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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1948)
The Frontier VOLUME 67—NUMBER 36._ O’NEILI NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JANUARY IN, 1918..' " PRICE 7 CENTS Arm Gone; No Tears When The Frontier learned that James F. Lewis, 5, son of Mr. urid Mrs. Jesse Lewis, of Spence , had submitted to an amputation of his right arm following a lecent power saw ac cident. the parents and Sacred Heart ho-pital attendants at Lynch were contacted. The Frontie thourht its readers would like to know more about the little fellow who lost his arm while delivering a message to his father. The child’s mother said: James F. Lewis . . . power taw accident cost his right arm below the elbow. lms little boy is loved by everyone that meets him. He s referred to as the smiling boy that never walks but runs. The Si te s (Miss.ona y Bene dictine Sisters at Rae«*ert tJonrt hospital) say he’s intelligent enough for a 10-year-old. "He's never gone to school b?cause of a silly state rul inq that state-, that country chi'dren had to be 6-years clJ. You can't judge a child b y ye?r?. In'elligence o f s<-et 5 is above other children at 7 or 8. (Please print this part.) If he'd been In school the accident wouldn't have happened. ‘‘His room at the hospital is packed with presents. He had a Christmas t ee and Santa came in person to his bed. He is the idol of the hospital and they say he’s a wonderful pa tient, so brave, and there have been no tears. When they told him they had amputated nis right arm he waved his left and said: ‘I have this good one . . . and I’ll do the best I can. ” Mr. Lewis was unaware that his son was in the vicinity when the accident occured. Attendants at the hospital held hopes that the arm could be saved, but surgeons were forced to amputate below the elbow on December 29 Little Jim’s hospitalization is not yet over, although hospital attendants Tuesday told The Frontier that his condition was greatly improved and that he probably would be dismissed in about a week. Right now Little Jim is concerned more about his sixth birthday anniversary coming up January 25 than about the lost arm. “When a fellow is 6 he can go to school,” he said. ALBERT A. KACZOR DIES TUESDAY Well-Known Farmer in Meek Community 111 for 4 Years MEEK—Albert A. Kaczor, 61, a well-known fanner in the Meek vicinity, died at 10:40 p m. Tuesday at his farm home in this community. All members of his immedi ate fam ly. including a daugh ter, Mrs. Bennie Freeburg, of Lcs Angeles, Calif., were pres ent when he died. The late Mr. Kaczor had been ill for four years, and members of his family had been told dur ing the past few weeks that death was imminent. Fune al services will be held at 2 p. m. F-iday in the Paddock Union church and burial will be in the Paddock Union cemetery. Rev. Marie Hubby, of Spencer, will officiate. The pallbearers will be: Arthur Rouse, George Hansen, Rev. Meniedy Hubby, Paul Nelson, Elmer Devall and Henry Walters. Native of Canada The late Mr. K'aczor was born on August 2, 1880, at Wallesley, Ontario, Canada, a son of the late Mr. and Mr» Frederick Kac zo'. who rme tr> this region from Canada in 1884 as one of ,th«* rvoneer families. He v,°s yearod and educated near here and on August 22, 1906, he mar ried Miss Jesse A. Bedford. The Kaezors became the pa rents of two daughters, Mrs. Freeburg. and Mrs. Virgil Hub by, of O’NeilL For many years the family resided oa the farm la the Meek vicinity. Mr. Kacsor was active in many communi ty affairs and enjoyed a wide Holt and Boyd county ac quaintanceship. Survivors include: Widow, two daughters; two grandchildren; four brothers — William and Charles, both of O’Neill; Fred, of Hickey, Mont., and John, of Spencer; two sisters—Mrs. Min nie Bay and Miss Tina Kaczor, both of O’Neill. Biglin Brothers are in charge of funeral arrangements. Everlasting Road Topic Again Tops Discussion r - The everlasting topic of roads and highways dominated the dis- ] cusrion at the Januarv meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held Tuesday at the Golden ho-1 tel. Red Cloud civic leaders have! asked the O’Neill Chamber to; lend its support to a movement toward the improvement and hard surfacing of state highway 281. It was decided to hold a meeting here next month to which civic leaders from north and cent: al-Nebraska towns on thr> 281 route would be invited, i The highway is destined to be rerouted and ultimately cross the Missouri river at the site of the Ft. Randall, S. D. dam, which is north of O’Neill. The matter of proposing city mail delivery was also discussed, but was temporarily tabled. CHURCH ENLARGED AMELIA — Members of the Free Methodist church pu~chased plmer Coolidge’s old house and moved it Monday to the church property where it will be used to enlarge the present church. Mr. and M s. Coolidge moved lr. to their new house this week. 1 HEADS BANK F. N. Cronin (above), mem ber of the O’Neill National bank st3ff since 1918, Tuesday was elected president of the bank at the annual director’s meeting. He succeeds Mrs. Emma Dickinson Weekes, of I Omaha, who was elected vice president. J. B. (“Ben”) Grady was reelected cashier and O. D. French and W. D. Melena were elected assistant cashiers. —O’Neill Photo Co. FARM PROPERTY WORTH 22 MILLION • mmrnmmmmmmmm Rural Homes in Holt and Nebraska in Best Condition Ever Farm property in Holt county is now wo th more than 22 mil lion dollars, and rural homes here and throughout the state are in the best condition in his tory. according to a report just released by the Tile Council of America. More than 86 percent of farm dwellings in Nebraska and the northcentral states are in “ex cellent condition” or need only such minor repairs as painting or general maintenance, the re port revealed. Only 69 9 percent were in good repair in 1940. The report was based on bureau of the ceusus surveys. “The rise in farm incomes and property values since 1940 has been accompanied by a great in crease in the number of rural homes equipped with such mod ern conveniences a s electric lights, tiled baths and showers and running water,” said F. B. Ortman, chairman of the Coun cil’s residential construction committee. Fair Board in Session; Talk Premium Lists CHAMBERS—The Holt coun tv fair board members met Frl dav evening and discussed the premium list for the 1948 expo sition. Marriage Licenses Lee Montgomery 60. of Nys sa Ore. and Elsie Moeller, 63, of Creighton, January 8. WrWn Ler'W Morrison, 21. ( and Wilma Christina Mover, 21, both of Royal, January 10. Nvle Gene Binke d, 24. of pnd Cerilp Mae Critten, 16 of Lvneh. January 10. Goorge Edwin S»urek. 27. of Bartlett, and Lillian Vernire 7i’-nm'--man, 20, of Ericson, Jan uary 13. • JOHN ROTHERHAM RITES HERE FRIDAY _ Succumbs Here After a Short Illness; Came to Holt in 1881 John Rotherham, 80, died at 8 a. m. Wednesday in O’Neill at the home cf his daughter, Mrs. Michael M. Langan. Death fol lowed a week’s pneumonia ill ness. The late Mr. Rotherham had been a semi-invalid for the past 2Ms years. Funeral services will be held at 10 a. m. Friday in St. Pat- ! rick's Catholic church here and burial will be in the new Cal vary cemetery. Rev. C. J. | Werner, assistant church pas tor. wiU officiate. The late Mr. Rotherham was born on June 24, 1867, at Iowa City, la., a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rotherham, who were natives of Ireland. He came to Holt county in 1881 from near Newman Grove, set tling near Ewing. On May 16, 1895, he married Miss Elizabeth Gaffney at At kinson. Lifelong Farmer Engaged in farming through out his life, Mr. Rotherham resided successively in the Ewing, Amelia, Emmet and In man vicinities. Since 1935 he resided eight miles south of In man- He was widely - known th oughout the county, and was; a member of the Knights of Col-1 umbus. The Rotherhams became the parents of 11 children, five ions and six daughters. Four children. Mary, Clare, Eliza* beih and an unnamed infant p.eceded their father in death. Survivors include: Widow; sons—Joseph, of Burlington, la.; John, of O’Neill; James, of In man; Thomas, of Springfield, 111.; daughters — Mrs. Michael M. (Jane) Langan and Mrs. Matt (Helen) Hynes, both of O’Neill; Mrs. Floyd (Marga et) Reinhardt, of Omaha; bi other—Michael, of Ewing; 32 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. The pallbearers at Friday’s rites will be grandsons. They aie: Joseph Langan, Pat Hynes and James Langan, all Oi O’-1 Neill; John Hynes and John Reinhardt, both of Omaha; and John B. Rotherham, of fepring neld, 111. Biglin Brothers are in charge of arrangements. Neighbcrs Gather Corn, I Saw Wood for III Farmer at Inman INMAN— Vernon J. Davis, an Inman farmer who has been in poor health, has good neighbors. On Friday they ganged up in his front yard and went to work. The men finished gath ering Mr. Davis’s co n crop, making short work of a hard, tedious job for Mr. Davis. At noon they knocked-off and ate a big dinner served by the la dies of the neighborhood. In the afternoon the husk ing bee was transformed into a sawing bee and a sizeable amount of wood was neatly piled in the yard by night fall. Mr. Davis has' been under the care of a doctor for some time. St. Paul's Remodeling Project Completed CHAMBERS—St. Paul’s Luth eran church has undergone a complete remodeling job. This is estimated at about a $2,000 project. Most of the labor was donated. Among the improvements be sides the walls are new stained glass windows, new carpets and altar cover. Dedication services will be held Sunday at 8 p.m. Everyone is invited. There will be a program and visiting speak ers. 'Swellesf Grandmother* — Mis. Robert E. Gallagher re turned Saturday after having visited for three weeks with he’ on. John R. Gallagher, and family and her sister. Mrs. John A. Frenking, and family, of Om aha. M s. Gallagher, who at tended the Breakfast club held at the Blackstone hotel Decem ber 31, was voted the “swellest grandmother,” and was inter viewed on the radio. She was recipient of an orchid corsage and a box of candy. FIREMEN ARISE EARLY The O’Neill volunteer fire de aartment was summoned at 5:45 i. m. Tuesday to B own-McDon ild’s store where an electric mo or on an air-coiditioning unit vas smoking. There was no lamage. CAGE TOURNEY RESULTS Elkhorn Valley Coherence Wednesday Night, First Round Orchard 37 Brunswick 1?) Osmond 25 ..- Page 20 Inman 35 _ Clearwater 24 Ewing, bye Benny Rockford Needs Blood Benny Rockford, 22-year-old O'Neill youth, lies dange ous ly ill in the University hospi tal at Omaha. His illness is a combination of diabetes and a ruptured appendix. Benny became diabetic in 1933, according to his father, W. M. Rockford, who is em ployed at the Tri-State Pro duce plant. He is a fragile boy and barely remembe s his better days. On Thanksgiving day he was stricken with an attack of appendicitis, and he was later removed to the hos pital at Omaha. Because of Benny's weak ened diabetic condition, the doctors dave been unable to operate. They say he must be built up with type "O" blood before the patient can withstand the surgical or deal. Benny needs blood—and lots of it — from healthy donors. Hospital attendants say he re quires a pint every 24 hours for the “building up’’ process, otherwise he will fail and the infected appendix might prove fatal. CITY MORTGAGE DEBT ON INCREASE Town Dwellers Contract 3 Times Debt of Farm Cousins Holt county’s city and town dwellers increased their mort gaged indebtedness during 1947 to the tune of 150 thousand dol lars, approximately three times the increase of their country cousins. Holt Register of Deeds Esther Cole Harris offe ed no explana tion of the comparison other than the fact that most real es tate transfers among rural peo ple involved cash. 22 City Tax Foreclosures Meanwhile, there; have been 22 town and city tax foreclosures during the past 12 months as compared with three farm fore closures. The 1947 and ’^46 mortgaged indebtedness comjiarisons follow; Mortgages Filed No. 1947 No. 1946 Farm. 172 805.030 150 1,342,616 Town .132 294,181 98 188,851 Mortgages Released Farm . 265 755,140 298 1,003,427 Town™ 98 147,815 99 1 25,049 Mercury Drops to Zero; New Low for Season The weatherman issued dir* warnings of impending cold dur ing the week, but the prophecies for severe cold did not material ize. Lowest temperature for th< week (and for the season) wai recorded early Wednesday when the mercury dropped to zero Snow Hurries Tuesday were ac companied by a strong wind that bore earmarks of a blizzard, but the threat was shortlived. The week’s summary: Hi Lo Moist. January 8_ 58 34 January 9_ 52 22 January 10_ 58 20 January 11_ 40 23 January 12-50 14 Janua y 13-25 14 T January 14 ._ 28 0 T BUYS RESIDENCE LYNCH — Friend Keeler has purchased a residence property in Omaha. Benny Rockford . . • the forces wouldn't have him . • • now needs blood—and lots of it. Benny’s O’Neill friends and relatives have already provid I Twins Known at Inman Crash Cover on Collier’s Magazine INMAN—The Collier’s mag azine cover on the January 17 issue holds special interest for Mrs. T. D. Hutton, Mrs. E. E. Clark and their relatives here. The color cover shows twin little girls having fun on a sled in Sun Valley, Ida. The snow princesses are Eleanor and Earlene Ferguson, daugh ters of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Fer guson, of Sun Valley. Mr. Ferguson is a nephew of Mrs. Hutton and Mrs. Clark. Their daddy worked on the Baldy Mountain chair lift for the glamour ski resort. The cover photograph was made by Joein and Louise Gerdts (husband and wile). Fanatic skiers themselves, they snapped hundreds of celebri ties on the ski trail, but they stumbled onto Ellie and Eenie, the snowsuit-clad twins riding piggy-back on a sled, to cash I in on their first big photo j money. MOUNTS TO FILE FOR REELECTION District Judge Named by Griswold to Fill 1941 Vacancy District Judge D. R. Mounts said Monday that he would file for reelection as judge in the ; 15th judicial district. I As an Atkin I Judge Mounts June, 1941, by I Griswold to fill the unexpired term of the late Judge R. R. Dickson. In the 1944 general election, Judge Mounts was elected to the same post. Depart for South— CHAMBERS—Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Couch departed last week for the South, traveling by automo bile and trailer house. They are uncertain where they will settle. Physicians have recommended the southern climate for Mrs. Couch’s health. Returns from East— Dr. W. F. Finley returned last Thursday from a visit in Phila delphia, Penn., and Chicago, 111. FIRST PREFAB GOES UP O’Neill’s first prefabricated house came to town last week via truck, and 36 hours later the house had begun to take shape. Owners a'e Mr. and Mrs. Howard Holliday and their little dauehters Laura Jean and Genelle. The site is lo cated on the outskirts of the city on East Everett street. The basement and founda tion for the 24x36-ft. structure had already been completed when the dismantled house ar rived. The panels are made of insulated asbestos hardwood. 1 Only the plumbing fixtures were lacking when the truck was unloaded. Wo: kmen abandoned the project until Wednesday be cause of the cold weather The house will contain two bedrooms, a bath, a living room-dinette combination and a kitchen. There is a full basement.—The Frontier Photo by John H. McCarville. 0 od 35 pints of blood, and on Sunday alone there were 18 pints ciedited to his account in the blood bank at Omaha. Mrs. Rockford, who is near her son at the hospital, has sent word that by this week end Benny's account will be running low. Not in the Service Benny was bo n at Battle Creek. He attended school at Stuart where he finished the sophomore year in high school. Since coming to O’Neill he has had a tough time keeping a steady job because he lacked stamina. During World War II the forces wouldn’t have him. The doctors said he "couldn’t take it.” If sufficient new blood can be injected into Benny’s veins, physicians have hopes of pull ing him through the appendec tomy. Despite the grim outlook. Benny is cheerful — and hopeful. He’s hopeful that more of bis Holt county friends will recognise his plight and come in person to his aid with blood — red blood. CAR SOUGHT FOR FRIENDSHIP TRAIN Foodstuffs from Holt Solicited for Starving: Europeans Holt county has been asked to orovide one carload of food for Nebraska’s own Friendship Train which is scheduled to leave Lin coln on February 12. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday anniversary. Plans for formulating an or ganization to handle arrange ments for Holt county's contri bu*i<->n were underway Wed nefd^y, and a mee'ing is ten tative’y set for Tuesday. Jan uary 20, at 2 d. m. in the.Ho’t county courthouse assembly room. All persons interested and | willing to assist in the movemenl are urged to be present, County Agent A. Neil Dawes said. Plan Began in Lincoln The statewide Abraham Lin coln Friendship T "Qim §!■ evolved from the city m rfcwlir where Chancellor R G. Gustav son, of the University of Ne braska, was named to head the state organization. An appeal was sent out this week to all clergy, newspapers, city and town service organizations, ex 1 tension clubs, scout g oups, and many individuals to enlist Inter est in the movement. Extension leaders were asked to draw representative leaders together for the initial meeting. At the Tuesday evening meet ing of the Chamber of Com merce the g oup voted to par 1 ticipate actively in the move ment and send representatives to the organizational meeting. The Friendship Train, laden with foodstuff for the unfor tunate European people, will assemble in Lincoln February P. go to Omaha and accumu late more rail cars there. The route from Illinois eastward will follow that which Abra ham Lincoln took on his way lo Washington, D. C„ to as suma tha presidancy. The Friendship Train will be moved under the auspices of the Christian Rural Overseas Pro gram, and will reach the people for whom it is intended in much the same fashion as the original Friendship Train, which crossed the nation two months ago. The Abraham Lincoln F iend’ ship Train movement has adopt ed a motto: “A carload of food from every county.’’ There are 93 counties in Nebraska. Aff Group Ready for Joint Annual Meetings Final arrangements were be ing completed Wednesday for a joint session of the Holt county extension service and the Holt soil' conservation service. Both organizations will be holding an no 1 meetings simultaneously F. iday in the courthouse annex building basement. The meeting begin* at 11:45 a. m. with a covered dish luncheon The afternoon will be split into sessions for each service with a talk by O. J. McDougal, exten sion soil conservationist, and a film. “Regimented Raindrops.” of special interest to both groups. Clarence E’nest is chairman of the extension service, arid Carl Lambert is chairman of the soil conse:vation district. The public has been invited. Women's Club Meeting— Mrs. Harrv Petersen will be hostess to the O’Neill Women’s club at a regular meeting Janu ary 21. Ira George, superintend ent or O’Neill public schools, will give a book review of “In side U S A,” by John Gunther. DANNY O'BANNON ADVENTURE ENDS FBI Regain# Face in Holt While .Local Press Blushes — The Federal Bureau of Invest 1 tigation has regained face in j Holt county. But at the same time the Holt county press is blushing. Elvyn Newman Bovell, 43. alias Danny O'Bannon. is now in custody of authorities, but the "scoop" on his fantastic > saga befell the Omaha World I Herald in a front paga story Friday. Said the Wo Id-Herald: "The Federal Bureau of Inves tigation has regained face it* Holt county. But it also lost the unwanted services of a would-be propagandist who had enlighten ed O’Neill residents with tales o£ fantastic adventures in the life * of an FBI agent. “J. L. Dalton, agent in charge . of the Omaha FBI office, Thurs day reoorted that a fo mer Oma han, Elvyn Newman Bovell, 43. alias Danny O’Bannon, is being (returned to Omaha from Nor folk to face charges of imperson ating an FBI agent “It is alleged that Bovell last spring impersonated an agent, demanded and received $320 from Homer and Sarah Lowry, of O’Neill. Ha* Long Record “FBI records show that Bovell is the adopted son of the late B. N. Bovell, former Omahan. “Mr. Dalton said Bovell has • criminal record dating back to his arrest for a series of rob beries in Omaha in 1924. He has faced charges of statutory rape, holdup, bigamy and for numer our burglaries He also imper sonated a G-man in Montana io : 1943. But it was Bovell's colorful I stories of his daring exploits | as an FBI agent that caused the department the most em barrassment. Records show thot the former Omahan built •p quite a reputation among his friends af O'Neill as a brave G-man. i “Last year he was missing for two weeks. Friends received no (ILe that he had died b avely in IP. blaze of gun fire on FBI busi r ness in Cuba. But Bovell re turned ‘from the dead’ full of additional tales of his exploits. “Using fake credentials, the would-be G-man made investiga tions and searched homes in the area. “A girl admirer proved hi* downfall. He left O’Neill with a p earranged plan to meet the girl at one of several railroad stations. Girl Proves Downfall The girl, believing him a real FBI agent, complied Real agents followed her and nabbed Bovell near the Norfolk railrqad station January 6. “He was held by Norfolk po lice to await return to Omaha. The illustrious O ’ Bannon’s name found its way into the columns of The Frontier on va rious occasions down through the months. Duly chronicled a routine way were his promo tion from “captain" to in the forces, his “death and “interment” in a famliy vault tf» Ireland, and his subsequent re turn here from the _ dead for so cial purposes and fishing excur sions. V - Gov. Val Peterson Files for Reelectio* Gov. Val Pet1'r on iled Wed nesday as candidate for reelec tion. He will seek the Republi can nomination in the April 13 p imary. In a statement to the press, the governor said that from a survey of his first 12 months of service, he was “encouraged bv the progress made” on the pro grams he had sponsored | Among these he listed state highway svstem im rov'pents contracted for during ’rv5" ’e amount of nine million do.lnrs • and about 11 mill Co rh 1 ms n 'new hi'hvr.v mrs'ruJ »n com pleted during the same year. He stated he considered the ,c eation of the governor’s state ! wide advisory road committee a positive step toward solution” of the Nebraska road-improvement ! problem. He also said that _ he felt quite gratified in obtaining, a'ter a special t ip to Washing ton, and with the cooperation of our congressional delegation, two million dollars in federal funds to be used in renlacing bridges and approaches destroyed by the June floods. Uninjured When Truck Goes Into Ditch CHAMBERS— Cecil Thornton had on accident January 7 about 10 miles southwest of Atkinson. The drag came loose on his truck, causing him to lo e con trol. The f uck wont into the ditch, damagin'7 the Iront badly. He was not injured.