Neb. State Historical Society
Frontier
LX VI
O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1945
NO. 11
SMALL DOSES
PAST AND PRESENT
By Romaine Saunders
Rt. 5, Atkinson
Countrified—that’s the most
encouraging thing y£t said about
President Truman.
_
See they are getting a little
haughty up at Velentine. Holly
wood is moving in to film Sam
McKelvie’s ranch.
The 4-inch spike heels are not
for style at all. They are to
boost a 5-ft. sister up to speaking 1
distance of 'her 6-ft. man.
Seen in one of the Congress
ional mailing rooms by a snoop
ing reporter: A carton of out
going mail labeled: “Haig & Haig
Scotch Whiskey.”
It is not understandable to the
It tis not understandable to the |
man at the steering wheel why the i
state tax commissioner consider-1
ed his car worth 33 per cent more
after another year of wear and.
tear.
A decree that is as old as the
race and still holds: “In the
sweat of thy face shalt t'hou eat
bread, till thou return unto the
ground; ior out of it wast thou1
taken: for dust thou art and unto
dust shalt thou return.”
i
“A least 200 House males,” is
the way one writer puts it in
referring to a group of congress
men. There is plenty of the ani
mal about all of us, congressmen
and others, but why so bold an i
emphasis of an evident fact?
When this issue goes to the
readers I expect my son ajnd
bride of a few months to be with
me, enroute from Long Beach,
Cal., to East London, Conn.,
where Romaine has been assigned
to the Naval Academy for offi
cer’s training.
Measured in bushels reaching
astronomical figures the country’s
wheat crop is not much conso
lation to the individual grower
who has been hailed out. A
friend down in Thayer county
sustained the loss of six thousand
bushels by hail.
When mother, wife, sister im
plores Washington for a bar of
soap their hand has forgot its
cunning. All my mother and her
mother needed to provide a
year’s supply of soap was a little
hog fat and the wood ashes from
the kitchen stove.
On the way to Moscow, hesi
tating, advancing, restless, mind
a turmoil of conflicting emotions
—the urge of ambition and torn
by the vanities of it all—Napoleon
Bonaparte asked the question,
gave the answer: “What is war?
A trade of barbarians, the whole
art of which consists in being
strongest! on a given point.”
An unidentified news hound is
responsible for this: Most of
Washington’s chattering swarms
of government girls are a carefree
but resourceful lot of chicks.
For instance, the one we spotted
on a bus during a violent rain
storm. Just as the bus splashed
up to her stop she peeled off shoes
and stockings, crammed them
into her handbag along with her
collapsible hat, hiked her skirt
diaper fashion, and lit out with
a wild shriek that would scare
the warpaint off a Commache. The
breed will get along.
Pewter spoon and bowl of wood
on the door-stone gray and rude,
belonged to a bygone day. O for
festal dainties spread like my
bowl of milk and bread, seems
also to be a back number. Ac
cording to one of those “recent
survey" findings one out of four
teen kids in Nebraska are getting
their quota of milk, or the quota
a paid expert thinks they should
have, which is the sizeable as
signment of one quart per young
ster a day. If all the cows were
milked it would float the fleet.
Kids just don’t want the nasty
stuff—they’d swig a bottle of pop
and lap up ice cream cones.
In the person of Sam Thompson
of O’Neill there is at least one left
Pfc. John L. Brennan
Now Out Of the Army
i
Pfc. John L. Brennan, son of
Mrs. F. M. Brennan of this city,
and the late Col. Francis M. Bren
nan, arrived home Tuesday after
noon from Camp Carson, Col.,
where he received his honorable
discharge from the United States
Army.
He was in service nearly two
years, going into service July 27,
1943. He was overseas five
months and was wounded in the
back by a sniper’s bullet at
Hatten France, on January 13,
1945, and was hospitalized in
France and England prior to his
return to this country. After
spending a thirty day furlough
with the home folks he went to j
Camp Carson, Col., where he has
been stationed since. He has re
ceived the ETO Combat ribbon,
one Bronze Battle Star, the Com
bat Infantry Badge and the
Purple Heart.
Pfc. Brennan has two brothers
in the service, Cadet Bert Bren
nan, who is attending the West
Point Military Academy at West
Point, New York; First Lt. Neil
Brennan, who holds the Silver
Star and who was recently
awarded the Distinguished Ser
vice Cross for extraordinary
heroism against the armed enemy
in Germany.
Dr Fisher, Dentist
of the “first settlers.” The
Thompson McEvony, Sanford,
Hoxie caravan came up the Elk-1
horn valley in 1873 and casL
anchor when they arrived where'
Dry Creek joins its waters with j
the Elkhorn. Sam had hardly
stepped out of babyhood at that
time so hadn’t a lot to do with
subduing a virgin wilderness. But
wasn’t long in learning to ride a
pony and chase antelope without
a permit from the crude state
house down at Lincoln. O’Neill
and environments has been his
home since his parents pitched
their tent on the banks of the
Ekhorn and he’ll tell you today
“she’s the best town in the state
—always has been.”
Step into any of them, big or
little, where the feed for Yankee
gourmands is stacked in bewild
ering array and one wonders
what means this sniffling about
“food shortage.” From floor to
ceiling “processed” stuff for the
table, green freshness from gard
ens, yellow and deep red ripened
fruits from orchards, bagged and
boxed products from the mills,
baked swwetmeals, milk, butter,
eggs, fish, flesh of a dead cow and
lifeless hog—a thousand things to
select from or take it all, any
thing the human gullet fancies
with which to “wash it down.”
Leave all this, go straight down
8,000 miles and get your break
fast, your lunch, your dinner of a
dab of rice or gnaw on an ear of
parched corn.
The turtledoves’s love call is
heard at early morning, again late
evening. Two notes are touched
and no more, though each call is
formed of four separate sounds,
the introductory—or prelude the
musicians say—being in the na-!
ture of drawing in air, followed
by expelling he air in three i
“blows,” all pitched to one key. i
The song of the meadow lark has [
been written out in musical notes.
This bird performs best about
sundown, as if to mingle his |
cheering song with the colorful
charm of early evening. For a
bit of dainty beauty a fleeting
glimpse is had of the orange and
black oriole, and then a flash of
yellow as the refined little lady of
the canary group wings into the
picture. For feathered elegance
none surpasses the gorgeous
pheasant cock, and he knows it.
The goden eagle, his regal ma
jesy scorning those of feebler
wing, has the bearing of nature’s
monarch of the air silent dignity,
consciousness of his strength.
The little gray hawk, the somber
crow released from Stygian
gloom with a bit of hellish impu
dence seek and devour their
prey. But the crowds are more
interested in the growing poultry
flocks. And what is more to the
point than a leg of chicken held
aloft to gnaw on?
Mrs. I. S. Givens Dies
In The Stuart Hospital
Mrs. Irwin S. Givens, 61, a res
ident of this county for twenty
years, died Tuesday, July 18, at
the hospital in Stuart. She had
been in ill health for several
months, but her death was has
tened by a fractured hip suffered
last week when she fell while she
attempted to close a window at
the home of her son, Harold,
where she had been living.
The body was brought to the
Seger funeral home in Atkinson,
and funeral rites were held at
10 o’clock Thursday morning at
the Church of the Epiphany in
Emmet, Father Kovar, pastor of
the Emmet church, conducted the
requim mass.
Burial was in Calvary ceme
tery, O’Neill, beside the body of
her husband, who preceded her i
death November 19, 1942. The
pallbearers were George Pon
gratz, Joseph Bruder, W. P.
Dailey, John Conard, Herbert
Jensen and O. A. Kilpatrick.
Anna Christine Givens was a
daughter of Nick and Mary Zeig.
She was born November 17, 1883,
at LeMars, Iowa, and died July
17, 1945, at the hospital in Stuart,
Nebr., aged 61 years and eight
months.
She was married to Irwin S.
Givens at LeMars September 16,
1910.
The family moved to a farm
north of O’Neill in 1925, lived
•here for ten years, and after
ward resided on places near At
kinson and Emmet. Mrs. Givens
had been living with a son,
Harold, six miles southwest of
Stuart since last spring.
Surviving relatives who mourn
her death are three daughters
and two sons, Mrs. Helen (A1 F.)
Johns, of Omaha, Mrs. Alice
(Lawrence) Ziska of Stuart, Mrs.
Ethel (Loren) Gustaffson, San
Bernardino, Cal., Harold and
Arthur Givens, both of Stuart;
three brothers, John, Dan and
William Zeig, all of LcMars,
Iowa; eight grandchildren, other
relatives and a great many
friends.
Here for the funeral were a
sister-in-law, Mrs. C. R. Mullong,
Norfolk, and all of the children
except Ethel.—Atkinson Graphic.
CARD OF THANKS
We wish to express our sincere
thanks to our friends and neigh
bors for theiq kindness, sympathy
and helpfullness during the ilness
and following he death of our be
oved mother and sister, and for
the many beautiful floral offer
ings.—Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Johns,
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Givens, Mr.
and Mrs. Arthur Givens, Mr. and
Mrs. Lawrence Ziska, Mr. and
Mrs. Leon Gustaffson, Mr. and
Mrs. Dain Zeig, John and William
Zeig.
“Mike” Johnson Passed
Away This Morning
Mike Johnson, retired section
foreman for the Burlington rail-1
road, and an O’Neill resident for
many years, died about 5:30 this
mornin, after an illness of a few
months. Obituary notice next
week.
Annual Group Gathering
Nex1 Sunday Morning
The Annual Group gathering
of the Holt and Boyd County
Sunday Schools is to be held next
Sunday, July 29, in the grove on
the Ralph Ernst farm about fif
teen miles north of O’Neill. A
full days program has been plan
ned with Sunday School beginn
ing at 10:00 a. m., followed by an
address by Rev. G. M. Hubby, of
Spencer. Dinner will be served
on the grounds. The afternoon
program will consist of special
music, a gospel message by Rev.
Melvin Grosenbach, of O’Neill,
and the closing address of the
day by Rev. H. E. Udd, of Omaha,
District Superintendent of the
American Sunday School Union.
Everyone is invited to attend.
George E. Hollingshead,
Field Missionary A. S .S. U.
Marriage Licenses
George L. Waddell, 24, of Plain
view, and Muss Zelmn M. Banks,
18, of O’Neill on July 20.
What Many Of The Boys
Are N°w Wearing
The above picture is a repro
duction of the Honorable Dis-1
charge Button granted to all men
who have been given an honor
able discharge from the United
States Armed Forces.
All the daily and weekly news
papers throughout the country
are trying to make this emblem
known to every American. Some
people say it is foolish, that
everybody knows what it stands
for. So to give you an example
I will pass on a story told to me
by a member of the United States
Army. This soldier, not so very
long ago, was standing on the
street in a lgrge town in the
western part of the United States.
Then a middle-aged man and
woman began to talk to him. He
had pinned on his chest many
decorations which he received
while he was overseas and he
also wore his honorable discharge
button, which, he had just receiv.
cd. This man then asked him if
he thought he would soon be
going across. That is just one
example, and we are sure that
yet there are thousands of people
who do no know what the above
stands for.
lr you see a man or woman
with this button on you should
have for them your deepest res
pect and admira^on for they have
left good (homes, some wives,
families and all the comforts of!
civilian life to go to all the far- j
flung battlefields of the world to j
keep this country as Abraham \
Lincoln said years ago “ a country
of the people, by the people, and
for the people that shall not per
ish from this earth.”
Many of the service men who
are now being discharged from
the armed forces have been serv
ing their country for two, three,
four and some of them nearly five
years. Since they last saw their
old home town the war has
brought many changes and when
they come back, the home town
which they thought they knew so
well, seems entirely different to
them. Then they meet one of
their old friends on the street,
and the conversation runs like
thsi: "Why, Hello, Joe, when did
you get back? How are you?
Sure look fine! How did you like
it over there? Where were you?
Were you in France, Bel
gium, Luxenburg, Germany
were you ever wounded? What
did it seem lige to sleep in a fox
hole all night? You were not
scared, were you?” and on and on.
Most of the boys, who have done
the fighting over there, want to
come home and forget all
about the war; they just want to
think of the. good old times they
used to have. They want to for
get all about what happened to
therrv while they were over there.
They want to forget all he nights
that they slept in a foxhole.
Want to forget the mud and slush
that came clear to their necks and
they had to crawl through for
days at a time. Want to forget
the time they saw their buddy shot
down right beside them, right in
front of their own eyes. AND
WE SHOULD HELP THEM.
Yes, they want to forget all these
things, so we Should show them
the bright side of life, the life
that they were used to before
some men decided they wanted
to conquer the world. And we
can help them by showing them
a good time and not asking them
about what happened to them
overseas.
As Ray L. Royce, who is man
aging editor of the Douglas County
Herald at Ava, Missouri, said:
“Maybe we can do the most for
them by just letting them alone.”
Miss Mildred Cavanaugh ar
rived Wednesday evening from
San Bernardino, Cal., to spend
several weeks here visiting at the
home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Maurice Cavanaugh, Sr.
O’Neill Legion Juniors
Meet Hastings Juniors
Next Tuesday Evening
—
State Chairman Chip Bowley
announced Saturday the pairings
for the Annual American Legion
Tournament, which will be held j
at Fremont ball park starting
July 29th and ending the fifth of
August. There are two divisions,
the Junior and tihe Midget.
The O'Neill Junior American
Legion team will meet the Hast
ings Junior team in their first
game of the tournament Tuesday
evening, July 31, at 6:30. If the
O’Neill team wins they will then
play the winner of the Fremont
Deshler game, which precedes
the O’Neill-Hastings clash.
Two other Holt county Ameri
can Legion teams are entered in
the State Tournament. They
are Atkinson and Chambers,
which are both in the Midget di
vision. The Atkinson club drew
as their opponent the Grand Is
land Midgets, with this game
being played Monday afternoon,
July 30 at 1:30. The Chambers
team will play the Fremont Mid
gets, Sunday afternoon, July 29,
at 1:30.
One consolation the teams have
is that there is almost certain to
be two new champions crowned,
as the defending champions, the
Murphy-Did-Its have only an
outside chance of being in the
Tourney and the Champion Bo
zell-Jacobs team of the Midget
division have forfeited their
chance to try and retain their
crown.
After Fifty Years Comes
Back For A Visit
Mrs. Bertha Soetebrer, of Le
bo, Kansas, arrived here Friday to
visit her cousins, Mrs. Selma
Traney, Ed Hagensick, Elmer ^
Hagensick and family and Mrs.
Walter Pease and other relatives
and friends. This is the first time
they bad met in 50 years. Her par
ents were former residents of this
county, living on a homestead
about en miels northwest of this
city, near the old Billy Hagen
sick farm. The family left here
about 50 years ago and since that
time she has been a resident of
Kansas. Her maiden name was
Bertha Bietz and she remembered
several old timers that were
former residens of that section of
the county. She left for her
Kansas home Monday.
American Legion Juniors
Practice Game Sunday
Rev. Rammond Lisco announced
this morning that the O’Neill
American Legion Junior baseball
team would play this Sunday,
prior to the O’Neill-Tilden clash.
The Legion Club will have as
their opponents a team of young
men about town, who will try to
give the Legion boys a real tussel,
to help get them in shape for the
State Tournament. The Legion
game will sart at 1:00 o’clock,
which will be followed by the
O’Neill-Tilden game at 3:00.
No admission will be charged
and this will give the citizens of
O’Neill and surrounding territory
a good chance to see two good
ball games.
Nearly Twelve Years
In United States Navy
Now Home On Visit
Chief Petty Officer Robert
Burke arrived last Tuesday to
spend his leave here visiting his
mother, Mrs. Laura Burke and
other relatives. Qhief Petty Offi
cer Burke has been in the USN
for over twelve years. He was
on a ship outside Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941, the date the
Japs will never forget. It has
been almost four years since he
was back home. Most of the
time he has been overseas.
O'Neill Band Parade
Next Saturday Night
The O’Neill Band will parade
through the streets on next Sat
urday evening, July 28, at 8:15.
The band members will be treat
ed by Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Mc
Kenna.
Miss Bonnie Reimers spent the
weekend at her home in Inman.
O’Nei l Baseball Club
Has Splendid Record
O’ Neill won its seventh game
in eight starts last Sunday as they
were hosts to the St. John’s
crew who they defeated 10-0.
Helmer started on the mound
for O’Neill and fanned eleven
men in five innings; then R. Car
son took a trip to the mound, and
when Hf' retired at the end of the
eighth inning he had three strike
outs to his credit. Ed Thoi’in
was the hurler in the last inning
and he struck out three which
gave O’Neill 17 strikeouts for
the game. St. John’s got on base
only once and Jhat was in the
second inning, but when he tried
to stretch the hit into a double
he was out at second. Duane
Carson, O’Neill’s regular catcher,
was unable to play, so Dick Tom
linson caught and added his batt
ing powers to the locals.
In winning seven out of eight
games this year the O’Neill team
has been playing excellent base
ball. Danny Helmer, O’Neill’s ace
pitcher, who, until he hurt his
arm the Fourth of July, held 'his
opponents to ten hits infive games.
O'Neill has hit safely eighty
eight times to nineteen for the
opposition. O’Neill has scored
59 runs in eight games while
their opponents have scored four,
three of these bein scored by
Tilden when they defeated O’Neill
3-1, O’Neill’s only loss of the
season. Norfolk is the only othgT
team to score against O’Neill, and
O'Neill has had five shutout
games.
O’Neill’s next game is this Sun
day, July 29, when they are hosts
to the Tilden team. It should be
a good, close game. So come out
all you fans, let’s go and watch a
good game of the popular Ameri
can sport.
Safety Patrol Need
More Patrolmen
The Nebraska Safety Patrol is
now accepting applications for
highway patrolmen so that it may
properly handle a new state-wide
short wave radio system and be
better equipped to meet post-war
traffic.
Applications must be in the
hands of the Nebraska Safety
Patrol, State House, Lincoln, by
August 8, 1945. Thereafter a
number yet to be decided will be
called in for competitive exam-1
inations. From the tests 60 to 70
candidates will be chosen for the
camp, which will be held at the
Nebraska State Guard Camp at
Ashland.
Applicants must be citizens of
the United States, residents of
Nebraska, between 21 and 35
(years of age, at least 5 feet 10
inches tall, high school graduates,
and in good physical condition.
Candidates who go> through the
6 weeks school will be paid $2.50
a day and given their board and
room. Those selected for the
patrol will be paid $150.00 month
ly during a six months probation
period and if permanently as
signed will be paid $165.00 a
1 month.
Nebraska Safety Patrol.
BRIEFLY STATED
Pvt. Bud Callen arrived Tues
day afternoon from Texas, to
spend his furlough here visiting
relatives and friends.
Friends here recently received
word that Flight Officer Ted
Sirek, formerly of this city, had;
been transferred from Randolph
Field, Texas, to Brooks Field,
Texas.
Pvt. Owen Cole arrived last
Thursday from Camp Fannin,
Texas, to spend his furlough vis
iting his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Guy Cole, of Emmet, and friends
here.
The hot weathe of the past week,
especially Monday, drove many
of our residents into their homes
hunting for fans and many old
and delapidated ones were brot
down town where they could be
used, while the men in the var
ious business places were trying
to work. But after Monday after
noon and night’s excessive heat
most of our residents were un
able to sleep and Tuesday morn
ing found most of them tired from
their lack of sleep.
Legion Juniors Defeat
PJainview Juniors i
The O’Neill American Legion
baseball team traveled to Plain
view Sunday afternoon, where
they met and defeated the Plain
view Legion by a score of 19-12.
Slim Morrow was on the mound
for the O’Neill club and pitched
a beautiful game, allowing only
nine hits during the seven inning
game. Don Wilson was doing the
catching and also helping in the
batting department, as he made
three hits, one of them being
a home run. Dewey Schaffer,
Edward Campbell and Dick Tib
bets also collescted hree hits dur
ing the afternoon. O'Neill made
19 runs on Id hits and committed
four errors. Painview had 12
runs, on nine hits and made 8
errors.
Rev. Raymond Lisco, manager
of the team, announced Monday
that entertainment had been pro
vided for the boys by the Amer
ican Legion Post of Fremont.
They have made arrangements
for free moving pictures and
swimming at the Victory Beach
and the YMCA pool. The tumble
Inn, an organization for the
youths of Fremont, also will be
opened for the use of the players
while they are there for the tourn
ament. Also on the program are
tentative arrangements to have
Couch A. J. Lewandowski of the
University and other atheletic
coaches and officials there.
PAGE NEWS ITEMS
PAGE SUNSHINE SISTERS
The Page Sunshine Sisters met
with Beverly Kelly with seven
members and their leader, Mrs.
Edgar Stauffer present. Della
Zellers was a guest. The lesson
was practicing demonstrating and
judging. A lunch was served.
PRENUPTIAL SHOWER
FOR MISS HILDA HARLEY
Misses Mildred Haynes and Lola
ilckes entertained about forty
girls of grade and High School
age at a prenuptial shower for
Miss Hilda Harley, at the Harry
Snyder home Saturday afternoon.
Sre received a number of lovely
gifts. Miss Harley taught in the
Page school for two years. She
will be married July 29th to Pfc.
Victor Snyder who will soon
leave for overseas.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Asher and
son, Freddie, of Fremont, arrived
last Wednesday flight to visit
at the homes of their mother’s,
Mrs. Ethel Asher and Mrs. Mar
garet Anderson. They were
accompanied by Mrs. Orge West
and daughter, Mrs. Glen Clark,
of Norfolk, who visited Mrs.
West’s sister, Mrs. Ethel Asher and
brother, Sam Coover. They all
returned to their homes Sunday
evening.
Mrs. Katherine Boies and
daughters, Rosetta, Charlene and
Agatha left last Friday to visit
relatives at Ewing and Norfolk.
Mrs. Boies is taking a vacation
from her work as operator at the
Page telephone exchange.
Miss Donna Mae Boies return
ed home last Thursday, after
spending three weeks at Ewing
and Norfolk. She was accom
panied by her grandmother, Mrs.
Rose Fridley, who will stay with
Donna Mae during the absence
of her mother.
Mrs Ida Townsend and Mrs.
Eva Gray received word from
their brother, Gene Farr of Mt.
Vernon, Washington, stating
that his wife had passed away
from a heart attack. Funeral
services were conducted there
Monday afternoon. Mr. Farr lived
in the Page community several
years ago.
Sherry Asher is spending a
week with her uncle, Walter
Asher and family at Fremont.
Mrs. Rollie Snell and Mrs. Dale
Asher and son, Jimmie, were din
ner guests at the Dorlon Lock
man home in O’Neill Monday.
Janice Johnson, of O’Neill is
spending the week with her
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Wil
ton Hayne.
Mrs. Ivan Turner returned
home from the Tilden hospital
Saturday. Her condition is re
ported good.
S. Sgt. and Mrs. Dale Asher
and son, Mr. and Mrs. Walter