Nebraska Newspapers

    VOL LX O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JULY 27,1939 NO. 11
WIND AND HAIL DESTROYS CORN CROP
AT INMAN; TURKEYS AND CHICKENS DIE
FOLLOWING DESTRUCTIVE STORM
New Barn Razed and Windmill Blown Down
» When Two to Six Inches of Rain Accompanied
By Wind and Hail Fall in Very Short Time
—
Ben Franklin Store
Almost Ready for Use
The remodeling of the Ben Frank
lin store is rapidly nearing comple
tion. It is expected that all the
work of redecorating will be com
pleted about the first of the month.
By adding the east portion of the
building to the store Mr. Bowen
now has more floor space than any
business building in the city and
he will be better able to' display his
goods.
HEW WPA AREA
OFFICES FOR NEXT
f YEAR ANNOUNCED
Field Offices Closed at
Norfolk, Lincoln, Grand
Island and Alliance
Congressional cutting of the
WPA budget caused the state office
to announce that administrative
costs during the coming year would
be reduced about $10,500 per month.
Field offices at Norfolk, Lincoln,
Grand Island and Alliance have
been closed, reducing the personel
of the other offices.
Area offices under the new plan
to handle all WPA business in the
field will be as follows:
O’Neill — Cherry, Keya Pafi'a,
Brown, Rock, Holt, Boyd counties.
Hartington—Knox, Cedar, Dixon,
Dakota.
Norfolk — Antelope, Pierce,
Wayne, Madison, Stanton.
Columbus—Boone, Platte, Colfax,
Nance, Merrick, Polk, Butler.
Blair—Cuming, Burt, Dodge,
Washington, Thurston.
Omaha—Douglas, Sarpy.
Lincoln—Lancaster, Saunders.
Nebraska City—Cass, Otoe, Nem
aha, Richardson.
Beatrice—Gage, Johnson, Paw
nee.
Grand Island — Hall, Hamilton,
Adams, Clay, Webster, Nuckolls.
Ord—Garfield, Valley, Wheeler,
Greeley, Sherman, Howard.
Kearney—Buffalo, Phelps, Kear
ney, Harlan, Franklin.
McCook—Chase, Hayes, Frontier,
Dundy, Red Willow, Hitchcock,
Gosper, Furnas.
North Platte — Grant, Hooker,
4 Thomas, Blaine, Loup, Arthur, Mc
Pherson, Logan, Custer, Keith,
Lincoln, Dawson, Perkins.
Alliance—Sioux, Dawes, Sheri
dan, Box Butte, Scottsbluff, Mor
rill, Garden, Banner, Kimball, Chey
enne, Deuel.
York—York, Seward, Fillmore,
Saline, Thayer, Jeferson.
Shortage of Hay Crop
Expected to Boost Price
Of Last Year’s Hay
Farmers and stockmen living in
the southern part of the county say
that the hay crop this year is the
lightest it has been for several years
and most of them consider them
selves lucky to have a large amount
of last year’s crop still in the stack
► on the meadows. During the past
ten days many stockmen have been
purchasing stacks of last year s hay
from their neighbors to augment
their own supply. Last year hay
was almost unsalable but the in
dications are that .the crop will
bring a good price within the next
three or four months.
Mr. and Mrs. Await Spangler,
daughters, Wanda and Lavon, and
son, Vernon, left last Monday for
Martin, South Dakota, to spend a
few days with their daughter, Mrs.
Melvin Cylde. Lavon remained
there to spend the rest of the sum
mer with her sister. They re
tdrned Tuesday nipht.
Try a Frontier Want-ad.
It has been hot all the past week
with .83 hundredths of an inch of
moisture last Monday afternoon
that fell in about thirty minutes.
The rain extended only six miles
north of town and was very light
from a couple of miles this side of
Emmet west, but very heavy in the
southeastern part of the county,
nearly six inches falling four miles
south of Inman, while in Inman the
rainfall amounted to 2 inches.
The country south of Inman was
visited by a destructive hail and
wind storm, the wind manifesting
cyclonic proportions at the farm of
John Sobotka, four miles south of
Inman. Here the wind blew the
top off his large, new barn, 30x40
feet with hay loft and then the
barn collapsed. His wind mill was
torn and twisted by the wind and
it was blown over the foundation of
the barn and also tore his cattle
sheds to pieies. A very severe hail
accompanied the wind and it took
in a strip of territory five and one
half miles long and a little over two
miles wide and destroyed hundreds
of acres of fine corn. So severe
was the hail and its size, many of
them being chunks of ice, they
killed several hundred turkeys and
dozens of chickens in the territory
visited by the storm. The hail be
ing of such size and accompanied
by a heavy wind the ground was
pounded to bits and hay meadows
that had not been cut were ruined,
the ground being chopped up as if
it had been rooted by a bunch of
hogs. Many hay stacks were torn
to pieces and hay was scattered all
over that section of the county. It
was the hardest hail storm to ever
visit this county, but fortunately it
did not cover a very large area,
but it stuck in one of the garden
spots of the county and the sec
tion that gave promise of having
a splendid corn crop.
Following is a partial list of the
farmers in the territory visited by
the wind and hail, who lost their en
tire corn crop, and many of them
lost chickens, turkeys and small
pigs. Karl Keyes, Floyd Keyes,
Louie Sabotka, Jim Sabotka, An
thony Sabotka, John Sabotka, J.
Kopecky, A. G. Clark, H. R. Rouse
and A. Tomlinson. There may
have been others in that section who
lost by the storm but we have been
unable to get their names.
The hail storm did not extend
very far east of Inman, but they
had a good rain clear to the east end
of the county, but not as heavy as
the Inman vicinity. The rainfall
at Ewing was one inch, with a
fairly heavy wind and a little hail,
but not enough to damage crops.
Following is the chart for the
week:
H L M
July 20_ 100 70
July 21_ 98 70
July 22 _ 86 73
July 23 96 61
July 24_ 94 66 .83
July 25_ 94 62
July 26 ....— 100 68
Total precipitation for July, 1.79
inches. Total precipitation since
January 1, 1939, 9.90 inches..,
. -*—•
Marriage Licenses
Harry Peter and Miss Cecelia
Sladek, both of O’Neill, were grant,
ed a marriage license in county
court on July 22.
Gail R. King and Miss Pauline
Hytrek, both of Stuart, were
granted a marriage license in coun
ty court last Saturday. They were
united in marriage in the Catholic
church in Stuart on Tuesday by
Father Hilt.
Marvin Focken and Miss Han
nah Bruan, both of Atkinson, were
granted a masriage license in coun
ty court last Thursday. They were
united in marriage the same day in
the Presbyterian Manse in this city,
Rev. Bell officiating.
SIMONSON FARM
SOLD FOR $18 PER
ACRE SATURDAY
Once Finest Farm in
County; Valued at $75
Per Acre 20 Years Ago
Tht reduction in the price of land
in this county was exemplified last
Saturday at the sale of the 480 acre
farm of the late Clarence J. Sim
onson northeast of this city. This
was a well improved place and when
Mr. Simonson lived thereon he/ made
a fortune from the place. At the
sale the land was bid in at $18.00
per acre by R. L. George, of Ew
ing. '
This is one of the nicest places
in the Blackbird Valley. It is well
improved, although the improve
ments have been allowed to run
down the past few years. Twenty
years ago this place would have
brought easily $76 per acre, while
last Saturday it was sold for only
$18.00. This is an example of what
dry weather and hot winds will do
for a country.
New York Sheriff Lodges
Prisoner Here Over Night
Sheriff G. F. Brown and his dep
uty, W. J. Szmanski, Batavia, N.Y., |
were in O’Neill on Tuesday night
on their way back home with a pris
oner, who had been arrested in
Basin, Wyo., and who was charged
with stealing ffcOO.OO worth of
merchandise in a tourist camp in
New York, and shooting an officer.
As the prisoner had escaped from
jail in Denver, and had twice at
tempted to flee from the two law
officers who had him in custody
here, they were taking no more
chances, and had him shackled hand
and foot. The prisoner spent the
night in the county jail. He and
his custodians left here early Wed
nesday morning on the trip home.
Remodeling of Bentley
Building Progressing
Work of remodeling the old Bent
ley building on east Douglas street,
now owned by Mrs. Helen Simar,
is progressing rapidly. A modern
up-to-date front has been installed
and the interior is being redecor
ated and the building will be ready
for occupancy in about one wek.
CITY CLERKS FILLING STATION DAMAGED
BY FIRE HERE LAST FRIDAY NOON
Building and Portion of Contents Covered by
Insurance; Rebuilding and Renovation of
Structure Started Here Today
New Business Building
Is Planned for Fastest
Growing City in State
The prospects are bright for an
other new business building in this
city before the snow flies. An
eastern firm with a string of twen
ty-seven stores in South Dakota and
Iowa are negotiating with local
people for the erection of a modern
store building, 44x110 on Douglas
street. The contract has not yet
been signed but it is expected that
signatures wUJ be attached thereto
before the end of the week. If so
work will start on the building at
once and will be rushed rapidly to
completion.
MILITARY SERVICES
HELD FOR WORLD
WAR VETERAN
The following was clipped from
the Covert (S.D.) Advance of July
13, 1939.
Over the telephone line Monday
forenoon came a message of ex
treme sadness, “Martin Blomberg
is dead.” Heart failure had claimed
one of our best beloved neighbors
and friends.
A few days ago Martin and his
family went to O’Neill, Nebr. to
visit his wife’s father, R. H. Mur
ray, and other relatives and were
about to start home when a heart
attack ended his life.
His body lies at rest in the Catho
lic cemetery at Sturgis.
He was a Veteran of Foreign
Wars having served his country
two years, most of that time over
seas.
A military funeral was held for
him. Even though the writer was
present at the services at St. Mar
tin’s Chapel and at the grave side
a short distanct away, it is difficult
to realize that we will never feel
the warm, firm hand clasp of Mar
tin Blomberg, who has been so kind
to us through the years of our resi
dence here.
The World War pallbearers were
Arthur Flagg, C. C. Gullickson,
Otto Jensen, J. E. Griggs, Carl Eil
ers and John Brown.
Honorary pall bearers were Geo.
M. Filing, Hugo Jensen, Louie
Frandsen, N. S. Vroman, A. C.
Thybo and O. F. Slott.
To the bereaved ones goes out
heartfelt sympathies.
Lyle Johnson, of Omaha, arrived
in O’Neill on Wednesday to spend
a few days here visiting his brother,
I. W. Johnson, and his family.
Fire last Friday, shortly after
noon, destroyed the filling station
in the west end of town operated
by Chauncey Porter. The fire
started about 12:30 and was a
roaring inferno In a little while.
Mr. Porter was at lunch at the
time and Harold Lindberg, who is
connected with Mr. Porter in the
ownership of the station was also
at home and the man in charge of
the station at the time of the fire
had no ided of just how the fire
started. The man in charge
was in the tire room on the
west side of the building and when
he noticed the fire which was in the
other room it had a good start. The
alarm was sounded immediately and
soon the department was on hand
and extinguished the flames, but
not until considerable damage had
been done to the building and con
tents. Mr. Porter did not carry
any insurance on the tires and ac
cessories that he carried in stock,
while Harold Lindberg carried |500
insurance on oil and tires that he
carried in the building.
The building is owned by E. J.
Eby, now living at Stuart but form
erly of this city, and he carried $2,
500 insurance on the building. In
surance adjusters were in the city
on Tuesday and Wednesday and the
losses were adjusted and work of
repairing the building was started
this morning. Chauncey Porter,
with permission of the insurance
company, connected his pumps and
was back in business again on Mon
day morning, after an enforced ab
sence of three days.
This station has enjoyed a good
business and citizens of the com
munity generally sympathize with
the boys on the loss they sustained
by the fire.
Summer Project Meeting
To Be Held in O’Neill
The summer project club meet
ing which is conducted by Miss
Jessie Baldwin for presidents, music
leaders and reading leaders of both
this year and last year, will be held
at the O’Neill High School on Fri
day, August 4. This meeting will
start at 10:00 a.m. and finish at
4:00 p.m. A covered dish luncheon
is planned for noon.
Mrs. T. O. Miller, of Lusk, Wyo.,
arrived here Saturday to visit at
the homes of Mr. and Mrs. R. L.
Arbuthnot and Mrs. Dave Stan
nard.
Mrs. John Robinson, of Ham
den, Iowa, who has been here vis
iting relatives for the past month,
returned to her home Friday. Jim
mie Golden accompanied her back
and will be *here for a few weeks.
BROWN-MC DONALD
APPOINTS NEW
MANAGER HERE
R. E. Armburster, of McPherson,
Kansas, arrived in the city last
Monday afternoon and took over
the management of the Brown-Mc
Donald store here, succeeding Char
les Yarna'l, who has been the man
ager for the past six years. Mr.
Armburster, was born and raised at
Stanton, Nebr., and has oeen en
gaged in the mercantile business
all his life. For several years he
has been stationed in Kansas. He
is married and is the father of a
son, twenty months old. Mrs. Arm
burster and son came with him
and they are now looking for a home
in the fastest growing city in the
state.
Mr. Yarnall, who has been the
efficient and capable manager of
the store for several years, has not
decided what he will do in the fu
ture, but would like to remain a
resident of this city. During his
residence here he has made many
friends among the people of the city
and county and they are all hoping
that he will continue to remain a
resident of the Emerald Tinted city.
O’Neill Couple Married
In Ceremony at St.
Patrick’s Church Tues.
Miss Cecilia Sladek, daughter of
Mrs .Julia Sladek, and Harry Peter,
youngest son of James Peter, both
of this city, were united in marriage
at St. Patrick’s Catholic church on
Tuesday morning by the Rev. Msgr.
McNamara.
The bride was attired in a blue
dress, street length, and carried a
bouquet of red roses, while her at
tendant, Miss Marie Sladek, wore
a dress of old rose, also street
length. The bridegroom was at
tended by his brother, John Peter,
both wore the conventional dark
suits.
Harry Peter is a graduate of the
O’Neill Public High School, being
a member of the class of 1928, while
the bride attended the Verdigre
High Schol, from which commun
ity her family moved to this city
several years ago.
Immediately following the wed
ding, an informal breakfast was
served to the bridal party at the
home of the bridegroom’s sister,
Mrs. Harold Wicr, and a wedding
dinner was served to all of the
bridal party and relatives at the
home of the bride’s mother, Mrs.
Julia Sladek.
The young couple will reside at
the home of his father, south of
O’Neill, where the groom, his broth
er, John, and father are engaged
in the business of farming.
The Frontier joins with the many
friends of the young couple in
wishing them a long and prosper
ous wedded life.
15th Annual Meeting To
Be Held North of O’Neill
Sunday, August 4th
The Fifteenth Annual Holt Coun
ty Sunday School Group-Gathering
will be held next Sunday, July 30,
in a very shady spot on the Mrs.
Johnson farm, twelve miles north
of O’Neill and one mile east of the
Spencer highway. An invitation is
extended to all who care to come
to share in the good music, songs
and messages that will be heard
that day. The first session begins
at 10:00 a.m. Basket dinner at
noon and the after-noon session
starting at 1:30.
In All Fairness Board
Should Select Supervisor
Says County Pioneer
Carl Holz, one of the pioneers of
the southeastern part of the coun
ty, and an old time reader of the
Frontier, was in the city Monday
and made this office a pleasant call.
Carl is of the opinion that his sec
tion of the county is not being very
well treated by the County Board
as they are without representation
thereon, on account of the inability
of the county board to get together
on a successor to Louis W. Roimers
who resigned on his selection to the
position of county judge.
ELECTROCUTION FOLLOWS CRASH WHEN
IOWAN'S AUTO COLLIDES WITH LIGHT
POLE AT DANCELAND CORNER WED.
Auto Shears Double Light Pole Carrying 22,000
Volts After Leaving Road and Traveling 168 Ft.
In Ditch and Into Fence; Victim Operated
Plumbing Establishment in Charter Oak, Iowa
Lucky Ticket Gives Oppen
Free Telephone Talk to
Sister at Frisco Fair
Aa one of the attractions at the
World’s Fairs, being held in New
York, and San Francisco, the Bell
Telephone Company have installed
booths, where the people attending
the fairs are invited to witness the
procedure which follows a long dis
tance telephone call. Every night,
at both of these fairs, the specta
tors present are given a number,
and the holder of the winning num
ber is entitled to a free long dist
ance call anywhere in the United
States. Last Tuesday night, Mr.
and Mrs. Sidney Johnson, of Oak
land, California, were present at
the fair, in San Francisco, and Mjs.
Johnson was the holder of the
ticket, so she called her brother,
Ralph Oppen of this city. The call
came through about eleven o’clock,
and both Mr. Oppen and his wife,
and Mrs. C. B. Scott talked to Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson.
VARIED PROGRAM
ARRANGED BY BAND
FOR SAT. CONCERT
Talented Soloist and
Music Student Will
Render Number
The audience at the band concert
to be given next Saturday night
have in store an especial treat.
The vocal soloist for this week is
Miss Mary Kathryn Coyne. For
the past year she has been a stu
dent in the school of music. Univers
ity of Minnesota, located at Minne
apolis. She plans to return to the
school of musii in September and
complete her work for a Bachelor
of Music Degree during the ensu
ing school year.
The program is as follows:
March—“Invirrtible U.S.A.”
_Myers
March—“Triumph,” .... King
Selections—“Song of the White
Spot,” Mrs. Cora Abart,, Bas
sett, Nebr.
Novelty—“The Man on the Fly
ing Trapeve,” .. O’Keefe
Vocal solo—“ ‘Tis the Last Rose
of Summer”—Moore
. Miss Mary Kathryn Coyne
March—“Barnum and Bailey’s
Favorite,”_ King
Concert Waltz—“Alpine Sunset,”
_King
Cowboy Song—“Home on the
Range,” arranged by DeLama
ter.
Hymn—“Onward Christian Sol
diers” Sullivan
“America” and “Taps,” —Smith
Ermand Keyes Wed Here
By Rev. Conrad Wed.
On Wednesday evening, July 19,
1939, at 8 o’clock, Mr. Ermand
Keyes, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. E.
Keyes, of Inman, and Miss Ruth
Hamilton, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. R. P. Hamilton, of Spencer,
were united in marriage at the Con
rad home in O’Neill. Rev. D. S.
Conrad officiating.
The bridal couple were attended
by Lorin Keyes, brother of the
bridegroom and Miss Truby Ray
mer, friend of the bride.
The bride wore a medium blue
lace dress over rose colored satin,
with white accessories and car
ried a bouquet of pink and white
garden flowers tied with white silk
ribbon. The bouquet was presented
to the bride by Mrs. J. J. Harring
ton, of O’Neill. The maid of honor
was dressed in a pink lace dress
over rose colored satin.
This worthy young couple have
the best wishes and congratula
tions of a host of friends.
W. A. Christiansen, 50, of Charter
Oak, Iowa, met instant death on
highway No. 20 about 7:10 last
evening, when his car left the pav
ing and ran along in the ditch and
crashed into an electric light pole
about one block west of the Dance
land corner, breaking the pole in
two and stripping the wire, so that
he was electrocuted. The high
line carried 22,000 volts of elec
tricity. When found his body was
partially on the ground and one
foot was caught in the door of the
car, with one wire over the top of
the car and tjie other over the fen
ders and the top of the door on the
left hand side of the car.
The body was brought to this
city after it had been viewed by
the county attorney and coroner,
J. D. Cronin, and taken to Biglin’s
undertaking parlors. Local of
ficials got in touch with his rela
tives at Charter Oak and this morn
ing, about 4:30, the undertaker
from that city, accompanied by a
brother of the deceased, a brother
in-law and a friend arrived and
took the body back to Charter Oak
leaving here about 9 o’clock this
morning, where the funeral ser
vices will be held.
The deceased operated a plumb
ing establishment in Charter Oak
and was a married man with two
children, both boys, aged 10 and 1
years. He also leaves one brother
and one sister. He had been in
Valentine at the bedside of an uncle
who is quite seriously ill and was
on his way home when the acci
dent occurred. The car was not so
badly wrecked in the crash, but was
not in condition to drive. The right
side of the car was badly scratched,
showing where he had run along
side of the wire fence on the south
side of the road when he went into
the ditch. He hit the telephone
pole between the left front wheel
and the edge of the radiator and the
force of the impact could be plain
ly seen on the car, as the connec
tion with the axle was broken off.
From appearances it seems that he
was thrown from the car at the
time of the impact; had he been
able to remain in the car he would
probably have escaped injury. This
is the senond fatality that has ol
curred near this corner in the past
three months.
Poultry Demonstration
Team to World’s
Poultry Congress
Marvin Stauffer and Margery
Rees* of the Page 4-H poultry club
left Wednesday morning for Cleve
land, Ohio, where they will repre
sent Nebraska at the World’s Poul
try • Congress. The demonstration
team, each member of which has
won numerous 4-H awards in both
this county and state, were sent
to Cleveland through the contribu
tions of the business men’s organi
zations in the towns in this county.
The Page Poultry Club of which
this team are members has been
led for the last seven years by Mrs.
Edgar Stauffer who coached the
demonstration.
The mixing of the 8-S all purpose
mash which is recommended by the
Nebraska college of agricutlure will
be demonstrated when this team
competes against 27 other states in
Cleveland.
Those who seen this team give
their demonstration have agreed
that they are well prepared and
through having spent much time
in preparation are very deserving
of the honor of representing Ne
braska.
Holt County can be very proud of
the reputation its young people are
making for themselves.
Merle and Weimar Spangler, Dale
Matschullet, Pat Gamble and Dale
Smith left last Thursday for Min
nesota where they expect to find
work in the harvest fields.