Senior to Senior
January 26, 2018
It’s been 79 years since Franklin Oman had to go back and think about his senior year in high school. But for senior Zane Leibhart, it’s all he thinks about.
Oman graduated from Gothenburg High School in May of 1939 with a total of 78 people in his class. “Back then, we didn’t drive ourselves to school,” said Oman. “My family’s farm was 20 miles away from town, so we paid $12 a week at a boarding house closer to school.”
Even though Leibhart won’t get to experience the boarding house or a 20-mile walk every now and then, he will graduate in May this year with over 300 classmates by his side.
One thing Oman expressed was his love for English class. “When I went into high school, I had a bad stutter, and after my first English class, it never came back,” said Oman. While in high school, Oman always had a desire to play an instrument. Looking back, he regrets never doing so. “We were so poor. I wish I would’ve took music,” said Oman.
Leibhart and Oman both share athletic accomplishments throughout their high school careers. Oman ran the 100m hurdles in track during all four years of high school. “We’d go to the small towns around here and just compete and have fun,” said Oman. This year, Leibhart is excited about his last year of swimming at NPHS. “I’m looking forward to getting to swim at State and hopefully medal,” he said The highlight of Leibhart’s high school sports career was getting to play football at Memorial Stadium. “Every high school football player’s dream is to get to play on that field.,” said Leibhart.
After high school, Oman went to the University of Lincoln for about a year. He then joined the United States Air Force and was a specialist for the B29 aircraft. “Times were tough. I hadn’t even got to pick a major I wanted to go into; we just didn’t have enough money for me to stay in college,” said Oman.
Leibhart is planning on attending Oklahoma State and majoring in physiology. He’ll also participate on their fishing team. Growing up, Oman never had a dream job, “I just wanted to see the world, and I did,” said Oman. Leibhart’s dream job is to become an orthodontist.
Leibhart thinks high school is a time to cherish, but take seriously.“ Every year high school gets better. Freshman year is the worst, but senior year has been the best, you get an out period and can leave for lunch,” said Leibhart.
Oman cherishes the life he built after high school. He was married for 72 years and has four children, 10 grand kids, and 20 great grand kids. “I’m real proud of my family. I would just tell everybody to pick a goal and work on it, the work pays off I can promise you that,” said Oman.
