JERRY T. MC CLELLAN
Jarrold Thomas McClellan was born at the Lexington Community
Hospital in Lexington, Dawson County, Nebraska, about noon living. His parents are Thomas H. and Evelyn (Trunnell) McClellan. He
had a sister, Wanda, who was nearly 11 years older than he. She was
elated to have a brother and it was she who chose his name - Jerry.
When the woman at the hospital came with the forms to send in to
Lincoln, I told her we wanted to name him ‘Jerrald Thomas,” and she
wrote it down as “Jarrold.” I thought that was a pretty way to spell
it and she was such a wonderfully kind person, so it went on the
records that way, but he has always been “Jerry” to all of us.
We were living on a farm about five or six miles west of Elwood in
Gasper County. In September of 1948, we had driven up into the
Sandhills and had rented a ranch in Holt County, about 32 miles
northwest of Burwell and had paid part of the rent in advance, never
dreaming the kind of a winter that lay ahead of us in 1948 and 1949.
It began with a big snow storm November 18 which lasted for several
days. Snow was piled over fence tops, blocked roads, etc. This snow
stayed with us all winter, with more being added from time to time.
Every time the roads were opened they were soon blown shut again.
Needless to say, it posed many problems even for farmers who had
plenty of feed but for a family facing a long, expensive move and a
new baby in the spring, the problems were monumental.
As winter wore on and spring approached, the road maintenance
personnel tried to keep a close watch on us and finally brought the
snow plow out and parked it in our yard. Looking back, I feel true
gratitude to those people for their concern.
But spring had opened up and the snow had melted, at least to the
point that the roads were passable, on the night we decided to drive
to the hospital. An event that really stands out in our minds even
today was crossing the Platte River bridge and meeting an oncoming
car and seeing a horse on the bridge immediately in front of our
car. Fortunately, we did not hit the horse or the car and arrived
safely at the hospital about midnight of April 21.
When Jerry was less than a month old, we made the long, difficult
move to the Holt County ranch, 32 miles northwest of Burwell. We
were hand milking 12-14 cows at the time. His sister Wanda helped
tremendously in caring for him while I was outside helping with
milking, caring for cows at calving time, putting up hay, etc.
He was less than one year old when we experienced the disastrous
March 7 blizzard of 1950, which killed 12 cows for us and froze
udders, hocks, and feet on others. Again, Wanda looked after her
baby brother while we went through the heart-breaking task of
shoveling out through mountainous snow drifts, hunting cattle,
digging them out of snow drifts and trying to save the sorry-looking
herd.
He was not quite three years old when we made another long and
difficult move on March 6, 1952, to the farm in Knox County located
about 23 miles northwest of Verdigre. We purchased this farm from
Emil Cuhel (and Emil bought a farm north of Burwell and moved there
when we moved here). It was a cold day and Jerry was quite unhappy
to see the house that had afforded him all his comforts so
completely torn up with no heat, no beds, chairs, table, nothing
left and everything loaded into trucks. He, Wanda, and I rode along
with the furniture while Tom stayed behind with the cattle trucks.
After a long ride, that must have seemed endless to him, we arrived
at another empty, cold house. Settling in to try to make it home was
all beyond his understanding. For some time, we could never get him
to get into the cab of a pickup or a truck. He seemed to think we
might put him through the same experience again.
However, he soon adjusted to his new home and we even bought a
pickup of our own; it became our only mode of travel. He forgot his
fear of trucks. Memory of any other home faded into oblivion and he
became a part of the land with its trees, its gullies, the river,
fish, and animals.
He went to school at District 46, on Steele Creek, and his teacher
was Jean (Brunner) Ruzicka. His schoolmates were Robert and Irene
Ruziicka (children of Walter and Alice Marshall Ruzicka) and Wallace
and Dallas Tuch, (sons of Walter and Evelyn (Viterna) Tuch).
In 1960 school was discontinued in District 46 and Jerry went to
Knoxcille one year; Ruby Wirth was his teacher. Then he finished his
seventh and eighth grade years in Pischelville District where Ruth (Vonasek)
Farnik was teacher one year and Mrs. Don Allen, the other.
By the time he started to high school, Verdigre was sending out
buses and soon our district joined the Verdigre School District. He
graduated from Verdigre high School with the class of 1967.
On December 25, 1972, he married Pamela Jean Wavrunek (born
living), daughter of Leonard and Shirley Wavrunek. Pam has two
older brothers, Allen and Dean. Jerry and Pam had the sad experience
of losing twin sons, Anthony and Billy, who were born at Lundberg
Memorial hospital, Creighton, Nebraska, on March 7, 1974, and died
at birth. They are buried in the Pischelville Cemetery. They now two
sons, Jeremiah Jade, born living, and Dustin Thomas, born
living. They live in a mobile home on the same farm where
Jerry grew up, having no recollection of any other home.
-Written and submitted by his mother, Mrs. Tom McClellan
Pages
329, 330
