The Frontier
VOLUME 67.—NUMBER 5. O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1947. PRICE 5 CENTS i
Eugene F. Gallagher ... 13 years and prieslhood.
To Be Ordained
As a climax to 13 years of •'
intensive study and training,
Eugene F. Gallagher, of O’
Neill, will be ordained into the
priesthood in the Catholic So
ciety of Jesus Wednesday at
St. Mary’s, Kans.
He is a son of Mrs. Robert
E. Gallagher and the late Rob
ert E. Gallagher.
The ordination into the Jes
4 uit order will take place at the
Chapel of the Immaculata at
St. Mary’s, near Manhattan.
Among those who will be
present for the rite are Mr.
Gallagher’s mother; his bro
ther, John R. Gallagher, and
family, of Omaha; Mr. and
Mrs. John Melvin, of O’Neill;
Mr. and Mis. J. A. Frenking
•^nd family, of Omaha; Mr.
and Mrs. Harry J. Shelton, of
St. Louis, Mo., and other rela
tives.
Rev. Gallagher’s first mass
will be said at St. Patrick’s
church here on Sunday, June
22. Elaborate plans are being
made to mark the occasion.
Rt. Rev. J. G. McNamaia,
church pastor, has announced
that the public is invited to at
tend Father Gallagher’s first
mass at 10:30 a.m. and the re
ception at St. Mary’s academy
from 3 to 5 p.m. ,
159 REBEKAHS
CONVENE HERE
The 44th annual session of the
Rebekah lodges of Nebraska dis
trict 29 met here Friday at the
IOOF hall. One hundred and
fifty-nine Rebekahs from Cham
bers, Page, Tilden, Inman, Madi
son, Neligh, Norfolk, Oakdale,
anci O’Neill were registered.
The all-day session opened
with registration at 11 a m. and
closed following a business meet
ing in the evening.
A 6 p.m. banquet at the Gol
den hotel dining room high
lighted the meet. Following the
banquet, Mrs. Lorenz Bredemei
er, violinist, accompanied at the
piano by A. E. Bowen, played
several selections. A memorial
service was staged by the Nor
folk chapter. This portion of the
program was open to the public.
A closed session followed with
degree work presented by the
Chambers lodge.
Among assembly officers pres
ent were Bertha Graber, of Fre
mont, vice-president; Mrs. Lois
Harris, of Lynch, secretary; Mrs.
Agnes Jewett, of Norfolk, past
president.
The new officers for 1947-’48
are: Miss Viola Haynes, of Page,
president; Mrs. Clara Dillon, of
Norfolk; vice - president; Mrs.
Clara Dean, of Pierce, warden;
Leona Smith, of Page, secretary,
and Mrs. Eunice Stewart, of
Page, treasurer.
PETERSON NAMED
‘GOOD NEIGHBOR’
Harry Peterson, manager of
the Northwestern Bell Telephone
company here, Wednesday was
the recipient of one of the high
est honors in the annual Ak-S?r
Ben good neighbor contest. Mr.
Peterson’s award was one of 22.
His citation read:
“For his organization of the
first Boy Scout and Cub Scout
tropps in O’Neill and his devo
tion to the welfare of youth.”
NO BAND CONCERT
There will not be a conceit by
the Municipal band Saturday
night. Instead, a portion of the
band will go to Ainsworth Sun
day to provide music during an
air show scheduled there.
Twister Lifts Auto and
5 Occupants 25 Yards
EWING—The occupants of a '
1941 Chevrolet sedan climbed
out of their topsy-turvy auto
mobile at 8:45 p.m. Friday
night on highway 275 two and
a half miles west of Ewing.
They stared at each other in
the gathering darkness; thank
ed their lucky stars. They had
escaped unhurt in one of the
freakiest accidents on record
in Holt county.
The driver, Ralph Gray, had
stopped the machine because
of a heavy downpour and a
I - high wind. Even the ignition
was switched-off.
Presently, Gray and the four
passengers felt the car lift in
to the air and settle down
again. A few seconds later
the wind, which may have
been a twister, swept the ma
chine off the highway and de
posited it on its top 25 yards
away in a pasture. No one
was hurt.
Gray was accompanied by
‘ his elderly mother, Mrs. Eve
lyn Gray, of Page; his sister,
Mrs. Gene Baber, and his sis
ter’s children, Robert and Bon
nie Jean Baber, all of Plain
view.
Mr. Gray forced the glass in
a door in order to free the
occupants.
A passerby^ Gerald Spittler,
of Stafford, came to the res
cue and drove the storm vic
tims to Page.
The party was enroute to
Page from Essex, la., where
they had been on a visit. Mr.
Gray explained that he had
been watching the storm
clouds develop and was at
tempting to race it to Page.
The contents of their suitcases
were strewn all over the pas
ture.
The auto was not seriously
damaged after its freakish in
terlude, and the next day it
was driven to Plainview.
CITY EMPLOYEE
DIES SUDDENLY
Jesse L. Scofield, 63,
Stricken on Sunday
Fishing Trip
A heart attack proved fatal to
Jesse L. Scofield, 63, at 2 p.m.
Sunday while on a fishing trip
on the Niobrara river. He was
stricken near the Spencer dam
where he was preparing to cast.
With him were his wife and
daughter, Alice.
Dr. W. F. Finley, of O’Neill,
said that Mr. Scofield’s death
was sudden. Mr. Scofield had
been suffering from a serious
heart ailment for several months.
Funeral services were held to
day (Thursday) at 2 p.m. in the
First Presbyterian church heie.
Rev. Kenneth J. Scott, church
pastor, officiated, and burial was
in Prospect Hill cemetery. The
pallbearers were Emmet Crabb,
Lowell Johnson, J. Ea Hancock,
Paul Shierk, F. A. Miles and Ira
H. Moss.
The late Mr. Scofield was born
May 21, 1884, at Kingsley, la. On
February 14, 1912, he was mar
i led lo Margaret Kiaiie at Sioux
City, la. They became the par
ents of three daughters, Bernice,
of Valentine; Mrs. Thomas Ma
lone, of Altadena, Calif., and
Alice, of O’Neill.
In 1920 the Scofield family
moved to O’Neill. Mr. Scofield
has been an employee of the city
water department during recent
years.
He'was a member of the Odd
Fellows lodge.
Besides the widow and three
daughters, other survivors in
clude a brother, Ralph, of O’
Neill. and a sister, Mrs. R. C.
Smith, of Little Sioux, la.
9 GO TO LINCOLN
Nine Holt county 4-H club
members attended the 4-H club
week activity at Lincoln June
2-7. These included Twila Wha
ley, Joan Connell, Velma Abney,
Bill Mulford, Patrick Boyle,
Stanley Price, Carroll French
and Tommy Kelly.
CHAMBER SENDS
DUO ON M ION
Putnam, Downey Turn
to World-Herald for
• Road Support
Nebraska’s “bad roads” again
dominated the agenda at the
regular monthly meeting of the
Chamber of Commerce held
Tuesday evening at the Golden
I hotel dining room.
This time, however, action
quickly followed talk and Wed
nesday a two-man delegation
headed for Omaha to enlist the
interest if The Omaha World
Herald in the road problems.
The duo consisted of L. D. Put
nam, stockman - rancher - busi
nessman, and S. Downey, pho
tographer.
'Permanent Concrete'
The World - Herald today
(Thursday) carried the following
story:
“A delegation from O’Neill
was in Omaha Wednesday seek
ing support for a more elaborate
paved-road program for Nebras
ka.
“The O’Neill club (Chamber
of Commerce) Tuesday directed
a committee to back the building
of ‘permanent concrete roads
through state bonds if necessary,
in order to put the trunk high
ways of Nebraska in better
shape.’
“L. D. Putnam, stockman and
O’Neill business man, one of the
committee, declared Nebraska’s
main highways are in ‘definitely
worse condition than those of
i any of the surrounding states.’
Say 20 Going to Pieces
“The oil-top section of United
States Highway No. 20 east of
Valentine is ‘going to pieces,’ the
committee said.
“ ‘We believe it would be bet
ter to bond Nebraska to obtain
permanent concrete roads than
to drift along as the state has
been doing,’ declared S. Downey,
another of the committee.”
RAINFALL SINCE
APRIL 1ST 7.27-IN.
Oldtimers Aver They
‘Have Never Seen
Anything Like It’
If someone suggests that you
are all wet that someone is un
doubtedly right.
For 4.51-inches of moisture has
fallen in O’Neill during the sev
en-day period ending at 8 a.m.
today (Thursday) and on only
one day—Saturday — did the
skies fail to drip.
Delving into the records, Gov
ernment Observer Elmer Bowen
finds: (1) that the total “grow
ing season” precipitation from
April 1 todate is 7.27-inches; (2)
that the normal in the central
division of Nebraska is 6.80; (3)
that O’Neill’s precipitation since
June 1 totals 6.51.
Many fields are under water
as a result of the continued rains
and oldtimers at Amelia aver
they’ve “never seen anything
like it.”
The Elkhorn river has been
flowing bank-full or higher since
last weekend.
Heavy wraps were fashionable
Wednesday and today and fires
were required to take the chill
off most homes and business
places as the mercury dropped
to lows of 40 and 45.
The week’s weather summary,
based on 24-hour readings tak- j
en at 8 a.m. daily, follows:
Date Hi Lo Moist.
June 6 .. 80 60 .33
June 7 _ 78 57 1.52
June 8 _ 79 52
June 9 _.. 82 62 .28
June 10 81 48 1.39
June 11 _ 58 40 T
June 12 _ 58 45 1.09
Total precipitation _4.51
Chamber to Launch
Plans for Big Day
. _
A meeting of the Chamber of
Commerce will be held at the
Golden hotel dining room at
7:45 p. m. tomorrow (Friday)
night, it was annoijnced Wed
nesday by President H. J. Lo
haus. The purpose of the meet
ing is to formulate plans for a
1947 merchants’ day or O’Neill
day.
Sugar Rationing
Over for Housewives
The rationing of sugar for
household consumers pfficiallv
ended today (Thursday), but
sugar price controls will be re
taineff until October 1.
The end of the rationing was
welcomed by homemakers who
have been laboring under the
restrictions since early in
World War II.
Holger Holm ... to encour
age larger production of rent
al dwellings for war veterans.
(See story at right).
JOSEPH A. WEIBEL
BURIED AT DELOIT
Father of 10 Resided in
Holt County Over
45 Years
DELOIT — Joseph A. Weibel.
81, a longtime and well-known
resident of southern Holt county,
was buried June 4 at St. An
thony’s cemetery here following
funeral rites at St. John’s Catho
lic church. Rev. Robert Hupp, a
former Deloit resident, officiat
ed.
Mr. Weibel died May 31 in Our
Lady of Lourdes hospital at Nor
folk following a brief illness.
Born April 19, 1866, in the Al
sace Lorraine province of France,
Mr. 'Weibel came to the United
States at the age of 14, locating
originally in Wisconsin. In 1880
he came to Nebraska and settled
with a group of pioneers in
Boone county, near Cedar Rap
ids. There he married Miss Eliz
abeth Dobson. They became the
parents of four sons, William,
Frank, Henry, and George. Mrs.
Weibel died on Ottu'er 19, 1903.
and two years later he married
Rosa Kracher Schindler at Ew
ing. They became the parents
of two sons and four daughters.
Mr. Weibel’s eldest son. Wil
liam. was killed in action during
World War I.
rur uvtT **£> yt*rtis mi. weiuc
resided in south-Holt county.
Survivors include the widow; i
five sons—Frank and George,
both of Vancouver, Wash.; Hen
ry, of Magnet; Joseph L., and Al
bert, both of Ewing; four daugh
ters—M'rs. Louis Funk, of Clear
water; Miss Teresa Weibel, of
Ewing; Miss Helen Weibel, of
Omaha, and Sister M Armella,
OSF, of Milwaukee, Wis.
Beard of Equalization
in Session Here
The Holt countv board of
equalization, comprised o'" mem- .
bers of the board of supervisors j
and County Assessor L. O. Gil -
Vispie. convened here Tuesday
through today (Thursday). The
board spent the time hearing
complaints and equalizing as
sessment of property for the
year 1947.
DONOHOt; INJURED
Harold Donohoe, of O’Neill
was iriinrpjj i-tp in an
automobile accident west of Em
met. He was taken to the O’
N>;11 iniur;e<*
were treated for three days be
fore being dismissed.
-— ■ *
throbabiy the larm hardest j
hit by Monday's combination
wind-hail-rain storm was the
Fred Allen place, 3 Vi miles
southeast of Page. The roof
was blown off the top of the 1
—
HATE FHA CHIEF
TO APPEAR HERE
Tolger Holm Will Discuss
Housing in Public
Gathering
A housing meeting conducted
)y Holger Holm, of Omaha, state
lirector of the Fodiral Housing
\dministration. will be held at |
he O’Neill public school build
ng at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June
18. The session has been ar- ,
-anged here through the coopet
^tion of the Chamber of Com- ,
merce.
“Anyone interested in secur
ing information about house
building is urged to attend,” 11.
J. Lohaus, Chamber president,
said.
The meeting will be open to
the public.
To Encourage Production
Mr. Holm has informed the
Chamber that the FHA is seek
ing “full cooperation of all
branches of industry to accom
plish the objective of the pro
gram outlined recently by Pres
ident Truman. This is to en
courage larger production of
rental dwellings for war veter
ans.
“Under the program, three
broad avenues of approach will
be used for obtaining additional
rental units,” Mr. Holm contin
ued. “First, conversion of exist
ing structures which will pro
duce the quickest action at low
est cost and probably lowest
rentals; second, construction of
more two, three and four-family
units, considered the next speed
iest method and one which will
broaden opportunities for build
ers and investors; third, produc
tion of more large-scale rental
structures.”
REV. CUMMINGS
GOES TO AURORA
Rev. J. M. Cummings, pastor
of the Assembly of God church
here since November, 1945, has
accepted a call to a similar pas*
torate at Aurora. He will de
liver a farewell sermon to the
parishoners here Sunday and
will move his family from O’
Neill on June 30.
Rev. Cummings came to O’
Neill from Macedonia, la. An
other pastor not yet designated
will fill the vacancy here.
Rev. and Mrs. Cummings have
threp children, Howard Lloyd,
12; Wanema, 7, and Joyce Elaine,
1.
The Fr®d Alien house . . .
stops the flight of the roof off
the bam.
11 .'irt; . i n ; ,
barn (about 75 yards aweyi
and a section of it lies beside
the farm house. The upper
ph'tograph shows the west
s.de of the house with splinter
holes visible. The Allens are ,
_ 1
Page Area Hit
Hard by Storm
HAIL, WIND REDUCE CROPS IN 25-MILE
CORRIDOR EAST OF HERE
(Compiled from Reports by Special Correspondents)
The O'Neill region is mopping up after one of the worst com
bination wind-hail-rain storms in recent years. The storm struck ^
at about 6:50 p. m. Monday and raged for 30 minutes. Rain fell
for over 90 minutes.
Heavy damage to crops and property was reported in eastern
Holt county, while the western section escaped except for hun
dreds of acres of inundated crops. An east-west belt, approxi- f
mately 10 miles wide and extending from the .northeast edge of
O’Neill east for about 25 miles, appeared to be hardest hit. The
storm was a portion of that which whipped through east-central r
Nebraska, killing at least three persons,- and causing general de
struction of crops and property.
Hail reduced most of the small grain to complete ruin in
the path of the storm in Holt county. Leaves were stripped
from trees and all forms of vegetation suffered. A high gale
toppled many trees and property damage in the Page vicinity
will reach many thousands of dollars.
Among those hardest hit were farms near rage occupied oy
Fred Allen, 3^-miles southeast; Walter Sojka, 5 miles northeast;
Louis Bernholtz, 3 miles east; Wendell Quigley, 3 miles northeast; •
and Henry Tegeler, 2 miles north.
At the Allen place, the roof was blown from the top of the *
barn and it was stopped when it crashed into the farm house
75-yards to the east. A large section of the roof lies in the yard .>
almost intact while splinters were driven into the west side of
the house, leaving holes. No one was hurt and the farm home
was temporarily abandoned by the Allens.
Discover Dead Pigs
The Wendeh Quigley family was away from home when the
storm struck. Upon their return they discovered dead pigs and
chickens and holes in the side of the barn and roof of the house,
all caused by hail.
Hail made holes as big as baseballs in the imitation brick cov
ering on the house occupied by Walter Sojka. The stones also
dented the metal grain bin and bent a lightning rod atop the
house. A loss of pigs and chickens was also reported at Sojka’s.
The trees were stripped “clean” at the Louis Bernholtz and
Bernard Kornock farms in the vicinity of the Allen’s.
The same area was visited by a less severe storm Friday night.
At the Harry Tegeler farm north of Page the windows on the east 1
and north of the house were knocked-out on Friday and on Mon
day night all the windows on the west side were destroyed. Thir
ty spring chickens were killed and most of the roof on the bam
was blown away.
Streets, Sidewalks Blocked
In O Neill the high wind blew down uncounted trees and
blocked streets and sidewalks. Nearly a dozen homes in the
south section of the city suffered from water damage in basements .
and large “lakes” developed.
The storm imposed a heavy burden on the Consumer Public.
Power district headquarters as reports of power failures poured
into the headquarters here. The city was without light for near
ly 90 minutes, while Elgin and Petersburg suffered complete black
outs and Creighton, Winnetoon, Neligh, and Clearwater suffered..
partial interruptions.
Similiar line difficulties were experienced by the Northwest
ern Bell Telephone company as service to the principal cities was
impaired. Western Union was without teletype service all day
Tuesday and Wednesday.
♦
Train Service Out
on Winner Line
BUTTE—Workmen are still
repairing washouts on the Win
ner, S. D., line of the Chicago &
Northwe tern railroad in i ast
ern Boyd and western Knox
counties. Service has been dis
rupted since Friday’s flashflood
and the situation was made
worse by Monday’s storm.
Trains are operating between
Norfolk and Niobrara only.
There is a reported 1,600-foot
washout west of Verdigre, and
another washout near Spencer.
Spencer was hard-hit by Fri
day’s storm. Few windows in
the business district survived the
hall onslaught, and many roofs
were damaged.
Rainfall at Butte has exceed
ed six inches since June 1. Boyd
county residents are happy be
cause the collnty escaped the
fury of Monday’s storm.
Emil Swanda, of Hastings, was
a guest Sunday of Miss Polly Ann
Rickley.
i
forced to abandon the house
until repairs can be made. ;
(See leading story on this
page.)—The Frontier Photo by
John H. McCaxville.
.. * 4 .. ..JL
> -
Sorghums Suggested
for Switch-Over
County Agent A. Neil D6wea,
today (Thursday) suggested ta
farmers in the “hailed-out” areas
to replant grain sorghums, for
age sorghums and Sudan grass in
small grain fields that have been
ruined. The agent was refering
to farmers who do not intend to
switch-over to corn and are con
ufering “quick-season” crops.
Regarding the corn outlook,
the county agent declared that
“considerable corn will be re
planted and ideal waathet wiU .
be needed to salvage a good
crop where reversals have been
suffered.”
Most corn was “washed-under” : ^
by heavy rainfall of the past
week but early today (Thursday) .:
there were reports that the corn ::
was pushing through the soil.
Dawes said that in the hail ;
areas the rye crop was complete- •;
ly ruined,
kolt county’s principal blue- •
grass areas were not in the path it
of Monday’s hail, but most of the
county has been blanketed with
hail during the .past week. The~*
northeast portion was hit last I
week and a strip west of Cham
bers was visited Monday eve
ning. ’ . , 7 /
AIRFIELD NAMED
FOR FRANK LEAHY
An airfield at Wirner, S. D.,
will be dedicated Friday and
named for Frank Leahy, the
Notre Dame univers ty football
conch and a native of O'Neill.
Leahy moved from O’Neill as
a youth.
Dr. and M s. Frank Bentlege,
of Council Bluffs, la , and Mr.
and Mrs. Clarence Parker, of
St. Paul. Minn., spent Wednes
day night at the Golden hotel
here enroute to Winner for the
ceremonies. Mrs. Bentlege and .
Mrs. Parker are sisters of the
sport figure.
The person for whom the air
port will be named will be at
Winner for the dedication.
BOYS' STATERS IN SESSION
Paul Moseman, son of Mr. and &
Mis. Paul E. Moseman, and John
Berrigan, son of Mr. anqj Mrs. J.
J. Berrigan, are# attending the
annual Boys’ State conference
this week in Lincoln Moseman
represents the American Legion,
and Berrigan is sponsored by
the Chamber of Commerce.
frM imiflttiittnt'ir i>