Sidney native Reba Huge returns for 60th reunion

Sidney native Reba Kinne Huge, and her husband Harry, will travel to Sidney this week. It marks both a celebration of her roots, as a native of Sidney who is coming home to celebrate her 60th high school reunion, and as an engagement with the future, as she and her husband meet with Cabela's leadership to explore how to continue their support to today's high school students who aspire to become tomorrow's leaders.

Reba is the co-founder and vice-chairperson of the Harry and Reba Huge Foundation and the Dorothy Vordestrasse Huge Scholarship Fund. To date, Cabela's and the Harry and Reba Huge Foundation have joined forces to provide 12 $10,000 scholarships to young women in Nebraska – the Cabela's Women in Leadership Scholarship.

Sidney is hometown to both Cabela's and Reba Kinne Huge. Both had relatively humble beginnings, but through hard work and perseverance, went on to become highly successful.

And both regard Sidney as an important part of their history.

Reba was born Reba June Kinne in Sidney Hospital, to Walter and Bess Kinne, on January 10, 1937. Walter Kinne was a coach and English teacher at Sidney High School, and later a court reporter for the U.S. District Court. Bess Kinne was an educator and was a substitute teacher in the Sidney elementary school. The Kinnes lived on El Rancho Road until Walter's death in 1995. His wife and Reba's mother Bess died in 1978.

Reba went to kindergarten, grade school and high school in Sidney. At Sidney High, she was a drum major, first chair clarinet for three years, Sidney High School Pep Club President, held various other class and organizational offices, and graduated with honors in 1955. She then went to the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She was president of her pledge class of Chi Omega sorority and, as a senior, president of the Chi Omega chapter at UNL.

But it was as a beauty queen and class leader that Reba became widely known on campus and throughout the state. She was Miss Fort Sidney, Miss Nebraska Press Photographer, 1st runner up to Miss Nebraska, Cornhusker Beauty Queen, Honorary Commandant of the Military Ball, and frequently photographed in the Lincoln and Omaha newspapers.

The tall, statuesque beauty modeled in Lincoln and, after graduation in 1959, taught school in Denver, and modeled there as well.

As a senior at UNL, her classmate and friend from Sidney – Sherry Armstrong – introduced Reba to a basketball player at Nebraska Wesleyan University – Harry Huge from Superior. They were married in the Methodist Church in Sidney upon Harry's return from military service in July 1960 and spent their honeymoon in Washington, D.C. Harry had been admitted to Georgetown University Law School, and Reba got a job teaching in suburban Maryland.

Following graduation, Harry joined the D.C. law firm of Arnold Fortas & Porter while Reba worked on Capitol Hill for Congressman Pucinski from Chicago and Sen. Jacob Javits from New York.

Later she became a real estate broker and also was active in civic and community organizations in Alexandria, Va., and D.C. She was the first woman chair of the Alexandria, Va., Board of Health. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston and the College of Charleston Foundation, in addition to her duties with her foundation and scholarship fund.

In 2006, Reba and Harry founded the DVH Scholarship Fund for Women and subsequently the Harry and Reba Foundation to award scholarships to high school seniors in Southern Nebraska and throughout the state.

Today, the Fund and the Foundation provide scholarships at Estonia's University of Tartu, the College Charleston in Charleston, S.C., the Citadel, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and now the Cabela's Women in Leadership scholarship program.

Reba and her husband return this week to join the class of 1955 to celebrate their 60th reunion.