Blog 4/17 City Auditorium Fundraiser
April 17, 2019
You can’t live in Tekamah for long and not have memories of the City Auditorium. I was a brand-new teacher living in a little pink house on N Street. It was my first house, my first full-time job, my first weeks in a new town. Leah Hill (Bryant) asked me if I wanted to go to a wedding dance at the City Auditorium. I was not invited to the wedding, didn’t even know the bride or the groom. I did teach in the room next door to the bride’s father, but still, going to a wedding dance uninvited seemed a little rude. Leah convinced me “that’s the way it works in Tekamah”. So, I went and I had a great time. I met people that night who would become lifelong friends. I danced with my future husband for the first time that night. Since that night, I have acquired a pile of memories centered around the City Auditorium. Wedding dances, graduation parties, fundraisers, the Firemen’s Ball, the Big Bottom Blues Festival when the rain moved us from the City Park, Prom dances, so many great times. I would be willing to bet that if you sat down with 10 random people from Tekamah and asked them about their greatest City Auditorium memories you would get some pretty entertaining stories.
The City Auditorium is about to undergo an extensive renovation and it needs it. I have seen the plans and I think the renovation is going to preserve the history of our beautiful old building while at the same time allowing it to serve as a gathering place for our community for generations to come. The City Auditorium Committee is planning a Casino Night Fundraiser on May 4th. Come on out and enjoy a little friendly gambling, some good Mexican food, and drink, and make a new City Auditorium memory. Check out the City Facebook page and posters around town for details.
The Tekamah Community Foundation will be on hand to accept donations to the Auditorium Fund. People who donate will receive a 40% Nebraska State Income Tax Credit for their donation. I had a conversation with Larry Nelson and he explained the tax credit like this. If a person or couple donate $1,000.00 to the City Auditorium Fund they will reduce their State Income Tax liability by $400.00. So, your $1,000.00 donation will only really cost you $600.00. A $100.00 donation would only cost $60.00 etc. A person or business would also get to claim the donation on their federal income tax return.
A donation to the Auditorium Fund benefits the entire community and gets you a tax credit to boot. What could be better? I know the City Auditorium is just a building made of brick and wood, but if this community has a beating heart it is the City Auditorium. That beat may sound more like the Chicken Dance than the beating of a human heart but I’m fine with that. We need to pull together as a community to get this project done. Looking forward to seeing you on May 4th.
Jane
