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Family Night was a ton of fun during A'ROR'N Days! -
Quickly becoming a bustling little town in its early years, the city of Aurora celebrated its 150th birthday on June 19, 2021. -
This is an architectural rendering of the proposed Aurora Community Clubhouse, which is being proposed as a joint venture by the Poco Creek Golf Course and Hamilton Recreation, Inc., boards. -
Brian Kreikemeier, left, films people interacting at Maker’s, which provided one of the closing scenes in a video recognizing the city’s 150th anniversary. Pictured from left are Jim Koepke, Marlin Seeman and Rick Melcher. -
Former Huskies Jameson Herzberg and Cassidy Knust were selected for the Aurora News-Register’s newest honor, the male and female athletes of the year for the 2020-21 season. They are pictured here with ANR sports editor Richard Rhoden. -
Lawson Bates (left) was welcomed to his first ever Operation Shine Camp by big campers Hailey Holliday (who is also his babysitter) and Cole Hepner.
Aurora celebrates 150th birthday, years of history and growth
Little do inhabitants of Aurora know they are walking around on ground teeming with memories of the past.
The city of Aurora celebrated its 150th birthday on June 19, 2021, and with it will come alive just a short while later the annual A’ROR’N Days celebration in a community gathering that honors how it all began.
“On April 6th, 1871, Nathan Thorpe and Robert Miller arrived from Chariton, Iowa, with the intent of establishing a town that would become the county seat,” reads an Aurora history compiled from the Plainsman Museum archives. “They were led to their eventual township by twin cottonwood trees that stood like sentinels overlooking the land. It was under those very trees that they set up camp.”
The duo, along with a few others, met several times under these cottonwoods to discuss what would happen on this land they had chosen -- and if it was the right spot. These meetings included one fateful day, June 19, 1871, during which Aurora would receive its name.
Plans moving forward on community clubhouse project
A fund-raising campaign went well and plans are moving forward for the new Aurora Community Clubhouse, which organizers hope will be overlooking Poco Creek Golf Course by next spring.
Two local entities focused on meeting the community’s recreational needs -- Poco Creek Golf Course and Hamilton Recreation, Inc. -- announced plans last fall to combine efforts and build a new clubhouse. The project is definitely a go, though some of the timing details remain unclear.
“We reached a point with the fundraiser where we thought we would have enough money to build the building, plus some unforeseen issues,” reported Curran Vetter, a member of the Poco Creek Golf Club Board and project subcommittee chairman.
Video documents early history of Aurora
A movie celebrating the history of Aurora will hit the big screen this week with the public invited to see a special 150th anniversary tribute piece at the 12th Street Cinema.
“Aurora — Look No Further” offers a 22-minute summary look at the early history of the community, following a script based on hours and hours of research, collaboration and local participation.
“We decided to focus on the early history of how we kind of got this thing (the city of Aurora) started, how it started to grow and become who we are as a city,” said Tina Larson, executive director of the Plainsman Museum. “I just started going through the archives and we have a great set of photographs and eventually the whole thing just started to fall into place.”
Larson suggested the idea of a video tribute to Aurora Mayor Marlin Seeman and City Administrator Rich Melcher more than a year ago. The two men liked the idea and agreed to have the city help fund it, further suggesting that Larson take the lead on documenting an authentic and accurate script.
Operation Shine Camp back again
Bringing a wealth of bright smiles and summer fun back to Camp Covenant Cedars, Operation Shine Camp welcomed a large group of campers, volunteers and staff last Saturday for a day filled to the brim with fun.
As the second of three day camps, Kids and Dreams Foundation Director Aaron Bly explained that the change from the usual weekend-long camps came in light of a COVID adjustment.
“A few months ago finally when things started slowing down with COVID we just had to decide, can we have a camp? Should we do a weekend? Should we try to do a day?” he said. “At that time we just didn’t feel comfortable yet doing our full weekend camp.”
But they had to do, to try, something, he agreed.
“So we went with the day camp and just kind of adjusted our schedule and threw as much as we could into one day for the kids,” Bly voiced.
‘They just want to compete’
* Jameson Herzberg named ANR Male Athlete of the Year
Through most of his life, Jameson Herzberg hasn’t been the biggest, tallest or fastest player on any team.
He didn’t have to be.
Some how, some way, the one they call “Jamo” would always find himself in the right place at the right time, making the big play.
Those moments and his legacy at Aurora High School have led to this moment as he leaves quite the mark on Husky athletics.
Herzberg was awarded the first-ever Aurora News-Register male athlete of the year for the 2020-21 school year, an award that covers four schools and no shortage of talent.
*Cassidy Knust tabbed ANR Female Athlete of the Year
Competing in athletics for Aurora is just a little bit “different,” as one former Aurora standout described it. No one understands that, or participated with such passion as Cassidy Knust did over a four-year span.
Those years of hard work and dedication were on display last week as she leaves Aurora High School with quite the legacy.
Knust was awarded the first-ever Aurora News-Register female athlete of the year for the 2020-21 school year, an award that covers four schools and several deserving athletes.
The now former Husky standout was surprised, taken aback and left speechless for a moment or two, but as always, found a way to put the moment into perspective.
