Nebraska Newspapers

    The Frontier
_ ... . ^ _ >___
VOL. LXI O'NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1941 NUMBER 42
OLDEST CITIZEN OF
HOLT COUNTY DIES
Thob. I'rimmins Who Lived Here
64 of His 102 Years, Die»
After Brief Illness
People of this community paid
their last respects Monday morn
ing to one of the earliest pioneer
settlers of this vicinity and by
many years the oldest resident of
Atkinson.
Thomas Grimm ins, who was past
102 years of age, has died. For
this sturdy son of Ireland who was
born in 1838, when Martin Van
Buren was serving as president of
the United States, the end of
life’s journey came peacefully
about 3 o’clock last Friday after
noon at his home in the north part
of town. He had been ill only five
days.
The last rites were held at 10
o’clock Monday morning at St.
Joseph’s Catholic church, the mass
being celebrated by the Rev. A. A.
Lehmen. Burial was in St.
Joseph's cemetery. The pallbear
ers were Ed. J. Matousek, H. L.
James, Wm. P. Morgan, Francis
O’Connell, Chas. Bauman and T. L.
McDonald.
In spite of passing the century
mark, Mr. Crmunins was an active
man until the Sunday preceding
his death. On his one-hundredth
birthday, July 24, 1938, the Gra
phic found him limbering up by
swinging an ax on a large, dead
tree in his yard, and not many days
later he had finished chopping it
down.
At that time he was doing his
full share of housework in the home
where for 17 years he and his
brother-in-law, Thomas Hanrahan,
lived together. Although a bit
hard of hearing, he could converse
intelligently about many histori
cal events as well as current hap-j
penings, as he kept fairly well
posted in his daily reading and his
mind was clear and his memory
was good.
He was able to be up and around
and take care of himself—he even
shaved himself with his old
straight-edged razor—until the j
Sunday preceding his death.
Mr. Crimmins was bom in County
Cork, Ireland, on July 24, 1838. He
lived in his native land until he was |
31 years old, served four years in
the Irish militia and worked sev-1
eral years on the docks unloading i
ships in Queenstown, Ireland. He
was a powerful young Irish lad who
thought nothing of hoisting a two
or three hundred pound load on his
back and walking off with it.
In 1869 he came to America,
landing at New York in March of
that year. He went to Salem,
Mass., and for eight years worked
on the docks in that city, then in
1877 he tame west and settled in
Holt county where his brother, the
late John Crimmins, had came two
years before. He homesteaded on j
the farm five mhes southeast of At- j
kinson where John Schorn now
Uvea.
He was married in 1890 to Miss
Catherine Hanrahan of Atkinson,
who passed away June 27, 1922.
They had no children.
Mr. Crimmins and his wife
moved to town in 1911. For two
years after his wife died he lived
with Mr. Hanrahan on the farm
west of here. Mr. Hanrahan quit
the farm in 1924 and they both
moved to Mr. Crimmins’ home at
the north edge of town. Mr. Han- J
rahan is also a pioneer of this
community, having come here in
1880.
A few times in his life, Mr. |
Crimmins was close to death. Once ;
was years ago, before they moved
to town, when he was terribly in- i
jirred when the fork of a hay stack,
er fell on him. Both his legs were J
broken and his hands and arms
were badly mashed and mangled.
He hung between life and death for
weeks. Another was about fifteen
years ago when he suffered a ser-1
ious illness. At that time his rela
tives and friends despaired of his
recovery, but he got well and was
never again critically ill until last
week.
Mr. Crimmins built the first set
tier’s shack in Long Pine, and later
lived for a time in a dugout near
Holt County Draft Board
Still Has 25 Volunteers
Out of the twenty-six boys from
Holt County, who left on the parly
morning train on Wednesday, Feb
ruary 19, for Omaha, where they
were to be inducted into the army
as draftees, five were rejected by
the Army medical examining board,
and returned home that evening.
The five were: William Holsclaw,
Harold Sanders and Clarence De
vall, all of O’Neill; Oliver Sazama,
of Page, and Raymond Calvelage,
of Stuart. The local draft board,
has as yet, received no word as to
when they will be obliged to send
five more men to take the place of
these rejected.
The next draft contingent to
leave from Holt County, will be on
March 5th, when three brothers
from Atkinson, all volunteers, will
leave for Omaha. The boys are
Hans, Benny and Theodore Braun.
Three more men will leave on
March 17, but these have not as yet
been chosen by the board. Follow
ing is the list of volunteers to duty:
Harold Childers
Hans Braun
Bennie Braun
Theodore Braun
Raymond Joseph Seiler
John Dwight Raymer
Albert Phillip Smith
Herman Frickel
Steve Cieslak
Wilson Spangler
Don Lawyer
Thomas Doolittle
Frank Wondercheck
Robert Wondercheck
Frederick Krugman
Peter Head
LaVern Wedige
George Wettlaufer
Robert McCaffrey
Charles Weller
Eugene Weller
Herbert Stevens
Melvin Rickerson
Jerald Snyder
Lyle Slaymaker
Daughter of A Pioneer
Holt County Family Wed
Two Weeks Ago
Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Boshart- are
announcing the marriage of their
daughter, Opal Nell, to Dwight
Hammerlin, son of Elmer Hammer
lin, of Anoka, Nebr., on February
14, the ceremony being performed
at Center, Nebr. The young'
couple were attended by Mr. and
Mrs. W. E. Bottcher of Fairfax,
S. D.
The bride is a graduate of O’Neill
High School and the Green Beauty
School at Rapid City, S. D. Since
finishing school she has practiced ^
her profession. The groom at
tended Butte High School, and
s-oince finishing school has been en
gaged with his father in farming.
He had enlisted to serve a year in
the service of the U. S. Army and
left on February 19 for Fort Rob
inson, Ark., where he will be lo
cated. Mrs. Hammerlin will re
main with the Bordsen Shop at
Spencer, Nebr., where she has
been employed the Inst three
months until Mr. Hammerlin re
turns. Their many friends extend
congratulations.
Ready To Organize A
Commercial Club Here
•rnrnmmm
It has been decided to start a
Commercial Club in this city. A
petition is being circulated today
by Mayor Kersenbrock and being
very liberally signed by the busi
ness men of the city and it is be
lieved that between seventy-five and
eighty professional and business,
men will enroll in the club. A good
active Commercial Club, no matter
what name it is called by, so long
as it works for the advancement of
the city, is a real asset to any city
and O’Neill, as the largest city in
this section of the state, needs a
good active organization. So lets
keep the good work going.
where the town of Bassett is now
located.
Only relatives who survive him,
are his brother-in-law, Thomas
Hanrahan, and some nieces who live
in Salem, Mass., one of whom is
Mrs. Mary Lorenz, who came here
after the death of Mr .Crimmins’
wife in 1922 and for a short time
made her home with him.—Atkin
son Graphic,
FORMER O'NEILLITE
DIES IN WYOMING
The residents of this city were
shocked last Monday evening when
word was received that Bernard J.
MeCafferty had been found dead
in a cabin camp at Sheridan, Wyo.,
that morning. Bernard was in the
city Saturday afternoon and night,
driving up from Omaha that day.
Shortly before noon Sunday he left
for the west, headed for Billings,
Montana. About 10 o’clock that
evening he visited with John Ryan
at Gillette, Wyoming, according to
word received here. John wanted
him to stay with him all night, but
Bernard said he wanted to go on as
he had to be in Billings, Mont., the
following morning at 10 o’clock and
he drove on to Sheridan, where he
stopped at a cabin camp.
The next morning when his body
was found the coroner held an in
quest and their verdict was that
he had come to his death from ac
cidental asphyxiation in the cabin
camp. The room was tightly closed
and being heated by gas it is
thought that Bernard lit the gas
when he entered the room and be
ing tired and worn out from his
000 mile trip dropped off to sleep
without extinguishing the gas.
In the close room the fire soon con
sumed the oxygen therein and he
was the victim of asphyxia.
The body was shipped to this
city, arriving here early this morn
ing from Sheridan on the North
we»tern at 1:40. The body was
taken to the home of his brother-in
law, R. E. Gallagher, and the funer-1
al was held this morning from the j
Citholic church, Monsignor McNa- j
rrara officiating and burial in the
Catholic cemetery.
Bernard MeCafferty was born in
this city or. March 2d, 1889. He
grew to manhood here and attended
the local schools. For several
years after completing school he
was a resident of this city and
about twenty-five years ago he
went to Butte, Mont., where he re
mained for a few years, then went
to Casper, Wyoming, where he liv
ed for several years. About ten
years ago he went bo Omaha, where
he had made his home since that
time. He is survived by his mother,
Mrs. Mary A. MeCafferty, O’Neill;
and three sisters, Mrs. John Mel
vin and Mrs. R. E. Gallagher,
O’Neill; Mrs. J. A. Fretiking, of
Omaha, all of whom were at the
funeral services.
Bernard was a genial and com
panionable young fellow and al
ways in good spirits. We visited
with him for a few moments last
Saturday afternoon shortly after
his arrival from Omaha and he
never looked or felt better. He
had the faculty of easily making
friends and retaining them. His
tragic death in the prime of life!
was a severe shock to his relatives
and many friends in his old home
town. The many friends of the
family in this city and county ten
der to the bereaved relatives their
sympathy in their hour of sorrow.
Lutheran Church Now
Organized In O’Neill
During the week the Lutheran j
people of O’Neill have organized!
into a congregation, choosing the]
name, Christ Lutheran. Eight men ;
have signed the contsitution and
officers have been elected. 26 com
municants are registered and some
fifteen children are enrolled in the
Sunday school. Services will con
tinue to be held in the Episcopal
church which they have used for
the past two years.
Dave Eugene Bowen
Dave Eugene Bovren, the infant
son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger D.
Bowen, died in the O’Neill hospital
last Saturday at the age of one
month and twenty-six days, after a
short illness. The funeral was held
from the home northeast of Page
on Monday afternoon, at 2:30, Rev.
Leo Carpenter, of Page, officiating
and burial in the Page cemetery.
The grieved parents have the sym
pathy of their many friends in the
county in their hour of sorrow.
Holt County Girl YYrins
Honors As Novelist
M iss Neigenfind joined in the
j “Chi Bachelor of Science Contest”
j at the New York Book Shop, send
! ing a story of true experience of
■ the life of Addison Spaugh titled
I the “Lonesome Cowboy.” This
, story won first prise from 113
! stories, and is said to be the best
! snort true story that ever has
reached this book "hop in thirty
five years of book work. Judges
; were Orville Hesse, Washington,
D. C., and Bill Kirtch and Leiand
G. Cole, of Larehniont, New York.
Miss Neigenftnd hailed from Win
ner, 8.. Dak., about five years ago,
is well known in and abeut Ne
braska as well as Dakota. She was
bom at Pierce, Nebr., and when two
years old, with her parents and
sister, moved to South Dakota. She
has lived in Dakota for twenty
years. Her school days were spent
in a schol on the lone prairies and
plains, where the coyotes howled
for their prairie brothers. Since
coming to Nebraska she has made
a wide circle of friends who are
glad to learn of her success.
Miss Neigenflnd is the daughter
of Mrs. E. Neigenflnd, of O’Neill,
and a sister of Mrs. Elmer Wille of
Rochester, Minn. She is a niece of
Charley Nieman, a Holt county res
ident for some twenty or thirty
! years, and is also a niece of Mr. and
Mrs. J. J. Barrett.
In a short time she will be em- j
ployed as a short story writer for
Mr. L. G. Cole, of Larchmont, N. Y.
Miss Neigenflnd was named “Ne
braska’s Cattle Queen.”
“Lonesome Cowboy,” was the
first life story written by Miss
Neigenflnd.
Frances Eileen Hull
Frances EiH-ti Hull, the fifth
victim of the automobile accident
which took the lives of her husband
and three others near Tilden on
Wednesday of last week, passed
away at a Norfolk hospital last j
Sunday. She had been in the hos- i
pital since the morning of the ac
cident and at no time was there
much hope of her recovery. The
body was taken to the home of her
parents at Page and the funeral
was held in Page last Wednesday
afternoon at 1 o’clock in the M. E.
Church, Rev. Leo Carpenter offici
ating, and burial at the side of her
husband in the Marquette cemetery
near Meek. The funeral was very
largely attended.
Frances Eileen Cork was born
at Oakdale, Nebr., on June 10, 1913,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. I.
Cork. At the time of her death
she was 27 years, eight months and
thirteen days old.
On October 16, 1937, she was
united in marriage to Bernard Hull,
the ceremony being performed at
Ogallala, Nebr. There are no child
ren. She is survived by her par
ents, who are residents of Page,
brothers and sisters. The grieved
parents and relatives have the sym
pathy of the people of the county
in their hour of sorrow.
St. Mary’s Cardinals Are
Still Winning Games
i St. Mary’s slimmed Long Pine’s
; chances of going to Lincoln Tues
day night when they defeated them
.'12-16. Next week these same two
teams will probably meet again in
the Class B tournament and from
the score of this game, St. Mary’s
should turn them back then.
The game started slow but the
pace increased as the game went
on, but was occasionally marred by
fouls.
Long Pine pulled out, scoring
first and staying ahead for a time,
but as soon as the St. Mary’s ma
chine started to roll, it was all St.
Mary’s.
Excitement was added at differ
ent times throughout the game
when the ball seemed to stand on
the ring of the basket and then fall
out.
The Cardinal Seconds came thru
with an easy win, 60-21, bo wind
up their season with 11 wins and
five losses.
Miss Jean Biglin left Thursday
for Lincoln, where she will remain
until Sunday, visiting friends.
P. J. M' MANUS
VISITS OLD TIME
RESIDENTS
P. J. McManus returned Wed
nesday evening from a short visit
to Denver, Cok>., and also visited
old friends at intermediate points.
At Denver he visited John Hecker
and his sister, Miss Mary. They
were former residents of this city,
Mr. Hecker being for several years
a member of the firm of Mann &
Hecker, who had one of the largest
mercantile establishments in west
ern Nebraska in the latter eighties.
Incidentally it was with Mann &
Hecker that P. J. first started in
the mercantile business, entering
their store as a clerk in the early
eighties. Mr. Hecker disposed of
his interest in the store to J. P.
Mann and left for Colorado over
fifty years ago. He located at
Monte Vista, Colo., where he still
resides, making the trip to Den
ver to meet P. J. The latter said
they had a great visit and as they
had not met in over fifty years they
had many things to talk about,
chief among which were the old
times in O’Neill when they were
both youngsters. P. J. visited many
other O’Neill people in Denver,
among which were Billie McNichols,
who is, and has been for the past
eleven years, city auditor of Den
ver.
On the way home he stopped at
Sterling, Colo., and visited a daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Evans,
formerly of this city. He also vis
ited at Seotts Bluffs and met there
Mrs. J. P. Gilligan and her son,
Bennet, and daughter, formerly
Marion Gilligan. He made another
stop at Valentine and visited Mrs.
W. E. Haley, formerly of this city
and at whose wedding something
over fifty years ago, P. J. was best
man. P. J. says that he had a
dandy trip and thoroughly enjoyed
it, in fact so much so that he says
he will probably be tempted to take
other trips the coming summer.
Bernard L. Hull
Bernard L. Hull was bom at
Meek, Nebr., August 7, 1911, and
died at Tilden, Nebr., February
19, 1941, at the age of 29 years, six
months and seven days. He at
tended the public schools of Holt
county and graduated from the
O’Neill High school with the class
of 1928. On October 16, 1937, he
was united in marriage at Ogal
lala, Nebr., to Miss Eileen Cork, of
Page, Nebr. He engaged in busi
ness at Valentine but disposed of
his business there and had pur
^ chased a business at Oakdale, Nebr.,
and was to have taken possession
on February 20, 1941.
The funeral was held last Mon
day afternoon at the Methodist
church in this city, Rev. V. C.
Wright officiating and burial in
the Marquette cemetery, northeast
of this city. Despite the inclement
weather the funeral was largely
attended.
He is survived by his father and
mother, Mr. and Mrs. Levi Hull,
one brother, Loyal and family of
Meek, and many other relatives and
friends. Relatives from a distance
who attended the funeral were:
Mr. and Mrs. John Chilton and
John ManBon, Smithland, Iowa;
Mr. and Mrs. Arch Hull, Crookston,
Nebr.; Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Haynes,
of Parmalee, S. D.; Mr. and Mrs.
Edwin Hull, of Sioux City, Iowa;
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Merritt, of
Gretna, Nebr.
The deepest sympathy of this
community goes out to these strick
en friends in this, their hour of sor
row. We are sad to relate Ber
nard’s wife has joined him in death.
***
< ARI> OF THANKS
To the many relatives, neigh
bors and friends we desire to ex
press our sincere heartfelt grati
tude for the many acts of kindness
and sympathy expressed following
the death of our loved ones. Your
kindness to us in our affliction will
ever be held in grateful remem
brance.—Mr. and Mrs. Levi Hull
and family, Mr. and .Mrs. J. I.
Oork and family.
O’Neill Girl A Princess In
Duchesne Celebration
Before an audience of 700 people,
Mis,3 Marcella Comforto, Du
chesne’s student from Rome, Italy,
gave a violin concert preceding the
coronation ceremonies at Duchesne
College on Friday evening. The
concert was in connection with the
Annual Mardi Gras of Duchesne
and the crowning of the Twelfth
Queen, Miss Winifred Baumer, who
was surrounded by the usual num
ber of maids and princesses as be
comes a lady of that title. One of
the princesses was Mias Janet Ku
bitschek, of this city, daughter of
Dr. and Mrs. F. J. Kubitschek.
A description of the gowns worn
by the princesses, as described by
an eye witness, might be interest
ing to our feminine readers. “The
princesses were all gowned alike,
their dresses featuring high neck
lines, which tied in front with drop- ;
ped tight-fitting waistlines, onto
which were gathered full skirts
with long trains. The sleeves of
the gowns were very full at the
shoulder and came to a shirred point
just below the elbow. The princ
esses carried bouquets of yellow
gladioli and acacia, which stood out
stiffly in graceful sprays.”
Albert Leo Shorthill
Albert Leo Shorthill died at the
home of his sister-in-law, Mrs.
James J. Shorthill, in this city last
Monday evening, after an illness of
several mouths, at the age of 52
yeara, ten months and twenty-two
days. The body was embalmed
here and on Wednesday morning it
was shipped to his old home at
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for burial.
Mr. Shorthill was born at Pitts
burg, Pa., where he lived practically
all his life. He was u brother of
the late James J. Shorthill, for
many years a resident of Emmet.
Mr. Shorthill cam6 here last Sep
tember with his mother, as he was
then in failing health. His condi
tion seemed to improve in this cli
mate and he remained here, while
his mother returned to her home
in Pittsburg. He is survived by
his mother, Mrs. Catheiine Short
hill and one sister, Mrs. Anna Mill
er, both of Pittsburg, Pa.
The Weather
The past week has been real
snappy in thiB section of the state,
us well as the rest of Nebraska, and
all of the middle western states.
The thermometer dropped to 10
degrees below zero last Friday
night, which was the only below
zero mark during the week, until
this morning when the official rec
ord disclosed 5 below zero. The
entire week has been below freez
ing, the warmest days of the week
being Sunday and Monday, when it
registered 28 above zero on both
days. We had two snow flurries
during the week, one last Thurs
day and the other Tuesday. The
precipitation during the week was
.26 hundredths of an inch. Fol
lowing is the chart for the week:
High Low Pree.
February 20 ......15 6 .10
February 21 .15 8
February 22 .19 -10
February 23 .28 18
February 24 ..28 7 .04
February 25 .17 4 .07
February 26 .26 10 .06
O’Neill High Aviation
Class Very Busy
The Aviation Class at O’Neill
High School has just completed
the study of the Civil Air Regula
tions Bulletin. The rules for right
of way, altitude of flight, weather
minims for flight on civil air ways
were studied and also the regula
tions on securing pilots certificates
and certificates for airplanes. One
of the requirements to be met for a
students pilots certifiiate is to pass
a written examination on the Di
gest of Civil Air regulations.
The unit that is being studied
now is taker, from the Civil Aero
nautics Bulletin, “Practical Air
Navigation” and will require about
three weeks time. Since Mr. An
derson left, the class is being con
ducted by K. L. Martyn.
O'NEILL HIGH NS
ONE LOSES ONE
Perhaps it was the winter weath
er that got the best of tha
O’Neill boys as they took a 30-36
setback at the hands of Valentina.
Anyway, Valentine went out ahead
10-2 in the first four minutes of
play. Lowery then hit the hoop for
2 points and Vincent followed with
2 free throws. Butterfield sank
another as the quarter ended 6-12
in favor of Valentine. The score
was 14-18 at the half. In the third
quarter Valentine again fired a
round of one-hand shots, connecting
to the tune of 20-31 at the end of
the period. Burgess took over the
offense as the final period began
with two quick shots and a free
goal but Valentine held the ball and
the game ended 30-36.
Summary
O'Neill fg ft pf
Vincent . 2 2 2
Lowery .... 4 0 0
Burgess . 2 11
McKenna ... 12 1
Leach . 0 0 0
Calkins . 1 1 2
French . 2 0 3
Cole ...—.... 0 0 0
12 6 9
Valentine fg ft pf
Butterfield . 7 1 2
Chicoine . 0 0 0
Ballard. 4 0 2
Carr___ 0 0 0
Ferris. 2 0 3
Yeast . 12 2
Simms .....2 1 1
Id 4 10
Friday, February 21, the O’Neill
Blue jays journeyed to Oakdale and
presented Coach Don Anderson a
victory for his last game as Coach
at O’Neill. Vincent started the
scoring with a quick basket, but
Lingfelder, of Oakdale, came
back with two baskets. McKenna
and French then connected and
O’Neill led 7-4 at the end of the
first quarter. From that time on
the lead never changed until the
third period. The score at the half
time was 15-10. Oakdale came back
strong after the intermission, with
Burke leading the offensive drive.
Just as the quarter ended Oakdale
took a 20-18 lead. Lowery soon
mounted the score; McKenna and
French then pushed it to 26. With
less than three minutes too play
Oakdale made a free shot as the
overtime began and held the ball up
to the final thirty seconds, but
Lowery took things in his own
hands and sank two baskets to give
O’Neill a 30-27 victory.
Summary
O’Neill fg ft pf
Vincent .3 0 4
Lowery . 3 4 I
McKenna .2 0 3
Leach . 0 0 0
Calkins. 0 2 1
French .4 0 1
Cole . 0 0 0
12 6 10
Oakdale fg ft pf
Burke ..,.5 0 0
Hayes ....—1 1 1
Hughes ...._2 t 2
r Lingenfelter . 2 0 3
Johnson, W._0 0 0
Wakefield . 1 1 3
Johnson, L.1 0 O
12 3 0
Four H Club Members
Winners of Awards
A trip to 4-H club week at the
Nebraska college of agriculture in
Lincoln has been awarded by the
Omaha Chamber of Commerce to
Gene Higgins, of O’Neill. He was
a high ranking member of the 4-H
better pastures work in the state.
4-H members in Holt county will
have an opportunity to compete for
a similar award this year.
Marvin Stauffer, who hus been
the leader of the Roaming Ranchers
club at Page will also receive the
Burlington Leadership award to
club week. Marvin has been an out
standing member of t he Page poul
try club and is certainly deserving
of this recognition for his work.