Hartington - Home of two Nebraska Governors

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This marker, dedicated on the 100th anniversary of Hartington High School, June 25, 1988, is in honor of two graduates who became governors of Nebraska. Dwight Burney, born in 1892, graduated from Hartington High School in 1910. Burney attended the University of South Dakota and was School Superintendent in Turtin, South Dakota. He served in the Nebraska Legislature for twelve years; as lieutenant governor for eight years; and became governor of Nebraska upon the death of Ralph G. Brooks, September 9, 1960. Burney founded the Pleasant Dale 4-H Livestock Club in Cedar County, and he was co-founder of the Nebraska Livestock Feeders Association. Charles Thone was born in 1924 and grew up on Thone Farm five miles north of Hartington. He attended District 108 grade school and graduated from Hartington High School in 1940. After World War II service, he received a law degree from the University of Nebraska. Thone was congressman for four terms and served as Nebraska's 34th governor. He was chairman of the Midwest Governors Association, chairman of the National Governors Agriculture Committee, and chairman of President Reagan's Export Commission for Agriculture.