Frontier ,£&.■
*
North-Nebraska s F astest-Growing Newspaper SECTION 1
PAGES 1 TO 8
VOLUME 63—NUMBER 1 _O'NEIL! . NEBRASKA, THURSDAY. MAY. 12. 1949 PRICE 7 CENTS
Two Atkinson Youths Drown
i
MiMUfflWWUHIIII1 1 . 1 1 ' ..... .
BARRET SCOTT . . . The story of Barret Scott’s tragic ending,
one of the legends in Holt county history, will be told in The
Frontier’s Diamond Jubilee Edition which will appear next
month. Scott was a Holt county official. Regular subscribers
to The Frontier will receive their copy of the Diamond Jubilee
Edition at no extra cost. Extra copies, however, will sell for
one dollar each. Orders now are being accepted at The Frontier’s
circulation counter. Subscription rates are $2.50 per year in
Nebraka; $3, elsewhere.
MRS. CIESLAK, 68,
DIES AT BASSETT
Stuart Farm Woman Came
to Holt County at
Age of 17
ATKINSON — Requiem high
mass was held at St. Boniface
Catholic church in Stuart at 9:
30 a. m. Wednesday for Mrs.
Theresia Mary Cieslak. Rev. A.
J. Paschang, of Stuart, officiat
ed.
Mrs. Cieslak, 68, died at Bas
set Sunday. She had been crit
ically ill only a short time.
Theresia Mary Greger was
born in Germany on Novem
ber 8, 1880, a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Greger. She
came to Holt county at the
age of 17 and settled on a
homestead 11 Vi miles South
west of Stuart, where she was
living at the time she was
taken ill.
#
On August 22, 1905, she was
married to Stephen Cieslak.
They became the parents of four
children — three sons and a
daughter.
Her husband died in 1937
and three of the children pre
ceded their mother in deatfy. The
daughter, was Mrs. Cornelius
(Theresa) Unger, of Newport,
and sons were Boniface and Al
bert, of Stuart.
Survivors include: Son —
Stephen, of Stuart; grandchil
dren—Lillian Unger, of Kansas
City, Mo., and Helen and John
Unger, of Portland, Ore.
Rev. Longstaff,
Former Pastor, Dies
Rev. George Longstaff, 84,
who was pastor of First Pres
byterian church here a quar
ter of a century ago, was fcur
ied Sunday afternoon in P os
pect Hill cemetery.
Reverend Longsta f was'born
in County Durham, England,
on August 19, 1864, and came
to the United States in 1898.
Reverend Longstaff served as
pastor of First Presbyterian
church for 13 years, leaving
O’Neill in 1924.
He died at Hastings..
Survivors include: Widow;
sons—Commodore J. B. Long
staff, of Amherst, Mass., and
A. R. Longstaff, of Gordon;
daughters — Mrs. E. C. Good
enberger, of Bozeman, Mont.;
and Mrs J. C. Riddlemoser, of
Boise, Ida.; 11 grandchildren,
two great - granchildren, and
two sisters, who live in Ire
land.
Visitor Arives
from West Indies
Mrs. Paul Walker arrived in
O’Neill last Thursday for an
extended visit with her moth
er, Mrs. Hugh O’Neill. Mrs.
Walker’s home is Aruba, Neth
erlands West Indies, off the
coast of Venezuela, South Am
erica.
She landed in New York in
April and reached Lincoln in
time to spend the Easter holi
days with her daughter, Mrs.
Henry Schlueter, and her hus
band.
Mr. Walker, who is employ
ed as an engineer by the
Standard Oil Co., will arrive in
le U. S. in the Fall. The
Xalkers have lived in Aruba
ice 1929.
Every other week — the big,
bnwut NOWADAYS magazine.
Achievement Award
to Frontier Woman
For the third consecutive
year Mrs. Blanche Spann
Pease, of Atkinson, editor of
The Frontier Woman depart
ment in The Frontier, has been
named a Woman of Achieve
ment in a four-state area by
the Journal-Tribune publica
tions of Sioux City.
Thirty “outstanding women’’
from Iowa, Nebraska, Minne
sota and South Dakota conven
ed Tuesday in Sioux City to
receive the awards. It was the
first year Mrs. Pease was able
to attend.
Mrs. Pease’s award was bas
ed on “writing ability, com
munity service and her work
with shut-ins.”
ED ALDER, DORSEY
FARMER EXPIRES
Lifelong Holt Resident Is
111 Only One Week;
Burial Wednesday
DORSEY — Daniel Edward
(“Ed”) Alder, a lifelong Holt
county resident, died about 7 p.
m. Friday at his home in the
Dorsey community. He became
ill about a week previously.
He had suffered a stroke
while enroute to Stuart on Fri
day, April 29.
Funeral services were held at
2 p. m. Wednesday in the Dor
sey school and burial was in the
Dorsey cemetery. Rev. V. R. Bell,
of the O’Neill Methodist church,
officiated and Biglin Bros,
were in charge of arrangements.
The hymns, “Softly and Ten
derly” and “Rock of Ages”
.were sung by Verna Revell,
Mrs. Faye Brady, Claude Pick
ering and Hal Rosenkrans with
Mrs. Lee Brady, sr., at the
piano. Mrs. Faye Brady sang
as a solo, “The Eastern Gate.”
Pallbearers were: Robert Wi
ley, Richard Marsten, Carl
Christensen, Wil'is Boelter,
Awart Spangler and Guy John
son.
The late Mr. Alder was born
in the Dorsey community, a
son of Isaac and Evelyn Smal
ley Alder, on April 19, 1889.
He spent his entire life on o
Holt county farm and was ac
tive in community affairs.
On October 6, 1909 he married
Cora Grace Hudson, at O’Neill.
They became the parents of
three sons.
Survivors include: Widow;
sons—William Elmer, of Verdi
gre: Thomas Cleo, of Dorsey;
and Harold Edward, of Verdi
gre; five grandchildren; four
brothers and four sisters.
Many Dead Fish in
Holt Lakes and Streams —
ATKINSON — Residents say
the past Winter has been vsry
destructive to fish in Holt
county’s lakes, streams and riv
ers. At almost any location, dead
fish may be seen caught in the
debris along fence lines, carried
there by the high water of the
Spring.
Many dead fish line the banks
of the lakes and streams. One
theory is that continued heavy
snows filled the beds. Then the
freezing weather caused the fish
to smother. In many places the
rivers and streams were frozen
all the way to the bottom for
many weeks.
• Mrs. Irene Martin left Sat- j
urday for Tilden where she vis- I
ited her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
H. A. Phillips.
HOSPITAL GROUP
IN SPIRITED MEET
Corkle, New Chairman,
(Jets Vote of Confidence
for Final Push
Forty - six persons interested
in the movement for the new
300 thousand dollar hospital in
O’Neill met in a special session
Friday night in the Golden ho
tel dining room.
James M. Corkle, who be-;
came temporary chairman of
the move following William J.
Froelich’s resignation and who
subsequently was elected per- !
manent chairman, called the j
meeting to draft a final course
of procedure in pushing the J
movement through to a finish, j
Highlights were impromptu
talks by Ernie Weller, well
known Atkinson auctioneer,
and Ralph J. Kelly, publisher
of the Atkinson Graphic and
Stuart Advocate. Both lauded
the accomplishments of the or
ganization todate and both
pledged support to the move
Each pointed out, however,
1 that they would support a
workable hospital plan for At
j kinson, as well.
A plan is being worked
out to establish a temporary
hospital campaign headquar
ters in a vacant lot on
Fourth street near the inter
section with Douglas street,
j The lot is between the Elk
horn Valley National Farm
Loan association office and
the Gilligan & Stout drug
store.
Meanwhile, solicitation is in
progress for an expense fund
with which to launch the final
money-raising drive. Solicitors
for the expense fund were at
work early this week.
Chairman Corkle is revising
the standing three - year - old
committees.
At the meeting Corkle re
viewed hospital progress to
date. He told the audience that
55 thousand dollars had been
collected, there is a 100 thou
san dollar government grant
available, and the Sisters of
St. Francis, who will staff and
operate the hospital, will as
sume any “reasonable indebt
edness.” It was pointed out
that the all-out campaign to
assure a hospital would be
launched with a minimum goal
of 45 thousand dollars yet to
be raised.
Title of the proposed 40
hed hospital was discussed.
Naming of the hospital is
being left to the Sisters of
S t. Francis. A tentative
name, originated by the Sis
ters, is Good Samaritan hos
pital.
Several speakers from the
floor emphasized that the hos
pital must be more than an O’
Neill hospital. Weller pointed
out that it should be geared to
care for the needs of the peo
ple in the Sand Hills region.
Several observers interpret
ed the Friday meeting as a
“vote of confidence” lor Cor
kle’s leadership and a mile
stone in the movement.
Wednesday Chairman Corkle
was in Omaha conferring with
sponsors of the new Children’s
Memorial hospital there.
VISIT 3 CITIES
INMAN—The Inman seniors
arrived home Saturday eve
ning '‘tired but happy” after
spending Friday and Saturday
in Grand Island, North Platte
and Hastings on an annual
“sneak” trip. Supt. Ralph Gray
accompanied the group.
600 Signatures
on Power Petition
Nearly 600 signatures alreu
dy have been affixed to the
petitions being circulated
among power users in O'Neill.
The petitions, sponsored by the
Chamber of Commerce, will be
submitted to Consumers Public
Power district officials in Col
umbus.
The signers are asking CPPD
officials to refrain from dis
mantling the diesel - powered
standby generating plant at
O’Neill, which, undt r present
plans, is intended to be moved
to Valentine to bolster the
West end of the Northeast Ne
braska district.
Janies M. Corkle is chairman
of the temporary committee
appointed to intercede in the
power matters.
MARY G. MURPHY
RITES WEDNESDAY
Rurial Here for Former
Resident Who Died
in Portland, Ore.
Funeral services were held
at 10 a. m. Wednesday in St.
Patrick’s Catholic church here
i for Mrs. Mary G. Murphy, 83,
widow of the late John V.
Murphy and a former O’Neill
resident. She died Wednesday,
May 4. in Portland, Ore.
Death was caused by a heart
ailment accompanying her ad
vanced age.
Rt. Rev. J. G. McNamara,
church pastor, officiated and
burial was in Calvary cemete
k
The late Mrs. Mu-phy. r.ee
Mary G. Gibbons, was born
on March 17, 1866, in Scran
ton, Pa., a daughter of John
and Hannah Gibbcns. She
came to Holt county in 1882
from Chicago, 111.
On November 26, 1890, she
married Mr. Murphy in St.
Patrick’s church here.
In O’Neill Mr. Murphy op
erated a shoe store in the old
Gibbons building here.
He died July 28, 1916, while
living at Park City. His body
was returned to O’Neill for
burial.
The family left here in 1896
for Park City, Ut., and moved
from Park City to Portland in
1918.
Survivors include: Son—Dr.
J. Milton Murphy, of Portland;
sisters — Delia and Deborah
Gibbons, both of Butte, Mont.
The remains reached O’Neill
late Tuesday and a rosary ser
vice was held at Biglin Broth
ers.
Pallbearers were: H. E.
Coyne, M H. Horiskey, D. F.
Murphy, H. J. Birmingham, J.
D. Cronin and Walter O’Mal
ley. '
Two of Mrs. Murphy’s other
sons died last year—Raymond,
in July, and Edward, in Sep
tember. Her death was the
third in the family in 10
months.
Maps Summer, Fall Plans —
Officials of the Holt county
extension council and president
of extension clubs met Wed
nesday in the assembly room
of the courthouse to map plans
for the Summer and Fall of
1949. Lesson topics were select
ed.
Mr. and Mrs. A. D. McCallum,
of Wauneta, spent Sunday, May
1, visiting the former’s sister, '
Mrs J. L. Sherbahn, and Mr. j
Sherbahn. I
CORN PICKING
STILL GOES ON
Storm-Battered Fields
Stand Lip Well,
Dawes Says
The incongruous sight of
corn picking on one hand «nd
corn planting on the other can
be seen in a swing through ru
ral Holt county.
Corn laden wagons still are
emerging from muddy
fields'. County Agent A. Neil
Dawes expressd the belief
this week that the corn has
“stood up remarkably well’’
considering the le.ngth of time
it has been in the fields and
considering the unusual wea
ther the corn has been subject
ed to.
Some observers attribute this
to the extensive use of hybrid
corn. They say that the open
pollinated types of corn could
not have endured as well.
Spring showers, notably
.35 of an inch on Sunday,
are expected to bring the
small grain up in good
shape. Reports on alfalfa are
good. Some farmers are pay
ing 20 cents per bushel for
corn shucking.
The calving season is prac
tically finished and most cat
tlemen report “satisfactory”
luck despite the adverse Win
ter and Spring. Losses have
been above normal, they say,
but not heavy.
Sunday’s leisurely rain was
welcomed even though it
dampened Mother’s day and
forced alterations in plans for
outings.
Week's weather summary,
based on 24-hour periods end
ing at 8 a. m. daily, follows:
Date High Low Prec.
May 5 _ . 87 55
May 6 . 57 47 .10
May 7 _ 65 43
May 8 . 63 53 .01
May 9 „. 55 45 .35
May 10 _ 70 43
May 11 _ 75 55
RAY EIDENMILLER
DIES SUDDENLY
Funeral services for Ray V.
Eidenmiller, 65, were held at
2 p. m. Monday afternoon at
the Methodist church here. He
died suddenly about 9 a. m.
Friday after working in the
garden near his house. Neigh
bors found the body. Death
was caused by a heart attack.
Rev. V. R. Bell officiated in
the funeral rites and burial
was at Elmwood under the di
rection of Biglin Bros.
The late Mr. Eidenmiller was
born December 17, 1884, at
Elmwood, a son of John and
Susan DeWitt Eidenmiller.
On April fi, 1909, he mar
ried Alice Lewis at Murdock.
The family came to Holt
county in 1913. Mr. Eiden
miller's occupation was that
of a livestock buyer, feeder
and trucker.
The Eidenmillers became the
parents of two daughters —
Mrs. Robert E. Moore, of O’
Neill, and Mrs. L. A. Serck. of
Denver, Colo..
Survivors include: Widow;
two daughters; one grandchild;
two brothers, and one sister.
Pallbearers at the funeral
weer Vic Halva, Roy V. John
son, H. S. Moses, Claude Ham
ilton, Chester Calkins and Roy
Johnson, jr. _
Harold Klinger, Jr., and Melvin Farewell,
• Both 16, Perish in Gravel Pit
(Special to The Frontier)
ATKINSON—Two Atkinson high school 16-year-old sopho
more boys, Harold Klinger, jr„ and Melvin Farewell, were drown
ed late Tuesday afternoon in an abandoned gravel pit about lVi
miles West of Atkinson. A companion, Warren Campbell, also 16,
watched the two youths struggle in deep water and disappear be
low the surface about 5:30 p. m.
After the bodies were recovered respirators were used for
more than an hour, but Dr. N. P. McKee had pronounced both
dead from the time they were pulled from the bottom.
The bodies were taken to the Seger mortuary pending funer
al arrangements. Klinger was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold
Klinger, sr., and Farewell was a son of Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Fare
well. Both are Atkinson families.
SERIES OF REA
MEETINGS SLATED
—
Celia, Cleveland, Martha
Communities to Hear
Discussions
i _
A series of meetings is being
planned by County Agent A.
Neil Dawes and Manager Ed
Wilson, of the Niobrara Valley
Electric Membership corpora
tion in which rural electrifica
tion will be discussed.
First meeting will be held on
Monday, May 16, in the Celia
community, beginning at 2 p.
m. at the O. A, Hammerberg
home. Mrs. Hammerberg is
making the arrangements for
this meeting. An evening meet
ing the same day will be held
at the Cleveland community
church, beginning at 8 p. m. El
mer Allyn and Charles Mulfoid
are in charge of arrangements
for the Cleveland meeting.
Third meeting in the series
will be held Tuesday evening in
the Martha school, two miles
South and two miles East from
the Chambers corner. This ses
sion will begin at 8 p. m. Mark
Gribble and Mrs. Loran Kruse
are in charge.
Roy L. DeRose, of Lincoln,
extension engineer at the Uni
versity of Nebraska college of
agriculture, will be present to
conduct discussions on "Pre
1 paring to Use Electricity."
L. S. Crane, chief inspector
of the inspection service of the
Rural Electrification Adminis
tration, will be present for a
portion of the series. He will
discuss “Safety and Inspection”
in connection with REA. On
Monday afternoon he will con
duct a meeting for wire men in
Boyd county.
Mr. Wilson will make a pro
gress report on current REA
development in the four-coun
ty Niobrara district. Arrange
ments have been made to show
films where power already is
available. The film is entitled
“The Singing Wires.”
All wiremen and appliance
people are invited to attend .
these meetings.
‘O’ Club Initiates
Panhandle on Streets
The many wierd creatures
wandering around the city Tues
day and Wednesday were initia
tes of the “O” club of O’Neill
high school. The boys were seen
in rags on the steps of the First
National Bank begging money,
in diapers carrying baby bottles,
in women’s bathing suits and
dresses, and in various other
garbs. They all wore rings of
limberger cheese around their
necks.
1949 Holt Homemaker Tells of Omaha Trip
t
%
Editor’s note: Mrs. O. A.
(Mabel) Hammerberg, of At
kinson, Holt county’s outstand
ing 1949 homemaker, was ask
ed write about the highlights
of her trip to Omaha last week
with more than one hundred
other outstanding homemak
ers as a guest of the Omaha
Chamber of Commerce. Mrs.
Hammerberg is The Fron
tier’s special correspondent
in the Celia community. Earl
ier, she was honored by the
O’Neill Chamber of Commerce
for winning the Holt county
award. Her version on the Om
aha trip follows:
By MRS. O. A. HAMMERBERG
I accompanied Miss Dorothy
Shetler, of Ainsworth, Brown
county home agent, and two
other county homemakers, Mrs.
Kirk Spearman, of Ainsworth,
and Mrs. A. O. Gurnsey, of Bas
sett, to Omaha by automobile
Wednesday, May 4, for a rural
leadership recognition program
Thursday under the sponsorship
of the Omaha Chamber of Com
merce.
We were honored along with
' homemakers from most of Ne
braska’s 93 counties and several
Iowa and Kansas counties.
We regi tered for the ^11-day
program at the Fontenelle hotel.
There were door prizes from
Omaha merchants and we were
entertained by artists from ra
dio station WOW.
Small tables were beauti
fully decorated and there were
small gifts at each place. A
hostess at each table greeted
each homemaker.
From the Fontenelle we went
to the Castle hotel where there
was a frozen food demonstration
and a delicious noon luncheon.
After lunch we were taken by
chartered bus to the Ak-Sar-Ben
grounds where we witnessed a
home builders’ show. Every con
ceivable innovation for new
homes was on display. Some of
the manufacturers were there
and explained many of the items.
Back again at the Fontenelle
we readied for the banquet in the
Chamber of Commerce room in
the Woodman of the World
building.
At the banq«et, the highlight
’ of the day, we were seated at
beautifully decorated small
tables with placecards bearing
our names. Also, there was a
lovely gift for each of us from
the Chamber of Commerce. Mu
sic was provided by a cappei
la chorus of 125 high school
voices. __ , . . .
Laura Lane, of Philadelphia,
Pa., associate editor of the
Country Gentleman magazine,
was the principal speaker. Her
subject: “Mieasure Yourself
for Greatness." She made us
feel very important as leading
1949 homemakers, as we were
referred to.
Miss Lane told the women
“within a single generation
farm women have become one
of the most potent forces for
good government that the'
country has to offer.’ ....
We shopped and visited
friends and relatives on Friday
and Saturday. We accompanied
Miss Shetler to Lincoln. We
toured the capitol building
and other places of interest.
We reached home Saturday
evening and agreed we had i
been royally entertained
The first week i« May waB
national home demonstration
week.
The homemaker theme for
1949 is “Today’s Home Builds
Tomorrow’s World."
Only a few short years ago
in our project clubs our dem
onstrations were made up
mostly of “how to make’’ and
“how to do things” and while
we still learn how to do and
make things that doesn't con
stitute our entire work.
We are no longer concerned
only with things bounded by
the four walls of our home,
but we have found out that
what cconcerns cur communi
ty, our state and n-1 on, con
cerns our homes. So, as good
homemakers it behooves us to
better conditions within our
communities and nation. Last
few years have proven that is
n’t enough. We must know
and understand conditions the
world over. Farm men and
farm women from many parts
of our state and nation made
trips abroad the past year and
many have been the requests
for them to tell things they |
themselves observed while a
(Continued on pegs 4)
The three youths planned
a rendezvous at the pit after
school. When they reached
the scene they climbed into
their swimming trunks and
entered the water, as they
have done before.
Neither Klinger or Farewell
was considered a good swim
mer and young Campbell, who
was unable to swim,. purpose
ly lingered in the shallow wa
ter.
Campbell said the other two
ventured into deeper water,
one of them got into difficulty,
the two struggled together for
a time in the center of the
pond before both disappeared
below the surface of the water.
Campbell’s call for help
summoned Ottmer Poessneck
er, who lived nearby and was
fixing a fence. When Poess
necker reached the scene, he is
reported to have said that bub
bles were on the surface of
the water.
At about six o’clock the fire
alarm in Atkinson was sound
ed and volunteers searched in
the water for the bodies. Where
the drownings occured the wa
ter was estimated to be from
10- to 14-feet deep. In size the
pond is the equivalent of about
a half-block square.
A heavy barbed wire was
used to drag the bottom of
the pit. Both bodies were
caught in the first dragging
and they came to the surface
about eight- or 10-feet apart.
It is believed that the boys
ventured into water consider
ably deeper than they had
suspected.
The pit where the tragedy
occured has frequently been
used for non-supervised swim
ming. It is described as the
big, old abandoned gravel pit
and is located North of a Boy
Scout shelter house West of
the city.
Harold Klinger, sr., is a state
employee working on highway
11. The family came to At
kinson from Decatur about 18
months ago. The Klingers
have four other children.
Farewell’s father operates a
pool hall in Atkinson. The
Farewells moved into Atkinson
about a year ago from a farm.
They have one other child—a
one-year-old daughter.
Carol Ann Remter, 5,
Dies in Rochester
Carol Ann Remter, 5-year
old daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Arthur W. Remter, of Bristow,
died Sunday in a Rochester,
Minn., hospital where she had
been a patient for two weeks.
She had been ill since January.
Funeral rites will be held
today (Thursday) from the
Catholic church at Spencer
and burial will be there. Rev.
Michael Condbn will officiate.
The little girl was born on
January 27, 1944, at Lynch.
Her mother’s maiden name
was Mildred Langan
Survivors include: Parents;
sister—Mary Janice Remter.
R. L. Schacht New
CPPD General Manager
R L. Schacht has been ap
pointed to succeed the late V.
M. Johnson as general manager
of the Consumers Public Pow
er grid in Nebraska.
Schacht, a Columbus man, is
a former general superintendent
for Consumers and has been
acting general manager during
the past 16 months while John
son was ill.
Funeral services for Johnson
were held Saturday at Colum
bus. L. C. Walling, of O’Neill,
manager of the Northeastern
Nebraska Consumers district,
attended the burial rites.
Leaving for Germany —
INMAN — Capt. and Mrs.
Walter Roderick and baby, Judy,
of Washington state, visited
Rev. R. M. Wingate, of Inman,
on Sunday evening. They are to
leave soon for Germany on as
signment there. Mrs. Roderick
is a niece of Reverend Wingate.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Ray spent
the weekend visiting at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. McCoy
Rhodes, of Cody.