Bill Green's letter from J. Edgar Hoover [Click to enlarge]

While going through keepsakes the other day, Bill Green of 605 West H came across one of his most prized possessions. It is a letter dated Aug. 27, 1970, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. What makes the letter special is that it was personally signed by the legendary J. Edgar Hoover, who was director of the FBI from 1924 until his death in 1972.

In the letter to Green, Hoover wrote: "You can certainly be proud of your fine record of service to our organization. The results you have attained attest to your devotion and diligence."

Green, who became McCook Chief of Police following his retirement from the FBI, joked about Hoover's nice words. "If I had known I was held in such high regard by Mr. Hoover, I probably wouldn't have retired."

In his years with the FBI, Green directed the field office in North Platte, handling many cases in western Nebraska and Kansas.

When Bill stopped by the Gazette office, he was with Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood. "This is my attorney and we want to see you in your office," he said, not cracking a smile. Later, the Gazette editor, Bruce Crosby, and I had some fun of our own. "Here's a photocopy of the letter," Bruce said. "We'd like to keep the original." It didn't take long to find that wasn't going to work. Bill growled and quickly retrieved the original from Bruce's hand.

We suggested Bill peddle the letter on e-Bay. There's no telling what a letter personally signed by J. Edgar Hoover would bring, but, from the look on Bill's face, we can assure you that e-Bay will never see hide nor hair of the Hoover signed 1970 letter.

The Bureau Then and Now

My, how times have changed. I was reminded of that last week when Dawn Cribbs, the Gazette's associate editor, presented me with a copy of the Jan. 24, 1954, edition of the McCook Daily Gazette. The item of interest--in the midst of the front page -- was story-and-photo coverage of the Open House welcoming the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office to McCook.

That's of renewed interest because another Open House is upcoming. This time, the Bureau will be celebrating the completion of the all-new field office building and parking lot at 1706 W. Third Street. The special event will be Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Hopefully, some of the Bureau staff in 1954 will be able to attend the 2006 ceremony. Several still reside in the McCook area, including Ray Aldrich, a hydraulic engineer who was pictured in the page one coverage 52 years ago. Others from that era include Dee Messinger, Ed Hlavinka, Roy Smith and Roy Mustion.

Please let me know if you know of other Bureau employees from the early 1950s and I will acknowledge them in future columns. Also, let me know if you were the one who brought in the 1954 Gazette. Dawn gave me a note with your name, but it somehow became misplaced on my neat and orderly desk.

A Special Football Anniversary

This year marks a very special anniversary for McCook Bison football. It's the 60th anniversary of the 1946 Bison team which was ranked as the Number One team for all classes in Nebraska.