Nebraska Newspapers

    The Frontier
VOLUME 68*—NUMBER 9_O'NEILL. NEBRASKA. THURSDAY, JULY 8. 1948 PRICE 7^CENTS.
THOUSANDS WITNESS FIREWORKS EXHIBITION . . .
Several thousand persons witnessed the Country club’s an
nual display of fireworks Sunday night. John H. McCar
ville, The Frontier’s photographer, made this tricky shot
showing sparkler wheels glowing (lower left foreground) and
sky rockets exploding. The clubhouse outline may be seen.
MRS. GEARY FETED
ON 84th BIRTHDAY
Gift and Card Shower
Makes Her ‘Feel 20
# Years Younger’
INMAN — Mrs. Etta Geary
celebrated her 84th birthday
anniversary Wednesday, June
30, at her country home south
west of Inman. Many of her
friends and relatives dropped
in to help her celebrate. Ice
cream and cake were served.
She received many gifts and
about 50 cards from he rela
tives and friends.
This was a surprise to Mrs.
Geary and she said it made
her "feel 20 years younger."
Etta Hopkins was born at
Hope Bartholomew county,
Indiana, June 30, 1864, and
came to Nebraska to live in
1904. She taught school in
Indiana and Nebraska for
about 15 years and it was while
^ teaching in what is known as
South Valley she boarded in
the Geary home. On Septem
24, 1904, she was united in
marriage to George Geary at
Columbus. Ind., at the Pres
byterian manse.
They came to Inman to live
on Mr. Geary’s farm and she
has made her home here since.
Mr. Geary was the father of
3. sons and' 1 daughter by a
previous marriage and she
helped to raise children.
Mrs. Tom (Jessie) Hartig
un lives on a farm south of
the Geary farm, Calvin lives
at Lyons, Reginald is with
Mrs. Geary, and Haddin and
his family live on an ad
joining farm.
Mr. Geary died on February
* 12, 1936.
Mrs. Geary says she enjoys
surprises. Their friends sur
prised them on their 10th and
20th wedding anniversaries and
she has had many birthday sur
prises.
Her nephew, James Hopkins,
whose birthday also occurs on
June 3, and who was 64-years
-old, was a special guest.
Leaving for Lincoln Monday
will be Mr. and Mrs. E. F.
Quinn and grandson, Jerry
Verzal. They expect to be gone
a week.
‘Name’ Band Coming
to Legion Ballroom
Art Kassel and his famous
! Kassels in the Air orchestra
! will appear at the American
Legion ballroom here Friday
night under Legion auspices.
Glen Wade, Legion command
er, said “the booking of the
Kassel orchestra was a rare op
portunity to bring one of the
‘name’ bands of the nation to
O’Neill.”
The O’Neill date is a “fill-in”
while the orchestra is hopping
from Watertown, S.D., to St.
Joseph, Mo.
Kassel has been featured in
leading dance spots in the land
and has been a radio network
favorite for several years.
School Chief Points
to Inequalities’
There are 2.835 elementary
school districts in Nebraska
with 10 or fewer pupils enrol
led according to reports filed
by county superintendents
with State Superintendent
Wayne O. Reed.
Of these, there are 850
that have 5 or less pupils in
attendance. The average en
rollment of the 4,605 elemen
tary districts in operation is
11.7 pupils and the average
enrollment per teacher is 10.
9.
However, there are 514 high
school districts with 108,127
elementary pupils enrolled
These elementary schools have
an average enrollment of 210.3
pupils per district and 28.8 pu
pils per teacher.
Reed said these enrollment
nequalities between rural and
urban elementary districts
point the way for a study of
the school reorganization prob
lem to be undertaken by the
legislative council, research
body for the state legislature.
The state superintendent
said this was the principal
factor which led to the re
districting program adopted
by Kansas 4 years ago.
“We know,” said Reed, “from
studies made that the larger
the administrative and fiscal
unit for schools the less the in
equality among units in the
ability to suport education, in
tax burden and the quality of
instruction provided.”
Youth, 17, Victim of a Rare Bone
Disease, Seeks a Chess Partner
I '
EWING — One of The Fron
tier’s Ewing readers this week
received a letter from a 17
year-old Royal Oak, Micha
youth, Earl Bell, who is a pa
, tient in St. Mary’s hospital at
Rochester, Minn.
Young Bell, who is afflict
ed with a rare bone disease,
is seeking a chess partner
and has asked a Ewing man
for help in finding one.
"If you happen to know any
one around Ewing who Is a
good chess player and who
would be willing to play some
correspondence games with me,
please tell them to get in
# touch with me right away,” he
wrote.
“The more you find the mer
rier I’ll be. They don’t ex
actly have to be from around
Ewing; they can be from any
where. Have them write to me
in care of St. Mary’s hospital,
room 3-270, Rochester, Minn.”
Earl is a student in the
Royal Oak high school and
has carried on his school
work despite his great dif
ficulty. Since stricken with
the rare disease 4 years ago,
he has spent most of the
time in casts, braces, doctor's
offices and hospitals.
Still he has kept up with his
studies, has become a chess
expert, and has learned to
play pingpong.
Recently he underwent an
operation for a disease that
Mayo’s diagnose as “bilateral
arthrokatazsis.” He is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. George Bell,
of Royal Oak.
HOLT CORN CRYING
FOR MOISTURE
Leading Question Is:
Where Has All the
Moisture Gone?
Holt county farmers are hard
to please. A fortnight ago they
wanted less moisture and an
opportunity to work the fields
that were too wet to work dur
ing the latter part of June.
Now they’re asking for more
moisture again. The corn is
growing rapidly but the sur
face moisture is fast disappear
ing. they say, and the ground
is dry on top.
"The leading question is:
"Where hase all the moisture
gone?" The stock answer
runs something like this: It i
has been absorbed by a
parched earth, intense heat
and fast growing crops.
Some corn has been laid by,
and some rare fields are waist
high. But corn in the O’Neill
region is considerably short of j
corn prospects elsewhere in the
state where it is the principal
crop and where prospects are
among the best in the midwest.
Haying i s starting in some
localities of the county this
week, but County Agent A.
Neil Dawes said Wednesday
that the haying wouldn’t get
underway in earnest until next
w’eek.
The harvest of small grain
is also starting and some ob
servers expect it to yield
about 70 per cent of norm
al. Most of the winter wheat
has been a dismal failure be
cause of a lack of moisture.
The bluegrass crop, likewise,
has been unsatisfactory for the
same reason. The yield is es
timated at only 15 percent of
the record 1946 yield.
The 99-degree temperature,
which was reached at mid
day Monday, July 5, was a
new high for the season.
The weather summary, bas
ed on 24-hour periods ending
at 8 a. m. daily, follows:
July 1_ 85 65
July 2_ 98 70
July 3_ 93 67
July 4_ 93 66
July 5_ 95 69
July 6_ 99 69
July 7_ 97 68
100 4-H Clubbers
to Long Pine Camp
Over a hundred Holt county
4-H club members and leaders
attended the annual 4-H camp
at Long Pine June 24-26, ft
was announced by County
Agent A. Neil Dawes. Velma
Abney, of Ewing, and Harold
Neilson, of O’Neill, won hon
ors for work in leathercraft.
WILBURNE BURGER
DIES AT INMAN
—
Lifelong Nebraskan, 82,
Buried Tuesday Near
Ainsworth
INMAN — Funeral services
were held Tuesday, July 6, at
2:30 p. m. in the Methodist
church at Ainsworth for Wil
burne Burger, 82, who died
Sunday at Inman. He had been
ill for about 2 months.
He succumbed at the home
of his daughter, Mrs. E. E.
Clark, in Inman.
Burial was in the Buffalo
Flats cemetery near Ainsworth.
Mr. Burger was bom on No
vember 22, 1865, at Platts
mouth, one of the first-born
white children in the state.
He went to Brown county
as a young man and settled in
the Buffalo Flats locality where
he spent most of his life.
He married Rozina Wheeler
on October 19, 1889 in Brown
county. She died on November
26. 1938.
Mr. Burger came to Holt |
county in August, 1947, from
Ainsworth to make his home
near his daughters, Mrs. Lu
cille Hutton and Mrs. Ada
Clark.
Survivors: Son—Thoitias, of
Ainsworth; P a ul , of Ains
worth; Donald of Ocean Side,
Calif.; Daughters: Mrs. Grace
Ferguson, of Bremerton, Wash.;
Mrs. Florence Merritt, of Au
burn, Wash.; Mrs. Floy Barker,
of Chadron; Mrs. Hutton and
Mrs. Clark, both of Inman.
Also surviving are: Brother,
Frank Burger, of Long Pine;
21 grandchildren, and 16 great
grandchildren.
Rev. M. R. Willis was in
charge of the funeral rites.
Among those going to Ains
worth for the funeral were:
Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Clark and
son. Tommy; Mr. and Mrs. T.
D. Hutlon; Mr. and Mrs. Ver
non Green and children, of
Sioux City; Robert Hutton, of
Omaha, and Norbert Clark, of
Inman.
Beauty Contest
Entries Coming In
Interest in the American
Legion-sponsored beauty con
test is gathering momentum,
Commander Glea Wade said
Wednesday as entries are be
ginning to come in, including a
number from Atkinson. En
tries are also being received
from other nearly towns.
Simonson post is sponsoring
an honorary “Miss Holt Coun
ty Legionnaire” to represent
the county at the state Legion
convention in Grand Island
Judges will select the winner
at a ball to be held at the
Legion auditorium here Thurs
day, July 22. Contestants will
appear in formats. Entrants
must be 17-years-old or over.
W'inner of the state title will
get an all-expense trip to Mi
ami, Fla.
All Holt entries must be
postmarked by July 15. Appli
cation blanks are available at
many business houses through
out the county.
2 INJURED HERE
WITH FIREWORKS
_ I
Large Truck Rolls Over
at Ewing in Principal
Traffic Accident
A 10-ton semi-trailer truck
left the road a mile and a half
east of Ewing Friday—the
principal mishap in the O'Neill
region over the long ^Fourth of
July weekend.
The driver, James Tange
man, of Omaha, escaped with
a few minor scratches, but the
cab of the machine was a to
tal loss and there was heavy
damage to the trailer and to
the cargo of feed- The outfit
rolled over into the ditch.
Dean Streeter, O'Neill bar
ber, suffered second degree
burns when a Roman candle
backfired, injuring his right
hand. Mr. Streeter was en- 1
lertaining a niece when the
accident occured.
Jerry Rotherham, 5, son of
John Rotherham, of O’Neill,
was also treated for fireworks
burns. A firecracker exploded
in his hand Sunday evening.
A Gregory, S. D., couple fig
ured in a mishap near the Rob
ert Donohoe place near O’Neill.
Their machine went into a
ditch, going out of control af
ter striking loose gravel. None
was injured.
John Westerbeck, of Atkin
son, fell early Monday from a
dirt grader while working on
the Atkinson-Stuart airport
and was brought to the O’Neill
hospital in an ambulance. His
condition is “fairly good.”
Music Pupils in
Recital at Inman
INMAN—Mrs. Jame Cronk
presented her piano pupils in
a music recital at the Metho
dist church Wednesday eve
ning, .June 30. The following
participated:
Larry Sawyer, Carolyn Wat
son, Dale Coon. Dick Coven
try, Sammy Watson. Roland
Hansen, Kay Coventry, Janet
Chase, Marilyn Gallagher, Ed
ith Gallagher, Luetta Coon,
Ila June Coon, Rita DeLong,
Beverly Smith, James Gronk
and Jimmy Sawyer.
Mrs. Eby Entertains —
Mrs. Merle Sprague and
daughter, Marilyn, of Stockton,
Calif., Mrs. Harold James and
daughter, Lena May, of Os
born, Kans., and Mrs. Roy
Richards, of Atkinson, were
guests June 26 at the homes
of Mrs. Della Eby. Ray Eby
and Mrs. Bennett Gillespie,
Mrs. Sprague and Mrs. James
are nieces of the late E. J. Eby.
The F rontier s
Jack and Jill
L CORNER
JEANIE KAY FOREMAN
THE BIG 3 . . . The Fron
tier’s Jack and Jill Corner
honorees this week are des
ignated as the big 3.
The pert little miss (above)
is J e a n i e Kay Foreman,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Foreman, of Emmet.
She will be 3-years-old on
August 16, has 2 older broth
ers and a sister. But wait—
she also has 2 nephews!
Opposite Miss Foreman is
Master Larry Gokie, who
was a New Year’s eve arriv
al a year and a half ago. His
parents are Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Gokie, jr., of O’Neill. Larry
likes best of all to ride on
the tractor with his pop,
but he’ll settle for a chance
to be out-of-doors. Larry is
a blond and, you guessed
it, he has blue eyes.
The other handsome fellow
is Jimmy Lee Schmidt, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond
J. Schmidt, of Atkinson. He
was born on the Fourth of
July a year ago. Jimmy con
tracted eczema at 3-months
old, had to have his hands
tied at night so he wouldn’t
scratch himself. Came his
LARRY GOKIE
JIMMY LEE SCHMIDT
teeth and the crawling per
iod and the eczema disap
peared. He has blue eyes
and light curly brown hair.
The high spot of Jimmy’s
day is a “horseback” ride on
daddy’s knee, and not in
frequently he drops off to
sleep in the “saddle”. Jim
my thinks bananas are tops
in the food department.—
Photos courtesy the O'Neill
Photo Co.
Beha Family in
Holiday Reunion
Mr., and Mrs. Joseph Beha
and family, who live in Min
neapolis, Minn., arrived Satur
day, July 3. for a week’s visit
with Mr. Beha’s mother, Mrs.
Nellie Beha, and other rela
tives.
They were guests Monday at
a family dinner held at the
home, of Matthew Beha, a
brother. Other guests included
Nan, Paul and William Beha
brothers and sister of Joseph
and Matthew, and their famil
ies, Mrs. Elizabeth Parr, of
Elgin, Mrs. Matthew Beha’s
mother, was also present.
Another get - together was
held Tuesday evening at the
William Beha home in the
form of a “cookout.”
_ •
Mr. and Mrs. John Melvin
departed Wednesday, July 7,
for a visit in St. Louis, Mo., at
the home of their daughter,
Mrs. Harry Shelton, and Mr.
Shelton.
Mrs. John Harrington and
Jimmy and Marline returned
to Chicago, 111., June 30 after
visiting Mrs. Thomas Donlin
and other relatives.
Nominees for Soil
Honors Are Sought
Louis Bernholtz, chairman of
the Holt soil conservation dis
trict, and County Agent A. Neil
Dawes, have announced that
Holt county farmers, ranchers
and businessmen have until
July 31 to make nominations
of farmers in the permanent
agriculture soil conservation
recognition group.
Names of farmers dofng sojj
conservation work, worthy of
special honor and recognition
may be sent in or left with
the county agent or soil con
servation service office, they
have explained. Entry blanks
may be obtained from Mr.
Dawes, or from L. F. Brede
meier, unit conservationist.
Nominations will be made
during July and judging of
these farms will be done in
August.
“Three farmers will be se
lected to represent our district
in competition with other soil
districts in this area,” Mr.
Bernholtz said. “The Holt dis
trict will be out to win one oj
the area plaques and the $300
state award,” he added.
Graham, Page pitcher, is shown (above) tak
ing a healthy swing that missed. A record
crowd witnessed the game. (See SPORTS on
page 4.)— Photo by John H. McCarville.
PAGE BATSMAN GOES DOWN . . . Danny
Helmer, O’Neill hurler, set down 18 Page
batsmen via the strikeout route Sunday, July
4, as the Rockets blasted Page 7-2. Darrell
3 MEN TO BE ON
NEW DRAFT BOARD
President Truman Will
Make Appointments
Under New Law
The new draft law, which
was tossed about considerably
during the late session of Con
gress, soon will be translated
into action in Holt county with
the appointment of a 3-mem
ber draft registration board.
Brig. Gen. Guy N. Henninger,
of, Lincoln, Nebraska adjutant
general who headed the draft
machinery during World War
II, said this week that the
names of the draft board mem
bers for each county will be
submitted by Gov. Val Peter
son to President Truman, who
will formally make the ap
pointments. This procedure
was embodied in the new draft
law enacted by the late Con
gress.
General Henninger said if
the nation drafts a quarter of
a million men during the
first year as unofficially re
ported, this would mean Ne
braska would furnish about
2,225 men. On that basil.
Holt county would be asked
to supply fewer than 40 men
the first year.
Approximately 165 thousand
men in Nebraska between the
ages of 19 and 25 would be re
quired to register.
Three Nebraskans who are
being submitted for approval
to head the draft program are:
Col. Frank B. O’Connell, Lt.
Col. Francis Drath and Maj.
Lee Leggett, of Utica. Colonel
O’Connell, now in Japan, head
ed the wartime draft. Colonel
Darth, a former editorial writ
er for the Nebraska State Jour
nal, is now a University of
Nebraska instructor, and Ma
jor Legget is secretary to Gov
ernor Peterson.
Each county will have a
draft board under the present
plans, and Douglas will have 3
boards and Lancaster 2.
Capt. Roger M. Thompson,
of Grand Island, Army and
Air Force recruiting officer
for the O'Neill region, said
this week that many 18-year
olds mistakingly believe that
a 1-year enlistment will com
pletely dicharge their new
obligations.
“It should be made clear,”
he said, “that upon completion
of a 1-year enlistment they
will be transferred to a re
serve component for 6 years,
possibly subject to a month of
active duty yearly, or 4 years
in an active unit.”
Captain Thompson added
that “three years is the short
est enlistment period which
will completely discharge the
draft obligation.”
Series of Deadlines
for Veterans in 1948
Keith Abart, Holt county ser
vice officer, this week pointed
out a series of 1948 “deadline
dates” of interest to war vet
erans and their kin.
July 31 is the last day that
"lapsed term” national service
life insurance can be rein
stated without taking a phy
sical examination. It is also the
last day a beneficiary, who
started receiving national ser
vice life insurance payments
prior to September 30, 1944,
?an change the option settle
ment.
August 31 is the last day on
which application may be made
for terminal leave pay, and
December 31 is the last day
for personnel and veterans of
ill U. S. armed forces to bring
their respective alien spouses
into this country on permit
marriage contemplated.
HOLT COUNTY
EDUCATIONAL NOTES
By El]a McCullough
County Superintendent
The regular state teachers'
examintaions will be held in
the O’Neill public school build
ing, Saturday, July 17. They
will begin at 8 a. m. Arithme
tic will be the first subject.
Here from Sioux Falls—
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene F.
Stanton and children, of Sioux
Falls, S. D., spent the Fourth
at the home of his parents, Mr.
and Mrs. A. F. Stanton. Mr.
Stanton returned Monday. His
family remained for a longer
visit.
PATROL TO MEET
There \yill be a Civil Air
Patrol meeting at the Holt
:ounty courthouse annex base
ment Tuesday evening in prep
aration for a trip to Norfolk.
Mrs. Emmett Moore and
rommy returned Tuesday, July
5, after attending a family re
union in Lincoln. They were
gone 3 days.
Mr. and Mrs. McCoy Rhodes,
of Cody, visited at the Hugh
Ray home from Saturday until
Monday.