The Frontier
_LxV O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1945 NO 45
Body of Aged Man
Recovered
With the gruesome fine! last
Saturday of the body submerged
at the head of Spring creek in
the rugged lands of northwest
Holt county, the final chapter
closed in the mystery of the dis
n appearance of the aged T. D.
Astelford in late February. The
old gentleman had made his
home with his son, Walter Astel
ford, whose ranch is some eight
miles northwest of Phoenix. He
had wandered some three miles
from there and apparently fell
over a high cliff or embankment
into the water, drowned or per
ished from exposure. ^
Searching parties had been out
on different dates and last Sat
urday searchers from O’Neill,
headed by Sheriff Hubbard, tried
it again, but the body was found
by accident by John Obermire
not many rods from his house.
Mr. Obermire started out to look
for a horse trailing a 50-foot rope
that he had caught up to break
when the horse got away. As he
stepped down to the spring of the
creek to cross over he found the
body submerged up to the neck
In the cold spring water. Sand
had gathered and partly covered
the body .which lay full length
face up and no marks of violence.
Word was taken to Sheriff
Hubbard who was in the vicinity.
By means of poles and other im
provised rigging the body was got
out and up the walls of the
gulches, wrapped in a blanket
though fully clothed with the cap
drawn over head and ears, placed
in the sheriff’s car, Mr. Hubbard,
in company with George Francis,
a son-in-law of the old man, then
started for Atkinson. When with
in a few miles of Atkinson the
sheriff Bays they met and passed
County Attorney J. D. Cronin,
Undertakers W. J. Bigljn and Leo
Mullen. Turning about and catch
ing up with them Mr. Cronin on
behalf of the county consented to
the removal of the body to Boyd
county. It was then taken to
Butte for burial at the request
of members of the family.
The mystic streams of northern
Holt have yielded up another
gloomy mystery.
SMALL DOSES
PAST AND PRESENT
By Romain* Saunders
Iwo—just call it Two.
“Well, I'll see you again.” A
nice way to tell you to get out.
The fine boys and girls we see
everywhere makes us skeptical of
the alarming stories of “juvenile
delinquency.”
^ A southern senator complains
that the nation’s salt pork supply
has been shipped to Russia. Let
them have it, brother; let them
have it.
An Indiana dad shot and killed
his 17-year-old son who had been
discharged from the merchant
marine, because the old man con
sidered the discharge “a black
mark on the family name.” There
are two black marks now. Which
is the blackest?
This comes from^the European
war zone:
Oh come ye back, ye British
soldier,
Come ye back to Mandalay!
Oh come ye back, ye Yankee
soldier,
Come ye back to U.S.A.!
The fad for foreign grasses has
struck Holt county. Should it
ever be that our native grasses
are crowded out, that which gives
the prairieland a transcending
charm will be lost forever. The
blue stem, the buffalo grass, na
ture's waving green stretching in
endless miles to the earth’s dis
tant rim, touched with summer’s
bright floral bloom—this is the
prairie as given to man. Palsied
by the hand that would obliterate
its native beauty by sowing the
tares of a stranger.
The whereabouts of a few of
the O’Neill offspring when ‘‘you
ft and I were young” is of interest
' to the gray heads. At last ac
counts a partly gent was seen in
Hollywood — that was Ernest
Adams. Margrette Dayle serves
as private secretary to Sen. Van
denberg of Michigan, one of the
ablest in the senate. John Hop
kins, postmaster at Omaha. Ed
Tierney, shoeing race horses on
the tracks in Old Mexico. Clinton
Lowrie, doctor of divinity, had a
large church at St. Paul, Minn.,
at last account. Madelene Dayle,
wife of the United States mar
shal for northern Michigan. Mrs.
L. T. Shanner, U. S. War Produc
tion Board, Washington, D. C.
Frank Harrington, assistant U. S.
Attorney, Seattle, Wash.
The boys in U. S. uniforms on
the island of Leyte had to get a
message to a ship anchored 2h(i
yards off shore. The ship radio
received only by code. The radio
men on shore had only a voice
transmitter. But they got busy,
called San Francisco, the station
there called Sydney, Australia.
^ Sydney relayed the message to
New Guinea. There a naval sta
tion sent it by code to the ship
200 yards from where the mes
sage originated, and the men on
shore had their answer back in
five minutes. An outfit like that
is too much for the Japs.
Maybe the lady had a pickle be
fore she wrote it. In a syndi
cated column I read "If you're a
healthy human you’ll never be
perfectly happy.” Ask the young
lovers about it, the guy who will
sit all day in the shade on the
bank of the creek and fish, the
boy with his dog, the old prairie
wolf astride the buckskin geld
ing, or the mother who cuddles
her first born. If you are not
"perfectly happy,” are you happy
at all?
“. . . .some having. . . .turned
aside unto vain jangling.” Jangle
is explained to signify babble, dis
cordant sound. In the light of
this definition the whole world
must plead guilty. A babble of
voices that would point frustrated
mankind to the verdant shores of
peace and plenty; discordant
sounds that bewilder and lead no
where. Floundering in the mire
of confusion men may turn the vi
sion to the stars—stars glowing
out of the depths of eternity and
listen to that voice which calls:
“Be still and know that I am
God.”
Friday is the day of doom for
a young man in the death cell
down at the penitentiary. Con
victed of one of the most revolt
ing crimes human fiends are cap
able of there are soft heads over
the state that have written a lot
of gushing nonsense protesting
the execution. The condemned
young man has gone the rounds
of the courts for a year in fruit
less search of a loophole to es
cape the consequences of his
crime. His bloody hand stained
his own soul, disgraced the uni
form he wore and left a Nebras
ka home desolated. He has had
a year to make his peace with the
Creator and nought but his life
will atone to society.
Ad writing “experts” are caus
ing printers to turn out monstro
sities. An ad blaring at you in
ugly black lines jars the nerves.
Much of it comes about by taking
the composition of the ads out of
the hands of the local printers
and "experts” doing the work
and furnishing the papers with
“mats.” The publisher has no
choice but to run the blackened
mass. P. J. McManus was some
thing of a clever ad writer in his
mercantile days in O’Neill. I re- J
call one ad it was my pleasure toj
design for P. J. that was repro
duced in the National Printer
Journalist of Chicago and com
mended both as a work of art
and exceptionally appealingly
written—the two primary essen
tlals to appeal to the buying fan
cy of most persons. Art has an
appeal, a jumble of black and
white repels.
| BRIEFLY STATED
A sack of potatoes parked in
front of a grocery is a fine target
; for a dog to shoot at.
Mrs. Wm. Spelts returned Sat.
urday from a visit at Winner,
South Dakota.
Mrs. Lowell Irwin, of Bassett,
visited her parents here, Mr. and
Mrs. George Fox, last week.
Joe Mann and Art Cowperth.
wait took in the attractions at
the Atkinson sale ring Tuesday.
Lyle Peterson, who has been
employed at a local lumber yard,
is leaving for war work at Hast
ings.
Mrs. Glen Tomlinson, Mrs H.
W. Tomlinson and Mrs. O. A.
Kilpatrick visited Norfolk last
week-end
Mrs. John Conard, Mrs Guy
Cole and Mrs. John Ktrsenbrock
formed a party headed for Sioux
City Thursday, planning to re
turn Friday.
Mrs. O. A. Kilpatrick accom
panied by her daughter, Mrs.Glen
Tomlinson departed Tuesday for
Harlan, Iowa, on a visit at the
home of her brother.
Word from Rochester, Minn , is
to the effect that C. E. Stout is
recovering from a throat oper.
ation, which his many friends
here will be glad to learn.
After a visit with home folks
Virgil Tomlinson, crew chief at
an army air base at Greenville,
S. C., returned to his base this
week. He was accompanied by
his wife.
Grant Alder came down from
Rushville last week tfor a hand
clasp with his brother, Delbert,
; here from the Italy battle zone,
where he is serving in Uncle
Sam’s winged army, and for a
visit with other relatives of this
community.
A few nojfund checks for small
amounts have got into the hands
of O’Neill merchants during the
past week said to be the work of
a young man from the southeast
corner of the county. No court
action has been instituted up to
Wednesday.
With but three councilmen to
elect for city offices there is no
particular stir in local politics.
The three candidates are the pres
ent incumbents, John Melvin in
the First ward, M. J. Wallace in
the Second and Frank Clemens
in the Third.
Mayor and Mrs. John Kersen
brock received a telegram Wed
nesday from their son, Jack, who
has been in army service over
seas, that he will arrive in Sioux
City Friday on his way home pre
sumably to spend a furlough.
The telegram was sent from
Seattle,
Pfc. John Brennan, who has
been with Patton’s invincible
army of the Rhine battling the
daylights out of the Germans, is
resting from the scars and grim
realities of battle with home folks
in O’Neill, while permitted to be
away from it all on a soldier’s
furlough.
D. E. Bowen, of Page, was in
the city Wednesday and favored
The Frontier with a combined
business and friendly visit. Mr.
and Mrs. Bowen have retired
from the strenuous life of ranch
ers and are taking things easy
in the quiet and charming village
of Page and after many years
residence in the prairie land are
still convinced that Holt county
is a fine place to live.
Palefaces are cleaning up the
wigwams, raking up the dead
leaf-accumulations and worthless
contributions of autumn and win.
ter. The curling smoke on calm
evenings luring to a camp in the
open is just a thrifty household
er’s “bonfire.” Next the spades
and hoes will be brought out
for another garden planting seas
on. We are well ed in Yankee,
land and not a little of the best
of life’s sustaining things comes
from the garden in the back yard.
A New Industry
in O’Neill
A door or two below the post
office on upper Fourth street Is
the entrance to a building crowd
ed with an amazing assortment
of tools, machines, irons and
stock in trade. It is all bewilder
ing to the layman, but Ed Hagen
sick, the boss, proprietor and
master mechanic knows what it
is all about. That Ed is a mas
ter genius has proved a ‘‘life
saver" for a lot of folks. One of
the latest groups of citizens to
turn to him to Bolve their prob ;
lem is the ranchmen.
And thereby hangs the tale of
a new industry for O’Neill. How
many in town would know a horn!
weight if they saw one? Out on
the ranches the horns on the
bulls are not allowed to grow at a
dangerous angle— a bull's horn
pointing straight at you can do a
lot of damage. The cowboys take
the horns off of the heifers but
no self-respecting young bull
would care to appear on the
range grounds without his horny
head adornment. To make the
young bovine aristocrats safe to
handle weights are put on the
horns so they will grow at a
drooping angle. Thus they are
less able to "hook.”
Not long ago a cattle man
asked Mr, Hagenslck If he had
horn weights. That was all Greek
to Ed but he asked to be shown
one. He was. Now there is a
horn weight factory in operation
right under our noses that we
knew nothing about until a few
days ago.
The weights are made of soft
metal In molds, holes drilled so
they may be fastened to the horns
with screws, and are made in
three sizes, one-half pound, one
pound and one and one-half
pound. Stockmen from over
Holt and adjoining counties are
availing themselves of the output
of tliis new industry. Mr. Hagen
sick is experiencing some diffi
culty in securing the proper
metal in adequate quantities but
thinks he has enough of the man
ufactured product on hand to sup
ply the present demands.
The community finds our un
ostentatious Ed an indispensable
citizen when the unusual thing is
to be made. ^
---
OBITUARY
Thomas Densimore Astleford
w|as born in New York state on
February 24, 1860, and passed
away on February 28, 1945, being
85 years and four days of age.
He came to Niobrara, Nebr., at
the age of eight with his father
and the family and there grew j
to manhood.
For some time he drove the;
stage and carried mail from
Yankton, S. D„ to Niobrara, later j
homesteading near Meek.
On August 16, 1887, he was
united in marriage to Carolyn
Reynolds. To this union were
born three children, Icle Ruth
who became Mrs. Kent Rakes,
Olive Irene, now Mrs. George
Francis of Spencer, and Walter
Evert of Holt county. His wife
and daughter, Ruth, have pre.
ceded him in death.
In 1894 he moved with his fam
ily to Boone, Iowa, returning to
northeastern Nebraska after
three years. He homesteaded
three miles north o(f Phoenix in
Holt county in 1910, where he
lived until nearly three years
ago. Since that time he made
his home with his daughter, Mrs.
George Francis and his son,
Walter Astleford.
In his early married life he
was converted and shortly after
moving to Phoenix he became a
member of the Free Methodist
church at Butte, of which he re
mained a loyal and consistent
member.
Besides his two children he is
survived by a sister, Mrs. Emma
Kelley, of Los Angeles, Cal.; I
fourteen grandchildren, two of
whom are in the armed forces,
and three who were present at
the (funeral servies, Daniel Rakes,
of O'Neill; Joe Francis of Spen
cer; Claude Astleford, of Michi
gan. Also twenty-two great
BRIEFLY STATED
And now the boys want to fly
their kites but can’t buy a ball of
string In the town.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet Gillespie
a»d little son spent Sunday with
Mrs. Gillespie’s parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Eby at Page.
Four O’Neill church groups
join in a Good Friday service at
the Methodist church nt 2 in the
afternoon on Friday.
Walter T. Einkotf, druggist at
Chambers, was in the city Sunday!
to meet Mrs. Einkotf, who came
in on an evening bus from South j
Dakota, where she had been visit
ing.
Has O’Neill repudiated St. Pat
rick? Not a green ribbon was in
evidence the 17th. What would
the grand old Irishman like John
Dwyer, John McCafferty, Neil
Brennan and Pat Hagerty think
of such indifference on the part
of the successors to their heri
tage?
L. G. Gillespie encountered dif
ficulty returning from Page last
Thursday night in a dense fog.
He got onto the w'rong trail,
stopped, got out of the car to in
vestigate when the car rolled
back and knocked him over. Min
or injury resulted but Lloyd got
back to O’Neill at an early hour
Friday morning and is as good
as ever.
W. H. Harvey was in from the
Meek neighborhood Monday and
called at The Frontier on busi
ness. Mr. Harvey is one of the
“old timers" out north and re
calls that the old gentleman
Astleford. whose body was found
last Saturday, lived on a home
stead a mile and a half from his
father’s homestead in the early
eighties. Astleford subsequently
located in the community about
Phoenix.
The prairie dweller thrills at
the call of the wolf for his mate,
the trumpeting of Canada geese,
the senseless note of the wild j
duck, the long drawn sigh of the
blue liaron. At an early morn
ing hour last week flocks of wa
ter fowl on their annual flight
north were confused by the lights
of the city and the glare of wet
pavements, hovered over head,
moved back and forth across the
town honking their bewilderment |
until street lights were turned
out and the pink glow of dawn
ushered in another day.
Twenty-five attended a men’s
fellowship in the basement room
of the First Presbyterian church
Monday evening. It was strictly
a men’s affair, they getting up
the 50-cent Bupper of Nebraska
beef, cabbage and beans with fine
fruit pie that Rev. Mr. Scott was
credited with making. Two tables
were loaded and pretty well
cleaned by the time the men fin
ished eating and were ready for
the discussion that followed, led
by Ralph P. Rickly. The discus
sion revolved around the moot
ed question of world peace and
developed some variance of
thought ably presented.
W. H. Decker received a letter
Monday from his grandson, Lt.
R. R. Decker, about the only in
formation of which is that he
had received the Christmas card
William had sent him. His
whereabouts is not disclosed but
the letter is evidence to Mr.
Decker that his grandson was
alive and well at the time the
letter was written, March 7. Lt.
Decker now serves with the engi
neers, being transferred from the
air service after he had pursued
and "got” an enemy airplane
single handed. He was both com
mended and reproved for rash
bravery, to which he replied to
the commanding officer: “The
yellow-belly shot at.me—and they
can’t do that to me."
great grandchildren and a large
number of more distant relatives.1
Funeral services were held
Tuesday afternoon at the Butte
Free Methodist church, services,
being conducted by Rev. Harold
Timm.
Red Cross Meeting a
Notable Gathering
The high school auditorium
was filled with a capacity aud
ience Wednesday evening when
the community responded in a
large way to the announced pro
gram under the auspices of the
Holt County Red Cross. The
program was a notable event of
the season. While the crowds
were working their way in the
band played several selections
and Mrs. Ralph Rayla sang.
R. H. Shriner, chairman o(f the
Red Cross, introduced Julius D.
Cronin, who gave a stirring patri
otic address, urged unstinted sup.
port of the Red Cross and intro
duced the next speaker, Lieut
Magdelene Ullom. Miss Ullom
spoke for half an hour, disclosed
no war secrets and amused the
audience by her keen sense of
humor born even out of the trage
dies of the far Pacific Islands,
where she had served as an army
nurse before interned as a prison
er of the Japanese. Miss Ullom
appeared in tftill service uniform
and with her in uniform on the
platform were five soldiers and
one bailor, Pfc. John Brennan
(wounded recently in Germany)
Staff Sgt. John McCaffrey, Pfc.
Jack Harty. Radioman 3_c Fritz
Yantzi, Pfc Vernon Lorenz and
Pvt. George Nachtman. These,
with all on the rostrum, rose and
stood at salute when the drums
rattled and the band broke into
the* national air.
Miss Elizabeth Gernes, of Col
umbus, Red Cross Supervisor for
this area, gave an interesting re
port of conditions in German
prison camps, assuring all that
the Red Cross was keeping Amer
ican prisoners supplied with
many things for their comtfort.
On behalf of the citizens of
the community Mr. Shriner pre_
sented Miss Ullom with a writing
set and a check for $62.00 Miss
Ullom expressed her gratitude
and handed the check back to
Mr. Shriner with the reuest that
it be added to the Red Cross
funds.
I I ■ II ■ ■■ "-■■■■ H
The Office of Defense Trans
portation unblushingly tells the
public that it will not give favor
able consideration to applications
for new equipment from opera
tors of commercial vehicles who
fall to cooperate by adopting
Joint action plans or other plana
outlined by the ODT to conserve
equipment, tires, gasoline and
manpower, wherever such action
is practicable. Nebraska is in a
zone with seven other states.
Stuart Man Promoted
WITH THE 15TH AAF IN
ITALY—Robert A. Ramm, son of
Mrs. Johonna Ramm of Stuart,
Nebr., was recently promoted to
staff sergeant. An engineer-gun
ner in a 15th air force 11-24 Lib
erator bomb group, he has al
ready participated in many bomb
ing missions against enemy in
stallations in central and south
ern Europe and has been award
ed the air medal. Sgt. Ramm
was graduated from Stuart high
school In the class of 1939. Prior
to entering the service, June,
194 3, he was a rancher. He was
with the combat engineers for a
year before transferring to the
air force.
Private Orders Officers
William Wells of Red Bird was
in on business Monday and fa
vored us with a visit. He recent
ly had letters from his sons over
seas suggesting it was uncertain
when they could write again. The
two boys are in the Third army
serving in the thick of it in the
Rhine valley. Mr. Wells says
they have at home a lot of troph
ies the boys sent them found on
the battle fields, such as the bars
and eagles and other brass fig
ures worn by German officers.
The boys have been in the army
for three years and have seen
service in its most bitter and
tragic detail. It has not been
without a touch of humor. In
one instance during early enlist
ment one of the boys was in
charge of the practice rifle range
when two officers came along,
picked up guns to draw a bead
on a target. Private Wells ord
ered them to drop the guns. They
demurred at taking orders from a
private but as he was prepared
to enforce orders with a tommy
gun they complied. It must be a
lot of fun for a private when he
can lord it over an officer.
an expression of
GRATITUDE
On behalf of myself and those
connected with the sheriff’s office
I want to thank all who volun
teered in the search for the old
cntleman Astelford, who was so
long missing and whose lifeless
body was just found last Satur
day.
A. B. HUBBARD. Sheriff.
Dr. Fisher. Dentist. 43-tf
Lt. Harty in the Thick of It
With the 38th Division on
Bataan—Since he first embarked
for overseas duty in February,
1944, Lt. Michael E. Harty, son of
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Harty af
O’Neill, Nebraska, has had sever,
al encounters with the Japanese.
Now moving back and forth
across historic Bataan with the
38th Division, whose mission it
is to clear the Japs from the pen.
insula, his first run-in was with
a machine gun which was de
tected just in time. Previous to
this, Lt. Harty was bombed at
sea on two separate occasions
while enroute to Leyete in the -
Philippnes.
Lt. Harty formerly attended
St. Mary’s High school in O’Neill
Nebr. He enlisted in the army
February, 1941, at Fort Leaven
worth, Kansas.
Two brothers are also in the
service, Jim, with the engineers,
and Jack, with a medical unit
stationed at Camp Robinson,
Arkansos.
Pfc. Moerow’s Outfit
Commended
An Air Service Command Sta
tion, “Somewhere’ in England.’
Pfc. La Verne A. Moerow, son of
Mrs. Leatha Moerow, of Route 1,
O’Neill, Nebr., has been serving
in the Europearl Theater of Oper
ation for fifteen months with the
Combat Support Wing, crack
trucking organization of the Air
Service Command.
Supplying invasion air bases
wifh bombs, food and bullets
means hours of gruelling cross
country driving for Pfc. Moerow.
He is a member of an outfit that
has been commended for its effic
iency and team spirit in driving
through storm and British fog to
deliver the goods to advanced
combat stations.
Margaret Higgins Among
the Winners
Margaret Higgins, of O’Neill,
sophomore in the Wayne State
Teachers College, won third place
in the Class B Discussion contest
of the Nebraska Intercollegiate
Forensic meet held at the Mid
land College, Fremont, Nebr.,
Friday and Saturday March 16
and 17. Seven colleges took part
in the programs of the two days;
Nebraska Wesleyan University,
Hastings College, Kearney State
Teachers College, Omaha Univer
sity Midland Callege, Doane
College and the Wayne Stajte
Teachers College.
J B. Fullerton, of Atkinson,
had time in town Tuesday to pay
The Frontier a visit. Mr. Fuller
ton says they have begun spring
work on the farm, having put
in 10 acres of oats by Monday
and he has been riding the tractor
the past day or two, instead of
the bronchos he rode a half cen^ ,
tury ago.