News and Views; July 17, 2019

Phyllis Hahn
Posted 7/17/19

News and views from Niobrara County.

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News and Views; July 17, 2019

Posted

           Melvin and Lola ZumBrunnen accompanied their son, Les and his wife, Linda, with their son, Ryan, to Minneapolis, Minn., on June 28. They spent Friday night and Saturday with their daughter, Teri, and her husband Scott Whitman in Dayton, Minn. In Minneapolis, they toured the park where the ruins of General Mill’s Betty Crocker mill is located. They also took a float trip around the Mississippi River area. The group drove to Rochester on Sunday to see Melvin and Lola’s grand-daughter, Rachel ZumBrunnen, perform on the Vibraphone with Phantom Regiment competition on Sunday night. Rachel's percussion group placed 1st, and the entire group placed 4th in the competition.

Rachel is touring and playing with the Phantom Regiment, a marching band that performs all over the Midwest and southern part of the United States. Scott, Teri, Audrey and Jacob Whitman also attended the Sunday performance. Melvin and Lola flew back to Denver on Monday, the 1 of July.

            Wini (Ward) Bryant was unable to attend her family’s reunion this year but she enjoyed a visit with her only remaining sibling, sister Merle Starr. Her nephew, A.J. “Butch” Bartkoski and wife, Nancy, of West Jordan, Utah, brought Wini’s sister, Merle Starr, for a visit with Wini and her grandson, Greg, after the Ward family’s annual reunion. They arrived the day after Memorial Day for a three-day stay. The time was spent reminiscing. Wini is a dedicated saver of family history and enjoys knowing precious keepsakes are being housed in a family home in Saratoga, in a room that is their own private family museum.