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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1938)
Hebr. State Historical Society VOL. NO. LIE PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 1938. NO. 101 Weeping Water Swept by Worst Fire in History of the City Early This Morning Starting in Basement of the C. H. Gibson Store at 1:30, Flames Threatened the Entire Business Section of Town. ESTIMATE LOSS WILL REACH $75,000.00 All Available Residents of Community Turn Out to Battle Flames and Fire Departments of Louisville and Elmwood Respond to Call for Aid Defer Action on Proposal to Take Elks Club Chamber of Commerce Directorate in First Meeting- cf New Year, Lays the Question Over From Thursday's Dally The Plattsmouth Chamber of Com merce directorate held its first noon- fered greatest possibilities to tbe i community. Mr. Davis explained the civic body , was not being: asked at this time to ' lend financial backing to any prop- osition. but merely to go on record I declaring a need for a community ; house for the boys and girls of Platts- mouth such as the Elks b-iiijing and Mrs. Eugene Nutzman, of Nehawka, instruct the committee to engage in; Tells of Legislative Aims to further study of tbe problem. i Help Prevent War. As tbe hour of adjournment drew ; District President Guest Speaker at Auxiliary Meeting MINISTERS MEET day luncheon meeting of the new , ti(m. year at the bote! dining room today. President J. Howard Davis presided, and there were 22 of tbe beard mem bers present. Announcement was made of tbe personnel of the various committees, and a brief report requested from j each committee chairman present: i Two committees of former years ' have had their designation changed i to include a more comprehensive field i of activitv. The former Railroad commitee was changed to Transpor tation, including rail, truck and wat-' 1 near, John Rattler moved that the matter be laid over to a later meet ing for further discussion and ae- This morning Weeping Water was slowly recovering from the shock of the greatest fire in the history of the city, a lire that leaves in its wake a lo of from SC5.000 to 575.000. gutting th? larger part of one of the main business blocks of the city. The fir was first discovered at 3:1". this morning when Miss Shirley Bates, night operator for the Lin coln Telephone Co., whose exchange is located in a building over the Johnson cafe, first noticed smoke in the rooms and turned in the alarm. on the upper floor of one of the ad joining buildings r.nd for a time it was thought that this too would be swept by the blaze that had gutted the nearby structures. Fire Notes The watr supply fortunately was adequate to carry on the long hard fight until the fire was at last mas tered near . o clock this morning. This morning ac 11 o'clock still' Garden Club Gives Farewell to Friends Dinner Party for Mr. and I-Irs. Free man McFarland Soon to Leave City Elect Club Officers er, and the Entertainment commit tee will henceforth be designated an smouldering rums marked the scene j and streams cf water were directed j on the wreckage to check a possible About the same time Mavme Hill- ! outbreak of the fire. mar., owner of a cafe located in the west half of the double building oc cupied by the C. II. Gibson store, also noticed the heavy smoke and notified Marshal Theo Davis who at once started an investigation. Marshal Finds Slaze Mr. Davis gring to the rear of the The city was filled with willing workers under the leadership of Major O. C. Hinds and every effort being made to get the fire out so that the task of clearing the debris might start. Mr. Gibson lost all of the books and records of the store as well as Ilillman restaurant discovered a what cash had been left there over blaze in the rear of the Gibson store : night. Mrs. Hillmau escaped from i and at once started the general fire l her restaurant with onlj' what cloth- alarm and hastened to the hose house to secure the truck. As the fire truck arrived at the scene an explo rion took place in the basement of ing she had on and with the money that was in the cash register. Buildings on the north side of the street had windows cracked and paint ! Public Relations committee. Personnel of Committees The officers and members of the various committees are: J. Howard Davis, president: F. I. Rea. vice president: E. II. Wescott, secretary: L. O. Minor, treasurer. Finance and Membership L. O. Minor, chairman: F. I. Rea. II H. Schulhof, C. J. Schneider. John Sat tler, Clem Woster. Roads and Highways John Sat- tler. chairman: E. G. Ofe, F. M. Res tor, John Cloidt, Elmer Sundstrom. George Farley. Legislative A. H. Duxbury. chair man: Walter Smith. Elmer Webb, J. A. Capwell. Win. Puis. Tn,l,ieiri nc A T T i tl rl r- Vt n i r m n n C. C. Wescott. John Turner. Ray Mis- ! Ullnws,o:ie nark and hu travtl j F'roni Thursday's Taily ' The Plattsmouth Garden club held 'a C:30 dinner yesterday in the Stew art cafe dining room honoring Mr. J and Mrs. Freeman McFarland who are soon to leave Plattsmouth. The iclub is very sorry to b:v Mr. and Mrs. McFarland leave, as they have ! been very active workers in t lie Gar i di-n club. The regular monthly business ; meeting followed the dinner. Thre ! was an election of officers in which i Mrs. E. II. Wescott was elected presi ident; Mrs. J. M. Roberts, vice-presi-Ident; Mrs. Luke Wiles, si eretary and treasurer. t Emil Weyrich showed picture of ! his own rv rden j of Plattsmouth. and of the flowers and the pictures of last Upwards of thirty members and guests attended the January meet ing of the American Legion Auxiliary i at the home of District Vice Presi dent Mrs. Raymond Larson Friday 'afternoon. Associate hostesses were M r . Rozina Ripple, Mi s. J. L. Capps, i Mrs. Fred Herbstcr and Miss Celia i Palacek. January being Legislative month on the Auxiliary's calendar, the pro gram following the business session was devoted to this subject, under tlie dire"tion of Mrs. A. II. Duxbury, 'unit legislative chairman. ! The ladies were very pleased to have with t!u m the district presi ; d lit. Mrs. Gene Nutzman, of Ne hawka. who v as the speaker of the ; afternoon, discussing legislative aim? of the Legion and Legion Auxiliary in general, but more particularly the Universal Service bill now before congress. This bill, aimed to take i tlie profit out of war. by providing 'for conscription of both men and i n sources, stabilization of prices, etc., ' if war should ever oc cur has been an objective of the service organ- izations for several years and came : very near being passed at the last session of congress. ; Concluding her talk, Mrs. Nutz jman asked that the members contact Nebraska congressmen with their view points on this legislation. Accompanying her were Mrs. Ruth ' Ltindbei g. district On Thursday afternoon the min isters. Rev. G. A. Pahl, Rev. J. W. Taenzler, Rev. J. C. Lowson met with Rev. H. G. McClusky at the manse primarily to welcome and become better acquainted with the Rev. J. C. Lowson, the new pastor of the Meth odist church. Problems for tbe bet terment of our city were discussed. Mrs. McClusky served delicious re freshments. A pleasant and profit able fellowship was experienced by all. Plattsmouth Girl Married at Los Angeles Platters Again Score Victory Over Oteans Ey Score of 38 to 30 the Blue and White Maintain Place Among; the Unbeaten Teams. Miss Hilda Johnson, Daughter Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Johnson, Wedded to Edw. J. Thee. of Hilda and Mrs. Johnson, daughter of Mr. From Saturday's Daily Plattsmouth 2S, Nebraska City 30. This score of last evening's game suggests to the local fans that the victory streak of Plattsmouth high has been stretched to six straight wins. The versatile Ray Wooster again gained high scoring honors as he dropped 9 shots safely, and with 2 free shots he accounted for 20 precious points. The remaining points were divided among Miller, Reed and Hayes in that order. It is not always the player that piles up the scores, that should re ceive credit for the win, because too Carl A. Johnson, prominent ; mU( h ptreRS cannot be placed on the residents of this city, became the ! Ia( t lnal u was preai icamworit J. Thee of Sacra a quiet ceremony Los Angeles. The bride of Edward mento, Calif., at Dec. 2o, 1&:7 at marriage lines were read by Rev. A. G. McMuarry. They were un attended. A navy blue crepe dress and and love for the game, such as was exhibited by Miller, Jacobs and Rebal, that keeps a team in the win column. The score at the end of the first quarter stood at 1C to 9, iu favor of Plattsmouth, but after a scoring matching accessories were worn bv oueuuisi u -Ne,Jrasha ,l s asiner the bride. Gardenias formed her cor-!and Eaclser the two fighting quintets sage, j were deadlocked in a 20 to 20 tie at Miss Johnson was born and rear-j116 balf. ed in this community, is a graduate! In the second half. Plattsmouth of Plattsmouth high school w ith the ! launcned an attack that soon placed class of 1929. She then attended ; tht 111 out in front and tnev were I'eru State Teachers college at Peru. !there to stav' scoring IS points and Following this she taught in thejallowinS the opposition but 10. Cass county schools for five years.! Eaclser led the opponents offen In the summer of 1937 she made!slvelJ' with 12 Points and Kastner cf.f.rt.tnrv-treas-'her home with her sister and brother-:Pet'ona n-v contributing t. Martin the Gibson store and a wall of flames 1 scorched in the intense heat of the leaped up a small elevator shaft to the main fioor of the building and in a very few moments the blaze was roaring through the structure and spreading to tbe adjoining buildings where was located the W. T. Joyce electrical shop and to the E. A. Michelson variety store as well as into the Johnson cafe. Every able bodied man of the city was aroused and hastened to the scene as the mounting flames ful some time seemed to threaten the entire block which had some of the largest business establishments in the city in it. The telephone exchange above the Johnson cafe was soon reached by the flames and tne otr o; tne cr.y destroyed shortly alter rails for assistance had gone out to Elm wood '.:id Louisville for fire cquipmt nt. Telephone and Power Lines Out The lire in its spread took down several of the power lines and that part of the city was in darkness as will as without communication as the blaze lighted up the skies and made a scene of terror for the resi dents of tbe city. For a time it was feared that the building of the Nebraska State bank, located on the east end of the block and a store adjoining would be swept away but the stout wails were able to withstand the flames until the firemen could get the fire confined to the buildings occupied by the five business places. With the fire at its height, "Hans" Anderson, as he is known, who had sleeping rooms over the variety store, was seen trapped in the burning structure and was forced out to the ledge of a window on the second floor and it was feared that he would at tempt to leap to lite walk below but firemen were able to rescue him from his peril. Offices Swept Away The real estate and insurance of fice of II. A. Crozier. located on the second floor of the Gibson building was one of the first to be gutted and the large safe that contained the papers and records of Mr. Crozier was plunged to the basement of the building where it lies today buried in the debris and wreckage and is being extricated by volunteer work ers to see if any of the records have survived the heat. When the fire was at its height records and papers from the Ne braska State back were removed to places of safety under the direction of Frank Domingo, cashier of the bank. The law offices of C. E. Tefft are raging flames. The only injury reported was that of Bud Blair, Louisville fireman, who fell in a man hole suffering slight cuts and cruises. CARD OF APPRECIATION To ?.Iy Many Friends: Your friendship, which was dem onstrated at the time of my recent severe illness, has been a source of much consolation to both myself and Mrs. Rhin. For the kindly visits, the flowers, the cards and letters that you showered upon me and your many other acts of helpfulness dur ing the time I was sick and to those communications) ullo p() -jntny offered of their blood for transfusion. I appreciate it more than anything money could buy. and thank you all most sincerely. P. F. RHIN. Union, Nebr. j 2-1 -daw TESTIFIES IN DAMAGE SUIT ner. E. J. Weyrich. E. C. Giles. Transportation Elmer Sundstrom. chairman: J. II. McMaken, E. J. Richey. W. A. Robertson. Missouri River Improvement T. II. Pollock, chairman; E. J. Richey. A. L. Tidd. F. M. Bestor. Publicity Paul Vandervoort, II. chairman; Frank Smith, Elmer A. Webb. Agricultural G. K. Hetrick, chair man; D. M. Babbitt. E. A. Rosen Glen Vallery, R. W. Knorr. City Improvement and Planning S. S. Davis, chairman; George Lush insky. F. L. Cummins. G. A. Pahl. Public Relations L. S. Devoe. chairman; P. T. Heine man. J. W. Holmes. Carl Ofe. Robert Jacobs, J. R. Reeder. Discuss Community House The City Improvement and Plan ning committee reported on a move to secure the former Elks building for a community house. It was stated that numerous organizations have gone en record declaring need for such a place for the boys and girls of the community, to be conducted along the same lines as Y. M. and Y. W. C. A. programs in the larger cities, with recreational facilities. summer. There were some fifty of the mem bers and friends present to take part in the dinner and meKilIg. WILL HAVE TO FILL VACANCY The death of Commissioner E. Chapman will make it necessary the vacancy on the second time the in to board and two weeks j treasurer fill ! for i the county clerk, county ;and county attorney will be called! i upon to make an appointment. j The resignation of Commissioner! Fred il. Gorder in the third district! ! made necessary the filling of the i ! vacancy which resulted in H. C. j j Backemeyer of Greenwood being 'named to the position. I The vacancy in the second dis junct will make lie er-ary the selec- jurer; Mrs. Irene Ross, county chair man and Mrs. Ann Topliff, unit ; president. "all of Nehawka. Mrs. Ross j advised it would be possible to se jcure safety pictures for showing: and (urged action be taken along this iline. I Local guests included represent jatives of patriotic and civic women's organizations: Miss Caroline Baird. IP. A. R.; Mrs. Elmer Sundstrom. Woman's club; Mrs. E. II. Wescott. tion of some resident of that district i Garden club and Mrs. R. B. Hayes. W. C. T. U. Mrs. Mary N. Creamer, a charter member of the local unit, now here on a visit, enjoyed meeting with the organization. At the business session, a resume jwas given of the reports on Child j Welfare and Rehabilitation work ithat have just recently been sent to I department headnuarters covering i the- past year. The finance commit- which comprises Liberty. Nehawka, Mt. Pleasant, Center. Louisville and Avoca precincts. i tee also discussed plans for the ban- in-law. Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Staats oflwus a sparn ueiensiveiy, as was uar- Pasedena where she was employed ', Penter. until her marriage as a reception ist in the G. of that city. Mr. Thee is Edwin Williams Studio the son of the late Box score: Plattsmouth (33) FG FT Wooster. f Rebal. t Conrad C. Thee of Dover, Missouri. McCarty, f He is employed as foreman for the .Jacobs, c United States government at the j Hayes, c Sacramento Wiers. He and his bride 'eed i Aliller er . 1 ' V .1.1. IV i llf, Lilt,.! il I . 1 1 . 11 l i 1 1 v 11 u j ' (' v Apartments, 1S23 K St., Sacramento. 2 0 0 0 1 3 PF 2 1 0 0 3 o o TP 20 0 0 0 5 7 6 INVITED TO D0ANE Plattsmouth high school is one of the twenty schools who have accept ed the invitation to the forensic week-end. February 18-20, extended to them by Doane chapter of Pi Kappa Delta, national forensic fra ternity. Other schools include: De Witt, Geneva, Hastings. Wilber, Lin coln, Norfolk. Edgar, Omaha North, Sheriff Homer Sylvester was at Omaha Wednesday where he was a witness in a case in which damages were asked for the drowning of Ed ward Kelly in 1935 at Plamore park north of this city in Sarpy county. A verdict for the plaintiff was award ed in a previous trial but a new trial was granted. Sheriff Sylvester was called to the park at the time of the accident and was present when the body was recovered. SUFFERS HEAVY LOSS j Wednesday afternoon just before; In roiiflorin" lie rpr.nri Rev ft A. Pahl. member of the committee, said.! the ba,lk flir day, a "Where we will go from here on this ! Granger, supposedly a traveling rep- , , . .., : rese ntative of a v hot-esale firm, ap- oroiiosai ucpeiius fniueiy on , backing of the community." A T Twirl t-ri 4lio nninirtn 5 signed iy a suppor-t-u wi.iauu. ni". The stranger apparently had good tiuet the organization Monday night. Delhious refreshments concluded the afternoon's meeting. February meeting will be held at the home of Mrs. Henry Socnnichsen with an Americanism and National Defense program. v.-ill serve ; Omaha Tech, Omaha Benson, Omaha 15 Nebraska Citv FG Eaclser, f 5 Conler f 0 Kastner, f 4 Dukes, f 1 Carpenter, c 0 Porter, c 0 Metz. g 2 Martin, g 1 Fogolsen, g 0 S (30) FT 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 10 PF 2 0 3 0 o 0 3 2 0 3S TP 12 0 8 0 4 o 0 The 13 4 14 :'.o Platter Seconds Lose two second teams put on a Central, Omaha Creighton Prep, battle that was well worth the price Holdrege, Au- peared at one of places, producing the local business a check for 250 i DEATH OF YOUNG WOMAN MUST 0EEY STOP SIGNS Chief Weller of the state safety patrol, speaking at Lincoln Thurs day served notice; that the state pa trolmen, beginning February 1st, are i going to start making arrests for stop sign violations. In the past through the state, vio lators of the highway stop signs have been let off with warnings but that custom will end February 1st when the law will be strictly enforced. PLATE SUPPER AND PROGRAM Given for the benefit of the Rock Bluffs cemetery. To be held Friday, January 28th at S p. m. at the Rock Bluffs school. The public invited. j24-27w j25-27d EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN By radio, Jan. 2 3-Feb. 27th. Week day at 6:30; Sunday, 7:30 a. m. Rev. Oscar Lowry, evangelist. Un der auspices of Family Altar Broad cast, Waterloo, Iowa. j21-Ctd-ltw j would be more advisable to take over i t. - t i : ei : . . . . . . .1 iue Jegion 'muni 11 1 1 y imnuiuj; ituu complete it for an all-purpose com munity hall. Searl Davis, speaking as chairman of the committee, said the two would serve separate pur poses, the Legion building large ban quets and public gatherings and the Elks building, cut up into smaller rooms as it is. the various groups of young people. lie felt the only way the Legion building could he made adaptable to these varied uses, would be through he addition of the sec ond story, which would lie costly. The Legion's attitude on the mat ter, as determined at a recent meet ing, is one of passive interest, stand ing ready to turn over to the city at any time it wishes to accept its entire investment of $19,000.00, (subject to J2.200.00 outstanding in debtedness) free of charge and with no strings tied to the offer except a room in which to hold its meetings of non-commercial nature. There was considerable other dis cussion with Lynn Minor pointing out, that in taking over the Elks building, the committee woulej. be resurrecting a building that is now idle and falling into disrepair, while taking over the Legion building would be simply changing owner ship of a going concern. For that reason he felt the Elks building of- ill credentials and accordingly a repre Isentative of the store accompanied ; him to the bank to get the check cashed. The local party endorsed the i check together with the stranger. ! This morning the check arrived back at the local lank and marked a forgery and the result will be that the endorser will have to stand the loss inflicted by the slicker. to sixty- TO LOCATE AT ASHLAND Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stander, members of one of the best known From Saturday's Jaily Following a long period of health. Mary Ann Hadraba, 22, daughter of Mr. Joseph F. Hadraba, of this city, passed away early this mvtt i n r Qtit Vi 'A c tlet-n 1 11 f :l 1 1 i Tl T health since her graduation in 1934 and her passing was not unexpected. The deceased was born and spent her lifetime in this community and where she had many friends among the school associates who will learn with regret of her death. She is survived by the father, three brothers, Theodore, of I'arha. Czechoslovakia; Robert, of Los An geles; Edward, a student at the Uni versity of Nebraska; and one sister. families of Cass county, are planning j Frances Hadraba of this city. The on leaving their farm near Loui.s-1 mother preceded her in death several ville in the sprint and will make ! years ago. their home at Ashland. They have purchased a residence property in that city and will enjoy a well served rest from the work of farm. de-the HOLD EIGHTH GRADE EXAMS Eighth grade examinations of the Cass county schools were held Fri day at the office of County Super intendent Miss Alpha C. Peterson. There were some thirty-five of the young people in attendance at the examinations. These examinations were conducted at several centers over the county. The funeral services will be held at the Holy Rosary church on west Pearl street on Monday morning at 9:30 with the interment at the ceme tery went of the city. The Sattler funeral home will be in charge. Crete. Grand Island burn, and Beatrice. Invitations were issued five selected high schools and these first twenty who responded closed the list of entries. This is the sec ond annual meet. Last year's initial one was a success from every stand point, with seventy-five students en tered from a selected group. The meet will include divisions in debate. extemporaneous speaking and original oratory. "HOKE" IN HOSPITAL Kramer High (Columbus), Kearney, j of Emission alone. The game waB one that was see-sawing back and forth continually until when the final whistle was sounded Nebraska City was found to have a slight edge of 21 to 17 Minor led in this en counter, scoring 7 points. Noble, Wall and Davis rlayed heads up basketball throughout their tenure in the game. Rhoades and Seitz of ficiated at this game, Houston of Creighton working the main contest. The local business men were guests of the team last evening and together with the large crowd that jammed the local "stadium" they got their fill of some real basketball. Plattsmouth friends of Garold Hoi- j sucix that was witnessed by their comb, a former commander of theiusty t)let.rs at every hair raising American Legion post here, will re-. ray SHOWS SOME IMPROVEMENT Mrs. Roy Benedict, who has been in very poor health for some time and has suffered from a complication of troubles followed by pneumonia, is reported as some better. She has been confined to her home for some little time. gret to learn that he is at the Haines U. S. Veterans' hospital. Mr. Hol comb has not been well for some time and was ordered to the hospital to. take treatment for several weeks. He has been the superintendent of the large waterworks plant at Kan kakee, Illinois, since leaving this city. Friends wishing to reach Mr. Hol comb may do so by writing care Haines U. S. Veterans' hospital, Haines, Cook county, Illinois. TO ATTEND WEDDING From Thursday's Daily Mrs. George Conis and children departed this morning for St. Louis where they will attend the wedding on Sunday of Sam Conis, Perry, Iowa, and Miss Bessie Patton of St. Louis. They accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Gus Stavron of Nebraska City, all being relatives of the young people. Mr. George Conis is leaving Saturday to attend the wedding ceremony. Next week the team tangles with College View. SUES FOR DAMAGES From Thursday's Daily An action was filed this morning in the office of the clerk of the district court entitled, Madge New ton vs. Charles Ayres and Maxine Ayres. The action is for damages as the result of an auto accident which occurred on the Greenwood-Louisville road the past summer. The plaintiff in her petition asks the sum of $5,000 for damages for the breaking of her index finger and the cutting of tendons of a hand which it is alleged has rendered the hand useless. The petition alleges that the de fendant Maxine Ayj-es was driving the car which was owned by Charles Ayres, and it is further alleged that the car was operated in a manner contrary to the rules of the road. Phone news items to No. 6.