Updated history book hits the shelves, limited number available for purchase

After two-and-a-half years, the new book showcasing Harvard’s history has been printed.

In December 2022, Ruby Adam, Sheila Nelson, and Linda Parnell began working on “Harvard, Nebraska 150 Years +2,” a project that’s been asked for since the first history book—“Harvard, Nebraska 100 +2”—came out in 1973.

The trio’s head start on the project came from Don Gerlach, who began collecting history and stories and then turned them over to Adam.

The newest book is different in many ways from its predecessor, focusing instead on stories submitted from Harvard citizens.

Adam asked people to write about their family in Harvard, or share information about businesses, organizations, and churches.

While Adam worked on getting content, Parnell and Johnson did proofreading, indexing, and organizing, in preparation for the final layout— which was done mostly by Parnell.

During their work on the 150th book, another book was completed, “150 Strong, Harvard Public Schools, 1873-2023,” which focuses on graduates from HPS over 150 years.

In order to get the HPS book finished in time for the Harvard 150th celebration, they set the history book aside and began searching for photos and information about graduates.

Also included in the HPS book are memorials of those who graduated from HPS. People could donate toward the book to put their loved one in, which helped with the costs associated with it.

“People were very generous,” Parnell said.

Also during this time, the first history book—also known as the 1973 Red Book—was reprinted, this time with a table of contents.

In order to do that, someone was willing to donate their original copy, which was then disassembled and scanned into an updated book. Then it was put back together in a coil-bound style.

Ruby Adam, left, Sheila Nelson, and Linda Parnell pick up the finished “Harvard, Nebraska 150 Years +2” book, which continues the story of Harvard’s citizens, businesses, and organizations. COURTESY PHOTO | CLAY COUNTY NEWS

When the red book was completed, 1,000 copies were printed and sold at a cost of $6.50, which is the equivalent to $46.16 today.

It was compiled by Alice Brehm, Joanne Williamson, Elaine Ling, Mildred England, Dorothy Farrall, and Edna Iliff.

Once the school book was completed and the updated 1973 red book was reprinted, Adam, Nelson, and Parnell turned their attention back to the 150th history book.

Submitted stories and looking through all of Harvard’s history often took them down memory lane.

“We got down so many rabbit holes,” Nelson said.

“There were a lot of chuckles and reminiscing,” Parnell added.

“We probably had six months of reminiscing,” Nelson laughed.

Despite the amount of time it took to get from start to finish, the trio agreed they had fun.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the writing styles of some of the stories,” Parnell said. “I loved seeing those personalities come through.”

Except for fixing obvious misspellings, they didn’t do much editing and ran the stories as they came in.

They also enjoyed seeing the photos that came in.

Along with the people who submitted stories, they also gave a huge thanks to Joyce Bartels, a retired teacher who was a big asset to the book.

“The only regret we have is Gerlach didn’t get to see the end result,” Adam said. Gerlach passed away in January 2024.

Three hundred copies of the book were printed, many of which were sold prior to the book being finished.

There is a limited number left and will be sold for $70 on a first-come, first-serve basis with money in hand. To buy your copy, contact Adam at 402-984-9418 or [email protected]; Parnell at 402751-0023; Nelson; or send an email to the Harvard Alumni Historical Committee at [email protected].

The Harvard Public School book, left, features graduates from HPS between 1873-2023, and was printed in time for the 150th celebration. At the right, a new version of the 1973 Red Book was reprinted and features a table of contents and is a soft cover version.