Frontier
North-Nebraska s Fastest-Growing Newspaper SECTION 1
PAGES 1 TO 8
VOLUME 68—NUMBER 32 _ O'NEILL, NEBRASKA. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 16. 1948 ~ PRICE 7 CENTS
Atkinson Menaced
by Wind and Fire
Atkinson, Stuart, O'Neill
Firemen Bring Blaze
Under Control
Building Is Destroyed
ATKINSON—A strong wind
menaced a half-block in the
Atkinson business district Fri
day when flames destroyed
one building and damaged two
others.
Firemen from Atkinson, Stu
art and O’Neill battled the
blaze and managed to confine
most of the damage to the
building belonging to Roy C.
Richards, in which the fire
started.
The blaze broke out about
9 a. m. and practically burn
ed the Richards building to
the ground. Also damaged
was Vera's cafe in a build
ing owned by Claude Hum
phreys. Defective wiring and
an overheated hot air duct
were listed as possible caus
es of the blaze.
The Richards building was
located in the block immedi
ately West of the main square
on the North side of the street.
Of frame construction, it was
one of the oldest buildings in
Atkinson Recently it had been
remodeled to house the GuS
Robertson Woolen Goods Co.,
the Richards insurance offices,
and three residential apart
ments. The t.w o upstairs
apartments were occupied by
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Bridge
and Mr. and ‘ Mrs. Thomas
Dunn, jr., and the downstairs
apartment was occupied by
Mr. Robertson and his wife.
No one was injured.
Heat ana waier aia
damage papers inside Robert
son’s safe, but most of the
personal effects were consum
ed by the flames. The Dunns'
did not have insurance on
their household goods, it was
reported.
The blaze was fanned by a
strong South wind. It was the
first important run for Atkin
son’s new fire truck. Because
of the high wind, the Stuart
department was summoned
early and the visitors' are
credited with having helped
save adjoining property. The
Seger funeral home on the
corner was seriously threaten
ed and a crew of men went to
work removing caskets and
other material from the build
ing.
The body of John Koll
man, 57, Atkinson farmer,
who died the day before,
was removed by the under
taker.
Fire Chief G. E. Miles, of
the O’Neill fire department,
raced one of the O’Neill trucks
to Atkinson in below-freezing
temperatures.
Mr. Richards told The Fron
tier he had not made a deci
sion in regard to rebuilding.
O’Neill Stores Open
Thursday, Friday Eves
•
O’Neill stores will remain
open until nine o’clock tonight
(Thursday) and Friday, De
cember 16 and 17, to accom
modate shoppers who have
found it difficult to get their
Christmas buying done during
the usual daylight hours.
As usual, the stores’ will re
main open until 10 o’clock on
Saturday night.
Secretary James W. Rooney,
of the Chamber of Commerce,
said that the evening openings
this week were decided upon
instead of the customary eve
ning openings during Christ
mas week.
Baby Peters Is
Christened Sunday—
William Dean Peters, infant
son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur D.
Peters, was christened Sunday
at Christ Lutheran church by
Rev. Clyde O. Cress. His spon
sors were Mrs. W. C. Peters
and Mrs. Lyle Schultz, both of
Dinner guests Sunday at the
Peters home included Mr. and
Mrs W. C. Peters and Mr. and
Mrs. Lyle Schultz and son,
Richard.
Brewsters Here —
Mrs. Charles Lawrence’s sis
ter and her husband, Mr. and
Mrs. M D. Brewster, of Ew
ing, visited at the Lawrence
home Monday.
induction for 4
Men Postponed
Four Holt county selective
service men scheduled to leave
here Wednesday for induction
into the army were given a
12-day postponement. Instead
of being inducted on Decem
ber 15, as originally scheduled,
they will report on December
27.
The postponement was or
dered for Nebraska draftees
by Lt.-Col. Frank O’Connell,
of the state selective service
headquarters.
During the rest of the
month, O’Connell said, Nebras
ka will reach its quota, 156
men.
The January call is for 106
men from Nebraska and the
February quota has not been
announced.
Mrs. W. H. Harty, chief
clerk for the Holt selective
service board, said four men
had been selected for induc
tion Wednesday. One of these
did not receive notice of the
postponement and traveled a
considerable distance to be
here on schedule.
Names of the December in
ductees will not be made pub
lic until next week, she said.
BEN IANKLIN
Cl NGESHANDS
Crawford Man Purchases
Stock and Fixtures
from A. E. Bowen
A. E. Bowen, owner of Bow
en's Ben Franklin store here
and a longtime business man
in O’Neill, Tuesday announced
that R. B. Lucas, of Crawford,
had contracted to purchase the
Ben Franklin stock and fix
tures, effective next month.
In July Mr. Bowen marked
a milestone in his business ca
reer here when he opened a
modern new variety store. It
was the third—and most im
portant — business expansion
program since he went into
business for himself upon his
return to O’Neill following
World War II.
Mr. Bowen said he would
retain ownership of the new
building which is one of the
city's finest building blocks
and required many months
to construct.
Mr. Lucas has been at
Crawford for 11 years operat
ing a Ben Franklin store there.
Prior to going to Crawford he
worked with the F. W. Wool
worth Co. for 20 years.
Mr. Lucas has sold h i s
Crawford store and together
with his son, Robert, will come
to O’Neill in January.
Mr. Bowen said the store
would continue to operate as
a Ben Franklin store. Mean
while, he said he had no per
sonal plans for the future.
Sgt. Gallagher’s
Remains Interred
Funeral services' were con
ducted at 10 a. m. Wednesday
in St. Patrick’s Catholic
church here for Sgt. John M.
Gallagher, son of Mr. and
Mrs. John M. Gallagher, of
Inman. Rt. Rev. J. G. McNa
mara, church pastor, officiated.
The late Sergeant Gallagher
lost his life in the Pacific the
ater during World War II. His
body arrived in the U. S. on
November 30 aboard the Dal
ton Victory.
Burial was in Calvary cem
etery here with members of
Simonson post 93, of the
k email Legion, serving as
pallbearers: James Donlin,
Rind Riemers, James Sholes,
Melvin Lorenz, Donald Noring,
William Watson, Cecil Keyes,
and Louis Kopecky, jr.
Survivors: Parents; widow—
Mrs. George Winkler; sons —
Terry and Lynn; orother—Mi
chael; sisters — Betty, of In
man, and Mrs. Archie (Fran
ces) May, of Lake Andes, S. D.
Mrs. Lowery Hostess —
The ONO club met Monday
at the home of Mrs. Robert
Lowery. Christmas gifts were
exchanged and the club mem
bers drew names for their
“mystery sisters”
24 Pages .. .in This Issue
SECTION ONE
Editorial. “The Christmas Spirit” Page 2
Romaine Saunders, “Prairieland Talk” Page 2
Sports *a&e 4
Society Page 5
“When You and I Were Young” Page 6
Blanche Spann Pease, “The Frontier Woman” Page 7
Drew Pearson, “The Washington Merry-Go-Round Page (
SECTION TWO
Churches Page 1
Classifieds Page 4
NOWADAYS Magaiine Section
Harry Edward Neal, “Booby Traps for Businessmen” Page 2
William J. Murdoch, “Santa Claus 100 Percent American” Page 3
Jean Mowat, “Flying Diner” — Page 4
Alan McLain, “The Village Smith Goes to College” Page 5
J. J. Bryson, “The Jinx Is You!” Page 6
Esther Garduke, “Bumper Season for Berets” Page 8
Charles M. Hayes, “When You Crash” Page 10
Charles Hahn, “Too Many Stamps” Page 11
C. E. DOWNEY, 86,
EXPIRESAT BLAIR
Stroke Fatal to Early
Stage Driver and
Insurance Man
C. E. Downey, 86, father of
Sumner Downey, O'Neill pho-1
tographer, died' at 9:30 a. m
last Thursday at Blair at the
home of a daughter, Mrs. Ken-1
neth Pound.
He had suffered a stroke:
and had been ill only a week.
Funeral services were held
Saturday a t Independence,
Mo., and burial was in a cem
etery there. Among those at
tending the funeral were the
son, Sumner, and a brother,
L. H. Downey, of Page.
The late Mr. Downey was
born in Appleton, Wise., and
came to Holt county in 1876.
His parents were Mr. and
Mrs. Emory Downey, who
settled at Star, establish
ed the postofiice there, and
later were in the hay busi
ness at Inman.
The late C. E. Downey was
| in O’Neill before the first rail
I road was built here, For sever
! al years he drove a stage
and carried the mail between
, Niobrara and O’Neill.
In 1886 he married Minnie
j Balus at Atkinson. They be
I came the parents of seven
j chilcPren. Mrs. Downey died
12 years ago.
For 25 years he wrote in
surance in O'Neill and about
22 years ago moved from
O'Neill to Independence.
Survivors include: Sons —
Sumner, of O’Neill; Lee, of
Denver, Colo.; Randall, of
Sheridan, Wyo,; Morris
(“Duke”) Downey, of San
Francisco, Calif. Daughters'—
Mrs. Mick (Mildred) Coleman,
of Los Angeles, Calif., former
ly of Inman; Mrs. Kenneth
(Freda) Pound, of Blair; Mrs.
Wayne (Ardis) Cran, of Los
Angeles, Calif. Brother—L. H.,
of Page. Sister — Mrs. May
Minter, of Independence, Mo.
Lawyer Rites
Here Thursday
The body of T/5 Leonard D. j
Lawyer will be given final
burial here today (Thursday)
following 10 a. m. funeral
rites in St. Patrick’s Catholic
church. Rt. Rev. J. G. McNa
mara, church pastor, will offi
. date. Burial will be in Cal
vary cemetery.
Private Lawyer was a son
of Mr. and Mrs. John Lawyer,
1 of Portland, Ore., former O’
Neill residents.
The soldier was killed in
action in Germany on April
16, 194S. Simonson post 93
of the American Legion will
provide a military burial
rite.
The deceased’s parents ar
i rived in O’Neill Tuesday to
: attend the services.
Private Lawyer was born
September 27, 1916, at O’Neill.
He entered the service in
March, 1941. Going to the
European theater, he w a s
wounded in October, 1944, and
spent several months in a hos
pital in England.
He rejoined his organiza
tion later in Belgium. At
the time of his death he was
27.
Survivors include: Parents.
Brothers—Lyle, Gerald, Paul,
and Leo, all of Portland;
Lloyd, of Ainsworth. Sisters—
Mrs. Lester Jonas, of O’Neill;
Mrs. Mevin Hansen, of Ains
worth; Mrs. Lorin Keyes, of
Columbia, S. C., and Mrs. Gor
don Yeater, of Sacramento,
Calif.
Invalid 23 Years,
Nun Dies at Lynch
LYNCH—Sister M. Delores,
who suffered a broken back
in an automobile accident 22
years ago and since has been
an invalid, died late Saturday
in Sacred Heart hospital at
Lynch.
She was a patient at the
hospital here for many years.
Pledges Military Frat —
INMAN— Marvin P. Sobot
ka, Inman high valedictorian
of 1945, has been pledged by
Phalanx, national honorary
military fraternity at the Uni
versity of Nebraska. Member
ship is based on leadership
and scholastic ability. An ac
counting major, Sobotka is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis W.
Sobotka, of Inman
VOLLEYBALL AT PAGE
PAGE — Page high school
has a volleyball team. There
are about 15 girls that go for
this sport. Almost half of
these girls played last year.
John Lamason is? the coach
They plan to have some inter
scholastic games, yet this year.
Santa Claus Is
Coming to Town’
1 **■ * - ■ —• f »*,
From far-and-wide children
are expected to gather here
Saturday afternoon for the an
nual visit of Santa Claus.
He will have free candy,
fruit and nuts for hundreds of
his youthful admirers whom
he expects to greet in his vis
it to O’Neill.
According to special dis
patches to The Frontier from
Santa’s North Pole headquar
ters, he will leave there early
Saturday in a nifty new' rock
et ship that, until Wednesday,
had not been used before, fie
will reach the O’Neill airport
about 2:45 p. tfr, where he will
be greeted by the O'Neill fire
department and the biggest
fire truck.
The children are asked to
meet Santa at the O’Neill pub
lic school, lining up outside on
the West sidewalk in the event
the weather is good. Other
wise, the children will congre
gate inside.
The kiddies will file into the
building to meet Santa and to
receive their gifts1. Santa ex
pects to reach the building at
3 p. m.
MRS. JORDAN, 89,
DIES NEAR EWING
South - Holt Resident Is
Ruried Saturday in
Trussell Cemetery
EWING—Mrs1. Harry Jordan,
89, a south-Holt county resi
dent since 1897, died last
Thursday, December 9, at the
home of a daughter, Mrs. Elsie
Oetter, 28 miles southwest of
Ewing.
Funeral services w'ere held
Saturday at the Biglin Bros,
funeral home in O’Neill with
Rev. Ralph Gerber, pastor of
First Presbyterian church, of
O’Neill, officiating. Burial was
in the Trussell cemetery.
Pallbearers were: William
Hendrickson, Carl Lambert,
Walter Summers. Albert Hark
ins, John Harkins and Elmer
Lenz. Hymns w'ere sung by
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Lambert, of
Ewing.
Laura Risse Wright was
born December 13, 1859,
near Quincy, 111. She was
the eldest in a family of
five children born to Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Wright.
She was reared in Lewis
county, Missouri, where she
married Cornelius Frame on
August 15, 1875. She joined
the Baptist church.
The Frames became the pa
rents of six children, all of
whom preceded her in death.
Mr. Frame died while the fam
ily was residing in Saunders
county, Nebraska.
In 1893 she married Harry
Jordan at Yutan. They re
sided near Ashland where one
son, William Taylor Jordan,
was born.
In about 1897 the Jordans
moved to Holt county where
two daughters, Elsie and
Ruth, were born. Ruth died
in 1908.
In 1903 the Jordans home
steaded in south-Holt county
where the family continued to
reside. Mr. Jordan died July
2, 1925.
Survivors include: Son —
William Taylor Jordan, of
Burlington, Wash.; daughter—
Mrs. Elsie Oetter, of Ewing:
brother — LeRoy Wright, of
Lincoln; 11 grandchildren and
12 great-grandchildren.
Eastern Star
Elects New Officers
Symphony Chapter 316 of
the Eastern Star admitted two
new members at a meeting
last Thursday. Mrs. William
W. McIntosh and Mrs. C. A.
Weatherford are the new
members.
They also elected new offi
cers as follows: Mrs. C. W.
Porter, worthy matron; C. W.
Porter, worthy patron; Mrs.
H. L. Lindberg, associate ma
tron; H. L. Lindberg, associate
patron; Mrs. Harry Peterson,
conductress; Mrs. James Mc
Mahan, of Inman, associate
conductress; Mrs. J. L. Sher
bahn, treasurer, and Mrs. Ra
mon H. Bright, secretary.
Venus Couple to Hold
Delayed Open House—
VENUS— Due to the storm
of Thursday, November 18,
Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Grim
were unable to celebrate their
golden wedding day on Sat
urday, November 20, as plan
ned. They now plan to ob
serve it by holding an open
house reception at their home
from 2 to 5 p. m. on Sunday,
December 19.
“The Voice of The Frontier”
. . . WJAG, 730 on your dial
. . . every Monday, Wednes
day, Saturday, 9:30 a. m. -ad
‘Grandma9 Menish, 99,
Dies from Exposure
"Grandma" Menish . . . her heartbeat quickened when r.he
•>aw Abe Lincoln. (See story at right.)—The Frontier Photo by
•Toln H. McCarville.
Holl Fair Officers
Are Reelected
CHAMBERS—All officers of
! the Holt County Agriculural
Society, sponsors of the an
nual kolt county lair and ro
deo, were reelected Saturday
evening in .the annual meeting
of the board of directors.
Officers carried over for an
other year are: George Rowse,
president; Lloyd Gleed, vice
president; Edwin Wink, secre
tary, and Vern Sageser, treas
urer.
Henry Wood was elected
to replace on the board G.
H. Grimes, whose term had
expired.
T. E. Alderson and Wink
were elected delegates to the
annual meeting of fair man
agers and officials to be held
in Lincoln in January.
The 1949 fair dates are Sep
tember 14, 15 and 16—a week
later than usual.
Zero Weather
in First Visit
Near-zero temperatures vis
ited the O’Neill region for the
first time this Winter last
week as the mercury toppled
to the four- and three-degree
! marks on Thursday and Fri
! day, respectively.
On Wednesday morning O’
Neill was bedecked in white
as a result of a combination
sleet and frost. Trees and
shrubbery were laden with icy
coatings.
Week’s weather summary,
based on 24-hour periods end
ing at 8 a. m. daily, follows:
Hi Lo Moist
December 9 22 4 .05
December 10 18 3
December 11 34 8
December 12 40 20
December 13 41 21
December 14 31 15
December 15 23 17
WE BEG YOUR PARDON
James Urlaub, of O’Neill,
has enlisted for two years in
the army ground forces, not
the air force. Last week’s is
sue of The Frontier erroneous
ly said he enlisted in the air
force. Two-year enlistments
in the air force are not auth
orized, according to Sgt. James
Lyons, of O’Neill, who is in
I charge of recruiting here.
BROTHER DIES
INMAN—Mrs. Emma Kivett
and Mrs. Arthur Renner re
ceived word Friday morning
of the death of their brother,
John Paxson. The funeral was
1 held Sunday at York.
DAMAGES NEW CAR
ATKIN90N—(Lee Sammons,
1 of Amelia, and his 1949 car
figured in an auto-truck mis
hap on an Atkin-on street re
cently. Damage to the Sam
mons machine was slight.
KOLLMAN RITES
AT ATKINSON
Lifelong Resident of
Atkinson and Stuart
Communities Dies
ATKINSON — Funeral ser
vices were held Monday at 10
a. m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic
church for John Kollman, 57,
prominent farmer and a life
long resident of the Atkinson
and Stuart communities, who
died last Thursday afternoon.
Rev. A. A. Lehman officiat
ed and burial was in St. Jo
seph’s cemetery.
The pallbearers were: John
Vinzenz, Charles Ziska, Joseph
Kramer, J. P. Murphy, Edward
Dvorak and J. J. Carroll.
The late Mr. Kollman had
suffered a heart ailment for
a year and was a victim of
a stroke recently.
He was born February 27,
1891, in Stuart township, a son
of the late John and Mary
Kollman. On October 5, 1915,
he was married to Miss Cath
erine Straka. They became
the parents of five sons and
one daughter. One son, Rob
ert, died in infancy.
Mr. Kollman operated a
farm west of Atkinson for
many years and was promi
nent in farming affairs.
Survivors include: Widow.
Sons — Walter, John R., and
William, all of Atkinson, and
Francis, of Denver, Colo.
Daughter—Eleanor C., of At
kinson.
He also leaves three sisters
and two half-sisters.
Ole the Fiddler
to Broadcast
Owen LaPrath, of O'Neill,
who will be introduced as
“Ole the Fiddler.” will be
featured in Saturday’s broad
cast from the O’Neill studios
on the “Voice of The Frontier”
program on radio station
WJ AG.
He will be a guest of Jean
nie and Johnnie Mullen —The
Harmonairs—who are regular
ly featured on the Monday,
Wednesday and Saturday 9 30
a. m. broadcasts over the Nor
folk station.
Due to technical difficulties
at the station, the Atkinson
male and ladies < hocuses were
no heard on Monday’s program
as scheduled. Instead John
nie and Jeannie carried on
from O’Neill. The music by
the choruses had been tape
recorded.
Furlough Ends —
Marvin Korab left Wednes
day, December 15, after spend
ing a 15-day furlough here
visiting relatives and friends^
Marvin expects to be sent to
Alabama.
Frozen Body Discovered
Early Tuesday by
Neighbor
f uneral Rites Friday
Exposure and possible ex
haustion were blamed for the
death of Mrs. William Menish,
99, a Holt county homesteader
and one of the oldest residents
in the O’Neill region.
Her frozen body w a a
found about 9 a. m. Tuesday
about a half-mile north of
the Menish farm, which is
located six miles north and
two miles West of O'Neill.
Discovery was made by
Charles Crowley, a neighbor
who had been summoned to
help search for the aged
woman.
She had left her farm home
sometime Monday night or
early Tuesday morning un
known to her son, Edward,
with whom she made her
home.
Mrs. Menish’s frozen body
was well - clothed but her
hands had been bleeding, pre
sumably because of contact
with a barbed wire fence. How
long she had been dead could
not be determined. During the
night the temperature dropped
to 15 degrees. It is believed
she may have been headed for
the Herbert Jansen farm
house, which was only a few
rods away from where her
body was found.
Mr. Menish, her son, had
been injured late Monday
when roughed by a horse.
Bruised and shaken, he retired
early. Not until he arose
Tuesday morning did he miss
his mother.
"Grandma" Menish, as she
was affectionately lonown,
celebrated her 99lh birthday
anniversary on Mtorch 9. Un
til that time she had Jaot
been seriously ill in her life,
her vision was good, and
she carried out daily house
hold tasks.
By early Summer, however,
she began to fail and she re
quired considerable care both
at home and at the home of
her daughter, Mrs. William P.
Dailey, at Emmet, where she
spent a number of weeks.
Funeral services will be held
Friday at 10 a. m. at St. Pat
rick’s Catholic church here
and burial will be in Calvary
cemetery. Rev. C. J. Werner
will officiate. Chosen as pall
bearers are: Herbert Jansen,
T. J. Donohoe, Frank Nicko
lite, John Babl and Clarence
Gokie.
The late Mrs. Menish was
born in the mining town of
Carbondale, Pa., on March 9,
1849, a daughter of the late
Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeous O’
Malley, who were natives of
Ireland.
Bridgett Theressa O’Malley
was so frail as a child that
her parents dispaired over her
health.
Reminiscing she has often
recalled seeing Abraham Lin
coln when he was a candidate
for president. Her heartbeat
quickened when she saw tall
Abe enter the then fashionable
Wyoming house in Scranton.
On February 22. 1869, she
married William Menish. a
young machinist from Pat
terson, N. J. The nuptial
rites took place in a Catholic
cathedral in Scranton.
Early in 1878, Mr. Menish
came to Holt county—then in
the early stages o. settlement.
He returned to Pennsylvania
for his wife and four small
children. They traveled by
rail to Wisner (then a termi
nal), and made the journey
from Wisner to O’Neill in a
wagon.
The family took a home
stead in Shields township.
Her parents came to Holt
county and lived in the O’
Neill vicinity where they died
and were buried. Mr. Menish
died in 1907.
Survivors include: Daughters
— Mrs. R. J. (Katherine)
Marsh, of O’Neill; Mrs. H. J.
(Mary) Thomey, of Vancouver,
B. C\, Canada; Mrs. William
P. (Frances) Dailey, of Emmet;
Mrs. John (Beatrice) Welsh,
of Woolcott. Sons’ — Hugh C.
Menish, of St. Louis, Mo.; and
Edward Menish. of O’Neill.
Two sons. John Menish and
Arthur Menish, are deceased.
Visit at Ainsworth—
PAGE — Miss Patti Banta
j and Gene Anson spent Sunday
at Ainsworth where they vis
ited Miss Banta’s grandmoth
er, Mrs. Mae Brown, and with
her aunts and uncles, Mr. and
Mrs. Garold Skinner and Mr.
and Mrs. Glen Williams.