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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1949)
ONeill Is Hub of Blizzard Disaster Area * 10 I The Frontier ss. SECTION I North-Nebraska’s Fastest-Growing Newspaper pages i to 8 VOLUME 68—NUMBER 38 O'NEILL. NEBRASKA. THURSDAY. JANUARY 27, 1949 _PRICE 7 CENTS Chambers Couple Perishes in Storm _«_ Clarence Kiltz’s Body Found in Barn, Wife’s in Snow Near House r CHAMBERS—The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kiltz, in their 60’s, were found on their Holt county farm Tuesday af ternoon by Harvey Jones, a neighbor, who had been making per iodic checks on the aged couple since the storm struck. Mr. Kiltz’s body was found in the barn and Mrs. Kiltz’s body was found about 12 feet from the house. Authorities were unable to investigate immediately. Neighbors who knew the couple well believed that Mr. Kiltx. who may have been thawing out a frozen-up well, became weakened while in the barn. They suggest that he laid down to recover and there he died. It is believed that after Mr. Kiltz became overdue at the j house, his wife went out to search and was stricken. Both bodies were frozen *and both people were well-clothed for protection from the weather. The nature of new drifts of snow around the doors of the house indicated, neighbors said, that the bodies had been frozen at least a day before they were found. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kiltz had been in failing health, especial ly Mr. Kiltz. They lived on a farm three miles East and five miles North of Chambers, in a semi-retired manner. Chores were relatively light for Mr. Kiltz and he kept only one cow. Most of their land is rented out to neighbors. They were members of Kellar Presbyterian church and had ,been active and prominent in community affairs. J Mr. Kiltz was born at Union, McHenry county, Illinois, a son of Fredrick and Addie Kiltz. He came with other members of his family to Holt county, settling near Chambers. Mr. Kiltz was educated in Holt county schools. On September 15. 1916 he married Miss Evelyn Landeen, of Fremont, in a ceremony at Fremont. The couple settled on their present farm, and they became the parents of two daugh ters and one son. Survivors include: Daughters—First Lt. Thelma Kiltz, of Ft. Sam Houston, near San Antonio, Tex., and Mrs. Jack (Doris) Schipper, Jr., of Denver, Colo. Son—Robert, of Los Alamos, Calif. Mr. Kiltz also leaves his mother, Mrs. Addie Kiltz, 88, of Chambers; brothers—Clyde, of Chambers, and Burton, of Louis iana: sister—Mrs. T. E. Alderson, of Chambers. Mrs. Kiltz was one of six children. Survivors include; Wil liam Landeen, of Tekamah, brother, and Mrs. Alma Nielsen, of Uehling, sister. Twenty volunteer workmen with some equipment cleared a road to the Kiltz farm late Tuesday and by 9:30 p. m. both bodies were in Chambers pending the arrival of a mortician. Holt county authorities were unable to reach the scene of the tragedy late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Trucker, Engineer Meet for 2d Time Albert Sipes, O’Neill truck er, continues to have troubles with trains—especially those belonging to the North Wes tern railroad. While crossing the main line tracks in West O’Neill on De cember 28, Sipes’ truck stalled on the crossing. He and his wife, who was a passenger, es caped unhurt. Sipes attempted to flag down the train, failed and a partially demolished truck resulted. The track was cleared and the train continued on its way. During an attempt Sunday lo remove the trailer portion of the wrecked vehicle from the right-of-way, Sipes' equipment was straddling the track when, sure enough, another train came charging down the rails. Exasperated, Sipes took off down the tracks and succeed ed this time in stopping the train, avoiding further dam age to the battered tractor trailer outfit. When the engineer dis mounted from the locomotive, Sipes discovered he was doing business with the same engin eer who was driving on that fateful December 28th—just 26 days ago! Sipes insisted he had been assured by rail employees that there would not be another train along during the course : of ^he salvage operations. The i engineer smiled and said, "O- 1 kay, son, no hurry.” < - i Student Government ' Activity Postponed • American Legion - sponsored student government activity, scheduled to have been held here Monday, has been post poned indefinitely, according to Miss Elja McCullough, program chairman, and Glea H. Wade, vice-chairman. Roy J. Lang, of the boys’ and girls’ county government state- < wide program, which is under 1 the direction of the Nebraska 1 department of the American < Legion, reached O’Neill Sunday i and was prepared to assist with the activities. AIR FORCE WINS IN PORT STRUGGLE Kearney Base Dispatches Equipment to Open Airstrip Here Uncle Sam’s Air Force was the first outside agency to come to the aid of the storm-stricken U’Neill area. A request for help, coming al most simultaneously with a plan to inactivate the base, was made to Col. Ashley B. Packard, com nanrting officer of the Kearney \ir base. Three pieces of heavy snow mval equipment, including n ■ rotary plow and two “sno ;o" blower type plows, were iispatched to O’Neill Saturday ■j.: r with the mission of clear ng the 1 */2 mile road to the TNeill airport and clearing an urstrip. Traveling all night they irrived Sunday at 5 a. m. Attempts were made to open the road, via the Coun try club, on Sunday but were thwarted by high winds. The plows, manned by three GIs and six civilians worked through the night Monday and by 5 a. m. Tuesday had reach ed the airstrip. By 6 p. m. Tuesday night the airstrip was cleared and ready to receive planes. The runway was covered with 12 inches of snow and nine nehes of ice in layers. The ro ary broke down before actual clearing of the runway was be ;un, but the two other pieces ;arried on. Early Wednesday finishing ouches were made on the air itrip work and the plows were o be diverted to important coun y roads. During the course of the storm Sunday and Monday and when the Air Force equipment was not in use, the plows opened a number of im portant passages within the city. The men have been “bunk ng” in the jury quarters at the •ourthouse and are guests of folt county during their stay j lere. Efforts are being made o keep the men and machines . mtil the emergency is over. Need printing? Frontier, adv AIR FORCE COMES TO TOWN . . . U. S. Air Force snow-removal equipment reached O’ Neill early Sunday with the mission of open ing the 1 M>-mile road the Municipal Airport and clearing a runway. By 5 p. m. Tuesday the mission was completed but a rotary plow broke down in the process. Pictuxed above is a “sno-go” stuck in 34 inches of snow on the windswept level near the airport. In addition to snow, the machines had to chop through nine inches of ice. Below a "sno-go” is in ac tion, throwing a cloud of snow off to the right, j Two of these machines cleared an airstrip 50 yards wide and 4,000 feet long. Three C-47— cargo-type planes—operated Wednesday In the Burwell area from the Kearney base and were scheduled to begin airlift operations here early today.—The Frontier Photos by John H. McCarville. I ' EDWARD OLSON. 54, DIES AT LINCOLN World War I Veteran Back in Hospital Only 4 Days Edward Olson, 54, a veter an of World War I and one of the city’s leading automobile mechanics for 22 years, died at 10:15 p. m. Friday in the Vet erans hospital in Lincoln. He had been ill since September 1947. Mr. Olson had been in-and out of several hospitals during the course of his illness. He had reentered the hospital only four days before his' death. Funeral services were held at 2 p. m. Wednesday in the Methodist church here with Rev. V. R. Bell, church pastor officiating. Burial was to have been in the new Prospect Hill cemetery. The laie Mr. Olson was born on February 27, 1895 at Newman Gcove, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Ebert Olson. His father was a native of Norway; his mother came from Germany. On September 6, 1922 at Da vid City he married Ethel Hougland. They moved to O’ Neill and became the parents of two daughters.. Mr. Olson was a member of Simonson post 93 of the Am erican Legion. Survivors include: Widow; daughters—Miss Marian Edna Olson, of Galveston, Tex., and Mrs Martin Walter, of O’ Neill; two brothers, and two sisters. Page Man Is Elected Secretary — PAGE—Merwyn French, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. G. French, 3r., of Page, recently was elect ed secretary of the ag campus YMCA at the University of Nebraska. New officers are chosen by popular vote of the YMCA members. French is a junior. Frontier’s ‘Voice’ Works Overtime “The Voice of The Frontier,” O’Neill’s radio link with radio station WJAG at Norfolk, this week has been working over time. Aside from the regular Saturday, Monday and Wednes day 9:30 a. m. broadcasts, O’ Neill has been on the air on three special occasions. At 9:30 a. m. Friday the Cor kle Hatchery sponsored a spec ial five-minute roundup of storm news and passed the first word that O’Neill civic groups were pressing Gov. Val Peter son to declare this an emergency area. At 3 p. m. on Sunday after noon The Frontier again went on the air, this time with Bill Beha presenting a special 15 minute storm news summary. Featured was an interTiew with S/Sgl. Lewis Coffin, of the Kearney Air Base, who was in charge of the snow-re moval equipment that had been sent to O'Neill to clear the airport. This broadcast was sponsored by the Ameri can Red Cross. A.t 4:30 p. m. on Wednesday afternoon, the O’Neill Produc tion Credit Association spon sored a special 10-minute broad cast which again featured Bill Beha. Also on the program was 1/Lt. John Cleary, of Grand Island, officer in charge of the Army “weasel” which arrived here from Camp Carson, Colo. Listeners are urged to stay tuned to WJAG for latest de velopments in the emergency area. Special broadcasts from O’Neill are announced in ad vance by the station. 0’Neili~Farmer Kicked by Horse Alfred Marsh. O’Neill farm er, was flown to the O’Neill hospital Tuesday where he is recovering from injuries sus tained when kicked by an ir ate horse at his farm home. Hospital attendants Wednes day described his condition as 1 “fairly good”. 1 STORMS DELAY VAN DOVER RITES Farmer’s Body Brought to O’Neill 3 Days After Death Funeral services for Marsh Van Dover, 78-year-old O’Neill farmer, were held at 3 p. m. Wednesday in the Methodist church. Interment will be made in Prospect Hill cemetery as soon as possible. Until late Wednesday ceme tery workers were unable to reach the cemetery and pre pare a grave. Mr. Van Dover died sud denly exactly a week be fore while assisting a neigh bor. Joseph Pritchett, in carrying coal in a sack. Death was believed to have been caused by a heart at tack. News of Mr. Van Dover’s death reached The Frontier just before press time and this newspaper erroneously stated that Mr Van Dover had frozen to death. Rev. V, R. Bell, Methodist church pastor, officiated and Biglin Brothers were in charge of arrangements. The late Mr. Van Dover was born in Monona county, la. in 1871, a son of MV. and Mrs. Grason Van Dover. The Van Dovers came to | Holt county 20 years ago af ter living m Pierce and Knox counties. Survivors include: Sons — j Everett, of O’Neill, and Ep hriam, of Ft. Meade, S. D. One son, William, and one daughter, Mrs. Frank (Zona) Reynolds, preceded him in death. Pallbearers were: Charles Richter, Charles Pritchett, Dave Widtfeldt. Roy Lanman, Her (Continued on page 8) Mis Virginia Bennett spent the weekend visiting relatives and friends in Ewing. 20 More Bulldozers Are Being Sought for Holt Relief Work Holt and 20 other Nebraska counties late Tuesday were officially designated by Gov. Val Peterson as being in a state of emergency. Strick en residents in the snowbound areas finally were assured of extensive state aid, federal aid, and as sistance from other agencies including the Ameri can Red Cross. Meanwhile, in Lincoln the budget committee of the state legislature in session introduced two bills which will set up assistance machinery and appropriate a half-million dollars for aid. Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday Gover nor Peterson was in touch with President Tru man and other goverment officials in Washing LATE BULLETIN Brig. Gen. Guy N. Henninger, Nebraska ad jutant general and administrator of the storm relief fund, late Wednesday indicated to Holt county officials that 20 more bulldozers would be dispatched to Holt county for relief work immediately. ton pleading for federal disaster funds to match the state money. The Associated Press told The Frontier that Peterson had been trying to reach every conceivable person in Washington who might be in a position to act. The Governor said the problem in Nebraska’s stricken area was so great that relief of human suffering and live stock hunger could not be coped with by indi viduals or a single county. He specifically asked Secretary of the Army Kenneth Royall and the commanding general of the Fifth army for 300 bulldozers and at least 25 I “weasels”. Late Tuesday one “weasel” reached O’Neill from Camp Carson, Colo. Manned by military per sonnel, it was immediately placed at the disposal of the Holt county sheriff for mercy missions. Privately-owned snow-removal equipment has been converging in the O’Neill area during the past week in response to pleas, official and unof ficial, from leading citizens. Andy Clark, chairman of the Holt county board of supervisors, obtained several pieces of heavy equipment from a private contractor. Jul ius i). Cronin, O’Neill attorney, prevailed upon Governor Peterson to have Maj.-Gen. I^ewis A. Pick free bulldozers from reclamation work for urgent use in snowbound areas. Several gther private contractors placed equipment in action Monday and Tuesday, but heavy ice on the high ways elsewhere in the state slowed the trucking of some of this equipment to O’Neill. The counties involved in the disaster area are: Holt, Boyd, Rock, Keya Paha, Wheeler, Greeley, Garfield, Loup, Sioux, Box Butte, Sheridan, Cherry, Brown, Valley, Blaine, Thom as, Logan, McPherson, Hooker, Grant and Ar thur counties. Also included are portions of Knox, Antelope, Boone, Morrill, Garden, Lin coln and Custer counties. O’Neill is consider ed the “eastern terminus” in the stricken area. Brig. Gen. Guy N. Henninger, Nebraska’s ad jutant general, is the administrator of the state relief fund. Holt county supervisors met late Tuesday and again early Wednesday in special session. Gov ernor Peterson and General Henninger had wired for specific advice as to how much equipment and | what type was needed when and where. Temporary disaster headquarters were set up in the Holt county courthouse basement to pro cess calls. A battery of telephones has been in stalled in the basement. Their numbers are 400, 403 and 404. These phones are manned by mem bers of Simonson post 93 of the American Legion auxiliary. Rural people needing the services of a bull dozer have been asked by radio to contact the Holt disaster headquarters. Other telephone numbers were made available before the head quarters was set up. In any event the messages will be routed to the control point. Meanwhile, O’Neill’s miniature airlift has been operating at top speed every hour that has been flyable (luring the past week. Three planes operated yesterday, conveying foodstuffs, medi cines, mail and passengers to outlying points in accessable except by air. Cliff Adkins, of the O’ Neill Airport, has been directing the work. Planes equipped with ski is have been landing at the East edge of the c:tv near the Seger Oil & Transport Co. Similar airlifts have been in progress at other points in the region. Wednesday was the 28th consecutive day in which the Burlington railroad was without ser vice out of O’Neill on the O’Neill-Sioux City branch, Early Saturday the rotary, which had spent all last week working West from Sioux City, reached Osmond, then turned around to meet a spreader-ty}>e plow that had been dispatched from (Continued on page 8)