William and Margaret Sheetz lived across the street from me when I was young. They were childless, but they treated me like I was their own. They were also good friends of my parents, so I don't want them to be completely forgotten. Their niece, Elsie B., was their only living relation. She was also a good friend to my mother, but she passed away some time ago, too. 

 

Margaret used to rescue stray animals that had been injured by cars on busy Paxton Boulevard, which passed in front of their house. She nursed them back to health and adopted them out. If they didn’t make it, she would bury the them in their extensive yard. This was in the days before the Nebraska Humane Society was formed, and there was nothing odd about this, though it still strikes me as strange.