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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 1946)
The Frontier VOLUME 66 —NUMBER 29. THE FRONTIER, O’NEILL, NEBRASKA. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1946. PRICE 5 CENTS REA Construction May Begin April 1 Officials Let Contracts for Initial Building Materials TO COMMENCE HERE In a special meeting held here last Thursday night, the members of'the board of directors of the Niobrara Valley Electric Mem bership corporation—a recently oganized rural electrification dis trict—purchased material to be used in initial construction op erations. At the same time, the district’s officials learned that actual construction operations may begin about April 1, 1947. A spokesman for the board said that delivery of the material was expected “in about 60 days ’ af ter the contract has been formal ly approved. Poles and other material were included in the transaction. Wire and transformers will be delivered as needed. Engineer Here Meanwhile, the district engin eer has been in the territory the past week making a preliminary survey regarding the permanent right-of-way of the power lines. W. R. Richardson, of the Hen ningson Engineering company, of Omaha, is surveying the field for both the already approved and future construction plans in the four-county district—Holt, Boyd, Knox and Wheeler. A sum of $520,000 has already been setup by the REA for loan for the “A” program. This in cludes 340 miles of transmission line and will reach more than 636 consumers. The “B” section will contain 340 miles of line and an estimat ed $539,000 will be required. The “C” section of 290 miles calls for $329,000 The corporation has the “B” al lotment filed with the Rural Elec trification administration, and on November 1 filed a “C” applica tion, which would serve an ad ditional 290 members. The “B proposal would serve approxi mately 340 places. 2,500 Miles of Line John T Murray, of Spencer, at torney for the district, tcld The Frontier that the corporation is “planning on 2,500 miles of lines in the four-county area.” In addition to rural patrons, a number of towns and villages may also be served. The line construction is expect ed to begin at O’Neili, where the REA district will buy current through an arrangement with the Consumers Public Power dis trict. Mrs. William Decker, Formerly of Page, Dies PAGE—Word has been receiv ed here by friends of the death of Mrs. William Decker, 85, which occurred November 16 at her home at Lincoln. The Decker family came here shortly after Page was founded, Mr. Decker being section fore man on the Burlington railroad for several years. They later moved to a farm northwest of Page. While in that community Mrs. Decker taught in several rural schools. She is survived by her hus band; two daughters, Mrs Mar garet Hoke and Miss Beryl Deck er, both of Lincoln; and two sons, Lynne W., of Lincoln, and Ron ald, Tulsa, Okla. 1 Catrons Open New Chambers Store CHAMBERS—Boge Catron, of Neligh, has opened a store in the building formerly occupied by a hatchery, which he operated. His wife and son, Jack, have been assisting. The store was formally opened Saturday. Pfc Lester Strong Now a Paratrooper Pfc Lester Strong, of O’Neill, recently qualified as an Army paratrooper after completing five jumps from an airborne plane at a jumping school at Sendai, Ja pan. ATTENDS FUNERAL Miss Kathryn McCarthy went to Omaha late Sunday upon re ceipt of the news of the death of a friend, Miss Helen Hughes, who was buried Monday. Mr. and Mrs. G. C. DeBacker went to Grand Island Tuesday to meet Mrs. DeBacker’s mother, Mrs. Crennan, of Denver, Colo., who will visit here. Mrs. Dana Hursh, of Superior, arrived Friday to visit her daugh ter, Mrs. O. M. Herre. Warren A. Caywood Dies at Home of Sister Warren A. Caywood, 73, a bro ther of Mrs. Roy Lowry and Charles Caywood, both of O’- f Neill, died here Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Death was caused by a di lated heart condition, the attend ing physician said. He had been ill 11 months. The body was shipped to Mon damin, la., by Bigli.n Brothers, where funeral services were held Wednesday at the Christian church there. The late Mr. Caywood was born at Modale, la. He came to | O’Neill in March, 1946, to reside with his sister, Mrs. Lowry. His j wife died in 1906. Survivors in- j elude one son, two daughters, four brothers, one sister, and one half-brother. RITES FRIDAY FOR PIONEER TEACHER Mrs. Henry Hookstra, 82, Rescued Pupils in Blizzard of 1888 ATKINSON — Mrs. Henry Hookstra, 82, who as a pioneer country school teacher rescued her pupils during the famous blizzard of 1888, died Tuesday in a Sioux City hospital. She had been in the hospital for several months. Funeral services will be conducted Friday at David City and interment will be in the Edholm cemetery. Rev. W. C. Birmingham, of the Atkinson Methodist church, will officiate. The late Mrs. Hookstra, former ly Anna Wallace, was born in Philmont, N. Y., in 1864, at the age of two moving with her peo ple to Wisconsin, where she re ceived a high school education1 and for three years attended! Platteville college. Upon leaving' college she came to Butler coun- | ty, Nebraska, where she began schcolteaching. un me nistonc aay oi juuuaiy 12, 1888, she was enroute to her! school when the balmy day was suddenly transformed into a' swirling storm. She gathered to gether her pupils and they be gan walking towards the place where Miss Wallace boarded. They headed southeast. One large boy was headstrong and the teacher had to restrain him to keep the group intact. Some of the children were “dropped-off” at their homes and the group iin ally made it to the teacher’s boarding place. Mr Hookstra, a young cattle man, insisted that she resign from teaching and they were married on June 26, 1888. They moved to Holt county in 1900 where they ranched extensively near Atkinson for many years. Mrs. Hookstra was a member of the Methodist church and the East ern Star lodge. Survivors include the widower; i three daughters, Mrs. Merle Doyle, of Phoenix, Ariz.; Mrs. Verne Mullgardt, of Kansas City, Mo., and Mrs. Quentin Olsen, of Boone, la. Special Services to Close Sunday CHAMBERS—The special ev angelistic services being con ducted here by the “flying evan gelist,” Rev. J Darrel Handel, of Lincoln, will close Sunday eve ning, according to Rev. Lawrence McElheran, pastor of the Baptist church where the services are be ing held. Rev. Handel is a former mem ber of the quartet on the widely known “Back to the Bible” radio program. He goes from here to Marion, Kans., traveling by air. Band Mothers View Uniforms at Lincoln ■ — Mrs. E. M. Gallagher, Mrs. H. J. Birmingham, Mrs. D. C. Schaf fer. Mrs. Harry Peterson and Ms. R. L. Bode spent Saturday in Lincoln where they viewed band uniforms in connection with the Music Educators’ clinic held there They represented the O’Neill band mothers who are sponsoring a movement to provide uniforms. They returned Sunday. BUYS HOME IN PAGE PAGE—Mrs. Anna Thompson, of Inman, has purchased the E. | A. Walker residence in Page, and expects to move here soon. Mrs. J. S. Noble has returned from an extended visit at Los Angeles and Hollywood, Calif. Enroute she visited relatives at Nebraska City and Omaha. RESSEL REELECTED AG CHAIRMAN Other Officers Named for County, Community Posts Harry E. Ressel, of Chambers, was reelected chairman of the Holt county agricultural conser vation administration in the an nual organization meeting held Saturday at the courthouse annex here. Fred R. Mack, of Atkinson, was named vice-chairman; A1 J. Sauser, of O’Neill, third member of the board; John T. Murray, of O’Neill, first alternate, and Ora R. Yarges, of Stuart, second al ternate. Both Mack and Sauser were reelected to their posts. They will administer the 1947 conservation program in ttye county. Twenty-five community delegates participated in the elec tion of the county officers. The community committeemen, selected in a series of elections during recent weeks, follow: Antelope and Iowa — Lyndley J Crumley, LuVern VanConett, Milo V. Landreth, all of Page. Atkinson—Joseph W. Rocke, Warren W. Marr, Sylvester R. Tushla, all of Atkinson. Chambers and Shamrock—Jos eph T. Serck, Herman R. Hol comb, Clarence C. Young, all of Chambers. Cleveland and Dustin—Charles M. Mulford, Stuart; Adrian L. Mitchell, Dustin; William J. Meusch, Butte. Conley — Leon C. Hertel, Charles F. Green, Joseph E. Koci, all of Chambers. Deloit—William A. Schindler, Frank Mlnarik, Joe Schindler, all of Ewing. Ewing and uoiaen—uoyai u. Wiseman, Orchard; Martin G, Helmricks, Orchard; Joseph P Kaczor, Ewing. Fairview and Wyoming—Har old L. Gilman, Vein Sageser, Pet er Frahm, all of Amelia. Grattan—John T. Murray, Or ville K. Morrow, Floyd Ritts, all of O’Neill. Green Valley, Holt Creek and Francis—Arthur I Pacha, Stuart: Edward A. Bouska, Stuart; Ira A, Livingston, Atkinson. Inman—Leo P. Mossman, Ver non J. Davis, Chester C. Young, all of Inman. Lake and McClure—Magne B. Goranson, James M. Hawk, Wil bur L. Urban, all of Ewing. Emmet and Pleasantview — Walter F. Ries, Atkinson; Joseph Wagman, Atkinson; Leon A. Beckwith. Emmet. Rock Falls—Henry E Vequist, O’Neill; Ren J. Kroupa, Atkin som Lvle Vequist, O’Neill. Sandcreek — Patrick W. Kil murry, George H. Beck, Dolphus W. Allard, all of Atkinson. Coleman and Saratoga — Ro maine J. Rohde, Spencer; Ulys ses E. Owen, O’Neill; John F. Storjohann, Spencer. Scott—August H. Oberle, Rod ney H. Tomlinson, Frank McDon ald, all of Dorsey. Willowdale — William Derick son, Elmer A. Juracek, Nels A Linquist, all of Star. Sheridan— John E. Flannery, James A. Beck, Frank J. Prussa, all of Atkinson. Shields — Lloyd A. Whaley, Francis R. Sullivan, Homer J. Ernst, all of O’Neill. Verdigris—Walter E. Snyder, Harry S. Harper, Plen E. Nickel, all of Page. Steel Creek—Herschel H.Miles, Dorsey; Richard B. Marston, Walnut; Eddie Hrbek, Redbird. Stuart—Ora R. Yarges, Gilbert J. Engler, Joe P. Kunz, all of Stuart. Swan and Josie — Claude C. Liermann, Louis W. Barthel, Ira W. Liermann, all of Amelia. Paddock — Fred W. Lindberg, Gteorge D. Hansen, Samuel R. Robertson, all of O’Neill. ATTENDING 'U' LINCOLN — Andrew McAllis ter, of Middlebranch, and Marvin Sobotka, of Inman, are attending the University of Nebraska. 40th Annual Christmas Seal Drive Underway The period of November 25 to 1 December 25, 1946, has been of-, ficially designated by Gov. Dwight Griswold as Christmas seal month in Nebraska. “This year,” said Gov. Griswold in his proclamation, “in keeping with its tradition, the Nebraska Tuberculosis association will con duct its 40th annual Christmas seal sale to obtain financial as sistance for carrying on the fight against tuberculosis. The sale began NovemBor 25 and con tinued through the Christmas sea son. “People of Nebraska are well aware of the great and effective work that is accomplished through the use of Christmas seal funds. Last year, tuberculosis claimed 173 Nebraska lives, and there have been 523 newly-re ported cases of this disease in our state during 1946 The battle against tuberculosis continues unabated, and 1 know that Ne braskans will give their support I most willingly to this struggle ' w*hich means so much to the I health of our people.” County Superintendent Elja McCullough, of O’Neill, who is | directing the seal-selling cam-, paign in Holt county lural. schools, said the drive began | Monday, and there were early in dications that more seals will be sold this year than a year ago. Town and city schools are sell ing the seals separately. VET CONDUCTOR DIES SUDDENLY Archie Martin Found Dead in Hotel Room at Long Pine Archie Martin, 70, of Fremont, a passenger train conductor on the Chicago and North Western railway, was found dead at 9:45 p.m. last Thursday .in a hotel room at Long Pine. He was known in Holt county because of his nu:^ rous “runs” ! through here with the railroad, ' and had resided fo ma’’y years 1 at Fremont. A telegrapher at Long Pine dis ■ covered the dead body stretched across the bed when he went to summon Mr. Martin for the east bound run that night. Company officials indicated that Mr. Mar tin may have become ill while making out routine reports at his desk. Death was believed to have j been caused by a heart ailment. He had been eligible for retire- , ment for several years, but was | postponing the event until Jan uary 1, 1947. He was born Oc tober 13, 1876, in Columbia City, Ind , and entered the North West ern railway service in 1902. He was promoted from brakeman to conductor on October 10, 1907. New Parsonage at Chambers Dedicated CHAMBERS — The Lutherans here Sunday marked the comple tion of a new parsonage. Rev. R. Griese, of Utica, was the speaker for the dedication service Sunday morning, and Rev. H. K. Nier man, of Laurel, formerly of Chambers, was the afternoon speaker. Dinner was served in the church basement. MARRIAGE LICENSES John William Nickel, 55, of Elm Creek, and Mrs. Elizabeth Schmohr, 51, of O’Neill, Novem ber-23. Robert G. Horner, 37, and Miss Maralee Krasha, 26, both of At kinson, November 25. Donald A. Shonka, 23, and Miss Genelle Irene Held, 20, both of Chambers, November 25. Mr. and Mrs. M. A Schelkopf left Sunday for Portland, Ore., to visit relatives and friends THANKSGIVING FEAST BOUNTIFUL M any Families Reunite for First Time Since Before the War The wellknown turkey gobbler got the ax at sunrise today ; (Thursday) as Holt countyans dropped their workaday tasks and set about to give thanks and I to feast in the traditional Thanks giving style. For most Holt county families the feast will be as bountiful as ever. Where a gobbler hasn’t been provided for the occasion,; a likely substitute is a chicken, pheasant or a duck. And for those with whom fowl is not pop-! ular, the meat counters have been . illed recently with choice cuts. Many distant Thanksgiving ta bles will be provided with Holt raised fowl, too. All stores in O’Neill are closed for the occasion, and both the O’Neill public school and St. Mary’s academy dismissed pupils late * Wednesday for a two-day holiday. Hold Union Service Busses leaving here were con gested with boarding pupils de parting for their respective homes. Incoming busses were returning college students and others to their homes here. The Protestant churches united in a Thanksgiving service at the Assembly of God church at 9 a.m. Rev. Lloyd W. Mullis, pastor of the Methodist church, delivered the sermon, and other pastors as sisted. At St. Patrick’s Catholic regu lar masses were conducted. For many Holt county families this is the first Thanksgiving since before the war when all members have been able to be together. The day is also being marked with the usual round of enter taining of relatives and friends. Both Danceland ballroom at O’ Neill and Summerland ballroom at Ewing have Thanksgiving day dances scheduled. 14 More Soil Plans Are Completed Fourteen more farmers and ranchers have completed con servation plans for their land, and their plans have been ap proved by the Holt county soil conservation district. They are D. R. Mounts and Elmer Allyn. Lofquest estate and James Al lyn, Alfred Anderson, L. C. Ra kow, Edward S. Early, Marion Davis, Clarence Gilg, Fred Zink and George Keidel, Lewis So botka, Thomas Welch, John Babl, Lewis Sobotka, D. A. Schafer, and A. F. Bartlett. D. E. Bowen, of the conserva tion district, has pointed out that interest in the conserva tion program continues to be /'good.” This is indicated, he said, by the requests for assist ance from the district’s techni cians in preparing plans. Recent requests have been made by Lloyd Evans, R. M. Kurtz, Joe J. Weber and Eliz abeth Bergman, Geo ge and Richard Wadsworth. Nellie Ov erton and Harold Shaw, N .D. Ickes, Alex and Paul Forsythe, W .J. McDonough, John jura cek. Adam Tindall and Ira Liv ingston, Lillian Purnell, Fred Zink, Lewis Sobotka, and Lof quest estate. Farmers interested in mc-i-’ ing assistance from the district should apply at the office in the basement of the courthouse annex, Bowen said. Departs for San Diego — Mrs. Gerald Wettlaufer, clerk of the Holt county court, is de parting today (Thursday), for San Diego, Calif., where she will join her husband, who is current ly stationed there with the Navy. Mrs. Wettlaufer was Miss Mary Lou Shrader before her October 1 marriage. Governor Asks Mayors to Help Conserve State’s Coal Supply Gov. Griswold Tuesday asked Nebraska mayors to take yyhat steps they think necessary to conserve available coal sup plies and see that what coal there is goes where it is need ed most. The mayors should be “prepared for more stringent action if the occasion arises,” Griswold said. O’Neill’s Mayor F. J. Dishner, upon receipt of Griswold’s let ter, reported that “there is no need for alarm here at pres ent,” but indicated that the pinch may be felt soon. The Moore-Noble Lumber & Coal company continues to have the only available coal supply in the city as the giant strike of 400,000 United Mine Workers enters its second week. The Moore-Noble firm is rationing coal at 1,000 pounds per customer. Mayor Dishner said that if the strike does not terminate soon, it may be necessary for j the city to make citywide fuel | conservation plans. At the same time as Gov. Griswold enlisted the aid of the mayors, he warned heads of the major power companies to prepare for a “brown-out” in the event the Government’s power conservation orders are extended west of the Missouri river. The officials of the Con sumers Public Power district were included in the alert. Secretary of Interior Krug, the Government’s soil fuels ad- ; ministrator, had requested all [ ; governors to name a fuel con- | servator or a fuel conservation committee for each state. Gris wold appointed Blaine Yoder, who is the state purchasing agent. No acute coal shortages have thus far been reported in O’ Neill, and most public build ings have sufficient stocks to “weather” a comparative short strike. The Moore-Noble firm be lieves that except for a severe, extended cold wave their stocks will hold-out for several more weeks. The Spelts-Ray Lumber com pany, O’Neill’s only other coal dealer, has been without coal in the yards for two weeks. Two carloads were received during the week, but the con tents were immediately trans ferred to private bins. 3 Countyans Win PFL Recognition —- ■ o ■ ■■■■■ ■ Heart Attack Fatal To D. A. Gardner STUART—D. A. Gardner, 79, will be buried here Friday fol lowing funeral services in the Stuart Federated church. He died late Saturday follow ing a heart attack. Death came within 24 hours after he had re turned from an extended visit with relatives in Oregon. The late Mr. Gardner retired from farming about six years ago. Survivors include four sons: Floyd, Glen, Paul, and Earl; and three daughters, Mrs. W. J. Holli day, and Mrs. Walter Gill, both of Stuart, and Mrs. Lyle Rad cliffe, of Bassett. JOHN J. HARLEY DIES AT NORFOLK Retired Holt Rancher Buried Monday at Atkinson ATKINSON — John J. Harley, 82, a wealthy retired rancher, died Friday in a Norfolk hospi tal following an operation. Fun eral services were held at 2 p.m. Monday in St. John’s Evangeli cal Lutheran church here, and burial was in the Atkinson ceme tery. An overflow crowd of relatives and friends attended the funeral rites. Mr. Harley conducted exten sive ranching operations south west of Atkinson for many years. In 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Harley retired from the ranch and moved to Atkinson. Mrs. Harley died in 1940. j Survivors include two sons, John.'jr., of Grand Island, and Kasper W., of Atkinson; two daughters, Mrs. Alma Knutson, and Mrs. Marguerite Grosse, both i of Cedar Bluffs. Frosh Spill Seniors in St. Mary’s Tourney The freshmen spilled the sen | iors 12-11 in the interclass bas ketball tourney at St. Mary’s academy this week and won the meet. The frosh were led by Ar len Miles, Richard McNichols, Pat Hickey, Gerry Gatz, Ray Sul livan and Dick Hynes, all of whom are future Cardinal stars. The juniors nicked the sopho mores 21-16. Church Youths Gather from 5 Towns PAGE]—Methodist young peo ple from Spencer, Ewing, Cham bers, O’Neill and Page attended a Youth Fellowship booth festi val held here Sunday afternoon and evening. Nearly 3U0 cans of fruits and vegetables were received to be sent to the Crowell home at Blair. During the worship service, Rev. E. G. Whale, of the Ewing Methodist church, showed relig ious slides on a screen. O'NEILL HOSPITAL NOTES. . . Mrs. Edward McManus and in fant son, of O’Neill, were releas ed Wednesday. . . Mrs. Dale Re zell, of Star, was admitted Sat urday and dismissed Wednesday . . . Mrs. Lewis Bartas, of Page, was dismissed Wednesday. . . Mrs. Walter Pease and infant daughter, of Emmet, were dis missed Saturday. . . Annette Johnson, of O’Neill, was admit ted Wednesday for a tonsilecto my. ATTEND DUTCHER RITES PAGE—Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Wanser, Bid Wanser, Max Wan ser and two sons, and Mr. and Mrs. Soren Sorenson attended funeral services at Plainview Saturday afternoon for Frank Duteher, who died in a Norfolk hospital. Rev. Hart of the Plain view Methodist church had charge of the services at a mor tuary there. Mr. Duteher is the father of Mrs. W. E. Wanser. INFANT DIES PAGE—The infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Bartos, born Thursday, November 21, in an O’ Neill hospital, died a few hours later. Private funeral services were conducted with burial in the Grimton cemetery. BACK FROM FRANKFURT PAGE — Pfc Richard Trow bridge, son of Mr. and Mrs. El mer Trowbridge, has arrived at Camp Kilmer, N. J., from near Frankfurt, Germany, where he had been stationed. Inman Father-Son Pair and O’Neill Farmer Capture Honors VISIT OMAHA PLANTS Three Holt county farmers, Clarence Ernst, of O’Neill,-and Leon and Harvey Tompkins, of Inman, were among the 51 Ne braskans honored Tuesday at Omaha at the 12th annuai pas ture - forage - livestock finishup program sponsored by the Oma ha Chamber of Commerce and the extension service of the Uni versity of Nebraska college of agriculture. Simultaneously, wives of the p-f-1 farmers and ranchers were entertained by the Ak-Sar-Ben. The all-day program included a tour of Omaha industries close ly allied with agriculture and two banquets. Among the Holt countyans at tending the event were Mr. Er nst and Mr. Harvey Tompkins; their wives; Mr. and Mrs. Ray Siders, of O’Neill; Harold Burge, of O’Neill; Miss Catherine Kir wan, of O’Neill, county home ex tension agent; County Agent and Mrs. A. Neil Dawes, of O’Neill, and others. Mr. Leon Tompkins, the father in the Inman father-son combin ation, was unable to be present i for the recognition ceremonies. 'Swapper Sessions' All visitors assembled at the Union stockyards shortly be fore noon, where they were luncheon guests of the Omaha market interests in the main din ing room in the exchange build ing. After a short luncheon pro gram, they divided themselves into groups for a series of “swap per sessions’* where boards of ex perts answered questions on f many subjects including meat an ! imal production, livestock dis j case control, insect control, dairy I ing, pasture pi-oduction, and eth ers. A livestock grading demonstra tion was staged in the yards by market experts and specialists from the extension service and the College of Agriculture. For the evening activities, the group moved to the Omaha Chamber of Commerce rooms on the 17th floor of the Woodmen of the World building, 14th and Farnam streets. There, following the annual banquet, pictures of p-f-1 activities taken over the state during the year were shown, and the 51 men selected for special honors received their awards. This portion of the program was under the direc tion of George Round, extension editor at the College of Agricul ture. While attendance at the Cham be of Commerce banquet was limited to those who represent the p-f-1 organizations in their respective counties, all interested stockmen were invited to go on the tours and take in the pro grams. Crowds at the p-f-1 fin ishup meetings in prewar years have run as high as 1,000. P-F-L Began in 1935 The pasture-forage-livestock program began in 1935 as a state pasture contest. It was an ef fort sponsored by the Nebraska extension service, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, an other interested organizations, to re store the state’s douth-stricken pastures. Once the initial objective of pasture revival was on its way, the program was broadened to cover general livestock farm management practices with em phasis on balancing livestock and feed production. During the last few years, this trend toward better balanced farming naturally has included such programs as soil and mois ture conservation, use of better seed, control of livestock diseases and crop pests, and a number of others. However, the primary emphasis remains where it al ways has been — on good live stock farming. Page Frosh Hold ‘Backward’ Party PAGE—The f eshman class of the Page high school held a "backward party” at the school house Wednesday night. The class came wearing their clothes backward. Sponsors were Supt. Earl Hurst and Mr. and Mrs. Roy Stewart. A lunch was served. FIREMEN SUMMONED The O’Neill volunteer fire de partment at 10 a.m. Monday was summoned to the Edward Moos residence in the eastern section of the city. An overheated wa ter heater had prompted a fire alarm to be sounded. The base ment was filled with smoke.