VOL. LXI O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1940 NUMBER 11
SOUTHWESTERN
BREEZES_
By Romaine Saunders
“Unwise, unpatriotic and fraught
with peril to our free institutions ”
So urged the democratic patriots in
congress a few years ago when a
sentiment began to brew for a
third tr?p f(r Coolidge. “Unwise,
unpatriotic, and fraught with dan
ger to our free institutions”—
terms to be badgered with by the
kind of politicians whose first in
terest is a place at the trough.
Nebraskans have survived a good
many tough seasons, but I don’t
know that we are prepared for
what a gentleman of science re
cently forecast—that we have just
got a start on a 50-year famine.
Henry Dierks was out from At
kinson Sunday with a tank load of
tractor fuel for his brother, Bill
Dierks, and Henry Greenslit.
Mr. and Mrs. Robyler of Atkin
son and Miss Dorothy Clark, her
brother, Charles, and uncle Henry
Clark, were guests at the home of
the writer Saturday. Mr. Robyler
lost a horse from lightning the
night before.
In his defeat Tom Dewey is the
only real winner among the lists
of political aspirants. He has
standing invitations to take on
jobs, any of which afford a yearly
income of half a million.
Newspaper men in telling the
story of the Chicago convention
are unanimous in estimating it as
a puppet show' manipulated from
the White House. Some—not the
least of whom are two of the ablest
Nebraskans now In congress—are
disgusted with the servile fawning
of their party to one monumental
ego and publicly announce they
will support the G. O. P. ticket.
There are destructive agencies
other than heat, grasshoppers and
taxes to take the romance out of
life. Reports come of raids by
prairie wolves on turkey flocks in
this section. I have been told that
100 have disappeared from the El
mer Fix ranch and BO of Mrs.
Spath’s flock near Amelia.
An alarm of prairie fires came
over the telephones early Saturday
morning. The prairie in two places
southeast of Swan lake was in
flames from lightning bolts. A
prompt response in the neighbor
hood of men to fight fire got it un
der control after about a mile of
prairie had been burned over.
Caution must be exercised as in
1934 or disastrous fires may be ex
perienced in much of this section
of Nebraska. When haying is done
the hazard will be somewhat less.
While it is still drier in other sec
tions there is also less there to
burn. And the fellow who has six
or eight hundred dolars farm rent
to raise and sees his corn fields
destroyed by hot winds and hop
pers has something to scratch his
head over.
The Elkhom river has not beer
swollen to a flood for many years.
I trust its natural beauty will nev.
er be despoiled by impious hands
constructing power reservoirs and
the like. Maybe the latter arrivals
in this community will put me
down as indulging in tall tales iv.
recalling a time when the Elkhorn
spread out to the Northwestern
tracks and those flats where houses
and tourist cabins now stand was
the village swimming hole. But
I will call supervisor John Sullivan
to witness for me. He has lived
“over the river” as long as the
next one. Perhaps no one enjoyed
that water as much as Henry Mur
phy, at one time county attorney,
and whose death occurred a few
years ago at Atkinson. He joined
the boys every evening down there
and demonstrated that he was a
great swimmer. And now, these
hot July days, would it not be in
spiring to see water again in such
outline? Where the “home made”
channel of the river now crosses
the highway there was at an ear
lier date a deep water hole. Wood
Donald Loy Accidentally
Shot Sunday Afternoon
Donald, 15-year-old son of Mr.
and Mrs. Dave Loy, was shot in
the abdomen last Sunday about
noon at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Clay Johnson east of this city. The
boys went to the Johnson home to
get the Johnson boy to go swim
ming. While they were waiting for
dinner to be over they went into the
front room and there was a 22
calibre revolver lying on the table
and Loy’s companion picked it up,
thinking it was not loaded, and
snapped the trigger. The gun was
loaded and the shot struck young
Loy in the abdomen, near a lower
rib and missed any vital spot.
Donald was taken to Norfolk at
once and the l&te reports from
there are to the effect that he is
getting along nicely and that he
will recover. This is another
warning that hoys should be care
ful about handling guns, for it is
the unloaded g m that is always
dangerous.
Mary E. Barnes
Mary E. Barnes passed away at
the home of her daughter, Mrs.
Laura Sterns, sixteen miles north
west of this city, on Wednseday
morning at 6:45, at the age of 76
years, 8 months and 4 days. The
funeral will be held on Friday af
ternoon at 2 o’clock form the old
Barnes home place, six miles east
of Atkinson, then to the Method
ist chlurch in Atkinson, where ser
vices will be conducted by Rev. V.
C. Wright of this city and inter
ment in the Atkinson cemetery.
Mary Elizabeth McCoy was born
in Harrison county, Iowa, on Nov
ember 20, 1863. On December 26,
1885, she was united in marriage
to Edward F. Barnes at Logan,
Iowa. Nine children.were born of
this union, seven of whom are left
to mourn the passing of a kind and
affectionate mother. The children
are: Jesse, Scottsbluffs, Nebr.;
Perry and Fred, Atkinson; Mrs.
Laura Sterns, O’Neill; George and
Floyd, Atkinson, and Mrs. Gladys
Davis, Denby, S. D.
Mrs. Barnes had been a resident
of this county since 1908 when the
family came to this county from
McClean, Nebr.
en bridges for conveying traffic
across this water hole had to be
replaced from time to time owing
to the work of high water. It was
on this “bridge with its wooden
piers’’ that this bit of a stc.ry be
gins. Why all the clumsy preface?
I don’t know that I have any claim
on the privilege of public exhibi
tions. Preliminaries precede the
main attraction. But to pioceed
Hay McClure. Pat Mullen and I
were moving a herd of cattle, Pat
a«sistii g in getting them across
the riv-jv *hen Hay and I to con
tinue on tc the old McClure ranch
some 20 miles out. In those days
cattle d'd not have the modern
luxury of being moved from place
to place in trucks. They moved on
the hoof with whooping cowboys
hazing them along. When wc
came to this water hole this day
some of the herd took the bridge,
some the water. When all were
across we discovered a red steer
under the bridge caught between
two timbers of a pier. Hay, to the
manner born, the most efficient
cow hand of the three, uncoiled the
lariat from his saddle bow and
neatly tossoed the loop over the
steers horns. The end of the rope
was passed to Pat, who was at high
tension under the excitement. He
was to pull when the signal was
given. The steer was jockied out
of its mooring, but in doing this
the rope got looped over a project
ing timber. You probably have
been fishing and allowed your line
to sag below water where it would
drift under a stick, then pulling,
cork and all disappeared. Pat may
have been given the wrong signal.
He gave an excited jerk on the
rope which caught on the pro
jection, acted as the fish line under
the stick. With four cloven hoofs
striking frantically upward the
steer went on his back to the bot
tom, resembling a mighty bullhead
struggling to get off your line. He
was gotten safely out and went
docilely across the next bridge.
Benefits of Vocational
Education Given
O’Neill Vocational Agriculture
Boys Complete Large
Shop Jobs
Vocational Agriculture in the
O’Neill Public School has proven
very helpful to farm boys of Holt
County. They learn by doing. For
example, the past school year the
boys built the following equipment:
3 wagon boxes, 1 brooder house,
25 chicken feeders, 1 sheep feed
bunk, 1 beef cattle feed bunk. In
addition to this type of work they
spent time soldering, making rope
and doing forge work.
Equipment amounting to $250
was built for their fathers and farm
neighbors.
Not only do the boys work in
the shop but they also spend a
greater amount of their time in the
classroom studying problems deal
ing with livestock, crops and soils
and then they practice what they
learn in the classroom on their
home projects.
This department can accommo
date 60 boys the coming school
year. In addition to Animal Hus
bandry, which was taught last year,
a new course, study of Crops and
Soils, will he given this year to
upper classmen. This will make a
more balanced course for the farm
hoy.
Financial Profit From Projects
One boy took for his project ten
ewes. He purchased them for
$67.50. They netted him $19.00
from wool and produced him 14
lambs. If lamb prices remain good,
this boy will make almost enough
to attend school for one school
term.
O’Neill is proud of the oppor
tunity of rendering this desirable
, educational service to its rural
patrons. O’Neill is the only school
in the county that offers this
course.
Harry D. Grady
Harry Dean Grady died at his
home in this city last Sunday
morning at 1:30 after an illness
about four years of heart trouble
at the age of 19 years, 8 months
and 20 days. The funeral was held
last Tuesday morning at 9 o’clock
from the Catholic church, Rev.
C. A. Beyrsdorfer officiating and
burial in Calvary cemetery. The
funeral was very largely attended
by the friends of this excellent
young man who passed away just
on the threshold of man’s estate.
Harry D. Grady was born in
O’Neill on November 1, 1920, the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry D.
Grady. Harry spent his entire
life time in this city and was gradu
ated from St. Mary’s Academy
with the class of 1938. He was an
exceptionally bright young man of
excellent habits and had a host
of friends among the. young people
of the city. He leaves to mourn
his passing his father and mother,
three brothers and two sisters.
They are Tnck. of Denver, Colo.;
Bennett and William, of this city;
Mrs. P. F. Montgomery, of Pu
eblo, Colo.; and Mrs. Z'rthur M
King, of O Neill, all of whom were
present for the funeral services.
The many friends of the family
in this city extend condolences to
the bereaved ones in their hour of
sorrow, in which The Frontier
force joins.
Busy Hour C lun
The Busy Hour Club met with
Mrs. Maggie Gray on July lfi, at
the home of Mrs. James Rooney
in O’Neill. Six members were
present and two members were ab
sent. Roll call was answered by
each member presenting a photo
of themselves at the age of sixteen
and telling what fashion clothes
they wore in those times.
The afternoon was spent in vis
iting and playing games and a few
of the members hemmed tea-tow
els. The prizes were won by Zillah
Miller and Bessie Wayman. At the
close of the meeting a delicious
lunch was served by Mrs. Rooney.
The next meeting will be held at
the home of Mrs. Henry Wayman
on Thursday, August 1.
BRIEFLY STATED
Miss Nadine McNally returned
I Sunday evening from Schuyler, Ne.
I braska, where she spent the past
two weeks visiting relatives.
Mrs. Ed Olson, Mrs. Howard
Bauman and John Protovinsky j
drove to Lincoln on Sunday, where
they visited Ed Olson and Howard
Bauman, who are both receiving
medical treatment at the Veter
an’s hospital there, and both are
getting along very nicely.
Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Mathis and
son left Monday evening for Lin
coln, where they visited relatives.
On Wednesday they drove to Be
atrice, leaving their Son with Mrs.
H. F. Beckman, who is the sister of
Mrs. Mathis, until their return
from Rushville, which is the home
of Mr. Mathis’ parents, and to Cas
per Wyoming, and Colorado.
It was announced on Tuesday by
Adj. General Guy M. Henninger
that Dr. Ralph Oppen, a recent
graduate of Creighton University,
and now interning at Immanuel
hospital at Omaha, has been ap
pointed a first lieutenant in the
medical corps of the Nebraska
National Guard, and assigned to
the One Hundred and Thirty
fourth infantry.
George Fink of O’Neill, a farmer
living northeast of town, and who
hag been employed in the AAA of
fice was before District Judge Rob
ert R. Dickson on Tuesday of this
week, charged with forging an or
der and embezzling $200.00 from
Antelope Township, of which
township he was the Treasurer. He
pled guilty to the charge, and sen
tence was deferred until Saturday
of this week.
—
George Syfie was in from Phoe
! nix Tuesday. George says that it
! is very dry in that s&'tion and that
unless we have a good rain within
a few days the corn crop will be
beyond redemption. He says that
it is now tasseling and needs rain
if we are to have any com. He
says that pastures are rapidly
drying up and that farmers and
stockmen will be up against it for
feed for their stock in a short time
unless we have rain.
W. C. Condit, and son, of Lin
coln, were in the city Wednesday j
morning on tneir way to Atkinson j
where they were to look at a ■
rnnch with a view to purchasing j
and if the deal is made Bill says!
he will become a resident of Holt I
county. Mr. Condit was sheriff of
Dodge county for many y?ais re
signing that position to accept the
appointment as State Sheriff of
Nebraska, an office h* filled with
credit for several years. When we
were in the law enforcement game
we became well acquainted with
Bill Condit and found him to be
a conscientious and very capable
official and we hope that he will
make the deal he is on and become
a resident of this county.
_
Scottville Feeder Calf Club
The Scottville Calf Club held a j
meeting Thursday, July 18, at the]
home of E. W. Richter.
There are now eleven members
in the club, and all blit one member
were present.
Demonstrations, was the main
topic discussed.
All members of the club were |
present at the Judging Day at At-1
kinson.
The next meeting will be held at
the home of Howard Oberle, Aug-1
ust 14.
A delicious lunch was served af- j
ter the meeting.
APPRECIATION
We wish to express our thanks
to all the kind friends and neigh
bors who helped us in so many
ways when we lost all of our house
hold things and horses by fire.—
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Benash and
family.
CARD OF THANKS
I desire to express my heartfelt
and sincere thanks to the many
friends and neighbors for the many
acts of kindness following the sud
den death of my beloved sister.
Your kindness in this hour of sor
row will ever be held in grateful
remembrance.—P. J. McManus.
Ix'ona S. Raper
Leona S. Raper, daughter of
John and Rhoda Raper was born
in Plymouth, 111., on April 15, 1859,
and came to Nebraska in 1878. She
lived in Nebraska nearly all her
life with the exception of a few
years spent in South Dakota and
Iowa. She came to Berwyn in
1910 and has since then made this
her home. She was married in
1875 to William H. Warner. To
this union one child was born.
She was married in 1892 to Al
bert W. Knapp who preceded her in
death in 1922.
In 1927 she was married to M.
A. Glidewell who passed away in
1934.
In early womanhood she joined
the Methodist Church and has al
ways lived in that faith.
She leaves to mourn her death
two sons, Glenn L. Knapp of
Lanesboro, Minn., and Ralph C.
Knapp, of Berwyn, Nebraska; two
daughters, Mrs. Pearl Curtis, of
O’Neill, and Mrs. Ruby Evans, of
Berwyn, Nebraska; eight grand
children and four great grand
children.
Mrs. Glidewell passed away at
her home on July 21, 1940, at the
age of 81 years, 3 months and 6
days.
Funeral services were held at
the Methodist Church on July 23,
1940, with Rev. Arthur Hurder of
ficiating. Hymns were sung by a
quartet composed of Ethel Smith,
Apal Christensen, Vallie Welch and
Vallie Vance.
Pall bearers were her four grand
sons. Interment was made in the
Broken Bow cemetery.
Those from a distance attending
the funeral were &lr. and Mrs.
Glenn Knapp, of Lanesboro, Minn.;
Mr. and Mrs. L. F. Curtis and son
of Red Oak, Iowa; Mr. Glenn
Knapp. Jr., of Halsey, Nebr.; Mr.
and Mrs. Ed Burge and Mrs. Harry
Bowen, of O’Neill, Nebr.
Mrs. Fannie Leidy
Mrs. Fannie Leidy died in her
home at Inman last Wednesday
evening after an illness of several
months of ailments incident to ad
vanced years, at the age of 81
years, 9 months and 26 days. At
the time of going to press funeral
arrangements have not been com
pleted. They have been trying to
get in touch with her son, Ralph,
who with his wife is somewhere in
Indiana or Kentucky. The burial j
will be from the Methodist church'
in Inman, Rev. Maxcy officiating,,
and burial in the Inman cemetery |
at the side of her husband, who i
passed away in January, 1932.
Fannie Carrother was born in
county Fermagh, Ireland, on Sep
tember 28, 1858. When a young
girl her parents came to the United
States and located in Iowa. On
February 22, 1880, she was united
in marriage to Charles C. Leidy, the
ceremony being performed at I o
mars, Iowa. Nine children were
born of this union, foui of whom
survive and are left to mourn the
passing of a kind and affectionate
mother. The children are: Charles
Leidy, state of. Washington; Mrs.
T. B. Fraka, Inman; Ralph Leidy,
O'Neill; Elia I oidy, N. rfolk.
Mrs. Leidy had been a resident
of the county for forty-seven years,
coming here with her husband
from Plymouth, Iowa, in 1893. For
one year they made their home
near Page and then moved to In
man, where she had since made her
home.
Farm Home Destroyed
By Fire Wednesday
The farm house on the Harry
Marshall farm about five miles
northeast of here, which is operated
by his son. Tom, burned completely
to the ground on Wednesday morn,
ing when a mechanical refrigerator
of some sort exploded, throwing
fire into all parts of the house.
Neither Tom nor his young sister,
who are living on the place, were
in the house when the fire started,
and they lost everything, including
all clothing and household furnish
ings. A Ford parked next to the
house was also completely destroy
ed. Nothing was covered with in
surance.
Annual Gathering Of The
County Sunday School
Group Next Sunday
The 16th annual Holt County
Sunday School Group Gathering
will be held in a grove on the Frank
Searles farm near where the Eagle
creek empties into the Niobrara
river on Sunday, July 28. Those
coming from the Southeast will
find the road marked from the
Frank Nelson corner. From the
Spencer highway the road will be
marked from a point one-half mile
north of the Liddy school house.
The morning session, beginning
at 10:00 o’clock, will consist of the
Sunday School hour and a sermon
by Mrs. Marie Hubby of Atkinson.
Basket dinner at noon.
The various Sunday Schools rep
resented will contribute to the af
ternoon program. There will also
be addresses by Ernest Nelson,
missionary of the American Sun
day School Union, from Wausa,
Nebraska, and Rev. Harold Scog
gan of Spencer.
A cordial invitation is extended
to every one to attend.
S. Hallgrimson.
The Weather
The weather has been intensely
hot the past week, with the ther
mometer 100 or better every day
except last Sunday when it regis
tered 98 degrees. With the intens
ive heat a hot wind blew and the
corn crop was damaged in most of
the county. The excessive heat not
only prevailed in this county but
all over the state and most of the
midwest. Wednesday afternoon
the thermometer reached 110 de
grees, the hottest day of the year.
A shower, amounting to .25 of an
inch fell about 5 o’clock last even
ing and the thermometer dropped
about twelve degrees after the rain.
It is still hot today but cooler
weather is promised for tonight
and the balance of the week. The
heat wave was general all over the
country and about 200 lost their
lives on account of the excessive
heat. Following is the chart for
the week:
High Low Free.
July 18 102 77
July 19 . 105 80
July 20 . 100 94 .24
July 21 . 98 78
July 22 . 101 77
July 23 . 106 73 .01
July 24 . 110 70 .25
July 25 . .03
(Early Thursday morning)
Large Crowd Greet The
Atkinson Boosters Here
About 1,200 O’Neill people were
on the streets last Monday evening
to greet the Atkinson Booster cara
van when they drove into town
from the east about 7:40. They
paraded down main street headed
by the Atkinson High school band
of 65 pieces, followed by the mem
bers of the Whisker Club and the
ladies club dressed in old time cos
tumes. They put on a good show
and promised the people of O'Neill
that they would be royally enter
tained if they visited Atkinson
during their three-day celebration,
August 1, 2 and 3.
Band Concert Program
For Next Saturday
“Across the Atlantic” Crawford
March.
"Manitou Heights” Christensen,
March
“Always” Berlin . Waltz
Vocal Solo, Selected .Bob
Parkins.
“Concert in the Park” Friend,
Popular.
“Old Panama" Alford . March
“Poet and Peasant and Light Cav
alryman” Von Suppe Selected
“The Beer Barrel Polka” Brown
Request Number.
French Horn Quintet.Selected
Roy Lundgren, Robert Wallace,
Betty Harris, Robert Selah, Lar
ry Kirwin.
“Nearer My God to Thee” Mason
Hymn
National Anthem . Key
Mrs. Ralph Oppen, of Omaha,
spent the week end in O’Neill vis
iting at the home of her mother,
Mrs. Jeannie Scott.
ASSESSED VALUE
OF HOLT COUNTY
$458,129 LOWER
County Assessor Walter G. Sire
completed the abstract of the tax
able property of the county about
ten days ago and submitted his
i ?port to the state board of equal
ization. The total value of all the
taxable property in the county, as
equalized by the county board, is
¥17,946,430, as compared to $18,
403,655 in 1939, a loss in valua
tion of $458,125 under 1939. This
is a io^s cf less than 5 per cent
while many of the counties have
submitted tax schedule? of from
twenty-five to flf‘y per cent un
der that of last year.
The report ■hows that there are
455,610 acres of improved lauds
in the county and they are assessed
at $3,948,570, or a value of $8.66
per acre. Last year we had 422,440
acres of improved land in the
county and they were assessed at
$3,935,700, or a valuation of $9.31
per acre.
Unimproved lands in the county
number 999,979 acres and they are
valued at $6,083,015, or a value
of $6.08 per acre. Last year there
were 1,031,808 acres and they were
valued at $6,515,495 or a value of
$6.31 per acre.
The total on lands and improve
ments is 1,455,490 acres and the
actual value is placed at $11,151,
485. One year ago the figures on
the above were 1,455,348 acres and
they were valued at $11,642,035, or
a loss of $490,055.
The number of improved lots
in the county are 4,494 and their
value is set at $323,120, or an aver
age value per lot of $71.90. A year
ago there were 4,143 improved lots
in the county and they were assess
ed at $326,590, or a value of
$79.07 each. Unimproved lots in
the county last year numbered
2,329 and they were valued at
$83,505 or a value of $35.45 each.
The total on lots and improvements
this year on 6,473 lots is $1,616,790,
or an average value per lot of
$249.77 cents. Last year there were
assessed 6,472 lots and their valu
ation was fixed at $1,628,085, or
an average of $251.55 per lot, a
reduction this year of less than
$2.00 per lot on the improved town
property in the county, and as
there is only one new building add
ed to the list, according to the re
port, it seems to us that they are
assessed plenty high, at least a
lot of the property is.
The number of cattle in the
county this year, of all ages, are
79,906 valued at $2,240,700. Last
year there were 77,870 head and
they were valued at $2,155,820.
On April 1, there were 10,688
head of horses of all ages in the
county and they were valued at
$293,170. Last year there were
10,885 head and they were valued
at $344,535. There were 680 head
of mules in the county on April 1,
this year and they were valued at
$18,625. Lust year we had only
559 head and they were valued at
$17,925.
The residents of the county had
10,350 dozen chickens on April 1,
and they were valued at $26,950
Last year the abstract shows
there 9,291 dozen in the county
valued at $19,700.
According to the abstract there
were 9,040 head of hogs in the
count this year valued at $48,94)5.
Last year 9,944 head were assessed
in the county and they were val
ued at $93,755.
The county has 4,363 motor ve
hicles in the county this year, val
ued at $621,375. Last year there
were 4,312 motor vehicles in the
county and they were valued at
$589,925.
The total number of schedules
returned this year was 5,195, com
pared to 5,075 last year, or a gain
of 120 over 1939. The total cost
of the assessment was $5,988, com
pared to $5,781.21 for 1929.
Mr. and Mrs. John Cuddy left
Sunday for Sioux Falls, S. D.,
where they will make their home in
the future. John having accepted
a position as salesman for a to
bacco company there.
