Hartington was the home of two Hartington High School graduates who became governors of Nebraska. Dwight Burney, born in 1892, graduated from Hartington High School in 1910, attended the University of South Dakota, and was school superintendent in Turtin, South Dakota. He served in the Nebraska Legislature for twelve years and as lieutenant governor for eight years, then became governor of Nebraska upon the death of Ralph G. Brooks on September 9, 1960. Burney also founded the Pleasant Dale 4-H Livestock Club in Cedar County and was co-founder of the Nebraska Livestock Feeders Association. Charles Thone, born in 1924, grew up on Thone Farm five miles north of Hartington, attended District 108 grade school, and graduated from Hartington High School in 1940. After service in World War II, he received a law degree from the University of Nebraska, was a congressman for four terms, and served as Nebraska’s 34th governor. He was chairman of the Midwest Governors Association, chairman of the National Governors Agriculture Committee, and chairman of President Reagan’s Export Commission for Agriculture.