The Frontier ~
North-Nebraska’s Fastest-Growing Newspaper section i
6 r r Pages 1 to 8
VOLUME 68—NUMBER 29 O'NEILL. NEBRASKA, THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 25. 1948 PRICE 7 CENTS
*
Blizzard Highlights
From all corners of the O’Neill region stories began to trickle
in this week concerning experiences of people in the historic No
vember blizzard of 1948. Pathos, melodrama and humor com
bine to make t e sioun probably the year’s biggest lews rtory.
Everywhere the picture was the same—mountains of snow,
choked roads and highways, marooned travelers, hundreds ot
unexpected guests, frantic efforts to shelter livestock. There
were hurried efforts to replenish food and fuel supplies, days
of vacation for excited school children, lack of mail service for
what might easily extend over a week. There were reports of
heroism on one hand and smug contentment on the other.
Reams of copy would be required to tell the story in its full
est details.
The Frontier’s alert correspondents have provided a word
picture of the storm in several communities. The stories that
follow have been dispatched to The Frontier by courier, wire and
mail. It is only a partial roundup, but provides the first detailed
storm news in the territory.
(Compiled from Special Dispatches)
The stork was active during
the storm. Mrs. Wilbur Peters
and Mrs. Neil Clarke, O’Neill
women, walked through snow
drifts to the O’Neill hospital
where both gave births to
sons.
The Clarke Infant, Benny
Lee. arrived Friday; William
Dean Peters was born on
Saturday.
Papa Peters, a Consumers
Public Power district lineman,
was out-of-town, boarded a
Chicago & North Western
train with a snowplow attach
ed and rode into O’Neill ahead
of the big bird.
Teresa Ann Rotherham en
tered this world early Satur
day as the storm was subsid
ing. Her parents are Mr. and
Mrs. John Rotherham, of O’
Neill, and Dr. W. F. Finley had
to negotiate snowdrifts higher
than his head to attend.
On Saturday morning, Carl
Hubei, Ewing’s flying rancher,
flew his ski-equipped plane to
the Wilson Spangler place,
e^ist of Ewing, and brought
Mrs. Spangler, an expect
ant mother, to town. She is
now at the home of her moth
er-in-law, W. A. Spangler.
★
Tri-State turkeys farms
here reported fowl losses
variously estimated from
one to two thousand head.
Clark Willson, farm manag
er, said the extent of the
loss couldn't be determined
until snow has cleared. J.
M. Corkle, of the Corkle
Hatchery, likewise has re
ported a turkey loss, prob
ably greater. Losses for these
firms will run into thousands
of dollars.
LYNCH — Rain Wednesday
evening, November 18, turned
to snow which was borne on a
hard-driving wind from the
northwest and brought to the
Lynch vicinity one of its
worst blizzards in years.
No school was held Thurs
day and Friday and train
service on the Winner, S. D.
Norfolk branch of the North
Western was badly inter
rupted.
Sidney Woolf, Glen Stewart
and a third person were on a
hunting trip and were caught
in the storm along the Mis
souri river northwest of Lynch.
They were marooned in the
farm home of Hans Stuckstorf
for 2 Vz days. Verne Stewart
got through with a tractor on
Saturday and freed them.
★
EWING — An anonymous
telephone call from a farm
home brought word to Ewing
that an automobile and its
occupants were marooned on
federal highway 20 northwest
of Ewing. A group of men
boarded Art Ruroede’s truck,
became stalled, walked the re
maining distance—a mile —
and found Mr. and Mrs. George
Harris, of Riverton, Wyo., ma
rooned in a new Buick. They
had been to the Sioux City
market with livestock, became
stalled. Their gasoline held out
until the early hours Friday.
They remained in their car
huddled together until Satur
day. The rescue party found
John H. Haun, 48, of Spencer
dead in another car. (See story
in column 2.)
★
EWING — Mrs. Katherine
Boies, who teaches in the old
Latzel school eight miles
south of Ewing, * sent her
pupils home Thursday before
the storm became too se
vere, remained in the build
ing alone. Without food but
warm, she was found Satur
day.
ATKINSON — Mrs. Alpha
Kirkland, teacher in school
district 119, and several of her
pupils spent last Thursday
night in • the school building.
One of the parents came to the
school for his children, but de
cided it was safer to leave
them there. Next day, Mrs.
Kirkland and the children
walked to the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Floyd Barnes, where
patrons came for them later
in the day.
REDBIRD — Rodger Rosen
krans and his family were
snowbound on the Niobrara
river hill here as their auto
got stuck in a snowbank. The
family spent the night at the
Nick Baker home. Next day
Mr. Rosenkrans walked to his
home near Dorsey, nine miles
away, cared, for his livestock
got help to free his car.
¥
W. W. Waller, of O’Neill,
was caught in the storm near
Spencer. His family here did
not know his whereabouts un
til Saturday. He walked five
miles from the Ben Cunning
ham farm to where he could
place a telephone call.
A traveling salesman, a
Golden hotel guest during
the course of the blizzard,
early Saturday recruited
several youthful snow shov
elers to remove u mountain
of snow around his automo
bile, paid the laborers $10,
discovered if was somebody
else's car.
★
EWING — Kermit Jeffries
weather observer here, estim
ated that between 12- and 18
inches of snow fell in Ewing.
Drifts ranged to 10 feet in
height. The hotel and room
ing houses were filled with
travelers who were unable to
get out of town. Water and
telephone service was seri
ously impaired. Power failure
caused grave concern. Nels A
Bergstrom, school custodian,
was fearful water pipes in the
building would burst if elec
tricity had been off much long
er. Businessmen fretted over
dormant refrigeration plants
and stokers. Townspeople
stayed home and caught up on
their sleep. Horses were draft
ed for emergency transporta
tion but didn’t like the idea.
★
REDBIRD—Ray Wilson was
out Saturday with his tractor
opening important roads in the
vicinity following the raging
blizzard.
(Continued on page 4)
TRAVELER DIES IN
SNOWBOUND AUTO
Heart Attack Fatal to
John H. Haun, 48,
Spencer Trucker
_
Burial a t Alford
A heart attack proved fatal
to John H. Haun, 48, Spencer
trucker, about 10 p. m. last
Thursday while marooned in a
snowbound automobile with
two companions, Earl J. Rod
man, of O’Neill, and Ray Funk,
of Ewing.
Haun had been traveling
West Thursday afternoon in
his truck on highway 20 when
his machine stalled near the
Page intersection. While a
blizzard raged, he joined up
with Rodman and Funk, who
were enroute to O’Neill from
Ewing.
Later. the trio became
stranded in Funk’s machine.
About 10 o'clock that night
Haun, who. according to rel
atives had a bad heart, suf
fered an attack and he died
suddenly.
As the night progressed the
storm grew more fierce. The
two men kept the body in the
car and at intervals started
the engine to keep warm.
About midnight snow had par
tially enveloped the machine
and fumes filled the car. Un
able to open a door, Rodman
and Funk crawled out through
a window. Because the snow
was deep and the storm was
raging, they crawled back in
to the machine where they re
mained until 8 a. m. Satur
day.
Making their way to the
Melcher farm, three-quarters
of a mile away, help was sum
moned by telephone from Ew
ing. /
By Saturday afternoon the
body was removed by means
of a truck and a jeep and
the remains were hrought to
the Biglin Brothers funeral
home.
Funeral services were held
Tuesday at 2 p. m. at the
Methodist cnurch in Lynch
with Rev. Chester Anderson
officiating. Burial was in the
Alford cemetery, near Mon
OWi’ TT ,,
Pallbearers were: Harold
(Continued on page 4)
Man, 82, Expires
Near Chambers
CHAMBERS — Robert Shoe
I maker, 82, died last Thursday
at 10:30 p. m. at the home of,
his daughter, Mrs. Charles
Wright, located six miles
southwest of Chambers.
Due to blocked road con-,
ditions, the remains were not
removed until Sunday, when
they were taken to Biglin
Brothers mortuary in O’Neill.
Neighbors gathered Satur
day and Sunday to shovel
snow and enable the body to
be removed.
Late Monday the remains
were taken to Plainview pend
ing funeral services. Burial
was to be at Creighton.
Snowstorm Paralyzes Region
BLIZZARD OF 1948 . . . Oldtimers aver that I
last week’s 48-hour snowstorm, the first of the
season, rivalled the historic blizzard of 1888 in
quantity. Ol’ Dobbin was brought into action
to free stranded automobiles and to negotiate
the snow-cogged streets and highways. The
top photograph (taken in front of the Golden
hotel) shows tons of snow on the city's main
—ii r.. I'Liujiyiii—iiiHiii ii i 1 11 wwii i mi hi ii mi im»i ■ 11 ..
intersection at Fourth and Douglas streets.
Botton photograph (looking East on Douglas
from same intersection) pictures a drift in
from of the Golden nearly touching the can
opy. A row of automobiles is buried under
the ridge of snow in the background.—The
Frontier Photos by John H. McCarville.
JAMES R. HOPKINS
DIES AT INMAN
Lifelong Resident of
Stafford and Inman
III 3 Years
INMAN—James R. Hopkins,
64, lifelong resident of the
Stafford and Inman commufti
ties, died at 2:30 p. m. last
Thursday at his home in In
man. He had been ill for
about three years.
Because of the storm con
ditions and impassable roads,
the body could not be re
moved to Biglin Brothers
mortuary in O'Neill until
Friday, being transported on
a tractor-drawn wagon.
Funeral services were delay
ed until Wednesday. Rev. R.
M. Wingate, church pastor,
was to have officiated in 2.
p. m. rites at the Methodist
church. Interment was to have
been in the Inman cemetery.
James Ralph Hopkins, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Albert M.
Hopkins, was born at Stafford
on June 30, 1884. He was born
on the Hopkins homestead and
made his home continuously in
the Stafford and Inman com
munities.
On June 2, 1917, he was
married at Lutton, la., to
Iva Morey Hopkins, and to
this union was born six
children.
Survivors include: Widow
Sons—Kemp, of Buhl, Ida.;
Donald, of O’Neill; Larry, of
Inman. Daughters—Mrs. Ellen
Maxcy, of Bayard; Mrs. Vir
ginia Perry, of O’Neill; Mrs.
Jeanette Barnes, of Cody. Step
daughters—Mrs. Edna Woods,
of Palmer; Mrs. Estella Smith
and Mrs. Willys Morey, both
of Sioux City. Sisters—Mrs. i
Mary Allen, of Long Beach
Calif.; Mrs. Edith Ladwig, of
Sumner. Brothers—Walter and
Ted, of Buhl, Ida., and Harvey,
of Papillion. He also leaves 23
grandchildren. I
Union Thanksgiving
Services Scheduled
Union Thanksgiving worship
services were to have been
held Wednesday night, Novem
ber 24, at First Presbyterian
church. Rev. M. H. Grosen
bach, of Wesleyan Methodist
church, was to deliver the ser
mon.
RETURN BODIES
OF 3 WAR DEAD
Plan Final Burials tor
European Theater
Casualties
The remains of three men
who lost their lives in Europe
during World War II and are
to be given final burial near
here arrived in the U. S. last
week aboard the Army trans
port Carroll Victory.
They are:
2/LT. JAMES A. MACK.
T/5 LEONARD D. LAWYER
T/5 MELVIN S. THORIN.
Lieutenant Mack’s next-of
kin is Fred R. Mack, of Atkin
son; T/5 Lawyer’s next-of-kin
is John C. Lawyer, 7575 North
Heppner Ave., Portland, Ore.,
and T/5 Thorin’s next-of-kin
is Florence P Thorin, of Cham
bers.
After leaving the Kansas
City. Mo., American Graves
Registration distribution cen
ter at a late date, the Mack
body will be forwarded to
the Seger funeral home in
Atkinson: the Lawyer body
to Biglin Brothers in O'Neill,
and the Thorin body to
Barnum's funeral home at
Neligh.
American war dead origin
ally interred in France, Bel
gium and Holland were among
those being brought back to
the U. S. aboard the Carroll
Victory. All being returned
have been requested by next
of-kin.
EDWARD SEGER, 34,
ATKINSON, DIES
World War II Veteran
Expires at Hot Springs
Hospital
ATKINSON — Funeral ser
vices were held Tuesday, No
vember 23, at 9:30 a. m. for
Edward Seger, 34, youngest
son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Se
ger, of Atkisnon.
He died Friday, November
19, at the Veteran's hospital
in Hot Springs, S. D„ where
he had undergone surgery.
Hospital attendants held lit
tle hope for his recovery from
the beginning of his illness.
The late Mr. Seger was born
in Atkinson and lived most of
his life here, except for the
nearly three years he spent in
the Army during World War
II. After his discharge, he had
made his home here and was
active in all civic affairs.
He was a member of the
order of Knights of Columbus.
The order held a rosary ser
vice Sunday a. ternoon at 4 o ,
clock and another was held
Monday evening at the Seger
family home.
Funeral services were held
at S t. Joseph's Catholic
church with Rev. A. A.
Lehmann in charge. The re
mains were accorded full
military rites by Far ley -
Tushla post of the American
Legion during the burial.
Survivors include: Parents—
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Seger; bro
thers—Joseph and Leo Seger,
both of Atkinson; sisters—
Mrs. Margaret Langer, of
Denver, Colo.; Mrs. Raymond
(Mary) White. M r s .
Judd (Gertrude) Bond and
Mrs. Harry (Katherine) Bose,
all of Martin, S. D., and Mrs
August (Agnes) Leinmger, of
Kadoka. S. D.
The pallbearers were: Wil
liam Morgan, George VerzaL
John Flannery. Russell Heu
ton. Charles Ankeny and Roy
Mack.
Unseasonal November Blizzard Claims One
Life; Train Marooned 24 Hours
Residents in the O’Neill region this week are occupied with
the massive task of digging out from under the worst November
blizzard on record.
O Neill and its surrounding territory lay in the direct path
of a furious and costly storm that swept in from the northwest,
claiming at least one life, taking a toll in livestock and fowl,
and completely paralyzing the area for three days. Some com
munities and many families will be isolated indefinitely if more
snow comes.
Riding on a strong northerly wind, the snow began falling
early Thursday. The storm gained momentum as the day pro
gressed with the temperature dropping steadily from the 30
degree mark to a low of 18.
The winds mounted and at times gusts attained a velocity of
50-mile-per-hour, according to estimates at the Municipal air
port.
By nightfall, O’Neill and several other communities were
virtually isolated. Ice accumulated on telephone and power cir
cuits and many lines were severed.
All communications were paralyzed. Snowplows didn’t at
tempt to go to work while the storm was at its height.
Hundreds of travelers became marooned in O’Neill includ
ing about 50 passengers aboard the eastbound Chicago & North
Western train number 14.
The storm continued unabated through Friday evening. On
Saturday the skies cleared and the tremendous uncovering task
was begun.
Many oldtimers, including P. J. McManus and C. E. Stout,
veteran businessmen, and The Frontier’s Romaine Saunders, said
they had never seen so much snow in the city in November—if
ever.
Automobiles parked along the north side of Douglas street
in the heart of the business district were buried under moun
tains of snow.
Scores of automobiles were stalled on O’Neill streets and
highways, and many of them will be snowbound for days to
come even if the vicinity is so fortunate as to be visited by a full
fledged thaw.
Had the mercury tumbled to a subzero mark, many observers
predict the loss of life and suffering would have rivalled the fa
mous blizzard of 1888.
The storm extended from Newport on the West to Pilger on
the East. While winds howled and Holt countyans huddled in
the safety of their homes and close'to their fires, a championship
football game was in progress Friday night at Springview between
Ainsworth and Keya Paha county high school, won by the
Springview team, 6-0.
Westbound highway 275 travelers entering the storm
area were dumbfounded as well as inconvenienced.
From North-to-South the storm reached from central South
Dakota to southern Kansas. Grand Island, like O’Neill, was a
focal point of the storm.
Nebraska’s death toll was six. John H Haun, 48, Spencer
truck operator, died in an automobile stalled on federal highway
20 near the Page intersection. (See story in column 2.)
O’Neill was without liqht and power for 2Vt hours Satur
day evening. Because main transmission lines were severed,
the Consumers Public Power district plant here was overbur
dened. Power was fed to several towns which earlier had been
without electricity during the evening "peak period" and
O'Neill went into a blackout. Most stores closed shop. Res
taurants served meals bv candlelight. The break in the high
voltage transmission line was near Belden.
Northwestern Bell Telephone company circuits to Norfolk
and Omaha were severed in the Clearwater and Neligh areas.
During the height of the storm there was no means of communi
cation out of here except for high priority emergency calls routed
over a single circuit through Winner and Sioux Falls, S. D. By
late Tuesday only partial repairs had been made and calls to
many points were not being booked. Western Union telegraph
circuits were likewise unserviceable. Chicago & Northwestern
and Burlington telegraph circuits were “dead” for several hours.
O’Neill was without rail service for 24 hours. Eastbound pas
senger-mail train number 14 on the North Western system was
held at the station here for 24 hours, between 1 a. m. Friday and
1 a. m. Saturday. A westbound snowplow train freed the ma
rooned number 14. Subsequent trains until Monday night were
running up to seven hours behind schedule. Meanwhile, an east
bound freight left O’Neill last Thursday on the Burlington sys
tem and none other has been at the station since. H. A. Yocum,
station agent, said the system’s rotary snow plow, which is expect
ed to be needed to clear the tracks between O’Neill and Sioux
City, was diverted into Kansas for mainline duty there. A con
ventional snowplow broke down enroute to O’Neill Sunday.
Highway 275 was cleared almost immediately to Ewing and
by late Saturday was cleared to Norfolk and beyond. Highway 20
West of here was blocked for a relatively short time.
Highways 20 was closed until noon Monday. The biggest
problem was a long drift near Royal. Highway 108 to Page was
not yet opened by Tuesday night.
The first bus between Norfolk and O’Neill after the storm
left Norfolk at 1:45 p. m. Sunday. The first Norfolk bound bus
left O’Neill, at 9 a. m. Monday. Bus service to Bonesteel, S. D.
was resumed early Monday.
Achievement Day
Program Dec. 7
This year’s achievement day
program, to be held on Tues
day, December 7, promises to
be new and entirely different
consisting almost exclusively
of extension club talent. There
will be a style review of ac
cessories and clothing made of
old leather*, felt, fur, feed ,
sacks, etc.
Samples of home cleaned J
fur and leather goods will be
shown. Also planned are com
edy skits and musical features.
The Clay Creek Musical
Clackers will be there.
Plans are being made for a
speaker from a Sioux City de
partment store to illustrate j
“Color in the Home.” The use !
of the projector recently pur
chased by the various clubs,
will be demonstrated.
Frontier Again
to Press Early
The Frontier again this week
went to press late Tuesday in
order to provide its readers
with the news before the na
tional holiday—Thanksgiving.
While many rural mail pa
trons are still without regular
mail service, The Frontier’s
early publication will get this
week’s news — especially the
blizzard news—to many of
them on Wednesday instead of
FYiday.
BENEFIT GAME SLATED
A benefit basketball game,
sponsored by the O’Neill Lions
club, is scheduled Wednesday,
December 1, at the O’Neill
public school gymnasium. The
teams competing will be the
New York Broadway Clowns
and the Johnson Jukes (of
Sioux City.) The game will be
gin at 8 p. m.