Colglaziers honored as grand marshals of PC fair parade

The Colglazier name is one with very deep history in Perkins County. But since at least 1979 when they decided to build his practice in Grant, Perkins County has reaped the benefits of Dr. Cliff Colglazier and wife Janie’s hard work and dedication to their community.

This Saturday, they will be honored by leading the parade as grand marshals.

Deep roots

Cliff, 69, and his wife of 41 years Janie have spent their lives continuing a legacy that began with Cliff’s parents, Ernest and Alberta Colglazier. 

“I think we think of them every day,” he said on his biggest inspirations in life, his parents.

“Dad was always working hard and set quite an example, and mom was a real inspiration when it came to church, singing and her passion for caring for people.”

After completion of medical school in Denver, Dr. E. E. Colglazier and wife Alberta moved to Grant, Nebraska in 1941. It was near home, (Holyoke, Colorado) and there was a need for a doctor in the area at that time. 

A few short years upon moving to Grant, the Colglaziers purchased the home south of the Congregational Church, and turned it into a practice, and there, it is estimated that roughly 600 babies were born. 

“Dad would deliver the babies, and Mom would nurse the mothers and babies and we would keep them for 10 days back in that time,” Cliff said. The most babies that ever stayed at once was six.

 Six moms, six babies, and the Colglazier family, and the teenage girls they would hire to help with the cooking and chores, all in one house. 

“Mom would sometimes not leave the house for a month or so at a time. She didn’t leave the babies, or their mothers, not even for church or to go shopping,” Cliff added.

Cliff recalled his childhood home, and how he and his three sisters, and his parents shared a bedroom, and their living room was set up as the nursery. Mothers stayed in the other bedrooms and the country girls who would come in to help had a room in the basement.

The last baby born in the Colglazier’s home, ironically, was Janie, in 1951.

“Her mom would always give me a hard time about being just a little boy playing on the floor and I probably rolled around under her crib in the living room....I probably staked Janie out pretty early on,” Cliff said.

The Perkins County Hospital was built, and the babies were born there from then on, though the office of E. E. Colglazier remained for some time afterwards.

Dr. E. E. Colglazier, before retirement, delivered more than 800 babies. 

High school sweethearts

Cliff and Janie were both born and raised in Perkins County.

Cliff lived across the street from the Congo Church, which he has attended his entire life, and the parsonage. 

He joked about how rough it was growing up across the street from the pastor and said,  “on many occasions, the sermon on Sunday was given on my sins from the week before.” 

Janie (Ochsner) said she “grew up a farm girl, just about 10 miles north of town.”

The two began dating when Janie was a sophomore and Cliff was a senior in high school.

Cliff graduated in 1967 and pursued his general studies, while Janie graduated in 1969 and pursued a degree in teaching. 

They were wed in April of 1971.

Cliff said it was a combination of things that led him to the decision to become a doctor, something he wasn’t sure about until his junior year in college. 

From 1975-1979 Cliff and Janie lived in Des Moines, Iowa, where Cliff completed his residency. “That was really intense.”

Their son Doug, now 42, was born and Janie never did use her teaching degree. 

In 1979, Cliff and Janie moved back to Perkins County, and with some help from his parents, they built their home that is also the site of their practice. 

“We think we are pretty unique. I don’t think there are any other home/practices in the United States like this,” Janie said.

Cliff and Janie welcomed Tim, now 38, and then came daughter Analisa. 

Doug currently lives in Rochester, with his significant other. 

Tim is married to Ashley (Hughes) and the couple has three children, Brenna is 10, Hanna is 8 and Cliff and Janie’s only grandson Easton is 3. 

Analisa, now 36, is a nurse practitioner working in the ER in North Platte, She and husband Scott King have one daughter, Taryn, who is 6. 

Continuing the legacy

For 39 years, Cliff has been practicing medicine in Perkins County and said he just never could have made it to where he is today without the help and guidance of his parents, his wife Janie, and his office personnel.

“In the beginning, if I ever got in a situation at the hospital, I could just call Dad, and here’d be this old man, helping me out, but he always did,” Cliff said.

In the mid 80s, when there was a need for an air transfer, Cliff and Vietnam Pilot Darrel Munson, of Ogallala would make the trek and deliver patients. Cliff said he served as the “nurse on board, so to speak.” 

Not wanting to always put the work on the Grant Ambulance, other transfers for “stable enough” patients were done in the family car. 

“We’d have to do something for the kids too, so often times we’d load them up, go to Denver, dump the patient off and head up to the mountains or something like that,” he laughed. Janie added, “I think the kids really enjoyed that though!”

“I’d say for a good 15 years or so, we’d take at least 10 patients a year like that, I remember lots of times Analisa and I would go together.”

Cliff has been the medical director for the Grant Volunteer Fire Department for 38 years, and been avidly involved in church.

Janie plays the organ on Sundays, as well as helps Cliff run Sunday School. 

Another accomplishment that Cliff looks back on with a sense of pride is the Westview project. 

He said that project, which really got started in ‘89, also took a village to get up and running, but they were huge advocates of the project and solicited money and fundraisers along the way. They helped as much as they could to bring Westview to fruition. 

“I can look back at that and think ‘We really did get something good going.”

In the early 90s, Colglazier’s Clinic was one of the first practices to do EMRs (Electro Magnetic Records) and Cliff said that’s been a passion of his. 

Grand marshals

“It’s a real honor, and Cliff really deserves it, he’s worked very hard,” Janie said on being nominated grand marshals. 

“There’s a lot of people and a lot of support behind us. We’ve done this as a team all these years so I think of all the people who have helped me get to this point and it’s an honor for all of us,” Cliff added.

Janie said her favorite part of the fair is the parade, while Cliff said he enjoys going through the exhibit hall and looking at all the projects. “We are old 4-Hers, I have very fond memories of the style show,” Janie said. “It used to be a real big deal and I’d compete against probably 40 other girls!”

“Oh, and we cant forget about the burgers down at the Lions’ stand!” Janie laughed, “Those are of course always a favorite!”