Neb. State Historical Society
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^LX\T ‘r ' O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, AUGUST 3,1944 I No. 13
BREEZES FROM j
THE SOUTHWEST j
—
By Romaine Saunders
They say prohibition doesn’t
prohibit. Neither does a stack of
statute books a mile high prevent
crime.
A yield of 60 bushels of wheat
to the acre is reported from Al
liance. They always did talk big
out there.
■ Mr. Wallace got shabby treat
) ment but his devotion to “the
* cause” goes deeper than disap
pointed hopes.
“For America a new day is
dawning,” according to Thomas
Parran, M. D. U. S. surgeon gen
eral. New day or the gloom of
long night? I
A few years back some of our
German citizens pointed with
pride to “what Hitler has done
for Germany.” Probably not so
proud of it now.
We read much about “federal
aid.” The government has not
a dime for anything only what it
takes from the citizens. Let’s
call it citizens’ aid.
The reference to the “nine old
men” made by the president in
the long ago now bounces his
way. Republican gallantry,
however, forbade Mr. Hoover in
cluding the tired old women.
With abundance to please the1
taste and keep the sturdy old
frame well nourished now coming
daily from the spring plantings,;
the nightmare of high costs does
not trouble the thrifty gardener. j
They have a sick python in the
Evansville, ,111., zoo. Its care
taker says it will have to be re
moved from the box in which it
reposes to be treated and to re
move the snake it will require a
crew of ten men. Don’t count
me among the ten.
It is said divorces run at the rate
of about one every two hours the
past six months in the city of
Cleveland, Ohio. A certain sap
down at our capitol city is paying
alimony to a divorced wife, is
married to a second wife 12 years
his senior and is in love with a
15-year-old kid.
Before departure for New Or
leans to attend the river and
harbor congress Congressman
Curtis of Nebraska said he was
going to present the case of our
Nebraska streams, with special
emphasis on the Republican.
Anything republican, even a
river, had better be kept out of
discussions in a gulf coast city.
Uncle Sam’s army now num
bers 7,700,000. The casualties
are said to number more than
311,000, of which 63,000 are re
ported killed. The relative small
per cent of deaths makes our
losses none the less tragic nor a
molifying ointment to sorrowing
souls in the sixty-three thousand
desolated homes of America.
A woman in Omaha gets to
sojourn from one to two years at
the reformatory for harvesting
$163 with no-fund checks, which
she said she had planned to make
good. A former Nebraska bank
er, confessed embezzler of $31,
) 000, has been released from pfis
" on after less than two years con
finement. The moral seems to
suggest that if you are going to
dip into another fellow”s pile, do
it on a grand scale.
Ace Shermer sustained painful
but not serious injuries when
a rope broke and he was thrown
from a haystack. . . . Tom
Salem closed his emporium in
Amelia a few days last week,
while he went to South Dakota
to look after his agricultural in
terests in the grain section of
that state. . . . The season’s
haying is well along. It is con
ceded that horse mowers do a
cleaner job of cutting but are too
slow Ifor the work of the vast hay
meadows hereabout. Tractor
mowers are doing the work with
three-hitch rake equipment in
use on the larger places. . . .,
An inch of rain July 25. . . .!
They may have been here all
along, but s is just recently that
raccoons have been seen at night
in this neighborhood.
Pastor R. E. Henneberg of Nor-j
folk was an overnight guest at
the Breezes home during the past
week. . • • Bernie Kennedy
sustained t>e loss of a cow last
£ week, thought to have overdone
on green cornstalks.
O’Neill Ball Team
Win One, Lose One
_
The O’Neill baseball team went
to Inman and defeated the Inman
town team last Sunday by a
score of 4 to 0. O’Neill collected
seven hits and Inman ,four. Bat- i
teries: O’Neill, Richter, Helmer
and Tomlinson.
Tuesday night O’Neill went to
Plainview and played the Neligh ,
Legion and were defeated by a 1
score of 6 to 0. The game was
played under the lights and the
O’Neill boys couldn’t find their
batting eye, and made several
costly errors. Batteries: O’Neill, j
Helmer and Pruss; Neligh, Chris
tian and Eakes. O’Neill got only
onek hit by Forbes and Neligh got
six.
O’Neill will play Tilden here on
the local diamond next Sunday,
August 6th.
The Neligh Legion will play in
the State Legion Tournament at
York on Friday, August 4, at 6:30 j
against the Oakland Legion.
Holt county ranches are funct-j
ioning as usual because capable
women/ preside in the households.
One lady told me of her program
this haying season while her hus- j
band and hired man were occupi-1
ed in the meadows. She gets
breakfast by lamp light, puts up,
lunches for the men to take with
them. After breakfast milks
several oows with the help of a
young son, separates, cleans up
the breakfast affairs after three j
children have eaten, gets the
house in order, a weekly trip to
town to “do the trading”, keeps a
hungry family fed, laundered and
mended, milking and supper to
get in the evening and lights
aglow again long before she can
retire for the night. This is typi
cal of other country women’s
programs in a busy season, while
—desirable help being unavail
able—some husbands and wives
get out and go it together in their
hay meadows. “Rugged Individ-1
uals” become something more
than a figure of speech out where
women find other interests than
bridge parties and cafe dinners.
The busy bodies are at it again.
Defeated in their efforts over a de- j
cade ago to wreck the weekly cycle
by tossing our calendar overboard
they have come back with fresh
vigor with a scheme to work the
year over into 364 days, tb« first
month of each quarter consisting
df 31 days, each subsequent
month 30 days. Under this setup j
confusion would begin Sunday,
December 31, 1944, which would
be called a blank or zero day, and
Monday, January 1, 1945, desig-|
nated as Sunday. Monday would
be called Sunday all through
1945. Tuesday be observed as
Sunday in 1946, Wednesday mov-i
ed back to Sunday during 1947
and so on from year to year.
Gregory XIII, with the aid of
astronomers, gave us our calen
dar in 1582, a change from the
calender of Julius Caesar. Of!
the several changes in setting off
the year during the long sweep |
of history the weekly cycle hasi
not been broken, but if the busy-'
bodies put their colendar scheme
across goodbye weekly reckon- j
ing. “For in six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea
and all that in them is, and rested
the seventh day.”
“Our soldiers must have the
fighting spirit. If you call that
hating our enemies we must hate
with every fibre of our being.
We must lust for battle; our ob
ject in life must be to kill. We
must scheme night and day to
kill.” General Marshall speak
ing. And such is the cold, hard
philosophy of war. Revolting,
repugnant to every sentiment of
benevolence, diabolical, appall
ing. Is this the thing the Lord
God planned when he took the
cold hand of the lifeless form of
clay, "breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life, and man be
came a living soul”? Is this the,
fulfillment of a celestial dream— j
the end and destiny of a race
formed “in the image of God”? j
Is this the philosophy that faces
the young manhood of the world,
boys born and cradled to a lust
for battle and bursting bombs? j
General Marshall could define it
in no milder phrases. That is the
essence, the bottom finality, the
horrible, the astounding fact.
General Marshall is not the father
of it all. It unfolds with the
dawn of history and no less than
twenty times the present inhab
itants of the globe have perished
because of this malevolent fact,
“Lo, this only have I found, that
God has made men upright, but
they have sought out many in
ventions.”
Republicans Nominate
Asa B. Hubbard Sheriff
The Republican County Cen
tral Committee, at the call of
Chairman Ira H. Moss, met in the
assembly room of the Court
House on last Friday evening for
the purpose of nominating a can
didate for the office of sheriff to
be voted on at the coming elect
ion.
Following the death of Peter
W. Duffy the attorney general of
the state ruled that the vacancy
was to be filled at the coming
fall election from candidates
chosen by the central commit
tees of the two major parties;
that the official elected would
take office immediately follow
ing the issuance of certificate of
election and would serve out the
balance of the Duffy term or until
the next general election. It is
the opinion of the attorney gen
eral that this is a special election
in so far as this particular office
is concerned, although occuring at
the time of a general election for
other offices, and that candidates
cannot be placed upon the ballott
by petition.
The republican county central
committee was out in force last
Friday. Three candidates were
nominated: Harry D. Clauson
and Charles Switzer of O’Neill
and Asa B. Hubbard of Chambers.
Mr. Hubbard was chosen on the
second ballott and will be the re
publican candidate for sheriff otf
this county at the coming election.
Mr. Hubbard, the nominee, for
the past several years has oper
ated the filling station on the
highway south of O’Neill and east
of Chambers known as Brady’s
corner, in which business he has
been unusually successful; prior
to that time he was engaged in
farming and ranching in the
Chambers n eighborhood, where
he has resided all his life. He is
a son of Hiram U .Hubbard, who
was one of the pioneer ranlchers
and farmers in the Chambers
community for many years and
who served on the County Board
for a number of years. A brother
of the nominee, H. B. Hubbard,
is now a member of the county
board.
Mr. Hubbard is married ana
with his family lives adjacent to
his pace of business. He is a
veteran of the first world war
and since returning has been very
active in American Legion
affairs, having served several
terms as Commander of the
Chambers Post. He enjoys an
enviable reputation in his home
territoy for honesty and integrity
in both business and personal
relationships.
The democrats have called a'
county convention to meet in
O’Neill Thursday to select a can-;
didate for the office on their tick-j
et. Sime Schaaf of Atkinson,
Paul Beha and C. C. Bergstrom/
the present acting sheriff, both of
O’Neill, and Roy Rotherham of
Ewing are being mentioned as
contenders for the nomination.
Happy Hour Project Club
At the home qf Mrs. J. B. Mel
lor on July 27, the Happy Hour
Project Club re-organized, after
a two year’s vacation from club
work. Ten members joined the
club and the following officers
were elected: Mrs. John Hynes,
president; Mrs. J. B. Mellor, lead
er A; Mrs. W. G. Sire, leader B;
Mrs. A. R. Doty, secretary-treas
urer; Mrs. R. L. Ernst, music
leader; Mis. M. A. Schelgopf,
reading leader; Mrs. D. L. Moler,
health leader; Mrs. A. H. O’Neill,
news1 reporter.
Our next meeting will be with
Mrs. W. G. Sire.
At the close of the business
meetings of the Happy Hour
Project Club and the Eagle Creek
4-H Club, we all enjoyed a weiner
roast, after which Mrs. Mellor
served cake.
O’Neill Soldier On Way
Home From Overseas
Omaha, Nebr., August 1, 1944.
The Seventh service command
headquarters here announced to
day that T-4 Orville M. Metschke
of the Ordnance is returning on
furlough after twenty-three
months duty overseas in the
Southwest Pacific theater off op
erations and will visit his wife,
Mrs. Orville Metschke, O’Neill,
Nebr.
He is expected to arrive at Fort
Logan, Colorado, reception center,
about August 3.
Marriage Licenses
Newell H. Pock, 21, Atkinson,
and Miss Genevieve Ottele, 19,
Stuart, on July 31.
Patrick J. Connolly
Died Monday A. M.;
Funeral Wednesday
Patrick J. Connolly, a lifelong
resident of this city, passed away
at his home in the northwest part
of the city on Monday morning at
4:20 a. m. after three years suffer
ing from heart trouble. Funeral
services were held on Wednesday,
August 2nd at St. Patrick’s church
with Rev. Daniel Brick in charge
of the services and burial in Cal
vary cemetery following.
Mr. Connolly was bom in this
city on July 13, 1878, a son of one
of the first settler families of our
city, Thomas Connolly and Ann
McGee, and has since made his
home here. He was united in
marriage to Miss Sarah Slattery
in Omaha in the year 1908 and
two children were born to them,
one son Joseph of this city and a
daughter, Mrs. Gertrude Dailey of
Beverly Hills, California. He was
66 years and 8 days of age at the
time of his death.
At the time of his death Pat
was running a cream station in
O’Neill, which he had operated
for many years. tPrior to this he
was a telegrapher for the C. B. &
Q. for a short time. He was well
known and liked over the county
and was always one to have a lot
of fun and it was delight to pull a
practical joke on his friends.
He is survived by his wife, son
Joseph and daughter Gertrude
Dailey and also one brother,
Thomas of O’Neill.
Pallbearers were: H. D. Grady,
Dennis McCarthy, Tom Donlin,
Walter O’Malley, Tony Asimus
and Merle Hickey.
Demand Good
For Holt County Land
Holt county real estate appears
to be in considerable demand, and
at prices somewhat higher than
prevailed a year ago. F. J. Dish
ner recently purchased the old
Fleming place northwest of town
consisting of a half section of
land. Hugh Carr is reported to
have sold his ranch just south of
O’Neill; Frank Dobrovolny is
completing his purchase of the
old O’Donnell ranch south of At
kinson and Dr. L. Bennett is
completing his purchase of the
aid Wrede ranch northeast of
O’Neill.
Old Hopkins Ranch
Sold Last Week
The old Hopkins ranch, now
owned by a non-resident, was
sold at public auction on the
premises last week to Dick Tom
linson for $12.25 an acre. We
are advised that the owner who
sold it last week purchased it
about a year ago for slightly over
$9,000.00, which, if true, indi
cates that Holt county land values
are continuing on the upgrade.
O’Neill Boy Has His
Baptism Of Fire
Fifteenth A. A. F. in Italy—Sgt.
Merrill C. Hicks, 21 year old B-17
bell-turret gunner, of O’Neill,
Nebr., was recently assigned to
an AAF Flying Fortress unit of
the Fifteenth Air Force.
“The roughest mission I’ve
been on so far, was one over
Budapest, Hungary, on June 27,
1944,” remarked Sgt. Hicks.
“Shortly after we had dropped
our bombs and started for home,
about forty enemy fighters at
tacked us. There were Me.-109's,
and FW-190’s and as it was our
first encounter with fighters, we
were all kind of nervous.
“During the fight an Me-210
and a FW-190 were shot down,
but we came through it all with
only a few holes in our ship. I’ll
take fighters and yad in prefer
ence to flak because I can shoot
back at fighters.”
Sgt. Hicks joined the army on
May 20, 1943, and was awarded
his gunners’ wings at Laredo,
Texas, on January 3, 1944. He
left for overseas combat duty in
May, 1944, and flew his first mis
sion on June 22, 1944, over Perna,
Italy.
He graduated from O’Neill
High School in 1941.
The Weather
High Low M’st’e
July 28_ 86 53
July 29_ 88 59 .01
July 30_84 63
July 31_ 90 68
Aug. 1 _ 93 66 T
Aug. 2 .. 88 74 T
Hospital Notes
Richard Read submited to an
operation Tuesday evening.
Judith Trowbridge, of Page,
tonsils removed Wednesday.
Miss Anna Krohn, a medical
patient, admitted Saturday.
Patrick Shea dismissed Tues
day.
Democrats Name Simon
Schaff For Sheriff
Holt county democray held their
county convention in the assemb
ly room of the Court House this
morning. County Chairman J. J.
Harrington called the convention
to order about 10:40 and was
elected chairman. Delegates to
the state convention were elected
and then the matter of nomin
ating a candidate for sheriff to
fill the vacancy caused by the
death of the late Peter W. Duffy
was presented to the convention,
i All of those present were declar
ed elegible to vote.
Simon Schaaf, of Atkinson, C.
C. Bergstrom, John Sullivan and
Paul G. Beha, all of O’Neill, were
nominated for the office. All of
those nominated received some
votes on the first ballot, Schaaf
receiving the greatest number
although short of a majority. On
the third ballott Schaaf was nom
inated over Paul G. Beha by a
vote of 27 to 25. J. J. Harring
ton was then elected chairman of
the democratic county central
committee.
Mr. Schaaf thus becomes the
democratc nominee for the office
of sheriff and will submit his
candidacy to the voters this fall
at the general election. Mr.
Schaaf is the owner and opera
tor of a beer parlor in Atkinson,
which he has owned and oper
ated for about five years; prior to
that and for some ten or twelve
years he was engaged in the
garage business in Atkinson. He
is a married man and well known
in the Atkinson community. A
large delegation from Atkinson
attended the convention in sup
port of his candidacy.
4-H Club Achievement
Day To Be Held In O'Neill
On Saturday, August 19
j The annual 4-H Club Achieve
I ment Day is scheduled at the
i O’Neill Public School on Saturday,
August 19. The Achievement Day
i serves the purpose of allowing
4-H members from all the clubs in
Holt County to compete in an
elimination contest to determine
who will represent the county at
the State Fair.
Exhibits of all 4-H club work
except livestock will be made and
contests in both judging and
demonstrations will be held. Mer
chandise premiums will be paid in
all contests.
The program will start at 9:30
a. m. and all 4-H members and
friends are invited to be present.
Presbyterian Church
Kenneth J. Scott, Pastor
O'Neill, Nebr.
Announcements for Week of
August 6th-13th
Sunday, August 6th
10:00 a. m.—-Sunday School. Mr.
Sauers, Supt.
11:00 a. m.—Morning Worship
Sermon, “A Message from the
Glorified Christ.”
Senior Christian Endeavor is
discontinued for the month of
August.
Tuesday, August 8th
Prayer meeting and Bible Study
at the home of Mrs. Christine Wil
liams at 8:00 p. m. All are cordially
invited to meet for this hour of
fellowship.
Army Is In Need Of
Women As Technicians
In Medical Installations
The Army is in urgent need of
women to serve as Technicians in
Medical Installations. Women be
tween 20 and 50 years of age
may qualify for one of the twenty
five types of work available.
Opportunities are open in the
fields of Pharmacy, Optometry,
Pschiatry, Orthopedics, Dentistry,
X-Ray, Lip Reading, Hearing
Aids, Braille, Occupational Ther
apy, Stenography and Educational
Reconditioning Personnel, com
posed of Teachers, Newspaper or
Magazine Writers, Lecturers,
Community or Social Workers,
Y.W.C.A. or Recreational Direc
tors, .
“Several of these oppprtumties
are for schooling and training be
fore assignment. Commissions are
offered to Dietitians and Physical
Therapy Aides. It’s just the
chance many women have been
waiting for”, Judge Reimer said.
He went on to emphasize that in
this program, ‘’Rehabilitation
training will be given to all of
the Army Forces who can derive
benefit from it. The main groups,
however, are the wounded and the
shell shocks.” . .
“Women can serve best where
by their nature they are best
qualified to serve.”
Women interested in serving in
this mercy program are urged to
| contact: _ , . __
Captain I. W. Cahoon, AGD
Officer Procurement District,
426 Faidley Building,
16th and Douglas Street,
Omaha, Nebraska.
Joe Martin and Norb Uhl spent
Tuesday in Norfolk on business.
O'Neill Can Expect Help
{From State And Federal
Funds For An Airport
The United States Congress has
decided that private and commer
icial aviation will develop into a
I tremendous business just as soon
I as this war is over; and has set up
a federal aeronautics board to
1 study, work and cooperate with
| the various state air departments
i in their efforts to promote and
! foster, not only private and com
mercial airlines, but also enter
prising municipalities with the
foresight to buy and establish air
i ports.
Our state legislature has wisely
| enacted laws relating to the pur
chase and establishment of muni
cipal airports. They have set a tax
Ion all gasoline used by aircraft in
i Nebraska, which is collected by
the treasurer and then placed at
, the disposal of our State Aero
nautics Commission for the per
1 manent improvement of those
I municipal airports meeting the re
I quirements of government engin
eers. At this time a real fund nas
resulted from this tax, and our
state board desires to allocate the
major part of it to municipalities
for postwar airport improvement.
This fund, in itself, should en
able most city airports to place
their fields in a useable condition.
But, to make it still better, the
federal commission will grant 50
percent of all improvement costs,
exclusive of buildings, to the first
sixteen hundred municipalities
Kenting applications for their
. However, the title to the
land involved must be IN THE
CITY in each case.
Our city council, after carefully
considering this matter; and after
thoroughly investigating the situ
ation; has unanimously adopted a
resolution favoring the purchase
by O’Neill of a tract of land ap
proved by government engineers
for a city airport. Their investi
gation disclosed that THERE ARE
NOW AMPLE FUNDS ON HAND
IN THE GENERAL FUND TO
BUY THE LAND AND TO AS
SURE THE PEOPLE OF O’NEILL
THAT NO TAX LEVY WILL BE
NEEDED TO ESTABLISH A CITY
AIRPORT.
To take full advantage of the
coming air age we must be ready
to fly the minute Victory is won.
We must follow the lead of many
other progressive towns and plan
landing facilities now. An inex
pensive landing port will offer us,
and our friends, the new pleasure
of flying; as well as afford us all
fine connections with main air
lines. This will mark our town as
progressive, and increase business
oppoftunities and swell civic ac
tivities.
Nebraska WAC District
Tops Service Command
Quota Set For Month July
Omaha, Nebr.—Maj Frank V.
i Kent, in charge of WAC recruit
ing in the states of Nebraska and
South Dakota, announced Women’s
Army Corps enlistments during
July in his district exceeded by
nearly six percent the month’s pro
curement quota set by the Seventh
Service Command.
The total number of enlistments,
largest in many months, enabled
the Nebraska WAC district to
rank first among the six recruit
ing districts of the Seventh Ser
vice Command on percentage of
quota obtained during Julv.
It also marked the fourth time
in the last five months the Ne
braska WAC district has met or
surpassed the quota of new WAC
enlistees asked by the service com
mand, said Major Kent. Since last
March, only in June has the dist
inct fallen below its quota, and
then lacked but seven enlistments
in reaching the goal.
New Ceiling Price Set
By OPA On Oats
A reduction in ceiling prices for
oats at all levels amounting to an
average of 5c a bushel in produc
tion areas has been announced by
M. E. Rawlings, Sioux City dis
trict O.P.A. director, who said the
new prices will fully reflect a re
turn to parity to producing farm
ers during the current crop .year.
This action came in the issuance
of a master grain regulation and
that regulation’s first two supple
ments. Another principal feature
of the new regulation was the es
tablishment of a permitted mark
up of $4.00 a ton on sales of oats
and other grains by retail stores. A
reduction in oat ceiling prices fol
lows the February 5, 1944, an
nouncement by the Office of Price
Administration of its intention to
establish ceiling prices on oats that
would reflect parity. While the
average reduction is about five
cents a bushel in some sections
of the country, the reductions are
greater and in others smaller, but
all ceilings are fully equivalent to
parity- , . . .
In the Sioux City area, which is
based on the terminal point of
Omaha, Nebr., the price is 72 cents
delivered Omaha for No. 3 white
oats with a test weight of twentv
seven pounds per bushel, and con
taining not over 14Vfc percent mois
The ceiling price to the produc
er on No. 3 white oats for this
immediate territory within an ap
proximate radius of fifty miles ad
jacent to Sioux City is 66 cents
Der bushel on twenty-seven pound
No. 3 white oats delivered to the
elevators.
A. J. Miller, of Norfolk, was
looking after business matters in
this city Tuesday.
Waste Paper To Be
Collected In Holt Co.
Week Of Aug. 14th
i -
With the invasion of France in
i full swing and with increased
I military activity in other theatres,
1 expenditures of war materials are
greater than ever before. Food and
medical supplies, blood plasma*
ammunition and every piece of
machinery and equipment which
our fighting men are using are
gacked in, made of, or protected
y paper.
Waste paper Is still our No. 1
war material shortage. As our
battle lines push closer to the
heart of the enemy, and the fight
ing becomes more intense, our
need for waste paper grows.
Holt County has 1274 men in
service. A quota of at least 100
pounds a month for each man in
the service must be collected in
Holt County if their needs are to
be met.
About the first of May Holt
County shipped two carloads of
paper. Some time during the week
of August 14th another paper col
lection will be made, Curbside
pickups will be made in towns
where possible. Folks from the
country may take their paper to
paper depots in towns in the
country, when country folks find
it impossible to deliver their paper
if they will contact a member of
the salvage committee the paper
will be picked up.
Package loose scrap paper in
boxes. Tie newspapers separately
from magazines. Tie corrugated
boxes securely after flattening.
Watch your county paper for
further details.
SAVE ALL WASTE PAPER.
If you do not send this paper to •
boy in the Service, save it for the
collection.
Helen Deloris Welsh
Died Friday In O'Neill
Helen Delores Welsh, eight
year old daughter of Thomas and
Rose Welsh passed away in this
city on Friday afternoon, July 27,
1944 of diptheria. Funeral servic
es were held the following day
with Msgr. J. G. McNamara in
charge of services and burial in
Calvary cemetery.
I Helen was born in O'Neill, Ne
braska on April 29, 1936 and was
18 years, 2 months and 28 days of
age at the time of her death. She
leaves to mourn her death, her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
Welsh, a sister Phyllis 6, and a
brother Thomas 4. She is also
survived by her grandmother, Mrs.
Catherine Malloy of Atkinson, sev
eral aunts and uncles and other
relatives and friends.
Consumers Public Power
To Improve Service Between
O'Neill And Ainsworth
The Board of Directors of Con
sumers Public Power District, at
their meeting in Coumbus last
week, authorized V. M. Johnson,
General Manager of the District,
to go ahead with plans for re
vamping the District’s facilities in
order to improve service in the
Ainsworth area. Mr. Johnson re
ported on a meeting he had at
tended in Ainsworth on July 'll
and recommended that necessary
improvements be made at oncp to
eliminate interruptions In electric
service which have been occurring
recently in that area.
Johnson pointed out that since
Ainsworth is located near the ex
treme west end of the line serving
towns between O’Neill and Ains
worth, any interruptions occurr
ing on the line east effect service
in Ainsworth. He also stated that
the District’s engineers have pre
viously made investigations as to
the possibilities for correcting the
trouble in that area. However, due
to the scarcity of materials and
manpower, the work has been de
layed.
Several plans for correcting the
trouble were discussed, among
which were extending the line
from Johnstown to Valentine,
thereby connecting the towns ser
i ved from the transmission line
coming up from O’Neill with an
additional source of power from
the plants at Valentine. This would
result in two-way service to the
communities between O’Neill arid
Valentine since current could be
obtained from either east or west
in case an interruption occurred
on one of the lines. Another plan
discussed was to install an addi
tional power plant in the area to
supplement power supply or per
hans, ultimate y. both the line
connection and the new power
plant.
Possibilities of obtaining ma
terial are being investigated and,
although no definite plan was de
cided upon, engineers of the Dis
trict have been instructed to pro
ceed with plans for making the
required improvements as soon as
possible, providing material can
be obtained. Mr. Johnson also
pointed out that the pronosed im
provements would result in better
voltage control on the entire line
and in other ways generally im
prove the service to towns served
from it.
Mrs. Carl Anderson and child
ren, of Custer, S. D., and Miss
Mary Jane Iler, of Dallas, S. D.,
returned to Custer Saturday after
spending a few days in O’Neill
visiting Mr. and Mrs. Sumner
Downey,