Mr. Heber was a native of Peoria, Ill. He was born there in 1872, but came west, to McCook as a lad of 16, in 1888, where he started to work for the Burlington RR as a messenger boy. 54 years later, in 1942, he retired from the Railroad as Wire Chief of the McCook office.

While the Railroad was Heber's business, the YMCA was his passion. He and his wife, Mabel, had no children of their own, but the countless young people, who were a part of the Y programs over Heber's many years of involvement, became his family. And like any good father, Heber did well by his family.

As early as 1916 a number of McCook's civic leaders began to talk about the need for a YMCA. This was a diverse group, consisting of bankers, railroaders, professional men, and merchants -- B.M. Frees was the guiding force, but there were many others, including, A. Barnett, Dr. C.L. Fahnestock, Herbert Watkins, L. W. McConnell, Harry Culbertson, George Thompson, Charlie Ritchie, A.N. Lineburg, Louis Suess, and W.G. Springer.

To give seriousness to the talks, Mr. Frees, of the 1st National Bank, set up a YMCA account in his bank, which he funded with a personal check in the amount of $35,000. At that time it was thought that a suitable building could be built for $35,000. However, Mr. Frees stated that his money was to be divided -- $25,000 for the building, and $10,000 to be used for an endowment fund -- the interest generated by the $10,000 to be used for repair and upkeep on the building. He further stated that the citizens of McCook should raise another $15,000, part of which would go into the endowment.

Though McCook had a YMCA Charter since those 1916-'17 meetings, there were delays from World War I and the aftermath and for years there was no McCook YMCA building. Unfortunately, Mr. Frees did not live to see the new McCook YMCA building. He died in 1920, and in accordance with the terms of his will, McCook was given a time limit for the construction of a building, else the funds would revert to the Frees estate.

A fund drive was organized to raise $15,000 -- considered to be a staggering amount for a city the size of McCook in 1920. To the surprise of many, a seven day subscription drive raised the necessary $15,000, which swelled the amount of the Y fund of Mr. Frees, plus interest, plus contributions by other "big" donors to almost $60,000 -- but not quite. To make up the deficit, Louis Suess, the Chairman of the Y building drive, thereupon went to the bank and borrowed the amount (somewhat over $1,000) on his personal signature. (Mr. Suess' grandson, J.T. Harris, says that at that time, this was an amount that Mr. Suess really could not afford, yet he felt that the project was so important to McCook's youth that he did not hesitate.)

When the YMCA, at the corner of Main (Norris) and E. was finally being built in 1925 it was discovered that there were no provisions for a swimming pool. Even though there were no other indoor swimming pools in Southwest Nebraska at the time, it was deemed of great importance for the McCook Y to be the first. Thereupon, Mr. A. Barnett came forward and made an additional donation of $15,000. In the final accounting, with Mr. Frees' contribution, Barnett's gift, citizen donations, and the interest on those funds, the Y fund totaled some $80,000.

The original McCook YMCA became a pioneer Y on several counts. 1. It was the smallest city in the world to have a YMCA. 2. It did not have dormitory facilities for its members. (Originally, YMCAs were places where young "men" could live in safety, and meet for prayer and Bible study -- a refuge from the many sins of the city -- brought on by the age of industrialization in Europe and the United States. During the great depression of the 1930s the McCook Y did allow homeless males to take refuge in the Y from time to time (as many as 30 to 40 sometimes slept on the hard, but warm gym floor), but there were never permanent living accommodations for young men.) 3. From the beginning there were programs for girls and young women -- though these programs necessarily took place on separate days from the men, due to the fact that swimming was in the nude.

In the early years, from 1926 to '35, the McCook YMCA rented the top floor out to the McCook School District for the first home of the McCook Junior College. This arrangement helped the Y meet its ongoing expenses, while at the same time it gave the College a chance to prove that it was going to be a permanent institution.

Charlie Heber was involved with programs for the Y, beginning in the late '20s. Though the Y had a paid director from the very beginning, Heber is credited with starting the Y's physical program. His tireless work in behalf of the Y is credited with keeping the Y from going broke during the Depression of the '30s. He instigated the formation of the Hi Y program and improved and enlarged the Bison Coral program (a social program for high schoolers, with sock hop dances and parties in the Y's gym). After Mr. Heber retired from the RR, in 1942, the Y really became his full-time job. One of his first major projects was the designing, installing, and leading a fund drive to pay for a modern filtration system for the Y's pool.

Heber was also active in other organizations in the community. He was active in the Christian Science Church, and all of the local Masonic bodies, as well as the Tehama Shrine Club in Hastings. He was a member of the Girl Scout Council, and active in the Kiwanis Club and the Burlington Veterans organization.

For his efforts in behalf of McCook's youth, Heber was awarded the Rotary Community Service Award in 1945, the Aksarben award for his work with area youth, and the Outstanding Lay Leadership Award by the West Central Area Council of the YMCA.

But of all the honors Heber received, probably the one that meant the most to him was awarded to him by the Board of Directors of the local YMCA. Heber was first elected to the Y Board in the early 1930s. He was elected President of the Y Board in 1938, and served in that capacity for 18 years. In 1955 the McCook YMCA Board, in appreciation for Heber's unstinting devotion and leadership to the Y over so many years, elected him "President For Life", a position he held for just over a year, till his death, at age 84, on Jan. 12, 1957.

Charlie Heber was a great YMCA volunteer and set a high standard for volunteer leaders in the years since. The tradition he began, of capable volunteers to set the goals and standards for the YMCA and its programs for area youth has continued to the present day.

Source: McCook Gazette Centennial Edition 1882-1982