58 Days Until Gameday – Day #36 Garfield County, Nebraska

We have 58 days until our first game of the 2026-2027 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Garden County, Nebraska.

https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/59-days-until-gameday-–-day-35-garden-county-nebraska.8888337/


Garfield County, Nebraska

• Established in 1884 and named after President James Garfield.
• Burwell is the county seat and the only city in the county. It is also 1 of 5 communities in the county.
• Population ~1,700 (2025), 1,100 of which residing in Burwell.
• The county is approximately 571 square miles.
  Nebraska’s Big Rodeo is held annually on the last weekend of July in Burwell. The rodeo has been held for over 100 years.
• Burwell can grow up to 20,000 people when the rodeo is happening.
• Burwell was one of the initial Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters in Nebraska.
• Calamus Reservoir is a popular attraction in the county, offering fishing, boating, and beautiful scenery.
• Firmly rooted in cowboy culture, cattle ranching has been the main economy driver of the county.
• The wooden grandstands of the rodeo arena were built in 1922 and still stand today.
• The Carnegie Public Library was built in 1914 after a generous grant from Andrew Carnegie.

Former Huskers and Spotlights
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 3 letterman football players from Garfield County, NE.


Carl Ashman – C 1967-1969, Burwell, NE.

• 6’1” 215lb center wearing #53 out of Burwell HS.
• Played at Nebraska from 1965-1969, lettering from 1967-1969.
• 1969 Honorable Mention All-Big Eight

Ty Chaffin – WR 2020, Burwell, NE.

• 6’5” 215lb wide receiver out of Burwell HS wearing #45.
• Played at Nebraska from 2016-2020, lettering in 2020.
• Former walk-on.
• 4x Academic All-Big Ten

William Sloan – QB 1945, Burwell, NE.

• 5’10” 160lb quarterback wearing #39
• Played for Head Coach George Clark.
• 1945 season was Clark's only as head coach and the team finished 4-5.

Other Notable or Prominent People from/born in Garfield County:

Kate Sullivan – Born in Burwell, Sullivan served in the Nebraska Legislature from 2009-2017. UNL alum.

Homer Stokes – Started Nebraska’s Big Rodeo in 1921. Member of the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

Ben Meckel – A doctor in Burwell and an aviation enthusiast. In 1964, he built and flew a replica Morrow bi-plane that he named Spirit of Burwell.

Mike Max – Born and mostly raised in Cozad, he finished his high school in Burwell where he was a 2x wrestling state champion and all-state football player. All-American wrestler at Chadron State. Returned to Burwell to coach football and wrestling at Burwell HS. Member of Chadron State Athletic Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Passed away in 2021 after a battle with leukemia.

Reuben Burwell – The town’s namesake. His fiancée was the first teacher in the county.


GO BIG RED


Resources:
https://storage.googleapis.com/husk.../ZD6pyAK8hFocPYXCFPaVccH8170tcm1uOYyc7u0R.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_County,_Nebraska
https://nebraskasbigrodeo.com/history/
https://www.kupi.com/en/explore/united-states/burwell/history
https://history.nebraska.gov/timeline-tuesday-burwell-nebraska-flying-machines-1912-and-1964/

Staff Sergeant Kenneth Locker Jr - born and raised in Burwell. Buried in Burwell.





Army Staff Sergeant Kenneth E. Locker Jr., 28, of Wakefield, Neb. was assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. He died April 23, 2007 in Sadah, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.

Born and raised in Burwell, Neb., Kenneth Locker enlisted in the military in 1997 while he was still in high school. He spent three years in the Army, then two years in the National Guard before re-enlisting in the Army. SSG Locker was injured by a landmine during a previous deployment to Iraq in 2006 and was awarded a Purple Heart. SSG Locker was an outdoorsman who loved hunting, fishing, and his family. He lived by the motto, “Life is but a dream, make it whatever you wish.”

SSG Locker is survived by his wife and three children, two of which are Folds of Honor scholarship recipients.

Robert Rolland Clements

Killed in action on 29 May 1943 in WWII.
Private First Class Clements was killed fighting against the Japanese Imperial Army at Attu in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Born and raised in Burwell.

Anon1752115983 said:

Great pizza place right on the square in Burwell. Perfect after a day on the Calamus

Click to expand...

I will be in that area at the end of September. I was there a couple years ago and bought some local jerky at the gas station, thought it was pretty decent. I'll definitely check out the pizza spot when I'm back.