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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1938)
• ' i hStIbm Neb. State Historical Society The Frontier % VOL. LVIII. O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17,1938. No. 40 • _ __ _ _ Funeral Services Held Wednesday In Atkinson For Charles F. Pruss Charles F. Pruss died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Leslie Caster, at Inman last Monday afternoon after an illness of sev l eral weeks of ailments due to ad vancing years, at the age of 77 yars, 3 months and 13 days. The funeral was held from the Luther an church in Atkinson Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock, Rev. Wil liam Vahle officiating and burial in the Atkinson cemetery at the side of his wife. Charles F. Pruss was born at Buffalo, N. Y., on November 1, 1860. While he was in his teens his parents moved to Glidden, la., where he grew to manhood. On March 15, 1881, he was united in marriage at Glidden to Miss Laura Charlotte Schulz, who passed away in October, 1926, at her home in this city. The family moved to k this county from Glidden, la., in 1890 and for 48 years he was a resident of this county. When he came here he located northwest of Emmet where the family resided for many years, then moved to Emmet, where he purchased hogs on the Emmet market and afterwards moved to this city where he was also one of the active hog buyers of this city. After the death of his wife he made his home here for a few years and then went to the home of his daughter at Inman where he resided for the past three years. He leaves five children, three daughters and two sons to mourn the departure of an affectionate j husband and father. The children * are: Henry, of O’Neill; John B., of Emmet; Mrs. John Martfeld, of O’Neill; Mrs. Dan Crandall, of Chambers; Mrs. Leslie Caster, of Inman. He also leaves two broth ers, Frank of this city, and Joseph of Glidden, la., sixteen grandchild ren and three great grandchildren. AH of his children were present at the funeral and his brother, Frank, Joe of Glidden, being unable to attend. Charles Pruss was a good citizen and had a host of friends in this city and in fact all over the county, for, during his years in the hog buying business he became ac quainted with people in all sections of the county. He was known as a square shooter, a good friend and neighbor. W’hile he lived to a ripe old age his passing will be sincere ly regretted not only by his im mediate relatives but by a large circle of friends. Offer Youths Chance To Learn Building Trades In Cooperation with the State Teachers college at Kearney, the National Youth Administration in Nebraska is establishing a project whereby thirty-five eligible young men may be offered an opportunity to participate in an educational work program. With the increas ing demand for skilled workmen in the building trades, it appears de y sirable to assist youth in acquiring as much experience and training in occupational skills as possible. Thru a cooperative plan of work and learn, young men may earn on this NYA work project enough to cover their living and instruction expenses, plus $5.00 a month for personal use. The training courses which the young men will take out side of their work hours will con sist of short comprehensive and practical instruction in carpentry, cabinet making, masonry, bricklay ing, etc. It is expected that the initial training period will start around Feb. 1, 1938, and continue for approximately four months. A particular effort is being made to extend the opportunities of this f' project to eligible youth residing in small communities and rural areas since vocational training op portunities are ordinarily very lim ited to these youth. Boys between the ages of 18 and 25 who are in terested in preparing themselves for skilled work may make appli cation for this training in the Holt county Assistance Office. 335 Miles of Shelterbelt Trees In Neligh District Definite arrangements have been made for planting 335 miles of field shelterbelt tree plantings in the . Neligh district, which is composed of all of Antelope county and parts of Holt, Boone, Knox and Wheeler counties. It is estimated by E. Garth Champagne, forest service officer in charge of the Neligh district, that 375 men nearly all of which will come from the WPA rolls, will be needed to complete this work in approximately six weeks time. Two million trees of species suitable to the area will be used in planting this mileage and they will be planted in narrow strips of ten I rows, seven rods wide on approxi mately 700 different farms. If these trees were planted in one single row they would reach ap proximately from New York to Los Angeles, according to Mr. Champagne. Survival for the shelterbelt plantings made in the spring of 1937 in the Neligh district was 77 per cent and many of the trees reached a height of six to eight feet the past summer even though moisture was very lacking during this period. Large Group of Friends Greet Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cronin On Anniversary At the nine o’clock Mass last Sunday, specially offered for them by Monsignor McNamara, one of O’Neill’s oldest and most esteemed couples began the celebration marking their fifty years of mar ried life. “This is an occasion for celebra tion not only by this one family, but by the entire community,” said Monsignor, as he viewed the pan orama of fifty years of Christian marriage, dating from Feb. 13, 1888, when Daniel J. Cronin and Mary Morrison were married in the small frame church by the late Monsignor Cassidy, when this parish was just eleven years old. One had only to see the vast crowd which thronged the church Sunday morning—from the child ren who offered hymns of praise, to the contemporaries of the couple themselves—to realize that indeed it was a cause for a community to rejoice. Following the Mass the couple was honored at a dinner at the Golden hotel which was attended by the nine children and their families who came from far and near to be with their parents on this happy d^y. They are Mrs. Margaret Breken kotter of Denver, Julia of Chey enne, Wyo., Mrs. Grace Guinan of Missouri Valley, Phillip of Chicago, Mrs. Mary Roach, Mrs. Loretta Johnson, John and William of Omaha, and Mrs. Nan Sauser of O’Neill. Monsignor McNamara, Father Flynn and other relatives were also guests at the dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Cronin received a beautiful copy of the Bible from Monsignor McNamara, as well as a handsome purse and other lovely gifts. During the afternoon, while friends dropped in to congratulate and reminisce on pioneer days in Holt county, a group of O’Neill’s songsters wended their way thru the hotel singing, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “I Want A Girl” and “Put On Your Old Gray Bon net.” This lovely thoughtfulness together with the felicitations of fered by the many friends convey to Mr. and Mrs. Cronin our own hope that God may continue to bless them all their lives. Alpha Club The Alpha Club met at the home of Mrs. Art Auker on Wednesday, February 9. Eleven members were present and Mrs. Ervon Sim onson and Mrs. Henry Martin were guests. ^ dessert demonstration was given by Pear Widtfeldt. A 1 o’clock luncheon was served by the hostess which consisted of sandwiches, meat loaf, sweet pota toes and gravy and a spiced tea. The dessert was then served by Pearl Widtfeldt. After luncheon the meeting was called to order. Roll call was to give an interestng fact about Wash ington or Lincoln. The Club fees for the year were paid and other business matters were discussed. Mrs. Sam Robert son was taken in as a new member of the Club. A book report, “Wind From the Mountains” by Gulbranssen, was given by Esther Robertson, which was much enjoyed by all. I The next meeting will be held with Pearl Widtfeldt on March 9. Mrs. Henry Martin and Mrs. Er von Simonson entertained the Al pha Club and their guests to a party at the Simonson home Satur day evening. About thirty guests were present and the evening was spent playing cards. High score was won for the ladies by Pearl Widtfeldt and for the men by Al bert McDonald. Consolation by Lillian Drayton and Clarence Wrede. Mrs. Simonson and Mrs. Martin served a lovely lunch and the even ing was much enjoyed by all. « Charles Thomson And Gertrude Conway Are Married Here Tuesday A pretty wedding was solemnized at St. Patrick’s church in this city at 8 o’clock Tuesday morning, Feb. 15,when Chas. Thomson of Cham bers, and Miss Gertrude Conway of O’Neill, were united in marriage the ceremony being performed by Father Walter Flynn. The at tendants at the wedding were Ray and Miss Clare Conway, brother and sister of the bride. The groom is the youngest son of Mrs. S. A. Bartlett of Chambers, and is well known and highly es teemed in the southern part of the county and is an energetic and am bitious young man. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Conway, old time and prominent residents of Shields precinct, and is a charming and attractive young lady who has a host of friends in this city and vicinity. The young couple were the reci pients of many useful and beauti ful presents at a shower held in their honor at the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Earley. Mr. and Mrs. Thomson have the best wishes of a host of friends in this vicinity and in the south country for a long and happy mar ried life. They will be at home to their many friends on a farm south of this city after March 1, 1938. The Weather The weather has been chilly the past week and this section, as well as most of the state, received a good snow fall the forepart of the week. It started snowing here Monday night and continued inter mittingly until yesterday noon and it is estimated that ten inches of snow is now on the ground. We have had little wind here and the snow has not drifted much, and main highways in this section are open for travel this morning. A good heavy wind in the next few days would tie things up in this section as with nearly a foot of snow on the ground it wouldn’t take long to tie up traffic. While It has been chilly all week the thermometer did not reach zero until last night when it regis tered one below zero. It is warm ing up today and the weather bureau gives the cheering news that it will be warmer in this sec tion of the state today and to morrow. Following is the weather chart I for the past two weeks. High Low Precp. Feb. 8 . 35 0 Feb. 4 . 62 19 Feb. 5_ 57 23 Feb. 6 ... _ 41 27 Feb. 7 57 27 Feb. 8 _. 47 29 Feb. 9 . 34 9 Feb. 10 _ 34 19 Feb. 11 _ 58 21 Feb. 12 .. 51 33 Feb. 13 _ 39 7 Feb. 14 _ 22 2 Feb. 15_ 19 4 Feb. 16_ 8 3 .65 Feb. 17 .09 Total precipitation since Jan. 1, .99 inch. CARD OF THANKS We desire to express our sincere appreciation to the many friends for the kindness and sympathy shown during the illness and death of our mother.—The Gallagher Family. Marriage Licenses Clarence L. Lee of Chambers, and Miss Lorena M. Fackler of At kinson, on February 14. Charles C. Thomson of Cham bers and Miss Gertrude Conway of O’Neill, on February 14. Mrs. M. W. Costello of Ewing, wad visiting friends in this city last Tuesday. Highway Program Must Go On Congress is told it must solve three vital questions before it can close this session. One is the labor question, because there are still about 11 million unemployed people in our country. Another is the na tional defense question, because the world still believes in war and because it is said our Navy is not strong enough. Another is the question of our national debt which now is close to the forty billion mark. So congress is told to cut expenses by curtailing high way construction. Compared to road work, building of battleships would not take up the slack in unemployment because 85 to 90 per cent of every road dollar goes to labor of some sort. With newly mechanized army ser vice it is agreed that highways are just as important for national de fense as are a few giant battle ships. So congressmen who are told they must pass another half billion dollar bill to build big navy ships are wondering how they can help balance the budget by stop ping highway work and at the same time relieve unemployment and assure national defense. They are preplexing questions and the guess is that when the smoke clears away the highway program will go on without being seriously hampered and that the Navy will get its new ships as per order. Battleships Require Millions There is a lot of war talk in Washington these days. The big Navy bill, the second one coming to the House within a short time, calls for more battleships. Of course, Uncle S^ni is not telling his Army and Navy secrets these days. Other nations are pretty secretive. They always have to keep their secrets. Uncle Sam has been more generous. But now that the war talk is going on there’s more secrecy. The new navel bill will call for new battleships. Just how many, what kind and all de tails, are and should be kept sec ret. But it is generally under stood there will be several of the modern or super-type battleships. These modern ships cost from 65 million to 70 million dollars each. A twenty-foot concrete highway costs 20 thousand dollars a mile. So one of these new battleships cost as much as a twenty-foot paved road running across our entire nation from east to west. The maintenance cost of a bat tleship is tremendous. It becomes absolute in fifteen to twenty years. There is maintenance cost on a paved highway, but nothing com parable to the cost of maintaining a big battleship fully manned and equipped. What, No Washington? The town of Washington is grow ing. The commercial club here ex pects the population to be around one million and a half .in 1950. Its around 600,000 now. Over 130 con ventions are hoi ked for the town this year. Washington officials say there is no such town as Wash ington. This town officially is “The District of Columbia.” Reform Must < "me From People Themselves Serious-thinking statesmen in Washington are giving a lot of at tention to the warning of a very prominent minister of this town who told them from the pulpit last Sunday that they have to try some thing else if thev want to cure the ills of the world today. He told them that they have failed to solve the unemployment question after all these years of legislation. He said there are still 11 million people unemployed in our land; there are still wars between labor and capi tal; there are wars among people over the world; business has not recovered and people art still hungry and and all the things man has tried by way of legislation has failed thus far. His warning was to the effect that men and women have to re form themselves and that churches of all denominations will have tc do something about it very soon or else all churches will suffer the worst slump they have ever ex perienced. This warning was serious enough to be discussed pretty openly in the House lobby the other day. Congress Must Decide if Road Work Is To Be Cut Hundreds of letters have come to the district office urging continu ation of the Federal aid highway program. In these letters are many questions asking what the fuss is all about in the House Roads committee. To explain, briefly, the situation: The committee is now holding hearings on a bill which would au thorize the usual amount for dis tribution among states for federal aid to highways, for the fiscal years 1940 and 1941. Some time ago the President recommended the cancellation of the federal author ization to the states for the fiscal year 1939. The congres* had al ready authorized the money amounting to $238,000,000. The allocations to the states have al ready been made according to the law passed by the congress. Cn December 31, lffe7, Henry Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture, under whose department the high way act is administered, wrote let ters to the governors of the various states that notwithstanding the fact that he had apportioned the ’39 money, he requested the gover nors to hold up the 1939 applica tions for projects. Then the Sec retary of Agriculture and the Sec retary of the Interior sent pro posed bills to the house committee on roads which called for a repeal of the law making the 1939 author ization. These bills, however, have not been officially introduced and it is entirely up to congress now to either back up the President’s pro posal or take some affirmative action on what’s going to be done with the 1939 money. Here is a legislative branch of the govern ment confronted with the problem of the executive department tell ing the state governments not to carry out the will of the legisla tive branch until the legislative branch takes some other kind of action or rescinds the law it had passed. (Continued on page 5, column 5.) Johnsons A Family Of Railroad Men Mr. and Mrs. John S. Johnson, parents of Mrs. Thomas Edwards, arrived in the city the first of the week for a several weeks visit at the Edwards home. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were for many years resi dents of Plainview but they came here from Beatrice to which place he was transferred a little over a year ago. Mr. Johnson had been an em ployee of the Burlington railroad for forty-nine years when he was retired on a pension last June. He is a brother of Mike Johnson of this city who has been section foreman for the Burlington since 1903. Another brother, Frank, is foreman at Belden. He has been with the Burlington since 1898 Two other brothers, Bert and Charles, have also been section fore men for the Burlington, but are now on the retired list. This Johnson family seem to be natural-born railroaders. They are the sons of a pioneer family ol this county who settled southwesi of this city about 23 miles, in 1880 where they resided for many years Fire Damages Home Of Mrs. Ella Rile> Fire, of unknown origin, badlj damaged the home of Mrs. Riley ir the northern part of the city Iasi Monday night about 10:30. Mrs Riley was not at home at the tim( and a neighbor noticed smoke pour ing from the building and sounde< the alarm. The fire departmen promptly responded and in a shor time extinguished the flames. The fire started in the basemen and burned thru the lower floor am the contents of the building wa badly damaged with smoke am water. We understand that thi loss is covered by insurance. Over 3,000 Automobile Licenses Issued Hen Applications for automobile li cense plates has been better in th office of the county treasurer thi year than for several years past up to this time of the year. Th ! office has issued 3,000 plates for passenger cars so far this year and it is believed that there are about 1.000 cars in the county for which no plates have yet been secured. The end of the good will season is rapidly approaching and those without new plates for their cars had better secure them at once. When R. E. Gallagher, who had charge of the issuing of licenses for automobile drivers, closed his office on December 7, he had issued 5,903 licenses. An inspection of the records in the treasurer’s office this morning discloses the fact that there has now been issued 6,100 drivers licenses to automobile drivers in this county. While this is a large number it is still about 2.000 less than it had been antici pated would be issued in this county, prior to the start of the examinations. Mrs. M. A. McCafferty, Pioneer Lady, Greeted On Her 79th Birthday On Friday last a dozen or more old time friends and neighbors dropped in on Mrs. M. A. MeCaf ferty at the home of her daughter, Mrs. It. E. Gallagher, to wish her happiness on her 79th birthday. In the group were several who have passed the three score and ten, Mrs. Daly, Mrs. Biglin, Mrs. Bren nan, Mrs. Bauman, Mrs. Minton, Mrs. McCabe and Mrs. McCafferty. Across the yenrs they glimpsed again the yesterdays of half a century ago, as each lady related some experience back in the decade when they held the stage at the same time. They were all young brides to gether, unused to the hardships of pioneering, not the pampered lan guishing type, but keen-edged, de- i termined wives and mothers, many! from comfortable homes in far away eastern cities, lured on by fantistic stories of fame and for tune that was to be had from “them thar bare prairies.” Their abodes were crude and in adequate to their needs, but by sheer determination, they strung along and created an atmosphere of homelike coziness for their . men folks and little ones, going their way with human kindliness, lending assistance here and there by the roadside, whenever a crying need presented itself. As the afternoon merged with the candle hour and tale after tale unfolded itself, we saw the happy adventuring, gayety, wit, and humor mingling with hardships, privations, misfortunes and suffer ings of those long ago days when they lived in a labryinth of fron tiering. But the realities and achievements they accomplished stand out with a brilliant light in a rather sterile background. A few were left widows at an early age with a brood of little ones to care for, but with unflinch ing courage and necessity they faced facts, and were wielders of the master spirit to do and con quer. One brave woman harnessed herself to the plow and sowed the seed to feed and nourish her little ones, and she lives today to see her children’s grandchildren. Cruel prairie fires swept along. Blizards and destructive hoppers i winged by and furrowed brow and cheeks not a little. There were times when their thought wafted to other scenes and other days, as each fall settled in on them for a long sleep, it saddened them for a time, but each spring with the com ing of the feathered flock when mother nature stretched out her great arms and welcomed them within her mantle of greenest green, they pushed on with re newed courage and faith in the soil, thereby bequeathing to us a I tremduous influence to grab the I next spoke of the wheel and push with all our might so that in the years to came, we too, may know the meaning and essence of a well spent life. I We are gratefully proud to have known these women and wish that I the retelling and stringing along of their story might be embroidered into beautiful verse, for as a great writer says, “They had the happy faculty of making a lot, and a I lovely lot, out of a little.” I R. E. Gallagher drove to Omaha ? last Friday for a few days visit > with friends and to look after busi , ness matters. He returned home : Sunday afternoon. George Farman Jr. Is Chosen Bar Head At Meeting Last Saturday * The members of the Fifteenth Judicial District Bar association held their annual meeting at the court house in this city last Satur day afternoon and wound up the meeting in the evening with a ban quet at the Golden hotel. The afternoon meeting was the business meeting when matters af fecting the profession were dis cussed. The following officers were elected to head the association for the coming year: President, Geo. A. Farman, Jr., Ainsworth Vice President, E. H. Curtis, Bassett; Secretary - Treasurer, Wayne A. Davies of Butte. At 7 o’clock in the evening a banquet was served in the Golden hotel to the visiting attorneys and at this gathering two vocal solos were rendered by Lewis Cambre, and two more selections were rend ered by the O’Neill quartette com- ! posed of Matt Beha, Gene Harty, Lewis Cambre and Frank David son, which were well rendered and well received by the members of the bar. After the musical program Harvey E. Johnsen of Omaha, president of the Nebraska State Bar association, delivered an ad dress to the members of the as sociation touching upon their du ties to the fraternity, their country and the courts. It was a splendid address and was very well received by the members present. W. C. T. U. Honors Francis E. Willard The W. C. T. U. met at the home of Mrs. Mary Uttley Tuesday af ternoon, with Mrs. Elsie Johnson as assisting hostess. A memorial program in com memoration of the fiftieth anniver sary of the death of Francis E. Willard was conducted by Mrs. Lila i Loy, and many interesting inci- 5 dents of her childhood and life as a temperance leader and organizer were brought out. Rev. May gave a very fine talk on the temperance situation as it exists today, as compared with the conditions that existed during the career of Francis E. Willard. • Discussing current topics, the the portion of Stefan’s article in ' The Frontier of Feb. 10, “To Fight j or Not To Fight,” touching the Ludlow Bill which was killed in the House a few weeks ago, called for very emphatic comments from the majority of those present. It is felt that parents of young men and boys are opposed to having them sent to foreign countries, to sacrifice their lives, as has already been done, without the people hav ing a word to say about the matter. The question is, “W'hat will they do to help care for the blind, the hiaimed and crippled boys that are sent back to our shores?” We know from experience who has the burden to bear. The W. C. T. U. favors the bill introduced in the senate by Senator Capper of Kansas, asking for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, providing for a referendum on ajiy war except in case of actual or imminent in vasion. N Ash Grove Project Club The Ash Grove Project Club met on February 9th at the home of Mrs. Robert Miller. All of the members and two visitors were present. The lesson was: “Decorative Objects One Can Make.” This in ! eluded decorative objects made from tin, objects made from ser pentine paper and articles made from twisted crepe paper. The leaders had a good display of these articles made and demonstrated the making of them very efficiently. A lovely covered dish luncheon was served at noon. Our next meeting will be a special meeting at Mrs. George Rector’s on Feb ruary 24. We hope to have our district leader, Miss Grace Lee with us for this meeting. Dr. and Mrs. L. A. Burgess left last Sunday morning for Chicago where Dr. Burgess will attend the Mid-West Dental association meet ing being held in that city the first four days of this week. They are expected to return home Sat urday.