Chamber King Ferdinand Queen Isabella Memories

Well, I was totally surprised for one thing. I received a call at 7.30 in the morning from Rich Anderson informing me that I had been chosen as King Ferdinand. And I thought, you shouldn't be joking at this time in the morning, Rich. You know, you can find somebody else to play a joke on, but he assured me that this was not a joke, that it was in fact true, and I was just in awe, I really was. I didn't know I was being considered, I felt very humble, and I still do. I do remember it, and actually it was at a Commodore call in Schuyler. I had taken two ladies with me, and they were walking out to the car, and Casey said, Mary, hold on a second, I need to talk to you. And he told me, and I was stunned, just stunned. I don't think I, I forget how I responded, but I was really, really surprised, excited but surprised. I didn't get to receive the call. Bob Stahura was president, and he came to my store and said he wanted to talk to me privately. And so we went up in my office, and the first thing I thought about when he came was, I was probably getting sued, but in the chamber too, and so that's what my first thought was, and I was very, very relieved when Bob Stahura told me I'd been selected for King Ferdinand. It was, I felt very honored, and I know the gals that worked for me are the one that nominated me, so. Talking with all the people, you know, being a part of the whole Columbus Day thing was just so exciting. I mean, from the dog show to the, just everything, the turtle races, I mean, everything that we did that weekend was just fabulous. You know, it's really hard to pinpoint one, just the humbling experience of being part of such an amazing group, but, you know, the year I was queen, it was the first year for the cows, and to see all those cows all over town, and everybody really got into it, so that was fun, but also it was all the things that maybe you normally wouldn't participate in Columbus Days, but you do because you're king or queen, and just doing everything and being truly amazed at everything that goes on. Well, I have a kind of a far-out-far fond memory, if you will. In those days, back in 2000, the duck that was to be chosen for the duck derby for the United Way was chosen, was drawn out of the Loop River. And so, my queen and myself and the mayor, Mayor Giebelhaus, I believe at the time, and Karen Nielsen, we all went and were brought in on four-wheelers out into the river, and the river was very low that year. We couldn't, there wasn't enough water to float the ducks. So we're all standing around looking at each other, and so what happens is, is the organizers of this event, they get in touch with the gatekeeper of the water, who was Bob White, and Bob White allowed a release of water way upstream somewhere. We didn't know where this was being released, but they, you know, they're on walkie-talkies. So this water is released, and then into the water goes the ducks. So we're all kind of milling around out on this sandbar, and there had been a very elaborate funnel system set up with chicken wire, and the ducks were to come down this channel, into this elaborate system, and then supposedly one duck would make it to the front, and that was the one that was being selected. So we're just milling around on our own walkie-talkies, saying, okay, the ducks are coming, the ducks are coming, and we can't see anything. And all of a sudden, we looked upstream, and here is a wall of ducks. And for some reason or another, the only thing I could think of was the scene from Apocalypse Now, where Robert Duvall is exhorting his troops from his Huey helicopter to the strains of the Ride of the Valkyrie. And here come the ducks. It was just absolutely the most hilarious thing I have ever seen in my life. I was laughing so hard, I fell down face-first in the water, didn't bother me. I had a great time. I still to this day remember that that was just the most significant thing that I can remember out of a great week, and a great rain for that matter. But that stood out. I couldn't have been prouder to have Mike as my king. I'd worked with Mike for many, many years, so it was just a joy and a pleasure to work with him. And he was there through many of the festivities during Columbus Days, which I thought was really, really nice to support the chamber and the Columbus Days program. I think the most fun was when little girls would come up to me, because I did wear the crown, and they would come up and ask me why I had that crown on. And I'd tell them about it, and they were kind of in awe, and I'd say, well, when you grow up, you keep volunteering for things, be involved in community things, and then maybe someday you can be Queen Isabella, too, of Columbus. So that was kind of cool. They enjoyed that. Everything about Columbus Days was fun. It helps when people know who you are, and the honor that has been bestowed on you. It's so humbling. But people that I didn't even really know very well came up, and we visited for a while. So that was one of the really neat parts of that whole weekend. Not really. I've always said that my dad set the bar for community service, and I've tried to live up to that bar ever since, and never have been able to. But I felt community service was very important then. I still do, as you're aware of some of the things that I'm involved in, and continue to be involved in. And I just think that I was extremely fortunate to be in that club, if you will, and to be recognized for that community service. I believe in it sincerely, before the fact, and I continue to believe in it today. Somebody made the comment to me that, oh gosh, once you're Queen, you don't have to do anything anymore. And I guess I took that kind of as a challenge, that yes, I need to continue with my community service. Maybe focusing and working a little more with not as many projects, because sometimes you can get overloaded and not do your best. But I think I still volunteer a lot. No, it was too awe-centered. It was a big blur, really, because I just knew my whole family was here, and my grandson was the crown bearer. And it was, yeah, it was just a lot of fun. A lot of fun seeing all the people that came, too. Well, it was at the country club, which was much smaller. In some ways, that's good. In some ways, that wasn't. We had so many people there, and it was hard for everybody to see. So in this respect, having it at the Ramada Inn, everybody can be a part of it, but it's not nearly as intimate. And considering I taught swimming lessons, and that was part of my volunteering for how many years at the country club, that made it special. After you get to be king or queen, don't quit and volunteer. I think that's pretty important. I know so many times, you know, if you're hoping to get an honor, and I'm not saying that anybody, I mean, I hope it's mostly a surprise to everybody, like it was to me. It certainly was to me, that they continue to do things for the community. I think they need to just cherish every single moment of the weekend and the celebration, and to be, you know, continue to be involved. It's almost like a family affair, I feel, and getting involved in that whole weekend is, I think, a big responsibility and a part of that role. If we do this again in the 80th year, I hope to be here, telling the same story. I would say that it's really important, community service is very important, and this is what this recognizes, and I have talked before to other groups about the importance of community service, but just because you may become recognized for your contribution to the community service doesn't mean you drift off into the sunset. Stay in there, hang in there. Institutional knowledge is becoming more and more important, and I believe that it is the people who have been and are being recognized for their community service that carry that institutional knowledge ahead and will continue to contribute to the community. Well, I've got a special little story that happened. The latter part of September, my younger brother called and says his son down in Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona, needed his driveway widened, and being that I'd retired, he wanted to know if I could fly down with him and help him widen the driveway, and I said, sure, no problem. So we flew down and worked for two days. It was the second day we finished the job, and my nephew says, well, I'll take you guys out for supper, so all right, so we cleaned up, and he says there's a restaurant about half a mile from here that's just opening up, let's try it, and I said, that's fine with me, and so his wife and his two boys and my brother and I, we drove over there to the restaurant, drove in the parking lot, and it was just crowded, lots of cars, and we walked in, and I was in front and walked up and said, we need a table for six, and he says, we're not open for business. You're going to come for a special invitation, and I said, what? How do you get a special invitation? And I says, how does this old Nebraska boy get a special invitation? He says, you're from Nebraska, and I says, sure, and he says, you got a special invitation. So I don't know whether he was a former Nebraskan or what, but anyhow, he says, you go on in, they'll set you at the table, and you order anything you want to off the menu, and the only thing you have to do is after you get done eating, you got to fill out a questionnaire. We're trying out our cooks and the waitresses and waiters and see how well they can do on a regular basis, so we ordered our meal and ran up a bill for about $90, I guess. Anyway, got done and got ready, and we left, and walking out, I stopped at the desk, and I said, I bet you don't know that you just got through serving a king. And he said, a king? I said, yeah, I'm King Ferdinand the 21st. And I picked up a little thing off his desk here that he was talking about at his restaurant and walked on out and got home there, and about a week later, I got thinking, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take my picture with King Ferdinand on, I'm going to take and mail that down to him. So I wrote on it, best wishes for successful business. Signed it, King Ferdinand the 21st. Put in an envelope and mailed it. No return address, just mailed it. Well, about a month and a half later, I got a phone call from my nephew. He says, guess what, Unc? I just went into that restaurant, and your picture's in the entryway. I said, what? He said, yeah, but I didn't tell him it was my uncle. I just looked at it and walked on by. He said, hey, that's a pretty nice picture. And the guy said, yeah, that's King Ferdinand the 21st. Well, that's back 20 years ago, so I don't know whether my picture's still hanging in there, whether the restaurant's still going or not. I have no clue. We've never been back.