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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1947)
■ Out of Old Nebraska — Lancaster Looked Nothing * Like a Capitol City in 1867 By James C. Olson Stale Historical Society The first problem facing the legislature when Nebraska was admitted to the Union in 18d7 was that of locating the slate eapitol. Agamst much opposi- , Uon, particularly from the South Platte region, the terri torial eapitol had been locat' d at Omaha. Omaha's opponents (and they were many) were determined that the state cap itol should not be there. So, in order to find a new ] - ation a committee of three ) r n was appointed to look ov- , c • the state and select the most desirable spot. After a long search this committee decided upon the little village of Lan caster, about 60 miles south- j west of Omaha. Lancaster in 1867 looked like anything but a capital city. It consisted of a tiny cluster of unkempt little buildings huddled along the banks of a small stream known as Salt creek. The total population was approximately 30, and pri or to the location of the capi tol it appeared doubtful that Lancaster would ever be any thing more than a wide place in the road (had there been a road.) Lancaster had been estab lished a number of years ear lier by men who had dreams of building great empiri s on > the basis of salt deposits found in the basin. The Lancaster salt works, however, never produced anything except law suits. Named for President The new’ capital city w'as platted early in September and lots were offered for sale at prices ranging from $15 to $150. The name of the village was changed to Lincoln in honor of the martyred presi dent. As soon as possible work w'as started on the capitol building itself and by Decem ber, 1868, the new capitol was ready for occupancy. The state’s records, furniture and stationery were transferred from Omaha in six wagons. One of the wagons was fairly empty so the United States marsnall at Omaha tossed on a barrel of cider to be deliv ered to one of his friends in Lincoln. Businessmen had not be n particularly enthusiastic about investing in the new capital city until the capitol itself ac tually was completed. They were afraid the legislature might change its mind. With the capitol well under . way, however, men and money be gan to flow into the little town. > The legislature met for the first time in Lincoln in 1869. One of its acts was to further enhance the importance of the little town by locating the state university there. By 1870 a railroad had reached the town and the pop ulation had increased to 2,500. The onetime village of Lancas ter was well on its way to be- . coming a city, although as late • as 1872, de:r, coyotes and oth er wild animals were killed within the capital city’s lim its. G asshopper Plagues Favorite Conversation Piece When old settlers got to gether a few years back one of their favorite arguments had to do with which was the j worst grasshopper year in the state's history. This usually was settled by agreement on 1874. The hoppeis hod plagu ed Nebraska as early as 1857 and continued to plague it af ter 1874, but it was that year, j however, when they swept down upon the state in all their fury and virtually ate it off the map. The grasshoppers came sud denly, filling the air like the driving snow, and their alight ing on the roofs and . ides of the houses sounded like a con tinuous hail storm. At t mes they were four- to six-inches deep on the g r o u n d. The chickens, it is reported, al most drove themselves crazy trying to gobble up the hop pers as fast as they alighted. Soon though they came to realize that they could eat all they wanted with hardly any movement. Stalled Trains In the cool of the evening, so another story goes, grass hoppers alighted on the warm rails of the Union Pacific in such numbers as to literally stop the trains. At one time section men were called to a spot near Kearney to shovel grasshopp rs from the tracks so the trains could get through. They ate almost every green thing except castor beans, cane, native grass and the leaves of certain native trees. Onions evidently were a par ticular delicacy. The grasshoppers usually stayed for only a few days or at most a week. When they left, though, they left desola tion and ruin. The results of their visitation in 1874 were so bad that a good many Ne braskans left the state. Others, far too poor to leave, had to be supported by relief from the outside. Hopper Constitution Adopted The Nebraska constitution of 1875 has often been called the grasshopper constitution because it was adopted when the effects of the plague were being most seriously felt. Lat er the state legi lature even passed a bill authorizing the supervisors of each road dis trict to call all men from 16 to 60 years to work at exter minating the pests. Many attempts were made to devise means of destioying the pra shopper. At Nebras ka City a man invented a machine called the “grassh p per ext rminator” which he proposed to sell at $15. Still another ( sourceful citizen ar gued that grasshoppers could be destroyed by concussion. He doel red that a 100-pound charge of gun powder placed in tlie ground and exploded shortly after a heavy rain would kill all the hoppers within an area of 25 miles. There is no record that his plan was given a t ial, indeed there is little evidence that any of the devices developed to kill off the hoppers during the 1870’s were particularly successful and the farmers of Nebraska for a number of years lived in constant dread of a return of the grasshopper I plague Announcement WE NOW CAN GIVE YOU 24—48 HOUR SERVICE ON WATCH—CLOCK—JEWELRY -REPAIRING Two Watchmakers At Your Service. Herre Jewelry — Phone 220 — O’NEILL NEBRASKA Dream Orange • KEEP A CASE OF DREAM ORANGE ON HAND FOR THAT UNEXPECTED GUEST. Dream Anytime Merri Dr. Pepper -- Bottling Co. -- O’Neill, Nebraska 'V I FINLEY, M. D. OFFICE PHONE: 28 First National Bank Bldg O'NEILL William W. Griffin ATTORNEY First National Bank Bldg. O'NEILL i | K Now Open for Business ! Skalowsky Glass Co. O'NEILL Phone 186 l/z block South of the Ford Garage • Automobile Safety Glass • Window Glass • Store Fronts • Table Tops Cut to Pattern OH, THE SHAME OF IT Given a choice by stern-fin gered Patrolman Joseph H. Dries (right) as to whether he wanted to serve five days in the cooler or drive for one month with prominent ‘‘Traf fic Violator" sticker on his windshield, Michael O’Donne’l wept quietly into a hankie as he made his decision—and it wasn’t the jail sentence. He was one of 90 Los Angeles, Calif., traffic violators to whom officials posed the same question. All 90 chose the sticker. ALL IN A LATHER Find a dog, even if he is a blueblood with a pedigree longer than an elephant’s memory like “Mr. Mac,’’ shown here, who doesn’t get that lost-soul expression on his face when he gets dunked for a bath. SAMARITAN The Rev. Clarence Golla, of St. Jude’s church in Chicago, 111., who happened to be driv ing by after John Collins was hurled from his car to the pavement, administers last rites after giving first aid. Try a Frontier want ad. Money to Loan ON automobiles TRUCKS TRACTORS EQUIPMENT FURNITURE Central Finance Co. C. E. Jones. Manage* O'NEILL t NEBRASKA PAUL SHIERK i INSURANCE AGENCY Has Move*1 to a New Location 2 Doors North of O’Neill Natl Bank Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Bowen ie turned Monday night after spending a week in Chicago, 111. Mrs. Albert Derickson and son, Gregory, of Star, spent last Thursday and Friday in O’Neill at the home of Mrs. Derickson's aunt, Mrs. Georgia Butterfield. Mr. and Mrs. Roy Hansing, of Indianapolis, Ind., arrived Sun day. They will spend the next two weeks in O’Neill at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Booth and at Lake Andes, S. D. Miss Marvel Bore attended a camp meeting at Pine Creek on j Monday. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Borland, of Absarokee, Mont., spent the , weekend in O’Neill visiting Mr. I and Mrs. Frank Clements and Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Bazelman. Mr. and Mrs. Roland Coil and j family spent Thursday and Fri ! day in Sioux City visiting at I the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rex j Boyle. Miss Beckwith Honoree — Miss Vernice Beckwith was guest-of-honor at a dinner par ty given at her home last Thurs day evening celebrating her 13th birthday anniversary. Among the guests were M ss Rita Waller, Miss Carol and Miss Janet Seger, Miss Barbara Ben nett, Miss Beverly Norman, Miss Carolyn Hiatt. Miss Shirley and Miss Bonnie Keeney, of Norfolk, and Miss Elizabeth Dailey. BRING OUT THE BEST! Is your radio reception and tone as clear as it should be? If not bring it here for expei t repair service. . . and our prices are right. GILLESPIE’S “Home Appliance Headquarters” Real Estate Transfers (Editor’s note: A glossary of the abbreviations follows: WD— warranty deed; QCD—quit claim deed. The instruments filed at the Holt county courthouse are listed from whom to whom, date consideration, legal description.) August 4 REAL EST—WD-Bea Gallag her to Bridget Swanson 4-5-45 $2000-Lot 14- Blk 51- McCaffer tys Add- O’N August 5 REAL EST—QCD - Frederick Beck to Ernest L Norwood & wf- no date- $1- Lot 1- Blk 10 Kimball & Blair Add- Ewing WD—Bessie Klingler to Joseph M Langan & wf 8-2-47 $2500 Lots 23 & 24- Blk G- Fahys Park Add- O’Neill August 6 REAL EST—WD-Loyd K Brit tell to Merle Sparks 8-5-47 $600 Part Outlot 1- Inman • August 7 REAL EST—WD-Faye Cronin to Ramon H Bright 8-7-47 $6500 Lots 9-10-11 & 12- Blk C- Fahys 2nd Add- O’Neill WD—John B McGrow to Leo Vandersnick & wf 8-6-47 $1000 Lets 1-2 & 3-Blk 7- Ewing WD—John W Hickey to Frank L Burival 4-1-46 $3200- NWy4 9 29-11 QCD—Fred J Witousek et al to Fred Jansen & wf 8-2-4T $1500- s%Nwy4- N%swy4- fl 30-14 August 8 * REAL EST—WD-Tvan D Bak er to Ethel V Bouska 8-6-47 $2500-Part NE%NWy4 32-30-14 August 9 REAL EST—WD-E W Merrill to D A Schafer 7-7-47 $500- NW y4NEy4 8-32-15 WD—Merrill M Smith to E W Merrill 7-3-47 $400- SW^NWtt 11-32-15 WD—Lloyd W Bergstrom to Roy J Stewart & wf 5-26-47 $800-Lots 1 & 2-Blk 22- Page ADM DEED — Martha Stull Adm to Ralph E Stowell & wf 3-13-47 $4500-NWy4 33-30-13 PAGE NEWS Mr. and Mrs. Edward Mat schullat and three children and . Mrs. Matschullat’s father, Lews Lichty, all of Lincoln, spent from I Friday until Monday morning visiting Mr. and Mrs. Albert An thony and Dale Matschullat. Mr. and Mrs. Newell Moffat, of California, are visiting at the home of Mr. Moffatt’s sister, ■ Mrs. Wallace French and fam ily. j WHEN YOU no longer receive I The Frontier regularly, your subscription has expired, adv SEMI-ANNUAL DIVIDENDS PAID ON SAVINGS OCCmiNTAL BUILDING & LOAN ASSOCIATION Serving Nebraska Home Owners and Investors Since 1889 HOME OFFICE: 322 South 18th St.. OMAHA BRANCH OFFICES! Lincoln, Hastings, Scottsbluii O’NEILL R. H. PARKER PHONE 22 FARM AT PUBLIC AUCTION Because of poor health and in order to settle the af fairs of my late wife, I will offer for sale for cash to the highest bidder in the main lobby of the Court House in O’Neill, Nebraska, on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20,1947 AT 1 O'CLOCK P.M. the following described real estate: NWVi of Section 24, and SWVi and WVi of the SE>/4 of Section 13, All in Township 29, North, Range 10, Holt County, Nebraska. This is a good farm, approximately 10 miles east of O’Neill and one mile north of the O’Neill-Page highway, and 6 miles west of Page. Good sandy-loam soil of which approximately 220 acres are under cultivation, 50 acres in good hay land, and bal ance pasture, shelter-belt and buildings. The place is well improved with 7 buildings, all in good condition. It h?is a# 6-room house, with full basement; a barn 22x40 with hay mow; a cattle or hog shed 20x30; a corn crib and granary 10x24; a chicken house with cement floor 10x12; a steel work shop with cement floor 10x14. The place is all fenced and cross-fenced and has a good well and windmill. 0 The sale will be subject to a reservation of one-half of the oil, gas and mineral rights whi'h were reserved by the previous owner and which leservation extends to Septem ber 26, 1962, or as long as oil, ga3 or minerals continue to be produced or the property is being developed. Abstracts of title extended to date will be furnished. TERMS: The sale of the premises will be subject to the approval of the owner. Purchaser will be required to pay 25 percent of the bid price on the day of sale and the balance upon delivery of deed within 60 days from date of sale. If sale is not approved by owner, the down-payment of the successful bidder will be returned. Possession will be delivered November 1, 1947. 0 GEORGE E. BOWEN, owner SHINGLES Carload on Hand 3-Tab Extra Heavy Asphalt We Install.. Ask for FREE Estimate (jrcwnMeA THE FRIENDLY STORE