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Bill Neufeld
Hatteberg's People
Reporter: Larry Hatteberg
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December 14, 2003--
On Hatteberg’s People you’re not going to see flashy Christmas
decorations or five hundred thousand lights in this story.
It’s much simpler than that.
In Inman, Kansas, Bill Nuefeld’s decorations have a history.
And for him, a deeper meaning. |
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“I’m 80 years old
and everybody tells me I don’t act like it.”
Bill Nuefeld lives
quietly in Inman, Kansas. His
yard accented by a seven-foot star with a cross in the center. |
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“Yeah, I think it
was probably in the middle ‘60’s’.
That’s when he
built it. But first a word
about Bill. Like many, he’s
widowed just a few years ago and now keeps to a fixed schedule.
“I get up in the
morning at 7 o’clock. Shave,
get dressed and go over to Jerry’s Café for breakfast.”
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“I like to visit and
get caught up on the latest news. Tell
a few stories.”
“And then, after
I’ve had my breakfast, I head south about a half a block---to the senior
center. We’ve got two pool
tables there and we’ve got a bunch of guys who play pool.” |
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“Then I head for
Hutchinson. My kids own the Nuefeld’s Deli in Hutchinson.
I get there at 11 o’clock and work till two.”
“People are what makes life interesting.”
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| Bill is so right…that’s why I want to
tell you about him and this star and cross that sets in his front yard. In
the ‘60’s he worked at this Inman grain elevator. |
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“It was right on top of that grain
elevator right where that ADM sign is.”
Another man
designed it, Bill built it and thought it would be a good symbol for the
town.
“I put a cross
in the center of it with red bulbs around the outside and the cross was
green. It represents
something to me from scripture.”
When he was laid
off, this star was discarded.
“They hauled
to the dump.” |
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A relative later found
it and used it to hang things on in a barn….then this year Bill decided
to put it up.
He worked on it
in his garage---
The cross and
star symbolize what Bill’s faith has always taught him . |
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“It means a lot more
to me than a reindeer and a Santa Clause.
Yep, cause this is the true meaning…yep.”
“I don’t
think it will get discarded again.”
Bill’s strong
religious faith is key to his outlook on life.
Not the biggest light show – But for Bill, certainly one of the
most meaningful. |
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