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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1947)
The Frontier VOLUME 66. — NUMBER 49. O'NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1947._ PRICE 5 CENTS NONAGENARIAN EXPIRES AT PAGE Prince Thomas Stevens Homesteaded in Holt County in 1886 MANY DESCENDANTS m - PAGE—One of Holt county’s few nonagenarians, Prince Thomas Stevens, died at 11:30 a. m. Wednesday at his home in Page. He had been a resident of Holt county since Ma ch, 1886. He passed his 90th birthday milestone in January. Funeral services will be held Friday at 2 p. m. at the Gospel Mission church at Page with Rev. R. L. Gowan, church past r, officiating. Burial will be in the Page cemetery. The l:te Mr. Stevens, a son of Consider and Harriet Stevens, was born in Franklin county, Maine, on December 21, 1856. As a youth he immigrated West to Iowa, where he grew to man hood. He was united in marri age with Mrs. Hannah Sarchett on September 2, 1882, at Walker, • Lynn county, Iowa. In 1886 he moved his family, consisting of a wife and three small children, by rail from Iowa to Coleridge, from where they drove in a covered wagon to Middlebranch. He filed for a homestead in the Middlebranch vicinity and resided there until 1906, when the family moved in to Page. For a number of years Mr. Stevens operated a h rness shop in addition to a small farm on the west edge of Page. Mr. Stevens was the last sur vivor in a family of 11 children. He and his wife reared a family of nine. He was a member of the Gospel Mission church. Survivors indued the widow; four sons—Herbert O, of Atkin son; Ralph D., of Page; Guy E. of Lincoln: and Lloyd E., of Lan caster, Calif.; five daughters — Mrs. Blanche Dorr, of Holly Wood, Calif.; Mrs. Evelyn Gray, of Page: Mrs. Lelia Snell, of Page; Mrs. Lulu Townsend, of Portland, Ore.; and Mrs. Earl Neilen, of Sioux City; 31 grand children; 26 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Page Infant Dies from Pneumonia PAGE—Melvin Lee Hall, in fant son of Mr. and Mrs. George Hall, of Page, died Sunday at the home of his parents follow ing a short pneumonia illness. He was 15-months-old. The child was born December 29, 1945. Survivors include the parents; one sister, Betty; one brother, Arnold; one grandfather, Her man Kornock. .Funeral services were held Tuesday at 1 p. m. at the Hall home and at 2 p. m. at St.Peter’s English Luther n church at Or chard with burial in the church cemetery. Rev. P. J. Wirth of ficiated. PaUbearers were Herb ert Kemper, Forrest Henderson J. W. Finch, jr., and Edward Sukup. M r. and Mrs. Edward F. Quinn, jr., of Lincoln, returned Sunday after having spent five days with the former’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward F. Quinn. Previous to this visit, the elder Quinns had spent six days in Lincoln with their son and his wife and returned April 9. Thev were accompanied here by the E. F. Quinn, jr. ---- Future Subscribers MULLTS—Rev. and Mrs. Lloyd W. Mullis, a son, Robert Wilson, weighing eight pounds, born Tuesday, April 15, at the Luther an hospital, in Norfolk. NISSEN—Mr. and Mrs. Del bert Nissen, of Omaha, an eight and one-half pound son, born Thursday, April 10, at Omaha. Mr. Nissen was formerly of Chambers. SANDERSON — Mr. and Mrs. Ray S nderson, of Chambers, a four-pound son, born Thursday, April 10, at the Lutheran hos pital at Norfolk. SPENCER—Mr. and Mrs. Bill Spencer, of Schuyler, a daughter, weighing six pounds, eight ounces, born Saturday, April 12, at Columbus. Mrs. Spencer was formerly Geraldine Hull, of O’ Neill The infant has been nam ed Diana Lynn. STREIT — Mr. and Mrs. Al bert Sftreit. of Portland, Ore., a daughter, weighing eight pounds, 10 ounces, born Friday, March 28.*at Portland. The infant has been named Jana Marie. The mother was the former Dorothy Zach. of Lvnch. COURTNEY — Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Courtney, of Lynch, a daughter, horn Saturday, April 12, in the Lynch hospital. B-29 GEAR SERVES RANCH PURPOSE Dewey C. Schaffer, O’Ne ll rancner, has foun.1, „ u etui peacetime purpose for su "plu B-29 wheels and tires. H; mounted the wheels on a 12x'8 foot hay :led platform wi h thi 1 result that he has ohe of the parts. — World-Herald News Service Photo. DELAYED SPRING WORK UNDERWAY Farmers About 2 Weeks Behind; Elkhorn Goes Out of Its Banks The Spring farm work, defi nitely delayed ab'Ut t"'o wee s in this area, is now well under way, according to a recent sr vey in Holt and B-yd counti s. Cold, wet and changeable weath er, which characterized til of Ma-ch and the first half a' April, prevented earlier entry into the fields. In the lowlands the farmers report it is still too wet to make any progress. County Agent A. Neil Dawes estimates that by the md of this week 25 percent of the small grain will be in the ground. Ranchers Conserve Hay Ranchers continue to guard their dwindling supply of hav, end there have been instances al ready of livestock being turned onto the range because of the hay shortage. The critical hay situation has been brought about by the half crop last year and the high price, which took surplus hay out of th: territory. The Elkhorn river, after reach ing a Sp ing high lat ■ F ida r, has been receeding steadily. It was out of its banks f r ‘ever! days, but no flood dairu ge was reported. Frequent changes in the we ther during the past seven days are shown in the weather summary which follows. The summary is based on 24-hour pe riods ending at 8 a. m. dei y: Hi Lo Moist. April 11 _ 40 32 .25 April 12 .48 35 April 13 . 49 31 April 14 _68 35 April 15 _ 67 29 April 16 .42 25 .05 April 16 _ 52 31 Totals —.- .30 29 Knights Initiated Sunday at Stuart The Knights of Columbus in itiated a class of 29 into the or ier at Stua.t Sunday. After -’e iniation, ? banquet was serv ' v v the Christian Mothers so ciety. Pi*ring the banquet, musical and vocal selections were pre sented by a girls’ trio.. Address es were given by Rev. A. J. Pa/;chang, pastor of St. Boniface i church at Stuart; ceorge w. uei tiick, district deputy, of Norfolk, and Steven Price, grand knight of the council of O’Neill. A large delegation from O’ Neill and Atkinson attended. Among those from here at tending the initiation were Mr. and Mrs. Ha:*y Sullivan, Mr. and Mrs. Neil B. Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Harper, Mr. c nd Mrs. John Donohoe, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Holly, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. James W. Corkle, Mr. and Mrs. G. C. DeBacker, J. B. Ryan, M. H. Horiskey, Thomas Enright, Joseph Bazelman, Henry Schatt and Mr. and Mrs. George McCar thy. Comes from Omaha to Hear Daughter Sing — Mrs. J. A. Frenking, of Oma ha, arrived Wednesday to attend the district musical contest, in which her daughter, Join, who boards at St. Mary’s academy, is a contestant. Mrs. Frenking is staying with her sister, M>s. R. E. Gallagher and will rem in un til Sunday. Mr. Frenking and daughter. Mary Ann. and sen. John J., will arrive Friday. Mrs. Frenkings to Omaha Sunday fo> Gallagher will accompany the a short visit. Corkles Guests at Alk:nson — Mr. and Mrs. Marcellos Sehaar, of Atkinson, had Sunday dinner at the home of Mrs. Schaaf’s sis ter, Mrs. James W. Corkle and Mr. Corkle. O’Neill Cadet Figures in Army-Navy ‘Merger’ O’Neill’s Cadet Herbert Brennan, of the Uni ed S at'3 Military academy a t West Point, N. Y„ recently made a personal c ntribution to the well-known Army - Navy “merger” program. He spent th ee days at the Unit d St tes Naval academy at Annapolis Md., as the guest of a prep school f i e n d, Midshipman William Monaghan. A student exchange p’an is the approved way of bringing the Cadets * nd Midshipmen closer together. Brennan’s visit at Annapolis included attending academic classes, a formal danc*, and chapel services. It is planned that in the Summer the academies will cooperate on an amphibious training course on the Atlantic ocean. BURNS FATAL TO FORMER PAGE MAN Earl Scott, 45, Dies in Wyoming Hospital After Gas Accident PAGE—Word has been receiV ed here that Earl Scott, 45, was fatally injured April 7 wh le h? was he’ping install a g s system en a fa m south of Lingo, Wyo. His body was badly burned and mangled and be died shortly af t**r being taken to a Torrington, Wyo., hospital. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Scott and spent all of his e rly life in the Page vicinity. He moved, with his mother, to Ft. Lar mie, Wyo., about 31 years ago He was preceded in death by his pa ents and two brothers, Pea.l and Frank. He is su viv ed by three brothers, Marshall, Amos and Charles, and three sisters, Mrs. Rose Johnson, Mrs. Gertie Milnes and Mrs. Linnie Wagner. CHARLES BOWMAN DIES AT ATKINSON ATKINSON — Charles Bow man, about 60. retired Holt coun tv farmer and a lifelong resident, died today (Thursday) at his home in Atkinson. Death was eausgd by influenzi with which he had been ill for several days, j Funeral services will be held, at the Catholic church here Sat J urday morning and interment will be in the Catholic cemetery. Never married, Mr. Bowman’s survivors are five sisters: Mrs. William Ullrich, of Stuart; Mrs. William Morgan, Mrs. Charles Z rn'aller, Miss Ella Bowman and Miss Mabel Bowman, all of Atkinson. His only brother Henry Bowman, died January 1. His narents also preceded him in death. Baler Club Seeks to Incorporate ATKINSON — The AtMnson Baler club, sponsors of the well known annual “Hay Days’’ cele bration, has prepared articles of incorporation, which are expect ed to be filed soon. The title of the organization will be the At kinson Baler Club. Inc. The club has outlined its pur pose “to promote rSd sponsor the ‘Hay Days’ celebration ” Bowen's Return— Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Bowen and son, Donald, returned to O’Neill la'e Sund y. Mrs. Powen and Donald had been Jn Om^ha where Donald was a patient in a hospital, and Mr. Bownn ''ad coent four weeks in Phoenix, Ariz. He made the trip from Phoenix to Omaha by air. Mr. and Mrs. Emmett Crabb and d ughter and Mrs. Dorance ; Crabb spent Monday in Yankton, S. D. I $20,000 ADDITION FOR BELL BUILDING Work to Bejfin Soon on Expansion of Phone Facilities The O’Neill telephone building will be enlarged substantially this year to house additional tel ephone equipment which is re quired to meet the greatly in creased telephone needs of O’ Neill, it was announced by Mgr. Harry Petersen, of the North- \ western Bell Telephone compa-' ny here. Work will be started1 this Spring on an addition to the rear of the present building, and it is expected that construction will be completed early next Fall. The cost of the expansion is given at $20,000. Since 1940, the number of tel- ! ephones served by the O’Neill j office has increased from 594 to 863, or 45 percent. The number of long distance calls is more than double the prewar average and is running about 16 per cent higher than a year ago, Mr. Pet ersen said. Due to the increase in tele phones and telephone calls, four additional switchboard positions [ will be added within a year, and the number of operators will be i increased trom to aoout au, he added. In connection with the con struction of the building addi tion, a three-car garage will be erected on the rear of the tele phone company lot to accommo date three maintenance truck . The present attached garage will be converted into a store and heater room. Telephone Walkout Enters 12th Day The walkout of 17 telephone switchboard operators and four mainten nee workers here, mem bers of the National F^dcratoi of Telephone Worke.s, tomorrow (Friday) will enter its 12th day. Local service continues normal here, but long distance phoning is hampered. The woikers quit their posts in a labor-management Nation wide wage dispute. ‘For the Love of Allah’ Cast Goes to Lincoln Students presenting the dis trict one-act play winner, “For the Love of Allah,” will attend the all-state fine arts festival and dramatic contest next week in Lincoln. The following students and the parts they play are: Queenie—Jean Callaway; Beedie — Keith Anspach; Paw — Guv Harris; Cricket—Gayl Widtfeldt; A. A. Beard—Dick Connell; Maw —Alta B o a t m i n; Josephine North—Wally Shelhamer; Jose phine South—Gordon Elkins. Miss Jean Callaway, appearing as “Queenie” in the play, was awarded the outstanding actress aw rd at the district contest. Miss Gayle Widtfeldt, who plays “Aunt Cricket,” was one of five students to be picked for out standing actresses’ and actors.’ Also attending the contest will be Dick Connell, w ho won a su- j peiior rating in the district dra matic reading, “Afraid of the Dark.” Mrs. Charlotte Resse~ieu, d - rector of the g oup w 11 accom pany them to the contest. Go to Scene of Kansas Tornado CHAMBERS — Lewis Roth child drove to Woodward, Kans. Saturday to take Mrs. Roth child’s father, wh< had been vis iting them, to his home. Woodward is one of the towns that was swept last week by a destructive tornado. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Birming ham left Saturday for Sioux City to visit the latter’s mother, Mrs. C. E. Stout who is ill. Mr. Bi'mingham returns d Tuesdav. Mrs. Edward Davidson, of C s per, Wyo., arrived this week to j visit her father. R. R. Morrison, | wrho is ill. FEAR KIN VICTIMS OF TEXAS BLAST! Fay Persons and Wife Appeal to Red Cross for News In a fear that their daughter and her family and other rela tives may be among the 800 persons killed xn rtie chain of ex plosions Wednesday it Texas : City, Tex., Mr. and Mrs. Fay Per sons, O’Neill residents, have ap pealed to the American Red Cross at Galveston for informa ; tion. The Persons’ daughter, Mrs. Arnold Block, her husband an 1 | her son, who is eight-years-old, | have been residing since 1940 at Texas Heights, about two miles from the scene of the disaster. Mr. Persons has a brother, Floyd, and Mrs. Persons lias numerous 'datives in the Texas City area “It is possible that a number of the relatives might have been in the downtown and dock aiea at the time of the explosion,” Mr. Persons told The Frontier. The Persons are intimate with the Texes City vicinity. , Mr. Persons said the dork i rea was populated principally by Mexicans and Negroes. An estimated 800 persons were wiped out by the blast, and between one and two thousand were injured, many of them crit ically. The blast, which occur ed at 9:15 a. m.. central standard time, was touched off when a French ship loaded with nitrate exploded. The Persons said the Galves ton Red Cross headquarters would relay information as soon as it was available. Mr. and Mrs. Don Westlake, of Allhambra, Calif., visited here Tuesday at the Herman Klingler home. amelIarancher KILLED AT STUART Fronk W. Prewitt, 44, Father of 6, Dies as Car Overturns '-psX’M, TO T*'F FWONTIFR STUART—Frank W. Prewitt. 44, Amelia rancher and father of six children, was killed about 7 p. m. Tuesday when the automo bile he was driving left an angl ing road at Stuart and overturn ed. Forest W. Sammons, 31, of Amelia, escaped with b uises and cuts, and Henry Traver, 35, also of Amelia, w s un niured. They were occupants of Prew itt’s ma chine. Funeral services for the cra?h victim will be held Friday at 2 p. m. at the Methodist church in Atkinson with Rev. W. C. Birm ingham, church paster, in charge Burial will be in the Chambers cemetery. State Patrolman R. R. Shor ney, of Ainsworth, who investi gated, said that Prewitt evident ly missed a stop sign on the ang ling road and his car ran off the highway. The accident oc ur ed near the Newman service station and a number of persons witnessed the crash. Survivors include the widow and six children. MARRIAGE LICENSES James M. Root, 20, of 4324 North 70th, Lincoln, and Miss Alice L. Robinson, 19, of Page, April 17. Harlan Kubart, 21, and Doro thy Dobrovolny, 19, both of At kinson, April 14. Rich: rd Porter, 31, of Atkin son, Lenora Backus, 21, of Amel ia, April 14. Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Galla gher were in Sioux City Monday ! on business. DRAFT ENDS Maj. Gen. Lewis B Hershey, selective service head, is shown checking office records. Rec ords will be filed in state cap itals. Gen. Hershey must end work in one year. Dr. Burgess Again Heads Country Club The directors of the O’Neil Countiy club met Wednesday and elected officers as follows: L. A. Burgess, president; R. M. Sauers, vice-president; E. M. Gallagher, treasurer, and J. B Grady, secretary. President Burgess named com mittees ‘or the coming season: Club house committee — M. J. Golden, chairman, and P. C. Donohoe; grounds committee—J. B. Grady, chairman, M. J. Gold en. Allen Jaszkowiak and P. B. Harty; dance committee—H. J. Lohaus, chairman, John W tson Dale Kersenbrock, Dale French i and Ralph Rickly; July 4th pic nic—R. E. Armoruster, chairman Charles Weatherford and H. F. Mullen; membership committee —R. M. Sauers, chairman, E. M. Gallagher and P. B. H. rty; tour nament committee — A. P. Jas zkowiak and M. J. Golden, co chairmen The date of the opening dance was set for May 29, and June 15 16-17 were named as dates for the annual invitation golf tour nament. It will be the 26th tournament to be held by the club, which for many years has been ‘‘homecoming week” for former residents of O’Neill. A large membership is expect ed this season and a special in vitation is extended to newcom ers and any others who are in terested in the many activities offered by the club during the coming season, the officials said. FORMER RESIDENT DIES Carl Widtfeldt went to Omaha Sunday to attend the funeral ser vices for Mrs. F’red Widtfeldt. The rites were held Monday. Mrs. Widtfeldt is a former O’ Neill resident. Farm Bureau in First Session in Boyd County NAPER—The first Boyd coun ty farm bureau meeting was held April 8 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Popple, with Henry Engel, of Centr. 1 City, serving as chairman. The following officers were elected: Carl Tienken, president; John Davis, vice-persident; Mrs William Poppel, secretary-treas urer; Mrs. Art Maertin, news re porter; Ward Barnes, legislative chairman, and William Poppel, membership chairman. The members voted to desig nate the group rs the White Horse Farm Bureau unit. The second meeting will be held on May 13 at the ranch where the personnel will stage a western program. CDA in Social Session— The Catholic Daughters held a regular social meeting Tuesday evening at the Golden hotel. Mis. Bert Winchell was chair man of the entertc inment com mittee and the evening was spent playing Monte Carlo whii . Mrs. John Melvin won high score. The door prize went to Mrs. John Turner. Mrs. Win I chell was assisted by, Mrs. Wil liam Martin, Mrs. Augusta Mc Pharlin, Mrs. Carsten Hansen, Mrs. Simon Bosn, Mrs. Harold Donohoe, Berniece Huigens, and Geneva Pribil. FARM INCOME SET AT $8,270 The .average gross income on a Nebraska farm last year was $8,270. according to the depart ment of agriculture’s gross farm cash income for the state. Ne braska’s gross was $929,294,000, which is divided by 111,756 fa ms. The department estimates Ne braska cash receipts from farm marketings for 1946 at $899,710 - 000. Government payments for 1946 totoled $24,584,000. They total $924,294,000. Non-money income to farmers would raise the total close to one billion dollars. This represents the value of such items as pro duce raised and consumed on t ie ; farm, and annual rental value of frrm residences. T is urual’v runs about seven or eight per cent. Net farm income after deduc tion of all operating expens's usually runs a little more than half the gross. ASIMUS TO WILLOW RUN Tony Asimus, of the Acimus Bros, enterprises here, will re turn Friday from Det oit, Mich, where he has been this week at tending a meeting of Kaiser-Fra y.er automobile dealers. The De troit trip included an inspection of the vast Willow Run plant where B-24 Liberator bombers were produced during World ; War II and where Kaiser-Frarer j automobiles are now being m n Iu actured. SISTER DIES AMELIA — Mrs. Etta Ott re ceived word Monday that her * inter, Claire, died Friday in Los Angeles, Calif. MUSICIANS GIVEN KEYS TO CITY More Than 1,000 Will Have Competed When Contest Ends ST. MARY’S IN LEAD The keys to the city were turned over to more than a thou sand high school musicians late Wednesday as the annual district music contest opened at St. M ry’s academy and the O’Neill public school. The contest will continue through F.iday. All classes were represented in the piano solo competition Wed nesray night. Today’s prog, am included contestants from class C and D schools only, while the Friday program will be devoted to class B schools—the classifica tions determined by enrollment. Tile schools represented are Ainsworth, A'kinson, Butte, Chambers, Clearwater, Ewing, Meadow Grove, Neligh, O’Neill, Orchard, Page, Plainview, Rock county high school, Spencer, St. Mary’s academy, Stuart, Tilden, Verdigre, and Wheeler county high school. St. Mary’s academy established an earjy lead over all other schools in classes C and D with one fliano superior, six voice su periors, and six instrumental superiors. Wednesday Piano Solos (all classes) The early winners include: Piano solo (all classes): Helen Kubitschek, St. Mary’sj Dale Jar vis, Atkinson, and Janice Fuller ton, Ainsworth, all superior. Girls’ high voice: Joan Frenk ing, Kathleen Flood, and Delores Fredrickson, all of St. Mary’s; June Radnick, Tilden, all superi or. Thursday Vocal . . . Girls’ medium voice: Nancy Froelich, St. Mary's, superior; Re gina Mullen, St. Mary’s, excel lent. Girls’ low voice: Mildred Haynes, Page; Donna Kratter, Stuart, and Darlene Garrison, Tilden, all superior. Boys’ medium voice: Norman W Iter and Bob Adams, Cham bers; Bill DeLage, Wheeler county high school; Robert Wer ner, Meadow Grove; all superior; Alien Miles. St. Mary’s, excel lent. Boys low voice: Charles rra dy, Chambers, superior. Instrumental (Classes C and D) Oboe solo: Betty Humphrey, Atkinson, superior. , Flute solo: Pat Brennan, St. Mary’s, superior. Eb alto, saxophone solo: Mary MeClurg, Atkinson, superior. Cornet solo- Tom Harty, St. Mary’s, superior. French horn solo: Kathryn Arm Gulden St M rv’s, superior. Baritone horn solo: Rosaline Bo n St 'Iary’s, superior. Bass ho.n solo: Tom French, Tilden, superior. Tympani solo: Dan DeBacker, St. Mary’s, superior. Baton twirlers: Evelyn Friedel, Atkinson, superior; Leona In gram. Wheeler county high school. Cornet or trumpet trio: Or cha d and St. Ma:y’s, both su perior. Saxophone qua tette: Atkin son, superior. Vocal . . . Girls’ trio: St. Mary’s and Chambers, both superior. Girls’ sextette: Orchard and Stuart, both superior. Girls’ octette: Tilden, superi or. Mixed octette: St. Mary’s, su perior. Bands . . . Class D bands: Wheekr coun ty high school and Orchid, su perior. APRIL 30 DEADLINE FOR AG PROGRAM Holt county farmers this week were reminded bv Harry E. Res sel, chairman of the Holt co n ty AAA committee, that April 30 is the last d v on which they may sign for the 1947 practices under the agricultural conserv - tion program of the depaitment of agriculture. “All practices that are to qual ify for Government assistance under the ACP program must have prior approval by the AAA committee,” hq said. About 1,700 farmers of Holt county have f led their f r*n plans at the office here, and there are about 200 who have not filed. _____________________ Mr. and Mrs. Wilton Hayne, of Page, visited their d ughter, Mrs. Roy V. Johnson, and Mr. John son, Sunday. Dr. and Mrs. L. A. Burgess and Miss La Veta Lehn at'ended the north district dental meeting Monday at Norfolk. Mr. and Mw?. Lau ence Jonas returned Tuesday after a two j days’ stay in Omaha.