Dozens of books stuffed full of newspaper and magazine articles were stacked on the dresser and television set of Walter Schmitt's spartan room the day he died last year. As his last hours slipped away, the Gresham, Neb., native chatted about current events with a friend and prayed a little.

The 94-year-old was a retired blacksmith, a high school graduate and a lifelong learner. He also was a millionaire.

After a life of frugal living and wise investing, Schmitt gave to others in death what he didn't have in life: a college education.

Schmitt gave his entire $3.5 million estate to the University of Nebraska Foundation. The gift, known as the Schmitt Scholarship Fund, will provide scholarships annually to students at the four University of Nebraska campuses, said Dorothy Endacott, foundation spokeswoman.

 

(Read more about this man who is making an impact even after his life in this world is over. A life of frugality leaves millions for scholarships )

(I have never before printed part of somebody's death notice. I never knew this kid but he sounds like he was a very cool young person.)

Isaac Hall didn't know that cancer is supposed to make you miserable.

The 8-year-old relished tractor rides, playing in the mud, messy crafts and practical jokes despite having leukemia.

He chose to see the positive side of everything, said his father, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Travis Hall of Bellevue. Instead of focusing on the spinal tap procedures he had to endure, Isaac looked forward to the Mountain Dew Code Red drinks he got afterwards, Hall said.

Last year, when a second-grade teacher assigned him to write about a bad day in his life, Isaac thought for a while, then approached the teacher. "I haven't had a bad day," he said.

"That was two and a half years into treatment" for the leukemia, his father said.

(When we have a bad day lets try our best to follow the attitude this little boy had and lets keep his family - friends in our prayers.)

 The third-grade students at Manchester Elementary look forward to Margaret Andrews' visits.

Twice a week Andrews, an 83-year-old former teacher, helps students with their studies. She enjoys contact with the young minds. She likes to teach and share.

"It's a wonderful age," Andrews said about the third-graders. "I would be happy to do more."

For her efforts, the Elkhorn Public Schools Foundation recently named Andrews mentor of the year.

"She is exceptional," said Susan King, a third-grade teacher at Manchester, near 174th and Blondo Streets in the Elkhorn school district. "There are times I think she is mentoring me, too."

Andrews is like clockwork, King said, tutoring students twice a week, spending about an hour each visit. For two years, she has helped with everything from social studies to science. But her main focus is reading and math.

Whether it's her many life lessons, her approach to learning or her giving nature, Andrews' connection with children is evident. There is something special about her, King said.

"You can definitely see her bond with my kids because they are asking to go work with her," King said.

Andrews also spends two days a week with high school students at Boys Town. That work is more challenging, she said, but equally rewarding.

She's not interested in the circumstances that led the students to Boys Town - she just wants to help them better themselves.

 

(Read more about this Make A. Difference Lady Mentor finds joy in children.)

 (Here is a cool story just in time for the Christmas holiday.)

Alisanne Ells thought what anyone would have thought when she realized she had driven off leaving her purse on the ground.

Someone will find it and use her credit cards. She'd never see the purse — or anything in it — again.

"I hate to be that way, but I guess you think the worst," said Ells.

At about 3:15, she got a cell phone call. It was the bank, saying someone had found her purse and wanted to return it. She was given a phone number. And hope.

Paige Crummer and Taylor Morrow, Benson seniors; junior Hannah Orr and Taylor's brother Paul, a sophomore, were waiting in the yard. They'd found the handbag on their way home from swimming practice. They made several phone calls and worried that something bad might have happened to Ells.

(Good for these high school teens. You see there are people including young people  who are trying to do their best to do what is right. Read more of this story right here.)

Omaha Police Officer Mike Bratcher and 6-year-old Charles have two different ideas of what Christmas shopping is all about.

The two went shopping together Monday at the Irvington Wal-Mart as part of the Omaha Police Union's Shop With a Cop event, which pairs police officers with children from the Open Door Mission for an evening of shopping, pizza and Santa.

Bratcher wanted to make sure the boy had warm clothes for the winter. Charles couldn't wait to get to the toys. But both liked the idea of buying a watch and an earring and necklace set for Charles' mother.

About 75 police officers helped 51 children Monday, officials from the police union and the homeless shelter said. Monday marked the eighth year for the annual shopping spree.

 

(It is nice to see the police helping kids. In my growing up days I was enocuraged to have high regard for the police but sadly not all kids are brought up that way. Yes, there are bad police but that is the way it is with every job in the world. Most police are good and are doing their best to keep this sinful world some-what safe. Read more of the above story Cops take kids on shopping spree.)

The preschool class at Millard's Reeder Elementary School started 10 minutes ago, but one member was a bit tardy.

As the 4-year-olds sat cross-legged in a circle on the floor and ran through a reading exercise, the door cracked and the latecomer nonchalantly trotted over to join the group.

Instead of a stern lecture on punctuality, though, Moses got nothing but love, which he returned with a couple of licks and a friendly tail wag.

Moses is an Edu-Pup, and the kids in Sandy Miller's class were wondering where he was.
(It is cool how they can use animals to help us humans including kids isn't it? Read more on this issue right here.)

Kevin Kush took the locker-room floor.

Thirty-five young men with checkered pasts, hailing from 12 states, stared at him. With blue jerseys covering their shoulder pads, the pride of Boys Town listened to their coach before their state football playoff game against Syracuse last Saturday.

You don't have what your opponents have, Kush told the kids. You can't go home to your own house. You don't have parents.

But, Kush said, let me show you what you do have.

He pushed open the locker-room doors and beckoned his team to follow. On the other side, cheering, stood close to 600 Boys Town residents, faculty, staff and alumni.

When the undefeated Cowboys walk into Memorial Stadium on this Saturday morning, they won't simply be playing for a Class C-1 state championship. They'll be representing thousands of wayward boys and girls who have found direction at Boys Town - and hundreds of folks who have helped them become better people.

What happens Saturday against Pierce High School is about more than pigskins and three-point stances. It's about the abandoned finding a family, the transient settling into a home, the lost finding a path.

"These kids aren't alone," Kush said. "What they do on the football field and what they do in life, people here care about them the whole way."

Kristi Stowe is a Boys Town lifer. She has been the facility manager for the campus conference center for 31 years. She has about as little in common with Boys Town residents as possible, coming from a stable, loving, two-parent family.

But Saturday, she'll be nestled in the stands screaming for the Cowboys. When she isn't crying.

Stowe's husband, Bud, loved the Boys Town football team. The campus carpenter - responsible mainly for repairing broken glass - for years volunteered to man the chain gang at home football games. He braved frigid weather, holding first-down markers. Bud often sneaked away from his carpenter shop in the afternoon to watch the team practice.

Cancer claimed Bud's life in January. The team made him an honorary member this season.

Kristi Stowe went to hardly any games while Bud was a volunteer, because she didn't like sitting alone. But she'll be there Saturday to celebrate the team and honor Bud's memory.

"Everyone on campus gets excited about these kids' success and heartbroken over their failures," she said. "To see them out there on Saturday, it's huge."

 

(It is nice  to see kids who for whatever reason have had things go the wrong way, have something they can be proud of. Read the whole story about these kids and how  their school has changed lots of boys, Boys Town recaptures its gridiron glory days.  )

(Even though Boy's Town came up short that doesn't change the great things their school has done on and off of the field.Class C-1 State Football Championship: Pierce 20, Boys Town 10.)

Ed Smalley has plenty of reason to be bitter.

He lost both of his legs when he was hit by a drunken driver last December — his right leg was severed upon impact; doctors amputated his left leg at the hospital.

Smalley expects to come face to face Monday with the cause of that misery, when the driver of the truck is sentenced in Cass County District Court.

Far from holding animosity, Smalley hopes for the best for Jerome Speck Sr. of Murray, Neb.

"He's probably suffering. I hope he can get his life straightened out," Smalley said.

Speck, 50, faces up to 2½ years in prison after pleading guilty to four misdemeanor charges. Speck's blood-alcohol content was 0.144 percent, well above the 0.08 legal limit. The judge also could revoke his driver's license for up to 18 months.

Smalley, 37, of Plattsmouth, said he empathizes with Speck because he was convicted of drunken driving before moving to Nebraska from Washington state in 2006.

 

(What a good and Godly attitude Ed has. Good for him. Read the rest of this story right here.)

(You see nothing is impossible for those who have faith.)