about a dozen boys racing their bikes all through and around the campus like maniacs and ambushing and "shooting" at each other. Occasionally, there might be a few incidents of "playing chicken" too.

(Many of us kids were inspired by the TV show, The Rat Patrol,

which starred a team of three heroic US soldiers (and one helpful British soldier) who raced around the North African desert in a jeep, equipped with a machine gun, during World War Two and killed enemy Nazi soldiers and blew up their Panzer tanks. This TV show had practically the very same plot every week, but we boys never got tired of watching it.)

Were there teams? Was there a start or end of the game? Not that I remember. Kids came and left, and while they were there they perhaps formed temporary ambush-and-kill squads of convenience. The "game" continued for a couple of hours, and then it just ended when the last couple of guys had to go home. And even then, I think that sometimes I was the last one, and I raced around for another ten minutes just by myself.

Maybe some of you remember some rules that I have forgotten.

Tim Heinicke, RIP

Tim Heinicke died in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 7, 2008. Here is his obituary:

Timothy Brian Heinicke was born on November 29, 1950, in Tokyo, Japan to Gerhard and Eleanor (Kolterman) Heinicke. Tim lived in Las Vegas, Nevada were he was a elementary teacher in special education.

He graduated from Concordia Teachers College and received his Masters from Wichita State University.

Tim passed away in Las Vegas on May 7, 2008, at the age of 57 years. He is survived by his mother, Eleanor Heinicke of Seward, Nebraska; brothers and their wives, Gary and Nancy Heinicke of Lincoln, Nebraska and Ronald and his wife Patricia Heinicke of Olathe, Kansas. Tim was preceded in death by his father, Gerhard Heinicke.

Below are some excerpts from his resume, which apparently was written some time after 1998:

My training in the field of education began in 1964, attending high school at Concordia High School in Seward, Nebraska. It is a private preparatory school for potential teachers. I also attended Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska, which was exclusively established to train professionals in the field of education. In 1979, I earned a Master in Education degree with emphasis in Educational Psychology, at Wichita State University. Post-graduate studies at Northern Arizonia University in Educational Administration were acquired in pursuit of a position in Educational Administration.

After receiving a B.S. degree in education from Concordia Teachers College, I began teaching seventh and eighth grade students in a private school in Wichita, Kansas. Two years later, I gained employment as a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teacher in a rural Kansas public school. I served in this position for three years and then became employed in the Wichita Public Schools. I taught a combination - fifth and six grade for nine years in this school system. While there, I was nominated as the outstanding educator by the P.T.A., and received special recognition by being selected by the Wichita Eagle/Beacon with monthly articles concerning my class-room techniques and procedures.

In 1984 I moved to Tempe, Arizonia and began teaching a fourth grade class. I was assigned a sixth grade class and did extensive planning for the "Outdoor Education Program" while at Starlight Park Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizonia. I was selected as Assistant Principal in the Cartwright School District in Phoenix and served in this capacity for four years.

I am currently residing in Santa Teresa, New Mexico and am Assistant Principal of Santa Teresa Middle School. This is my third year in this position. Our student population is mainly Hispanic with a strong Hispanic heritage. The opportunity to work with this unique population has enriched my understanding in working with people of another culture. I feel quite proud of the fact that this year I was awarded the "Assistant Principal of the Year" award in the state of New Mexico.

During the 1997-98 school year, I was awarded the "Assistant Principal of the Year" for New Mexico. This honor is awarded by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the McDonald's Corporation.

Tim was a year or two (probably two) ahead of me in school, but I remember him from two activities, in both of which he constantly displayed his hilarious sense of humor.

I remember him from the high-school football and wrestling teams. He was the heavy-weight member of our wrestling team. Maybe he was even our team captain. I was the light-weight member of our team, so we never wrestled against each other.

And I remember him as a fellow worker in the campus cafeteria. There, where he did not have to worry about any coaches' control, his prankster humor was displayed constantly. My brother Steve remembers that I often came home from that job and told funny stories about Tim Heinicke's antics.

Family Heinicke

Iddo Heinicke Sr (former pastor of St. John's Church in Seward) and Elizabeth Heinicke had eight children -- Gary, Ed, Iddo Jr., Martin, Ted, Victor, Bill and Betsy.

The Heinicke family lived in the St.John's Church parsonage located on the northwest corner of the North 3rd Street and Highway 34 intersection while Iddo Sr served as pastor. After Iddo Heinicke Sr died tragically in an accident, the family moved to the house on the southeast corner of Columbia Avenue and Lincoln Street. Long after her children had grown up, Elizabeth Heinicke finally sold the house, and then moved to North 3rd Street to live with her daughter Betsy Schmidt and her granddaughter Carolyn Schmidt. (Though her sons strongly encouraged her to profit from her years of home ownership, Elizabeth adamantly refused to do so; she sold the house to Reinhold and Dorris Marxhausens for the same price she had paid for it years earlier. Reinhold Marxhausen said years later that his family never would have been able to buy the house if Elizabeth Heinicke had not been so generous.)

Four of those Heinicke children — Gary, Iddo Jr, Bill, and Betsy — raised their own families in Seward for many years, as did the widow of Victor.

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Family of Gerhard "Gary" Heinicke

Gary Heinicke, born in [year?], died in [year?]

Gary had two careers.

First, he was a career U.S. Air Force pilot. His military career began during World War II when he served in the European Theater as a bomber pilot. During WWII, Gary was shot down behind enemy lines in Czechoslovakia, and successfully escaped capture with the help of the Serbian Resistance underground. During his military career, Gary's family lived in Germany, Spain, and Japan among other places. (Son Gary "G.B." was born in Kansas City, Missouri; son Ronald was born in Denver, Colorado; and son Tim was born in Tokyo, Japan.)

After retiring from the U.S. Air Force at the rank of colonel in the mid-1960s, Gary began his second career as the director of both student financial aid and college personnel at Concordia Teachers College in Seward. He was the first president of the Nebraska Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in 1971-72, and was chairman of the first organizing committee of that association in 1967.

Eleanor (Kolterman) Heinicke, born in [year?]. (Sister of Don Kolterman, who owned the Ben Franklin's store in downtown Seward).

.

Gary Heinicke, born in [year?]

Ron Heinicke, born in [year?]

Tim Heinicke, born in 1950, died in 2008. (Obituary post)

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Family of Iddo Heinicke, Jr.

Iddo Heinicke Jr, born in 1923.

Iddo Jr returned to Seward after serving in the U.S. Army in Europe during and after WWII. He ended his military service as a member of The Rainbow Division. He worked full-time at Jones Bank in Seward while also working part-time as treasurer for the Nebraska District of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and then became a full-time financial officer for the LCMS Nebraska District. Iddo Jr was instrumental in the beginnings of what is now known as The Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) and is honored by that LCMS organization as a "Silver Eagle." He served on The Board of Regents at Concordia University Nebraska, and also served in the local Seward government.

Joyce (Muhl) Heinicke, born in 1929.

.

Stephanie Heinicke, born in 1953.

Kathie "Koe" Heinicke, born in 1954.

David Heinicke, born in 1956.

.

They lived in East Hillcrest House 03 from 1954 to 1967.

Then they then moved to a new house that they had built on North 1st Street in Seward.

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Family of Bill Heinicke

Bill Heinicke, born in [year?].

Bill returned to Seward in the mid-1960s to teach at Concordia Teachers College after he had taught in Denver Lutheran schools for many years. His family moved from Seward to Montana in 1971, and has moved to different places since then.

Pat Heinicke, born in [year?].

.

Bill Heinicke, born in [year?].

Eric Heinicke, born in [year?].

Patricia "Patty", born in [year?].

Pamela "Pam", born in [year?].

Jennifer, born in [year?].

.

Bill Heinicke's family lived in Faculty Lane House 7 from [year?] to [year].

This family then bought the Sylwester's house on remote Columbia Avenue (former Faculty Lane House 1) and lived there from 1968 to 1971.

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Family of Betsy (Heinicke) Schmidt

Robert "Bob" Heinicke, born in [year?], died in [year?].

Elizabeth "Betsy" Heinicke, born in [year?].

Betsy lived in different places, including foreign countries, until her husband Bob died. She then returned to Seward in the mid-1960s and has remained there since. For decades, she served as the Concordia president's executive secretary, beginning with President Janzow's tenure.

.

Carolyn Heinicke, born in [year?].

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Family of Victor Heinicke

Victor Heinicke, born in [year?], died in [year?]

Victor was a Lutheran missionary in New Guinea when he had a heart attack. He then returned to the United States with his family, and died soon thereafter.

Norma Heinicke, born in [year?].

After Victor's death, his widow Norma moved to Seward in the mid-1970s with their children, where she remained until moving away in 2007.

.

(Children's names being obtained.)