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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1949)
The Frontier North-Nebraska s Fastest-Growing Newspaper SECTION I 1 r PAGES 1 TO 8 VOLUME 63—NUMBER 35 ' O'NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY. JANUARY 6. IMS PRICE 7 CENTS WALLACE FRENCH EXPIRES AT PAGE k - Dies Last Thursday — 2 Days Following Golden Wedding Date PAGE—Wallace H. French, 78-year-old Page resident, died about 9:30 a. m. last Thursday, December 30—two days follow ing his golden wedding anni versary. Funeral services were held Saturday at 2 p. m. at the Methodist church here with Rev. T. O. Brownfield, church pastor, officiating. Burial was in the Page cemetery. Miss Mildred Haynes, so prano, sang “The Old Rugged Cross’’ and "‘Abide with Me”, accompanied on the piano by Mrs. John Lamason. Pallbearers were: Harry Har per, Soren Sorenson, Donald Snyder, A. L. Doer, George Clasey, Kenneth Braddock, Melvin Smith and Leonard Miller. > Mr. French was' born August * 31, 1870 at Bath, N. Y. Mr. French and Miss Jen nie Moffat were married on December 28. 1898 at the home of the bride's parents, located four miles east of Page. Rev. Bartley Blaine was the minister. They lived on a place near the Elkhorn river, now known as the Harvey farm, for a year and then moved to the French family homestead near Page, now occupied by Lyman Park. In 1909 they moved to Eu gene, Ore., to reside for 10 years, returning to Page to re side here since. The late Mr. French was manager of the Farmers Un ion store for 10 years. In re cent years he has been in “very poor health”, relatives said. He was a member of the Methodist church. Survivors include: Widow; daughters—Mrs. Alton (Hel en) Braddoclc. of Page, and Miss Alice French, of O' Neill. One daughter, Isabel, died while the family lived in Oregon. Among those from a distance here for the funeral were: Mr. and Mrs. Merl Brause. of Val entine; Mrs. Archie Tjeadway, of Okarchie, Okla.; Harold Mpf fat, of Lewellyn; Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Murphy and Mr. and Mrs. Russell Sorenson, all of Plainview; Dr. and Mrs. O. W. French, of O’Neill; Walter French and Miss Mary Louise French, both of Stromsberg. Because of Mr. French’s health, the golden wedding date was marked in only a quiet manner. The French’s friends, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Michaelson, observed their gold en wedding anniversary on the same day. Beha Infant First Entry in Contest The Frontier’s 1949 first baby contest was off to a flying start. James Michael Beha, tip ping the beam at six and three fourths pounds, arrived at about 7 a. m. in O’Neill’^ hos pital—a son of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew G. Beha. James Michael's entry was the first to be received by the first baby contest editor. All entries must be post marked by 6 p. m. Monday, January 10, and oflicial an nouncement of the winner will be made in next week’s issue— January 13. The contest winner will be showered with gifts valued at more than one hundred dollars with the compliments of these O’Neill merchants: Midwest Furniture & Appliance Co,. McCarvilles’, Gilligan & Stout —Druggists', O’Neill Photo Co., Bowen’s Ben Franklin Store. R. H. (“Ray”) Shriner Insur ance Agency, Montgomery’s Hardware, Spelts-Ray Lumber Co., Gambles, Gillespie's, Mc Intosh Jewelry, Brown-McDon ald’s, Shelhamer Foods, Jonas Furniture Exchange and The Frontier. _ , Mr. and Mrs. Robert Eacker, of Ewing, became the parents of a Son, weighing eight pounds and eight ounces, which was born at 6 a. m. on New Year’s day. The Eacker infant, however, was born outside Holt countv—in the Tilden hospital _and is ineligible for the prizes. marriage licenses Vernon G. Beckwith, 22. Em met, and Jewell Ann Black more. 20, Atkinson, December 29. __ _ 16 Pages This Issue SECTION ONE Pagex Editorial ? Romaine Saunders * Drew Pearson " A. Stroller Churches * Society ^ Blanche Spann Pease 6 James C. Olson Real Estate Transfers J Classifieds -----.. " Future Subscribers - 0 NOWADAYS Magazine Section J. C. Stanford Toni DeLay .-. Jules France j. J. Bryson - Jud Kinberg Kav Campbell Voice’ Broadcasts Storm Bulletins “The Voice of The Fron tier” broadcast four special storm bulletins at different in tervals this week in addition to two regularly-scheduled pro grams, by remote control over radio station WJAG at Nor folk. These five-minute resumes of highway conditions and highlights of the storm news were heard Monday at 1:15 and 4:55 p. m.; Tuesday at 9:30 a. m., and Wednesday at 4:55 p m. Regular-scheduled programs were broadcast at Monday and Wednesday at 9:30 a. m., both crammed with regional weather information. Content of Monday's f i v e - minute bulletin at 1:15 p. m., was subsequently broadcast over radio station WNAX at Yankton, S. D„ an Omaha station and an Iowa station. Hundreds of persons have sent congratulatory messages to The Frontier for the special service. When special broadcasts are planned, WJAG announces per i iodically beforehand that a I bulletin will be heard. OWNER EXTENSIVE HOLT RANCH DIES Widow of Late Gov. Lee Succumbs at Vermillion; Funeral Sunday ■Mrs. Myrtle Shepard Lee, ; 75, widow of the late Albert E. Lee, former governor of South Dakota, died last Friday at her j hbme in Vermillion, S. D. A na i tive of Iowa, she had been ill for some time and had been under the fcare of a special nurse. At the time of her death Mrs. Lee was the owner of a pproximately 11,000-acres of Holt county land, located a bout 15 miles southwest of Emmet. Funeral services were to ; have been held Sunday at Ver ! million and burial was made there. e The real estate here form erly belonged to the Lee and Prentis partnership firm, which pioneered the mercan tile business in Vermillion. Before her marriage. Mrs. Lee was an employee of the firm. About 1900 Mr. Lee and his partner began ranching oper ations in Holt county, Sum mering vast numbers of cattle here and shipping by the train load to feed lots in the Ver million territory. Twice married, Mr. Lee was a Republican governor of South Dakota. The family nev er resided in Holt county. During the height of Lee & Prentis operations they owned property now belonging to ; Charley Peterson, John Mc j Nally and Michael Higgins in [addition to the 11,000 acres that has been retained by the Lee family. The late Mrs. Lee and her husband had no children, al though Mr. Lee was the father of a daughter by his first wife. Neighbors estimate the Lee ranch at present has about 1.500 head of cattle on it. Robert Tams is the foceman. Survivors include: Sisters'— Mrs. E. T. Price, of O’Neill, and Miss Sada Shepard, of South Dakota; niece—Mrs. Eth el Bartlett, of Madision, S. D.; nephews—L. B. Price, of O’ Neill; Roland Price, of Canada, and Eldon Price, of Chicago, 111. Mrs. E. T. Price and Mrs. L. B. Price attended the funeral and by late Wednesday had not returned to O’Neill. Joseph Shonka, 111, Removed from Home CHAMBERS—Joseph Shonka, about 55, became critically ill Wednesday morning and Cham- ' bers men turned out en masse I with a snowplow and scoop I shovels to clear the way for a doctor. Mr. Shonka was re moved to Chambers during the noon hour and Dr. J. W. Gill said he was “resting comfort- [ ably”. Mr. Shonka lives two miles West of Chambers. — Miss' Mary Condon, of New York City, plans to leave Fri- 1 day after visiting her mother, ) Mrs. Hope Condon, for two weeks. Ill-Fated Train Crew in Harrowing Experience Two steam locomotives on the Burlington railroad, push ing a wedge-type snowplow on the Sioux City-O’Neill branch line, late Friday were derail ed six miles East of O’Neill. The double-header was begin ning to emerge from a drift 1, 500 feet long and up to 18 feet in depth when the road bed is believed to have “given away.” One locomotive turned par tially on its side and the other remained upright but both were off the track Consider able damage was done to the roadbed. Crew men and locally-re cruited laborers worked fev erishly at the wreckage to keep the locomotives “alive" over the weekend, but in the face of Monday's fresh storm, moving in from the Rockies, the project was abandoned. Coal was conveyed in sacks and workmen scooped snow in to the tender to substitute as water. Supplies were hauled to the workers to the Evert Miner farm by truck and by team and wagon to the scene of the wreckage. Reason for keeping the en gines “alive” was to facilitate the job for the wrecker-train. A wrecker was dispatched from Ferry Junction, near South Sioux City, early Sat urday, reached Osmond that night, and reached Page Sun day night, plowing new drifts that had developed. The wrecker-train and crew of about 20 men were still stranded in Page late Wed nesday. They carried their own dining car and sleeping car and rested comfortably. On Monday night the crew members from the ill-fated > double-header made their way back to the Miner house where , they spent the night. They slept in shifts in beds, on the davenport and on the floor. Next morn ing for breakfast they con sumed 64 eggs, four loaves of bread, and gallons of fresh milk. They made their way back to O’Neill Tuesday night, shoveling and walking all the way. During part of the jour ney the men clung to a rope behind a team and wagon. Per iodically, the party stopped to account for all memoers, and reached O’Neill at 6 p. m. A touch of irony entered the picture that night. They boarded a Northwestern train Riding Southeast to Fremont they were to transfer back to the Burlington road and go to Sioux City. A rotary snowplow, used principally on the CB&Q's mountain railroads, is being dispatched here to clear the Sioux City-O’Neill span once and-for-all, officials hope. The same crew members are ex pected to mann the rotary train when it returns. When that will be Station Agent H. A. Yo cum says he does not know. Meanwhile, the two derailed locomotives which caused all the trouble are abandoned, “dead” and very much dorm ant. Fresh Blizzard Grips Region SNOW CITY . . . O’Neillites are beginning to wonder if their town shouldn’t be redesignated as the Snow City. The Frontier’s photograph er, John H. McCarville, snapped the above pic ture over the weekend from an aircraft piloted by Cliff Adkins, of the O’Neill Airport. Anoth er 12 inches of snow’ has fallen since the picture was taken. The photograph below is an aerial view of two Burlington locomotives which were derailed late Friday while bucking a snowdrift 1,500 feet long and 18 feet deep six miles East of O’Neill. The locomotives were kept “alive” by workmen for three days, later abandoned in the face of a raging snowstorm. (See uiory below) NELSON SEATED AS UNICAW OPENS O’Neill Senator-Elect on Hand for Tuesday’s Preliminaries State Senator Frank Nelson, prominent O’Neill farmer and the newly-elected salon from the Twenty-eighth legislative district, was seated at noon Tuesday as the 1949 session of Nebraska’s famed unicameral law-making body convened. Senator Nelson succeeds John L. Colepand, of Mariaville, who served one term and was not a candidate for reelection. Senator Nelson left O’Neill Saturday for Lincoln and is re siding at the Lincoln Hotel. First bill to be introduced to the 1949 session was a 180-page bill providing for codification of the state’s school laws. Tues day’s opening business dealt only with naming permanent legislative employees, election of a speaker, chairman and com mittee members. At least two senators-elect were not on hand for the opening session because of inability to reach Lincoln. The Twer^v-elghth district includes Holt, Rock, Boyd and Keya Paha counties. I i Holt Countyan Troves Up’ on Niobrara River Island Homestead j ATKINSON—Charles F. Prior this week “proved up” on his Niobrara river island homestead —having gone through the same legal procedure that in years gone by enabled the settlement of the West. Prior appeared before Attor ney Charles E. Chace, a notary public, to execute final proceed ings in the matter. The land is officially listed as: Lois 11 and 12, section 3; lot 9, section 4; lot 5, section 9, and lot 4, section 10, town ship 33-N, range 15-W, Sixth principal meridian, in Holt county, Nebraska. In unofficial terms the land may be described as an island in the river immediately East of the bridge on the Stuart-Naper road. Mr Prior has resided on the island since early in 1943, has ! cleared a portion of the land, nd has made some improve ments. Nearest land office. Attor ney Chace explained, is at Billinas, Mont. In the land rush days there was an of fice at O'Neill. In the final act of “provine up" on Wednesday, December 29, Mr. Prior experienced hard ship that rivalled in a way some of the trials of the pioneer homesteaders: He traveled from his home on the river to Atkin son by horseback, foot and au tomobile to keep his “proving up" date which had been ad vertised. Mrs. Abe Stull, 70, Buried at Atkinson — ATKINSON — Funeral ser vices were held Sunday at the Methodist church for Mrs'. Abe Stull, 70, who died last Thurs day following a several years’ illness. Rev. W. C. Birming ham officiated and burial was in Wood Lawn cemetery. Mary Ellen Sigmon was born in Virginia on July 4, 1878. a daughter of the late Thomas and Octavia Sigmon. The Stull family came to the Atkinson community from Plattsmouth in 1929. Mr. Stull died in 1944. Survivors include: Daughters —Mrs. Melvin (Zelpha) M.ver, of Crawford, and Mrs. John (Dorothy) Mick, of Atkinson; sons—Abe Stull, jr, of Atkin Son, and George Stull, of Crawford. There are also six grandchildren. Roads Blocked, Many Communities Isolated by One of Worst Storms in History North-Nebraska and Holt county, swept by one of the worst blizzards in its history, was gripped late Wednesday in the third Jay of a driving snowstorm paralysis which has blocked all roads, isolated many communities, and is expected to take an inevitable heavy toll in livestock. No persons were reported missing or in distress up until The Frontier went to press Wednesday night, but communications were disrupted on many rural telephone lines in the region and many persons have not been heard from for several days. Mountainous drifts of snow ranging up to 20 feet in depth formed gigantic road blocks and choked-off lifelines to small communities, including: Chambers, Page, Amelia, Spencer, But te, Lynch, Redbird, and others. This week's storm—the fourth of blizzard proportions this Winter—began with heavy snowfall about midnight Sunday night. By daylight Monday, a cold Northwest wind had mov ed into the region from the Rockies, and by noon the storm was raging. Gusts of wind ranging up to 35-miles-oer hour were reported at the O'Neill airport. By late Monday afternoon the fresh storm had the region completely paralyzed. All traffic was at a virtual standstill. Holt countyans bedded themeslves down that night as the storm raged. There were no deaths reported but stockmen were gravely concerned over their livestock. The big problem, of course, was to reach the cattle with feed. Tuesday dawned clear and bright and the digging out pro cess was begun. Highways 20 and 275 were reopened, but a new storm developed in Northwestern Nebraska and subjected points West of O’Neill to weather that rivalled in severity the his toric blizzard of January 12, 1888. Chadron was strangled by 40 inches of snow and a 55-mile pcr-hour wind. Heavy snow fell all day at Valentine and Ains worth, and the storm diminished before reaching the O’Neill re gion. Frigidity remained, however, and the mercury tumbled to zero during the night. Early Wednesday a strong wind, accompanied by light snow, continued to blow and gained momentum during the day. State highway department equipment, trying to buck the drifts on the main highways, were obliged to abandon the task until the wind subsided. Highway officials explained that highways 20 and 275 East would be reopened in "a few hours" after the winds go down. J. D. Osenbaugh, of the O'Neill state highway department gar age, predicted late Wednesday that only the department's heaviest equipment would be equal to the plowing job ahead. He predicted many days would be required before the secondary highways were opened This was grim news to citize • living in smeller communities relying on secondary highways for supplies. Some of these, like Chambers, Amelia and Redbird and the territories they serve, are inland—without rail service. Many schools in the region did not attempt to hold classes this week. Atkinson public school operated Wednesday but at tendance was restricted. Tuesday’s sale at the Atkinson Livestock Market and the sale today (Thursday) at the Fredrickson Livestock Market, in O’Neill, were cancelled. Sales in both towns were cancelled a week ago. O’Neill was not without train service for any extended length of time, but one of its two railroads has had difficulty aplenty. (See story of the Burlington’s two derailed locomatives else where on this page.) Monday mornings Westbound Omaha-Chadron Northwest ern passenger-mail train arrived in O’Neill an hour late but Was heldover here five hours pending the arrival of a snowplow from Norfolk to clear the track. The train only went as far as Long Pine, turned around and served as the Eastbound train that night. Normally, the train continues on to Chadron and a different train leaves Chadron as the Eastbound. Tuesdays jgurning’s Westbound train, thanks to a snowplow, ran about on^^jie, but Wednesday morning’s train was six hours late reaching >re. One expectant mother, Mrs. William Hibbs, of Star, was re moved to O’Neill hospital Monday morning after a group of men and machines made their way to the Mrs. Vannie Newman resi dence, where she had been residing for several days. The baby, a son, arrived Tuesday, and attendants say both mother and in fant are "doing nicely”. Many persons ran low on fuel in its various forms and fuel merchants were making heroic efforts to deliver to households where there were acute shortages. Carl Smith, an Atkinson farmer, voiced the situation of most stockmen when he explained that todate this Winter he has fed more hay to his livestock than he fed during the entire Winter of 1947-’48. He said, however, that there was no shortage of feed at his place. A roof on a building near the Lohaus Motor Co. collapsed un der the weight of snow' early Monday. The original home of vhe Mellor Motor Co., the building recently has been used ?"or stor age. Several automobiles, including one new model, were dam aged. (Continued on page 4) Campbell Funeral Thrice Delayed ATKINSON—Funeral servic es for Mrs. Albert Campbell, 35, who died last Thursday about 8:30 p. m., at her home in At kinson. thrice were delayed be cause of blizzard conditions. Rites were originally sched uled for Monday in the Fed erated church in Stuart, were postponed until Tuesday, again postponed until Wed nesday, and now are sched uled for today (Thursday). Burial is to be in the Stuart cemetery with Rev. W. C. Bir mingham officiating. Mrs. Campbell was the moth- , er of nine children, several of whom preceded her in death. Her husband died several years ago. Survivors include: Daughters —Mrs. Ed (Rose) Desive, of At kinson, and Mrs. John (Eva) Seger, of Stuart; sons—Gilbert Campbell, of Stuart; Roy Camp bell, of California; Charles Campbell, of Michigan, and sev eral other sons and daughters. STORM SIDEL'GbTS CHAMBERS—Mrs. Emogene Bower, Chambers telephone operator, late Tuesday said that the series of recent storms combined to make conditions as bad as' those following the blizzard of 1888. In the histor ic blizzard of 61 years ago, the Chambers woman's first hus band Lee Baker, had a harrow ing experience and nearly lost his life. She described the situation in the Chambers community this week as “very bad." "Stockman don't know what to do to get feed to their cattle." she explained. "Many stockmen wish there were more horses in t h e community to rely on in getting to the cattle. Some ranchers will be running very short of feed in a few days." All roads leading into Cham bers were blocked early Mon day. Not even Wednesday was highway 281 to O’Neill open ed. There was no school at Chambers Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. On Wednesday af (Continued on page 4)