April 7th, 2021 marked the 150th anniversary of the Soldier’s Free Homestead Colony of Gibbon, NE. The city hosted a presentation at the Heritage Center on the evening of April 7th. There are various city-wide activities planned for the entire 150th year! Check them out by going to the website - http://gibbon150th.com/ or to the Facebook Event - https://www.facebook.com/Gibbon-Nebraska-150th-Celebration-1871-2021-105753814923726
Elementary students of Gibbon Public Schools participated in a coloring contest and a poster contest to commemorate the anniversary. You will find these hanging in the windows of the Walker Hardware/Meier Ballroom building. Excellent work by our students!
In conjunction with the English teachers, interested students were asked to write a personal narrative essay about one of their own experiences. This was supposed to describe a memory of a special person, place, or event that took place in Gibbon. We asked students to write about how Gibbon has shaped their thoughts through this event, and how this memory would shape them as an adult. We had a lot of entries describing recent events, such as the pandemic and flooding. Our students described learning about resiliency, perseverance, and the importance of community. Many remembered times when the community came to their family’s aid.
One winner from each age group of entries was selected.- Korbyn Smallcomb - winner for the 5th and 6th-grade level.
- Natalie Contreras - winner of the 7th and 8th-grade level,
- Jhordy Solares - winner for the 9th and 10th-grade level.
- Delaney Tracy- winner from the 11th and 12th-grade level
Braxton Smith & Maribel Guttierrez were named as honorable mentions for their essays as well.
Essay winners were given a family pass to the Trails and Rails Museum as well as a coupon for Oliv3rs. The two young ladies who presented last night were also given a family pool pass to the Gibbon pool from the Chamber of Commerce.