Conrad Bose

Conrad Ernest “Shorty” Bose was born the 22nd of November, 1943. He passed away at home on the 28th of May, 2025. He passed in the same manner as he lived…with composure and dignity. His greatest joy was his daughters and he lingered, holding on, until each daughter had reached his bedside to bid him farewell. Then, with calm serenity, he left us…he turned dying into a class act. He was 81 years, 6 months, and 6 days old.

Shorty was born in Oxford, Nebraska, the second son and third child of Bud and Maxine Bose. He liked to say that there was three years and a sister between him and his older brother. Shorty attended the District 30 Country School, just west of the family farm from first to 7th grade. His classmates were siblings and cousins. Having earned the highest score ever recorded in the county-wide junior high graduate tests, Shorty was allowed to skip a grade and complete high school in Oxford, NE, class of 1961. He was very active in 4H during these years. He attended the University of Nebraska Agricultural College in Lincoln, NE and graduated with a degree in Agronomy and Range Management in May of 1965. Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree Shorty immediately enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War. Due to a mix up in some lost military records, rather than being shipped to Vietnam with an MOS of Morter Fire, Shorty ended up in Korea at Camp Kaiser on the DMZ. Initially assigned as an Education Specialist, Shorty’s intelligence and specific attention to detail was quickly recognized and he was moved to Brigade Clerk. He said he got the position because he was the only one who knew how to type. He was on the North Korean border during the escalation of hostility marking the end of the 15-year cease fire of the Korean War. He was at Headquarters on the occasion of the Pueblo incident when North Koreans captured a US ship and crew. Shorty was honorably discharged in June of 1968. He brought home not only a sharp Winchester .30-.30 Carbine Rifle that he bought at the commissary in Japan, but he also carried home the residue of the Agent Orange exposure that would eventually cause his death.

Upon arriving state-side at Sea-Tac near Seattle, Shorty hitch-hiked down the 101 Highway on the west coast to visit family in and around Los Angeles. During that chaotic time of anti-war sentiment, he wisely chose to pack his military class A’s in his duffle bag and made the trip in civilian clothes. Shorty returned to the family farm in Harlan County and he said it was like he had never left. No mention was made of his service for his country. It wasn’t until he began receiving health care from the Veteran’s Association that anyone ever said “Thank you for your service.” The VA changed his attitude about his military time. In later years he expressed pride and would finally talk about his time in the Army. He farmed with his dad and brother for several years, also working for the Lower Republican NRD. He was active for 10 years in the Orleans Jaycees, President for a couple of terms. In June of 1974 he married Kay Lynn Thalheim of Long Island, Kansas. Their honeymoon was a pickup camper trip to California where Shorty represented the state of Nebraska as District Vice President at the National Jaycee Convention. Shorty and Kay lived initially in Stamford, before buying the original hospital in Alma and making it their home. Their first child was a son, Christopher Conrad. The baby lived less than a day. Three daughters were then born to Shorty and Kay….Jennifer Caroline in 1978, Megan Michelle in 1980, and Andra Lynn (Shorty’s proclaimed bonus) in 1989. Shorty campaigned and was elected Harlan County Assessor in 1974. He held that office for four years and decided the “Suit and Tie” life was not for him. Not only did he forever ditch the formal clothing, he also quit cutting his hair and soon sported the long-braided pigtail he was known for. He actively pursued buying and selling antiques and built from the ground up a retail business that was known and patronized by dealers from all the surrounding states. He attended 50 auctions and farm sales a year and continuously worked 100 hours a week. He routinely refinished 400 pieces of furniture a year. Tool Shed Antiques was operated out of Shorty and Kay’s home for the first years. In 1986 he bought two contiguous 1880’s brick buildings on Main Street Alma. And he filled them. Full. His warehouse was stacked floor to ceiling, trunks and tables and cupboards and dressers…who knows what-all. He invented the sport of “furniture walking”. He was as limber and agile as a cat and he would literally walk up over the piles as if he were strolling in a park. In 1998 oldest daughter Jennifer began selling antiques on Ebay. Shorty quickly caught the bug. As of 2025, he was commemorated for being one of the longest running dealers on Ebay and was approaching 100,000 completed sales.

In 2007 Shorty sold his commercial buildings on Main Street, Alma. He sold the home he raised his daughters in. With second wife, Susan, he searched for a quiet, isolated, remote place to retire. Always ranging further north and further west, they finally found a 40-acre property in the Nebraska Sandhills that Shorty claimed was the prettiest place on earth. The Bose Farm loaned him a one-ton flat bed pickup, and with a 20-foot trailer, Shorty hauled every blessed antique and piece of wood furniture (and all his cats) up to the Sandhills. It was an adventure. An odyssey that deserved its own telling. It took a year and a half and 57 trips but finally Shorty and Sue settled in to retired paradise on Cedar Tree Road. As much as Shorty was capable of retiring. He sold on Junk Jaunt for the first ten years, thankfully reducing the hoard, temporarily. In the 17 years he lived in his Sandhills retreat he managed to purchase the largest accumulation of antique collectible barbed wire in the world. Thirty-three tons of barbed wire. Over 600,000 pieces. And 500 big rolls. And he commenced to sell wire on ebay…one piece at a time. He and Susan attended all the Barbed Wire shows, traveling in their fifth-wheel camper to many states. In 2017 they hosted the National Barbed Wire Super Show at the One Box Convention Center in Broken Bow, NE. He was a recognizable and beloved figure in the barbed wire community.

Shorty leaves to mourn his passing his wife Susan, three daughters…Jennifer Bose of Elwood, NE, Megan Kaminski of Chadron, NE, and Andra Bose Campbell of Seattle, WA; a much-appreciated step-daughter Charlotte Erstrom of Broken Bow, NE; four grandchildren – Joslyn Sayer, Conrad and Reece Kaminski, and Lydia Erstrom; sister Kaye Charles of Hermitage, MO and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

The above words are just dates, names, and details. What can’t be relayed, what can’t be described is the actual man…Shorty Bose. Words cannot begin to tell of his intelligence, his kindness, his work ethic, his pride in all of his amazing daughters, and the connection he felt to the Bose Family Farm and the Bose History. He particularly held his nephews on the farm in very high esteem, proud of the Bose legacy they continued and incredibly proud of what they had built after their dad Richard passed away.

Shorty had the soul of a poet and the heart of a songwriter. He couldn’t carry a note if it was strapped to him, and his dancing and rhythm was abysmal. Painful to watch. But Outlaw Country Music spoke to him, particularly the likes of Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Towns Van Zant, to name a few. He not only enjoyed the music, he spent many hours researching and reading the history of his favorite songwriters. He was a font of country western knowledge.

In his final years Shorty took a great deal of enjoyment texting his daughters. He took to his cell phone as if he were a teenager. Every morning in his group chat with daughters and granddaughter Jo, they all enjoyed the Adventures of Fox and Mouse….a running storyline that Shorty produced with little toy characters. It was carefree and child-like and his girls looked forward to seeing what trouble Fox and Mouse got into that day. He was challenged with the brain-teasing Scrabble dice game that he played by cell phone with Andra. His mind remained as sharp as when he was a younger man.

In summation, one final Shorty Bose trait must be honored. God help us…..his sense of humor. We have all been subjected to, we all have a story to relate, of his wit, his sarcasm, his comedic timing….he did not have a serious bone in his body, and you could trust Shorty to come up with the most inappropriate, irreverent, witty thing to say…at the worst possible moment. Many, many times you could see the laughter in his eyes as he bit his tongue to keep from getting himself into further hot water. He enjoyed Spoonerisms, Lymerics, Risque songs and poems….his memory and capacity for reciting humor was unparalleled. Shorty and Susan’s marriage was built on laughter. That will be missed the most.