Good Old Days 01-09-15

Compiled By The Sidney Sun-Telegraph Staff

These stories from the past first appeared in The Sidney Telegraph. Original writing is preserved, though some stories were shortened for space reasons.

50 Years Ago

Jan. 4, 1965

`B. Decker Purchases Rudy's Market here'

A major business transaction involving two Sidney businesses became effective today.

Bob Decker, owner of the Sidney Ben Franklin Store, purchased Rudy's Market and assumed active ownership today. Decker will continue to operate his Ben Franklin Store until the new owner arrives. He has sold the store to a Denver man who has hired Jack McIntosh of Cheyenne to manage the Bed Franklin store.

Rudy Munderloh will leave Tuesday with his wife for a short trip to New York City but will return here by Saturday. Present plans are that Rudy will be manager of the grocery store and assist Mr. Decker.

All employees of Rudy's Market will remain except for store manager Vern Shoopman who has purchased another store at Sioux Army Depot and operated it for seven years before selling it to the Post. For a time he also owned the O.P Skaggs store in downtown Sidney.

A past president of the Sidney Chamber of Commerce and of the Lions Club, Rudy is also a former city councilman and Mayor of Sidney. He has been active in many community and civic affairs, particularly, the Red Cross and the hospital fund drive.

Bob Decker graduated from Omaha Holy Name high school in 1950 and entered Creighton University in Omaha. He served two years in Korea in 1954-1956 and then returned to Creighton where he graduated in 1957 with a degree in Business Administration.

From 1958 to 1960, he operated a Ben Franklin store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During part of 1960 he was employed as a salesman for the Remington Rand Corporation.

Bob came to Sidney on January 1,2961 from his hometown of Omaha. He has owned and operated the Ben Franklin Store here since that time and built it into one of Sidney's most successful business firms. He added a line of groceries at the Ben Franklin store last year and became so interested in the grocery business that in December 1964 he began negotiations to buy Rudy's market.

25 years ago

Jan. 8, 1990

'It's Moving Time Into School's New Media Center'

The new Media Center for the Sidney Public Schools is now open for limited use by students. Books and other printed materials are available for checkout, even though the media directors and aides are still in the process of moving into the spacious new quarters.

Lee Chamberlain and Laurel Disbrow, respective media specialists for Sidney High and Sidney Junior High, are co-directors of the new facility which combines the resources of the two schools into one center. By Jan.18 , they say the center will be fully operational.

The "official" opening will be an open house celebration for the public, will be in March.

School officials have long been aware of the need for a larger, more accessible media center, Chamberlain said. The decision to build was triggered by a North-Central School Accreditation Association report criticizing the cramped space of the old high school library/media center.

Disbrow said the new center will eliminate the duplication of materials such as newspapers and magazines thereby saving taxpayer money. Academic materials will be centralized in the facility's instructional Materials Center, which will circulate film-strips, videocassettes, and other non-print materials in support of classroom teaching. Disbrow said they will also be doing off-air video taping, primarily educational television programs, as well as laminating plastic for all the city schools' bulletin boards and other teaching aids.

Disbrow stressed that the new center I much more than a physical facility. It represents a new efficiency and reorganization of the whole media-center concept as well. "lee and I and (Principal Gary) Mr. Schumaker have met hours upon hours planning the restructure of the whole media program for the Sidney School District."

10 years ago

Jan. 7, 2005

'Sidney Man Killed In Wyoming Collision'

A Sidney man was one of two killed in a two-vehicle accident north of Lusk, Wyo., on Tuesday afternoon.

Killed were Chad Nienhueser, 22, of Sidney, and Trent A Matt, of Philip, S.D.

Nienhueser was the son of Martin and Krysti Nienhueser of Sidney.

According to the Wyoming State Patrol, Nienhueser and Matt, and a third passenger, Justin C. Wenner, 21, Rapid City, S.D., were northbound on U.S. Highway 85 35 miles north of Lusk. Nienhueser apparently became disoriented due to the limited visibility and his vehicle crossed over the centerline into the southbound land and it was hit bead-on by a tractor-trailer combination driven by Clifford Berry of Dixon, Ill.

Nienhauser and Matt were killed instantly. Wenner was hospitalized overnight at Newcastle, Wyo. Hospital.

After graduating from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology where he majored in civil engineering, Nienhueser was employed as a civil engineer for the Pennington County Road Department at Rapid City, S.D.

5 years ago

Jan. 5, 2010

'Sheriff Johnson Retiring'

The time has come for a change of the guard, according to Cheyenne County Sherirr Darrell Johnson on Monday, after announcing his retirement at the end of his current term. At that same time, Chief Deputy Sheriff John Jenson registered at the county clerk's office his candidacy for the position.

"He's ready to go," Johnson said proudly as Jenson filed. "I always said I would retire at 65, and I'm 65. I will finish my term through January 2011."

Shortly after 11 a.m., Jenson filed his candidacy with the clerk's office, paying a $557.02 registration fee. Jenson, 41, has been in law enforcement for nearly 14 years.

"I think I'm ready to be sheriff, "Jenson told The Sidney Sun-Telegraph shortly before filing. "I think I have the experience needed for the job."

Jenson, a married father of two, has a long list of experience, beginning in 1996 when he became a correctional officer. In 2000, Jenson became a sheriff's investigator and served in that position until 2002 when he became chief deputy sheriff. Also under his belt is the position of SWAT commander, a position created in 2009 by interlocal agreement between the City of Sidney and Cheyenne County.

"He's always seeking to further his education," Johnson said. "He's a very, very good chief deputy. For my money, John is the right man for the job. He has my full support."

As of Monday, there were no other candidates for the job, but another person can register. The first elections, the May primaries, are still some time away.

When his term is finished, Johnson said he and his wife, Barbara, who has worked in the sheriff's office for nearly 40 years, will retire.

"Where I go, she goes, that how we work," Johnson said. "There are some things we want to do. It's time for us to do something else."

Upon retirement, Johnson will have served Cheyenne County as sheriff for just more than 32 years. He will have been in law enforcement for more than 40 years.

Johnson said he will not be leaving the area after retirement, but he'd like to go fishing.