Category: Local Interest

The digitized newspaper database is on order. We were able to get all of the funding needed. After including extra donations over the past few weeks, we will now be getting the Sargent Leader from 1900 to 2004, the Sargent New Era from 1899 to 1902, the Sargent Echo from 1897, and the West Union Gazette from 1892 to 1896. It should take around a month to complete. Thank you to all who contributed. 

Thanks to 41 generous donors, we have now collected enough funds to digitize the Sargent Leader from years 1900 to 2000. I plan to start the digitization process later next week, and according to the company, it will take around a month to finish.

Since we started this fundraising campaign, the Nebraska Historical Society has added years 2001 to 2004 of the Sargent Leader to their microfilm collection.  This means that we can add these four years to our digitized database. The extra cost would be $250.

If anyone still wants to donate for additional reels, now is the time. 

It’s most likely illegal now, but in 1939 the city killed 6000 to 7000 crows with dynamite. They didn’t announce ahead of time when the dynamite would be exploded, because they felt that would result in possible accidents. “George Hale believes that at least two crows were killed for every cent actually spent for this first attempt.”

Please donate to help digitize the past issues of the Sargent Leader from years 1900 to 2000. Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or you can donate through PayPal on our website. We have $1150 yet to raise.

This is fantastic – December 22, 1938 – “Free electricity for December to all users within the corporate limits of Sargent.” Do you suppose that we could get the city council to agree to this again?

Please donate to help digitize the past issues of the Sargent Leader from years 1900 to 2000. Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or you can donate through PayPal on our website. We have $1272 yet to raise.

Back in April 1988, we didn’t have online social media. We relied on our local paper to find out what all of our friends were doing. 
Please donate to help digitize the past issues of the Sargent Leader from years 1900 to 2000. Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or you can donate through PayPal on our website.

Here’s a clip from the Sargent Leader in 1954. Click on the picture to read what was happening at the school. Apparently the author didn’t think too highly of the freshman class. There are some pretty funny remarks.

Please donate to help digitize the past issues of the Sargent Leader from years 1900 to 2000. Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or you can donate through PayPal on our website. 

Here’s a snippet from the Sargent Leader in 1954. I love the quote “Always a Crowd in Sargent – Where People go by Choice.”  Please donate to our newspaper digitization project to put all of the past issues from the Sargent Leader from years 1900 to 2000 on a searchable hard drive

Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or it can be sent to the First National Bank of Sargent for the library’s account. If you would prefer to give by credit card, you can call the Sargent City Offices at 308-527-4200, and they will accept donations for the library. Finally, you can give online though PayPal by simply clicking on the “donate” button on our website. Let’s keep Sargent’s history alive so that it can be shared with many generations to come. Thank you!

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Once the Sargent Leader is digitized, all of the history of Sargent from the years 1900 to 2000 will be on one searchable, external hard drive that can be plugged into a library computer. This is what was happening in Sargent 27 years ago. Please donate to this project to help preserve our history and make it accessible for many generations to come. For more information, follow this link http://libraries.ne.gov/sargent/2014/12/20/keep-sargents-history-alive/

Imagine putting your grandmother’s name in a search box and finding out that in 1921 she caught the biggest fish in a fishing contest in Sargent. Then you could type in your grandfather’s name and discover that he was the best speller in Custer County in the 5th grade. This could be the future for Sargent Library patrons.

Frequently people will come in the library and ask about information on a deceased relative. We don’t have many resources at our library that can help them. Usually they are told that they can go to the Sargent Leader office and look through old newspapers. The other option is to go to the historical museum in Broken Bow or Lincoln and look through rolls of microfilm. These are all nice options. The only problem is that in order to find any information, you need to know specific dates. Some people come searching for information when all they know is that their uncle lived in Sargent in the 1940s. Looking through all rolls of microfilm pertaining to the 1940s would take months of tedious research.

That is why our local paper, the Sargent Leader, needs to be digitized. If the local newspaper was digitized, all of the history of Sargent from the years 1900 to 2000 would be on one simple external hard drive that could be plugged into a library computer. People could search the database by typing in a name or event. Immediately any article or picture that ever mentioned that name would come up on the computer screen in PDF form. If patrons found an interesting article, it could be easily printed from one of our computers and taken home.

There are 33 reels of microfilm from years 1900 to 2000 that need to be converted. The cost is $125 per reel for a total of $4325. The Custer County Foundation has offered us a grant for $500, so this leaves $3825 yet to raise. This is doable. If every resident of Sargent gave $8, we would have more than enough to complete the project. Some donors may want to “adopt a reel” of microfilm for $125 and specify which years they would like to sponsor. Donations can be given in your name or in memory of a loved one. These names can then be placed onto the hard drive.

Donations (checks made out to “Sargent Library”) can be sent directly to the library at P.O. Box 476, or it can be sent to the First National Bank of Sargent for the library’s account. If you would prefer to give by credit card, you can call the Sargent City Offices at 308-527-4200, and they will accept donations for the library. Finally, you can give online though PayPal by simply clicking on the “donate” button on our website. Let’s keep Sargent’s history alive so that it can be shared with many generations to come. Thank you!