We have 6 days until our first game of the 2026 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Thurston County, Nebraska.
https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/7-days-until-gameday-–-day-87-thurston-county-nebraska.8951587/
Valley County, Nebraska
- Established in 1871 and is named for the local terrain. Most of the county consists of valley land lying between the North Loup River and the Middle Loup River.
- License plate prefix #47.
- Ord is the county seat and only city in the county.
- The population is ~4,100 (2025) and has been declining since 1920.
- The county is approximately 570 square miles.
- Seventh Day Baptists from Wisconsin settled the area in Valley County and established what is North Loup in 1872.
- In 1882, the Union Pacific Railroad laid track from St. Paul to North Loup.
- From 1877-1890, there were wet years that were very beneficial for agriculture. This prompted an influx of settlers to the area, doubling the population of North Loup quickly. Then from 1890-1896, the area experienced a drought which prompted the farmers to grow alternative crops. One of those was popcorn, and it was a success.
- In 1901, North Loup held their first Popcorn Days celebration and holds it every year in August. It is Nebraska’s longest continuously running festival and just celebrated its 125th year!
- In 1959, North Loup merged school districts with Scotia in Greeley County due to a quickly declining population and the inability to support its own school district.
- In 2010, the Bredthauer Dam broke from heavy rains and flooded Valley County and North Loup. Water levels reached 8 inches in the village, forcing residents to evacuate.
- Elyria was originally named Eldon but was renamed to Elyria due to another Eldon already existing in Nebraska.
- Arcadia got its name in 1874 from the postmaster of the village, Sarah Coulter Hawthorne, in reference to the wild roses in the area. She mistakenly believed the name meant ‘feast of flowers’.
- Ord was named after Civil War General Edward Ord, who led a survey crew along the North Loup River.
- Scratchtown Brewing Company got its name from the legend that when General Ord was told local residents wanted to name the town after him, he suggested naming it “Scratchtown” due to the biting and stinging flies and insects of the area that tore up him and his survey crew.
Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 7 letterman football players from Valley County, NE.
Doug Welniak – LB 1985-1987, Elyria, NE.
- 5’10” 215lb linebacker wearing #37.
- All-State player out of Ord HS for Coach Gene Suhr.
- Played at Nebraska from 1983-1987, lettering from 1985-1987.
- 1987 Team Captain
- Finished his career with 39 tackles, 4 TFL, and 1 fumble recovery.
- 6’1” 190lb end wearing #87.
- Played at Nebraska from 1957-1959, lettering in 1958.
- Suffered a career ending knee injury early in his senior year (1959) and did not letter.
Mike Beran – OG 1970-1972, Ord, NE.
- 5’11” 225lb guard wearing #62.
- Recipient of the first annual Nebraska Hall of Fame Scholarship out of Ord HS.
- Played at Nebraska from 1970-1972, lettering all 3 years.
- 2x National Champion
- 6’ 170lb halfback wearing #10.
- Football and baseball scholarship player out of Ord HS.
- Played at Nebraska from 1956-1958, lettering in 1958.
- 6’ 200lb guard wearing #37.
- Played at Nebraska from 1935-1936, lettering both years.
- 1936 All-Big Six
- The 1935 team finished 6-2-1 in Coach Dana Bible’s 7th season.
- The 1936 team finished 7-2 and Big Six champions in Coach Bible’s final season.
Jeff Quinn – QB 1978-1980, Ord, NE.
- 6’3” 205lb quarterback wearing #11.
- All-State football and basketball player out of Ord HS for Coach Fran Hummel.
- Played at Nebraska from 1976-1980, lettering from 1978-1980.
- 1980 Tom Novak Trophy winner
- 2x Academic All-Big Eight
- 1980 All-Big Eight
- 1980 Sun Bowl MVP
- Starter in 1980, finishing the year with 1,337 passing yards and 14 TDs along with 348 rushing yards and 6 TDs.
Allen Zikmund – HB 1940-1942, Ord, NE.
- 6’1” 185lb halfback wearing #59.
- All-State quarterback and state champion out of Ord HS.
- Played at Nebraska from 1939-1943, lettering from 1940-1942.
- He was a member of the 1941 Rose Bowl team.
- He is the youngest player to catch a touchdown pass in Rose Bowl history.
- He served in the Navy during WWII and then returned to Nebraska to teach and coach high school football.
- He was the head coach at Kearney State from 1955-1971, where he went 123-31-3 (79.0%) and undefeated in 1956, 1958, and 1967.
- The 1955 Kearney State team he coached was the first in school history to play in a bowl game (Botany Bowl), and the 1963 team was the first to reach the NAIA playoffs.
- Coached 11 conference championships and 18 NAIA All-Americans.
- Served as Athletic Director of Kearney State from 1971-1987, giving him 32 years of service to Kearney State.
- University of Nebraska-Kearney Athletic Hall of Fame member.
- Ord High School Hall of Fame member.
- Nebraska Football Hall of Fame member.
- NAIA Hall of Fame member.
- Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame member.
- Passed away in 2018 at 95 years old.
Other Notable or Prominent People from/born in Valley County:
June Holeman – Born and raised in Arcadia. She was a professional barrel racing rodeo cowgirl who won many championships in the NCRA, NSRA, and MSRA. She qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 2005 at the age of 62.
Paul Cleary – Born in North Loup and moved to California at a young age. He served in the Army during WWII and fought in the Pacific. Clearly played football for USC from 1946-1947 and was a 1947 All-American. He was selected in the 10th round of the 1948 NFL Draft by the Chicago Rockets. He played 2 seasons in the AAFC for the New York Yankees and the Chicago Hornets. Cleary is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Leslie Easterbrook – She was adopted when she was an infant and raised in Arcadia. She would graduate from Kearney HS. Leslie is an actress and producer who has appeared in about a dozen films and over 300 TV episodes. She is most known for her role as Capt. Debbie Callahan in Police Academy films and Rhonda Lee on Laverne & Shirley. She sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl XVII.
Bull Finch – Born in North Loup. He moved to California at a young age where he played college football at Whittier College and then played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Buccaneers in 1926.
Rua Van Horn – Born in North Loup, she was an educator and home economist for the U.S. Office of Education from 1934-1963. In 1965, University of Nebraska consulted with her regarding their School of Home Economics, focusing on course content, teaching methods, and materials for secondary and post-high school programs in Nebraska.
Mike McCready – Born in Ord and graduated from broken Bow HS and Creighton University. He is the CEO of Music Xray, a music tech company based in NYC. He pioneered Hit Song Science, an acoustic analysis software that analyzes the underlying mathematical patterns in music with machine learning to determine the probability a song would become a “hit” before it is distributed.
Evelyn Sharp – Born in Montana but moved to Nebraska as an infant when she was adopted and later moved to Ord when she was 5. She learned to fly from a flying instructor who was renting a room from her parents. At 18, she received her commercial pilot’s license and became an airplane instructor at 20, teaching over 350 men how to fly. She was among the first female pilots in American history. During WWII, she was an original member of the WAFS (Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron) and would fly aircrafts from the factories to the bases of the squadrons the aircraft would serve. In 1944, at the age of 24, a P-38 she was ferrying lost an engine on takeoff and crashed in Pennsylvania, killing Evelyn. She was a squadron commander with the WAFS and was inducted in the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame. Her body was returned to Ord where she is buried. The Ord field airport was named in her honor. Ord also celebrates Evelyn Sharp Days every June in her honor.
Rod Dowhower – Born in Ord and moved to California at a young age. He played football for San Diego State and then coached football from 1966-2001 between college and NFL. He was the QB coach for the Washington Redskins when they won Super Bowl XXVI in 1992.
GO BIG RED
Resources:
https://storage.googleapis.com/husk.../ZD6pyAK8hFocPYXCFPaVccH8170tcm1uOYyc7u0R.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_County,_Nebraska
https://www.popcorndays.org/
https://ordnebraska.com/play/
