third d;rocne:cn
thurKby, rcptcnr.bcr 10, 1970
V -if
Mrs. MarZyn Ecggs, a probation o fixer who docs her job and then te:
Photos by Kevin Hlg'ay
(Con&sced from p. 3)
John Beggs, 26, is a teacher. He has applied to teach at
The Nebraska State Reformatory. David, 25, is a Lincoln
police officer. Pam 23, works for the Colombia, Missouri,
police department. Steve, 21 , works at the YMCA and
attends Wesleyan University.
Scott, a May graduate of Southeast High School, works
for the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department. He
plans to enroll at UNL second semester to begin working
on a degree in criminal just ice.
"You must be tolerant
Foster children's experiences
are not always the same
as yours"
"Somebody has to take these kids in. What are they -going
to do? Live at the YMCA the rest of their lives, hit
the streets, get thrown in prison later?" he said. .
"The kids started coming here when 1 was in sixth
grade. I grew up with them. . .the Mexicans, the whites. . .
1 found they were just people, like anyone else.
One day Scott came home from school to find two
unfamiliar guys sitting in the living room.
"Who are you?" he asked them.
"We live here now they told him.
"I was resentful and jealous at first," Scott said. 1
resented it that I had to share my parents with them."
Scott's sister Pam, now 23, moved out into her own
apartment at 17.
But Scott says the Beggs children and the foster
children had some "good times" together.
One summer seven foster boys, the four Beggs boys
and their sister lived in the same house.
'Twelve or 14 of us went to Lake McConaughy for six
days.
With fun also came rules.
"All children need rules to live by. That's why they
rebel," according to Bob Beggs.
The rules of the house were based on one tenet:
'Don't disturb the neighborhood or the family.
There were other rules: everyone ate together at 6
pin., and drugs and alcohol were not allowed in the
house.
It was important that the foster children felt the '
Begg's home was theirs, that they felt wanted, Mrs. Beggs
said.
She told about Don, whose stay with them was his last
chance.
Don balked at the discipline, Mrs. Beggs said. Then
u. fa W - m m w md WiwJ y
she told him : "I want it to work. I want you to want
it to." It did. Don finished high school and got a job.
But foster parenthood can have its disappointments.
Pete, the last of the foster children, left the Beggs
home to enter the Nebraska State Reformatory. He had
burglarized five houses in the Beggs neighborhood in one
month.
"Mom would try to help him," Scott said. She would "'
get the judges to leg him off easy, and she'd work with
him some more. She got him a job and talked to him. . ."
Again and again, he said.
"He got along with us, so we didn't suspect him at
first," Scott said, adding, "He just didn't care."
He stiH writes letters to Mrs. Beggs saying he'll never
steal again.
The Beggs say they still feel terrible about this case,
but their success rate with the other foster children has
left a good feeling inside.
Scott says he and. some of his foster brothers still get
together. The family gets calls and letters from different
states. And once in a while a former foster child wI3 stop
by and spend the night.
Most of them now are working; some arc happily
married. Their natural parents might have been alcoholics.
Their home life might have been broken up. Some '
couldn't cope with family life. They lied and stole.
"You learn patience and ways to handle the different
personalities by living with them," Mrs. Beggs said. Her
psychology study found itself into mcther-to-foster
child confidential talks at nights.
"In the dark they didn't have to make eye contact,"
Mrs. Beggs ssid.
"You mast be tolerant," she said. "Foster children's
experiences are not always the same as yours."
Some Lke it so well they didn't want to leave. Harry
finally did at age 22. After graduating from Southeast
Community College at MZford, the Beggs "encouraged
him to move out and do his own thing," Mrs. Beggs said.
Three of the Beggs "cLSdren were enrolled in the
same freshmen English course one semester at UNL and
they invited their mother to speak in the class. It caused
confusion when she was introduced as mother of all .
three especially since they each had different colors of
hair and skin.
The foster boys used to work on cars with Mr. Beggs.
They liked Mrs. Beggs home cooking. One of them told
her:
"No one's ever fixed breakfast for me before, except
in jaii."
Scott says he mfeht like to have foster children after
heismarried.
"It was fun. . .we were one big family. . .with all the
boys around (only four of the foster children were girls)
people might ask: "What is this, a fraternity house? "
Scott said.
Living in style and beirg able to pay for it are often
two different storks for the ccUfge student.' Right? Well,
you can stretch your spending dolhs by rcrj. For ex
ample, for much less than the cost cf buyirj new bed
room furniture, you can rent a new bed and dresser for
your apartment.
By renting, you can; temporarily crimen your sur
roundings, entertain yourself (from backpacks to iHent
movies), and in general, enjoy some of the extras in life
you thought you were too poor to afford.
Refer to the yellow pages of the Urxcla telephone
directory for rental agencies, which rent the basks (such
as lawnmowers, TVs, tables). Cjt don't forgst to check
want ads and buHetla boards on cszpus for the odd
things an individual m:ht want to rent you.
Cdow is a li of seme itena rentable in Lincoln. It is
not complete, but it shout! ghre yea some iless.
For those of you with no money prebkms and an eve
for adventure, we have included some crl;e ways to
spend your hard-earned money.
Uild blue yonder
If travel is your game, you can go by plsse. Maybe you
would like to visit a friend in another city or fry quickly
to an out-of-town football game.
Lincoln Aviation Institute (at the Municipal Airport)
will introduce you to flying for just $5. That buys you 15
to 20 minutes in the air in a small plane flying within the
edges of city limite. Yoc will also learn the basics of "pre
ttying such as how to check the gasoline.
Maybe that little ride was enough for a diversion from
the books some afternoon. If not, and you are seriously,
interested in flying somewhere, you can rent a plane with
a pilot for $30 an hour. If you have a pilot's license you
pay $21 an hour. .
A chartered flight costs 35 cents a mile in a single
engine plane. A twin-engine plane, a must in bad weather,
costs 45 cents a mile. For every 100 miles traveled, you
get a free hour of rental time on the ground. Additional
hours are $7.50. If you plan to spend your time in a place
between 6 pjn. and 8 a jn., the time on the ground costs
you nothing.
U-Haul it off
If you have had it and want to take off for good, or if
you are changing apartments, the people at U-Haul can
help you out. You can rent a U-IIad trsf!er (see Yellow
pages) for 80 cents a length foot for 24 hours. Trailers
come 4 ft. by 6 ft. up to 14 ft. long. Hitch rental, in
surance and a rear-view mirror add about $4. A note of
caution: subcompact cars such as Ford Fintc are not built
to pull a trailer.
SVrrrooocn .
If you would lice to impress that special date with
your neat new car, why not rent one? Elusions of
grandeur may tempt you to rent a Fczd LTD from Hertz.
It will cost $24 a day plus 24 cents a mile. Hertz pays for
the gasoline.
For those with more conservative notions, Hertz will
rent you a Fssto tot $17 a day phis 13 cents a mile. You
pay for the gas.
Dean's Ford, however may offer a better deaL Pinto
rental there costs $7 a day plus 7 cents a mile. An LTD
costs $14 a day, and 14 cents a mile. You pay for gas.
Budget Rent-A-Gur has a neat little economical package
for the student wanting to rent some wheels.
The least expensive car here is a Cfcesrslrt Vep. It
rents for $11 a day and 12 cents a mle. A Kara Chevy
runs $14 a day, 13 cents a mile. But weekend rates are
only $10 a day, from Friday coon to Monday noon.
For a week, Vep rental costs $55 plus 12 cents a mile.
Their "vacation rate" for the Vega is $8950, which gives
you 1 ,000 free miles.
Hake yourself at hone
Maybe you just want to stay home and spruce up your
apartment, hcse cr derm room.
You can rent a bed, bed r!s and mrtrra for $13 to
$15 a month at Ace Furniture-TV Inc. (2479 O St.). A
Citssat or chest runs shout 7 a tsoth. A ftrfr or love-
seat costs. $10 minimum. Fifteen di!br a rnsr.th wO rent
you a rcfa. There is a tamrrigpi rents! tins for furniture
at Ace of two months.
Interiors DivtnLd Inc. (1 233 South St.) offers a lrge
selection of furshirgs to rent for a of four
months. Rental prices vary depending if the piece is new
or used and on the style of fumfture you select.
An average twin bed costs $7 to $9. A qizza or double
bed averages $11.50 a month; deser, $7.53; chest of
drawers, $5 JO; clrd, $3, aid 27, $1.15.
Living room fiarUcre aveiss $13 for a sofa, $6 for a
chair, $2.75 for a ccTce $153 for 0 csd fclle,
$1.75 for a Irrp. Yea csa ersa rent ato chsSc
$2.2 5 a month.
To asccmrscdite the mschiss, a tzo tzd csa-hslf
cubic bar idinr can be restsd for $7 a month. Ace
rents filS-eze rcfrigsntors for albcut tsrsse thst cscunt.
A ihtiz rccra table with four chefrs rests for $55 to
$23 a month at Interiors Bftersinsd.
Hcnauorl: helpers
For the stsdent who wants to stt c? the ilesl study
nkhe, a 3 ft. wide dcc can be rented for $3.45 a month.
Chair rental is $1.
Interiors Biscnifkd charges the first two months rent
in advance phis a $ 15 delivery and pickup fse.
Lincoln Office Earned (125 IL 14th St.) can rent
you a typewnter to put ca your dc for $15 to $35 a
v