Oregon Trail Days of years past form the backdrop for some of Honorary Old Settlers Vice President Barbara Muhr's earliest and most vibrant memories. Muhr's maiden name was Barbara Flohr, and when she was a child her family ran a grocery store on Main Street in Gering called Flohr's Market. "My grandparents, my uncle and my dad started it," Muhr said.
"My grandparents were Germans from Russia and moved here with the idea of making a home for their family." Muhr would join her brother and cousins to help out around the store, and when summer came around, they flocked to the Flohr's rooftop to watch the main event of the season: the Oregon Trail Days parade. "That was a big treat," she said.
"We would also watch while standing on orange crates and looking out the window of the store. I would also use those orange crates to stand on and reach over the counter to sell penny candy, because I wasn't tall enough." When she grew older, Muhr joined the Gering High School band and marched in several of those parades herself.
"Many of them were quite warm. But it's funny, when you're marching in the parade, you don't notice those things, because you're just so excited to be there," she said. Muhr graduated with Gering High School's Class of 1960 and married Charlie Muhr.
She moved with her new husband to his family's ranch in Banner County for a few years, which deepened her understanding and appreciation for agriculture. Together, they raised two daughters, Kim and Linda, and Muhr's fa.
