Kenneth Spicer Wherry (February 28, 1892 – November 29, 1951) was an American businessman, attorney, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1943 to 1951. He was Senate Minority Leader from 1949 to 1951.

Wherry was born in Liberty, Nebraska, to David Emery and Jessie (née Comstock) Wherry. He received his early education at public schools in Pawnee City, and graduated from the University of Nebraska (where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi) in 1914. From 1915 to 1916, he studied business administration at Harvard University. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Navy Flying Corps (1917-18).

Following his military service, Wherry began a business career selling automobiles, furniture, and livestock; he was also a licensed undertaker with offices in Nebraska and Kansas. He also studied law and, after being admitted to the bar, entered private practice in Pawnee City.

Wherry entered politics as a member of the Pawnee city council, serving in 1927 and 1929. He was mayor of Pawnee City from 1929 to 1931, simultaneously serving as a member of the Nebraska State Senate from 1929 to 1932. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in 1932 and for U.S. Senator in 1934.

Frederick Valdemar Erastus Peterson (July 18, 1903 – October 17, 1983), also known as Val Peterson, was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of Nebraska from 1947 to 1953; as director of the Federal Civil Defense Administration from 1953–1957; as U.S. ambassador to Denmark 1957–1961; and as U.S. ambassador Finland, 1969–1973.

Peterson was born in Oakland, Nebraska the son of Henry C. Peterson and Hermanda (Swanberg) Peterson. He received his BA degree from Wayne State Teachers College and a master's degree in political science from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Following 1933, Peterson maintained his permanent residence in Elgin, Nebraska.

Peterson worked as a teacher, school administrator, and newspaper man. He was the Elgin superintendent of schools and was the publisher of The Elgin Review for ten years. During World War II he served as lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Air Forces.

Peterson first entered politics as the campaign manager for the Hugh Butler 1940 U.S. senatorial bid. He also was the administrative assistant and secretary to Governor Dwight Griswold from 1941 to 1942. Peterson next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in November 1946. He was reelected to a second term in 1948, and to a third term in 1950.

Robert Muczynski (March 19, 1929 – May 25, 2010) was a contemporary American composer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. Muczynski studied composition with Alexander Tcherepnin at DePaul University in the late 1940s. At age 29 he made his Carnegie Hall debut, performing a program of his own compositions for piano.

Muczynski studied piano with Walter Knupfer and composition with Alexander Tcherepnin at DePaul University in Chicago, where he received the Bachelor of Music degree (1950) and the Master of Music degree (1952). Both degrees were in Piano Performance. Muczynski later taught at DePaul University (Chicago), Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa), and Roosevelt University (Chicago), before settling in Tucson in the 1960s where he joined the faculty of the University of Arizona as composer-in-residence and chairman of the composition department; he held both a positions until his retirement in 1988.

Among the more than fifty published compositions in his catalog, his Sonata for Flute and Piano (1961), his Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1970), and Time Pieces for clarinet and piano (1984) have entered the repertoire and remain frequently performed in recitals, as has much of his solo piano music. Works by Muczynski have also appeared with increasing frequency on programs in the US, Europe, the Far East, Australia and Mexico. Orchestral works have been performed by the Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (United States), D.C., the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and others abroad. He died in Tucson, Arizona in May 2010.