I VOLUME 67.—NUMBER 29. O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1947. 100% Paid in Advance Circulation ★ PRICE 5 CENTS Recommendatii.n Ignored in Fixing School Land Vuiue> 9> — Gillette Casts Only ‘No’ Vote at Land Hearing in Lincoln By vote of three-to-one, the state board of educational l3dds and funds in session late Monday at Lincoln accepted the apprais er’s report raising the average valuation of 134 pieces of school land in Holt county by 70 per cent. i t The lone dissenting vote was cast by State Treasurer Ed ward M. Gillette, a board member, who recently recom mended a 55 percent average crease following a special hear ing in O'Neill, v Monday’s action was a blow to Holt county’s 200-odd school land leaseholders, who pay a rental on the county’s 77,000 acres of school land on a valuation basis. In June appraisers had increas ed the Holt valuation 72 percent, which followed an 85 percent in crease in 1945. A controversy arose with the result that a spe cial hearing was held here Sep tember 25 with Gillette presid ing. » . Gillette was convinced that the proposed 72 percent hike was too great, saying: “I recommend that the proposed increase . . . be reduced from 72 ‘ percent to 55 percent and that the classifi cation of land in Holt county be re-examined.” At Monday's hearing, Gil lette urged lower valuations on grounds that lessees would be * better able to finance them selves through lean years of poor crop-, and lower prices if the valuations were not hiked so much now. Favoring acceptance of the ap praiser’s original recommenda tions were: State Supt. of Schools Wayne O. Reed, Secre tary of State Frank Marsh and Gov. Val Peterson. State Surveyor Hugh Dillon made the initial appraisal, and lowered his own figures follow ing a stormy meeting with les sees in O’Neill, arbitrarily ar riving at the 72 percent mark. At Monday’s session the board also voted for a complete reclas sification of Holt school lands in ’948. The board will consider Cher ry county valuations at its De cember 22 meeting. Cherry and Holt were the only counties from which protests had been made in regard to the new valuations. When the county treasurer’s office here is officially advised of the board’s action, Holt les sees will begin paying rentals at the new valuation retroative from July 1. CATHOLIC CLERGY TO RYAN RITES Most. Rev. James H. Ryan, 60, S.T.D.. first archbishop of Oma ha, a widely-known Roman Cath olic educator, and head of 150, 000 Catholics in the Omaha arch diocese, died Sunday in an Oma ha hospital. Archbishop Ryan’s death was attributed to an asthmatic heart attack. Funeral services will be held at St. Cecelia’s cathedral at 10:30 • a.m. Friday in Omaha. Rt,. Rev. J. G. McNamara, of St. Patrick's Catholic church in O’Neill, will head a delegation of Holt and Boyd Catholic clergy which will attend the solemn pontifical req uiem high mass. Born in Indianapolis, Ind., on December 15. 1886, James Hugh Ryan was ordained to the priest hood in Rome at the age of 22. He had been an O’Neill visitor on several occasions. X-Ray Results to Be Mailed by Lions Club As soon as card returns are received from the state depart ment of health, the O’Neill Lions club will mail these cards to the • hundreds of peruons who were X-rayed by the mobile unit here during November. This was announced late Tues day by Lions club officials. More than 1,300 persons were X-rayed in O’Neill during the week’s stay of the mobile unit, which was under the auspices of the Lions. School children from O’Neill, Chambers and Inman were checked in addition to adults during the stay here. The unit closed its month’s Holt county visit at noon Satur day, leaving Ewing, the last stop on its schedule. • Deer Sighted at Celia Believed One of St. Nick’s Herd CELIA — A deer has been seen recently near the R L. Pease mailbox. Residents of the Celia com munity frequently sight a deer in the locality, but whether it is always the same one no body knows. It wouldn’t be difficult, however, to convince the small fry that it has wan dered down from St. Nick’s home at the North Pole, one observer said. SEE HUSKERS LOSE CHAMBERS — Three carloads of Chambers high school boys at tended the Nebraska-Oklahoma % football game at Lincoln Satur | day. Charles Grimes and Mr. Echd?hl took cars and the third was driven by the Lutheran min i isler of Clearwater. Rev. L. W md Steffen. s CORA A. WINCHELL BURIED TUESDAY Widow of the Late Ben T. Winchell Dies After Short Illness Funeral services for Mrs. Cora ' A. Winchell, 75, widow of the late Ben T. Winchell, who was a : well-known Holt county of icial, were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the First Pre byterian church here. Rev. Lloyd W. Mullis, Methodist pastor, officiated and burial was in Prospect Hill cem etery. * The late Mrs. Winchell died at 3 p m. Sunday at her home in the southwest section of the city. She had been ill for less than a month and seriously ill for only a few days. Death was caused by a heart afflic tion and complications. The former Cora A. Sackett was born October 8, 1872 at Black Earth, Wis., a daughter o' the late Mr. and Mrs. Edmund H- Sackett. She came to Holt county with her parents and oth er members of the family in 1884, settling on a homestead two miles east and one-half mile north of Chambers. Mother of 12 On August 8, 1891 at Chambers she married Mr. Winchell. They became the parents of 12 chil dren, eight of whom survive. The family moved into O’Neill in September, 1917. Mrs. Winch ell was a member of Bethany Presbyterian church at Cham bers and later the First Presby terian church at O’Neill. She was affiliated with the Rebekah lodge. The late Mr. Winchell served as a county official between 1916 and 1945, holding the posts of treasurer, assessor register of deeds, and various deputy positions. He was dep uty treasurer when he died. Survivors include: Sons—Bert Winchell, of O’Neill; Alva B. Winchell, of Hastings; Vern H. Winchell, of Denver, Colo.; Or ville H. Winchell, of Denver, Colo. Daughters — Mrs. E. H. Medcalf, of Chambers; Mrs. Hor ace Rouse, of O’Neill; Mrs. John Harvey, of Orchard; Mrs. J. E. Davis, of O’Neill. There are 22 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Two sons—George and John— and two daughters—Helen and Kathryn—preceded their mother in death. The pallbearers at the funeral rites were: A. B. Hubbard, J. Ed Hancock. Arlo Hiatt, Ned Alien dor er, all of O’Neill; Carl Lam bert, of Ewing; Mark Gribble and Chet McClennahan, both of Chambers. * PIPE-LAYING JOB ACCEPTED BY CITY! Pump Installation Only Unfinished Phase of Expansion Program The recently - completed pipe line, which will link the city’s water system and twin wells south of town, was formally ac cepted Tuesday by Donald Price, of Lincoln, the city engineer. The Charles Robeck Construc ] tiom company, of Omaha, is the I contractor for the line. The i pipe-laying phase of the expan sion of the municipal water sys tem required almost four months’ work by Robeck workmen. A bulldozer is now at work filling in the ditch, which extends from the rear of the Spelts-Ray Lum ber company yard op South Fourth street to the well sites. Robeck's biggest obstacle in the pipe-laying was crossing the Elkhorn river. Quicksand held up the operation more than 30 days and forced temp orary diversion of the river. The Wayne Western company, of Omaha, holds the contract for installing the two new pumps j and electric motors at the well sites. Mayor F. J. Dishner said Wednesday that he expected technicians here “within a week or 10 days’’ to begin installation. The pumps will be housed in two new frame pump houses. When completed, the new wells are expected to furnish a minimum of 400 gallons each per minute and will double the sys tem’s capacity. At present the water-pumping facilities are considered inadequate. During the summer months, when con sumption was great, the fire hazard was of prime concern to t c ity officials. With the expansion the ci ty's water needs are expected to be adequately filled for a number of years to come tak ing into consideration a nor mal growth. The expansion program, launched more thdti a year ago, is costing in the neighborhood of 78 thousand dollars. Sixty six thousand dollars went into the pipe and pipe-laying and the balance is being spent on pumps, motors, pump houses, wells and engineering. The new pumps and wells are expected to be in operation by January EARLY ATKINSON SETTLER DIES Gilbert R. Davis, 76, Came to Holt with Parents in 1878 ATKINSON—Gilbert Rynaldo Davis, 76, one of the early set tlers in the Atkinson community, died Friday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Wilma Westlake, at Hay Springs. Funeral services were held at St. Joseph’s Catholic church here at 9 a m. Tuesday with Rev. A. A. Lehman officiating. The late Mr. Davis was born November 12. 1871 near Ma seppa. Minn. In 1878, at the age o' 7, he came to Holt coun ty with his parents, the late James and Arina Wyman Da vis, and other members of the family. ! During hi* early childhood on i a homestead southwest of Atkin son, the oouniyseat was estab lished at O’yeill, the village of Atkm had been started, and ; the railroad was built i On September 29/ 1896, he was | married to Mamie O’Connor at St. Joseph’s church in Atkinson, Mr. Davis and his bride | homesteaded about six miles southwest of Atkinson, moving into Atkinson in 1913. Following the death of his wife i in 1929, he made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Evelyn Froh I man, in Atkinson for 10 years. For the past eight years he has I resided at Hay Springs with Mrs. ! Westlake. j Mr. and Mrs. Davis were the parents of nine children, eight of whom survive. These are: Sons —LeRoy W. Davis, of Camarillo, Calif.; Errol E. Davis, of Los An geles, Calif.; James I. Davis, of Mansfield, Wash ; Neil W. Davis and Donald R. Davis, both of Atkinson. Daughters—Mrs. Wil ma Westlake, of Hay Springs; Mrs. Jetty M. Inglefield, of Gree ley, Colo.; Mrs. Evelyn Frohman, of Atkinson. Other survivors include: two sisters,’ Mrs. Mae Cowels, of Car nation, Wash.; Mrs. Amy Butler, of Neweprt; brothers—Gilman V. Davis, of Stuart, (twin brother of the deceased); Ira E. Davis, of Carnation, Wash.; and 18 grand children, Mrs. Davis died June 6, 1929. Their son, Stanley, died in 1910. Pictured is a portion of the crowd that §*lher- | ed here Sunday to mark the G5th anniversary Ot the «HK!3 -s mmm mutw *#-*-w- ^ -'-» founding of the O'Neill Methodist church. The photograph was made midway in the all-day cele jr* ' * bration.—The Frontier Photo by John rf. Mc-Car ville. '% .. O’Nei/Z Methodism Has Birthday Methodism In O’Neill be- ' came 66 - years - old Sunday, and an all-day celebration, planned qnd arranged by the church pastor, Rev. Lloyd W. Mullis, and the church mem bers marked the occasion. Bishop William C. Martin, head of the Kansas-Nebraska conference, expressed regrets at his inability to be present •and sent the following con gratulatory message: To the pastor and mem bers of the O'Neill Metho dist church: My dear fellow HOLT HONORED FOR P-F-L WORK Five Nebraska counties—Holt, Butler, Dundy, Franklin, and Fillmore—were honored in Oma ha Tuesday nigh* for having what were regarded as outstand ing records in pasture - forage livestock work during the past year. -*«f Representatives of Holt coun ty receiving the awards were: Harry Ressel, Lyle Dierks, Lor enz Bredemeier, J. O. Walker and County Agent A Neil Dawes. The awards were made at an Omaha Chamber of Com merce banquet highlighting a day-long program for more than 400 p - f -1 cooperators from all parts of the state. Other features of the program were morning tours, and an af ternoon beef-grading demonstra tion. Among the Holt Soil Conser- j vation district cooperators who1 attended the finishup program in Omaha Tuesday were: Mer wyn French, ol Page; Ray Sid ers, of O’Neill, and Ora Yarges, j of Stuart. Mr. Siders and Mr. French i took part in the ‘swapper ses sion” during the afternoon. Mr. Siders discussed the use of le gumes in crop rotation and soil conservation practices, while Mr. French discussed using brome, crested wheat grass, ana alfalfa for pasture purposes Factors considered in the p-f-1 program were: more trees for protection for livestock, farm steads, fields, gardens, and beau tification; livestock parasite con trol; commercial fertilizer and grain test plots; conservation practices; weed control ,and con trol of Bangs disease. Methodists — My heartiest congratulations to each one of you on this day on which you are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the organisa tion of your church. It would be a great privilege to worship with you today, but the schedule of engage ments makes such a visit impossible. When we are reminded of the heroic and sacri icial courage of the pioneers who founded churches in Nebras ka about three-quarters of a century ago. we cannot es cape the conviction that we have a her it age which should be valued and pro tected. If the church of to morrow is to fulfill its mis sion in pointing the way to international security and to a world of righteousness and peace, the church members of today are under obliga tion to exercise the same kind of faithfulness and loy alty to the kingdom of Christ wh'ch were so promi nent in the lives of the men and women who opened the trails into this new land. With the hope that this may be an outstanding day for each of you under the leadership of your pastor and district superintendent and with sincerest good wishes for your future growth, I am cordially yours. WILLIAM C. MARTIN Formal anniversary greet ings were also received from Dr. Everett E. Jackman, Nor folk district superintendent, Bus Riders Witness Results of Tragedy Passengers on the westbound Sioux City-O’Neill bus late Sun day saw the bodies of two Wayne State Teachers’ college coeds strewn on the highway 20 pavement, four miles northwest of Alien. The girls, Charlene Phillips and Jeanne Hansen, both of South Sioux City, were killed instantly and Gale Powell, the driver of the car in which they were riding, was taken to a Sioux City hospital in serious condition. Vic Arens, 37, of Hartington, driver of the truck, was unhurt. Bus Driver Robert Nesbitt, of O’Neill, assisted in the care for Powell and summoned aid. The bus reached the scene a few min utes after the accident happened., and from at least two former pastors, Dr. G. W. Bruce, of Gresham, Ore., and Rev. Virgil C. Wright, 715 Winston street, Fayette, Ala. Dr. Jackman wrote: “It is no small matter to be building the kingdom of God in a com munity for two generations. I ] am sure that there are many folks all over the Nation who, because of one reason or an- j other, will rise up to call the O’Neill church blessed.” Attendance at the all - day affair exceeded the 400 mark, Rev. Mullis said, with the church tilled for the mornirtg anniversary worship. Mrs. Dora Walmer, of Or chard, a charier member of lhe Epworth league (now a Fellowship group), was an honored visitor. She join ed the league here in 1690. There are no living charter members of the church. Prof. L. E. Mattingly, direc tor of religious life at Nebras ka Wesleyan university at Lincoln, delivered the sermon at the morning service, and Rev. Dale K. Westadt, of Til den, delivered the sermon at the evening service. Mrs. H. L. Lindberg was in charge of a historical program, which highlighted the afternoon. EARLY CHAMBERS SETTLER DIES Mrs. Philip Robertson, 82, Influenza Victim; Buried Wednesday CHAMBERS—Influenza caused the death early Monday of Mrs. Philip Robertson, 82. a resident of south-Holt county for more than 57 years. She died at 12:25 a. m. at the Robertson family home, five and one-quarter miles west and one mile north of Chambers, and had been ill less than a month. Funeral services were held at 2 p. m. Wednesday at the Bap tist church with Rev. Lawrence McElheran, church pastor, of ficiating. A quartet, including Rev. Ward Smith, Leo T- Adams, Mrs. Vernon Smith and Wayne Rouse, sang. Burial was in the Chambers cemetery near the grave of the late Philip Robert son, who died October 23, 1935. The pallbearers were: Lewis Harley, Leo T. Adams, Lloyd Gleed, Carl Mitchell, Hylas Far rier and Lawrence Edwards Born at Brighton. Ia~ on July 28. 1865 the late Mrs. Robertson was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Wa ters. Her Christian name was Minnie. She was educated in Iowa and she came alone to Holt county in 1889. On June 12, 1889 she married Mr. Robertson. They began farming in the Chambers vicini ty and lived there continuously throughout their lifetimes. Fol lowing the death of Mr. Robert son, she continued to reside with her two sons and one daughter on the family place. Survivors include: Sons—Ly man Robertson end Vernie Rob ertson, both of Chambers; daughter—Grace Robertson, also of Chambers; sister—Mrs. Etta Englen, of California; numerous nephews and nieces. Among relatives coming from a distance for the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. Fred Robertson and son, Robert, and daughter, Mrs. Dycke, all of Winona, Minn. KNIGHTS DECORATE The Knights of Columbus clubrooms are being redecorated this week and fluorescent lights are being installed, according to Stephen W. Price, grand knight. Another Conservation Plea Sounded In a prepared statement is- < sued this week to the press, L. C. Walling, manager of the Consumers Public Power dis trict here, reviewed the pow er situation and again pointed out that it may be necessary to curtail some electricity use during peak periods. Pointing to the extraordi nary increase in electricity consumption, which has cre ated a nationwide power shortage. Walling said that the present facilities were strained to the utmost Tues day evening in the O'Neill network, which serves 11 northeastern Nebraska coun ties and a number of points in South Dakota. Meanwhile, the Consumers district is extending itself to replace worn and inadequate equipment and expand its fa cilities, but little relief from the power shortage is seen be fore 1949. In a direct letter to all cus tomers in October, Walling is sued a plea tnr voluntary con servation. The peak periods during the winter months are between 4 and 7 p. m. Li ting the major projects now under way or recently | > completed to give this area better electric service, Mr. Walling said preliminary work is under way for the new 115, 000-volt transmission line from Norfolk to O’Neill which will complete a triangular loop in the Norfolk - Neligh - O’Neill area and provide "more de pendable” service to many communities and also bring additional power supply to this area. Material has been ordered for this line and will start about the first of the year. It was anticipated ' to have this line completed by the Spring of 1048, but delays in obtaining some material will make this impossible. Mr. Walling said the cost of this project, along with some associated construction in this area, is estimated to be in excess of one million dollars. In connection with the pro ject is a 115,000 - 33,000-volt substation at Neligh to supply power for both Consumers loads and rural development. Another substation of 115,000 66,000-33,000-volt capacity will be built at O’Neill to accom modate power from this line and the existing transmission line from O’Neill to Belden will be rebuilt to increase the capacity of the line from 33, 000 volts to 69,000 volts This will help to “stabilize service’’ in the area and increase pow er supply. Further improvements are being made on the Spencer power plant, where a new wa ter wheel and generator are being installed to increase the power output and a new and larger substation is being con structed. The transmission line from Spencer to O’Neill will also be rebuilt to increase the voltage. Mr. Walling said materials ordered for a new 33,000 volt substation and circuit breaker to be installed at Ainsworth, which, along wiraska: Polly Ann Rickly, Iai ^nn Her, Shirley. Schaffer. Gene dcKenna, Donna Gallagher, Fred lalva. Warren Burgess, John Ba cer. Marvin Holsclaw, Marjorie dcElhanev. Edward Condon. Jordon Hiatt. John Allen. From Creighton university at )maha: George Hammond. Ed vard Campbell, James Mem nan, Robert Wallace. George anousek. Paul Kubitsohek. From the National Business in titule at Lincoln: Donna Rae Elements and Eugene Streeter. From Nebraska Wesleyan uni versity at Lincoln: Robert Bow nFrom Wayne State teachers’ ollege: Allen Ma’tin. From Rosary college at Chica o 111 : Betty Gallagher. From Doane college at Crete: oan Brady. From Augustana College at lock Island. 111.: Roy D. John on and Helen Andre. From St. Mary’s college, Xav ?r Kan.: Kathleen Flood From Barat college at Lake 'ovo-t. 111.: Mary Louise Birm