Furnas County has new flag

BEAVER CITY -- Furnas County's new county flag will hang on the second floor of the courthouse, beside a picture of an early homestead and the first courthouse,and across from an engraved floor-to-ceiling marble slab that tells about the county's early pioneers. The new flag adds another chapter to the history of the county.

County Commissioner Clint Olmsted said, in April 2001, the Edison American Legion, Lee Ferguson Post. No. 343, asked government students at Cambridge, Arapahoe and Southern Valley high schools to design a county flag. As an enticement, commissioners offered a $300 scholarship for first place and a $200 scholarship for the runner-up. Olmsted said the scholarships were funded by the county's lending institutions, insurance companies, Ag Valley Co-Op and the Edison Legion.

The creator of the flag design ultimately selected by commissioners was Shannon Collins, a student at Arapahoe High School. In second place was Lacey Einspahr of Southern Valley.

Collins's design incorporates the names of all the communities in the county, tied together by a big number 38 -- the number that designates Furnas County on license plates. Two ears of corn and a sunrise complete the flag.

The flag was sewn by McCook Lettering Service at Gary's Country Peddler.

Courthouse employees gathered Tuesday as Olmsted, representing the Edison Legion, presented the flag to fellow commissioners Glenn Cowan and Fred Trosper. Also participating was Legion member and Pearl Harbor survivor Whitey Einspahr.

Gazette photos/Connie Jo Discoe

Clint Olmsted (above) of the Edison American Legion, Lee Ferguson Post No. 343, (right), presents possibly the first county flag in Southwest Nebraska to fellow Furnas County commissioners Glenn Cowan (left) and Fred Trosper. Whitey Einspahr (at left), a Legion member and Pearl Harbor survivor, also participated in the presentation ceremony.