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VOLUME 69—NUMBER 45_O'NEILL. NEBR.. THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 1S50 ~ PRICE:7COrT»
%
Cattle Losses
Are Heavy
• --
Holt People Digging Out from Under Snow
of Hurricane Blizzard
Death toll of livestock as a result of the Hurricane Blizzard
of March 7 continues to mount in the O’Neill region as the digging
out process enters its second week. Heavy losses, percentagewise,
have been absorbed by many operators, but the overall loss in
the livestock industry as a whole will be lower than initially be
* lieved.
Now, a week and a day after the devastating storm, the pic
ture of livestock losses is becoming clearer. Heaviest losses were
in herds that strayed from sheltering places. Many of them were
driven into fences where they were marooned. Many cattle
y smothered, others wandered into ponds, lakes and streams. Not
infrequently tails were frozen and have dropped off. Losses were
heavy among calves and yearlings.
Even yet cattle are to be found carrying many pounds of ice
and snow—sometimes a heavy chunk of ice on the end of the tail.
L. D. Putnam, of O'Neill, Wednesday said Holt's losses
would "run about 5 per cent." Putnam said the "losses were
heavy, in many instances, but could have been a lot worse."
Putnam is one of Holt county’s extensive stock growers. He
predicted that the stock casualties have not all been counted.
‘‘Day after the storm I found 500 or 600 head down in the
snow on one of my places. These animals needed help. If the
storm had lasted longer the loss would have been terrible. As it
was we’ve lost 80.”
Scores of farmers and ranchers have reported losses, ranging
from a lone calf to about 275 head. Charley Petersen, of Atkinson,
> probably Holt’s biggest stock operator, was reported to have lost
275. This report, however, has not been confirmed.
,*N
In the aftermath of the his
toric storm stories have been
rampant about losses.
From a percentage standpoint,
a number of operators in a belt
extending from Amelia eastward
to Chambers and Ewing have
absorbed costly losses.
Highway and rail traffic has
been flowing normally on all
principal routes since Sunday.
However, a fresh snow Friday
and early Saturday added fur
thur grief for snow - removal
people.
Consumers Public Power dis
trict and Northwestern Bell Tel
* ephone company maintenance
people were traveling by truck,
weasel and snowshoes to, reach
break in their lines. Phone ser
vice was restored to Lynch on
Saturday. All other points had
full service restored many hours
before.
Among the heaviest losses
were:
Lloyd Taylor, who lives 1 mile
east and 4 miles south of Cham
bers, who reported 24 dead cat
tle out of a herd of 60; Lloyd
Gleed, also of Chambers, said
he counted 27 dead out of three
hundred. At the B. W. Waldo
ranch, 8 miles west of Cham
bers, early count was 13 lost,
later the dead list was revised
to 20, final count is 21 out of
400. Henry Webber, also in the
Chambers locality, reported 15
dead out of 180.
William (“Bill”) Whelan, liv
ing 14 miles southeast of Cham
bers, originally missed over 70
head out of about 140. But Pilot
Lloyd Durre helped locate mis
sing cattle and the loss was nar
rowed to about 35.
Raymond Garwood, living
south of Swan lake, was said
to have absorbed "a terrific
loss.” Passersby counted 60
dead along one fence line.
Some of Ghrwood's cattle wan
dered into Dimmick lake.
O’Neill business firms with
blown-out plate glass windows
are being patched up this week.
Only the sturdiest windmills
survived the test of the 100
mile-per-hour gale. Toppled and
damaged windmills are dotted
over the countryside.
The snow has settled rapidly
this week, particularly during
Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s
thawing. With the settling have
gone down many fence lines.
One southwest Holt rancher
told The Frontier that already
fence damage has exceeded last
year’s.
Many Holt rural people still
are snowbound. Tractor- and
horse-drawn wagons and sleds
were getting through, but enor
mous drifts still choke many
rural roads. When the run-off
comes many of the roads will
be bottomless mud holes.
Stock Losses Above
Year Ago—
By MBS. E. R. CARPENTER
Special Correspondent
CHAMBERS — The beautiful
Chambers valley was blasted
Tuesday, March 7, by one of the
most ferocious blizzards of its
history.
Remembering the terrible
blizzards and heavy snows one
after another which paralyzed
traffic and caused so much hard
ship and suffering last winter,
everyone prepared early for
whatever might happen this
year. Corn was cribbed early,
hay was hauled in and food and
fuel supplies were stored away.
The mild weather continued,
however, week-after-week until
well into March, when people
became careless, thinking spring
had come.
Monday, March 6, was a love
ly, warm day. The last of the
snow which had fallen on Feb
ruary 11, had vanished, leaving
ponds of water here and there
on the meadows. •
Returning from a trip to At
kinson in the late afternoon,
we noticed several herds of cat
tle far from the ranch building.
One herd was being hayed in
(Continued on page 8)
60 Head Counted
Along Roadside—
AMELIA — The Tuesday,
March 7, snow and wind com
bined to make the worst bliz
zard ever experienced in this
vicinity.
Livestock losses have been
high and there is considerable
property damage.
The large windcharger at
the Blake Ott place was blown
over and across the REA lines,
causing the Otts to be without
light. Pat Kennedy’s wind
charger was also blown down.
The chimney was torn off of
the Catholic church.
Snow was blown into the
attics of houses, including
Edgar Peterson's, Lloyd Cle
mens's, and Frank Backhaus's.
Some damage was done to
ceilings.
Cattle losses were heavier
than in last winter’s storm.
Twenty head were reported lost
at the B. W. Waldo ranch. M.
B. Kennedy, Hank Whitcomb,
Clinton Doolittle, Asa Shermer,
Raymond Garwood also report
ed losses.
However, no loss of human
life was reported in the im
mediate community.
Blaine Garwood, wiho lives
west of Amelia, was said to
have lost 21 head out of a herd
of about a hundred.
Sixty head of Raymond Gar
wood’s dead critters were coun
ted. by passerbys along the high-,
way. The cattle were attempt
ing to get through a fence. Ap
parently, they were so weak
from facing the wind and snow
and from lack of food they froze
fo death at the fence line.
Raymond Bly, who said he
escaped without livestock los
ses, said the mail route road
past his place was snow-clog
ged to a degree as great as a
year ago.
for a mne tne snow must
be 6-to 10-feet deep,” he said. 1
Bernard Kennedy lost 2 cows
and a yearling.
REA, Phone Lines
Stand Test—
CELIA — Monday, March 6,
vas a lovely day. It was warm,
there was no snow on the
round. That night it rained and
ben the rain turned to snow.
\Text morning residents awak
ned to the worst blizzard that
.hev had ever seen. One could
-ee but a very few feet ahead.
The wind was terrific and took
one’s breath when they stepped
outside.
The force of the wind made
snow penetrate where ordinar
ily it wouldn’t.
In a home snow got into an
attic and ruined 2 ceilings. One
was new just a year ago.
Snow is packed so tightly
around cars in several garages
that it will be a big task to get
the car out of the garage. Win
dows were completely covered
over with snow—even those
under porches. They stayed that
way all day and until late fore
noon Wednesday morning, Mar.
8.
farmers worried about ineir
livestock. Several lost a few but
the livestock loss in this com
munity was relatively light.
A new haystacker belonging
to Lee Terwilliger was wreck
ed.
The fury of the storm contin
ued the entire day. When Wed
nesday morning dawned the
storm had abated. The sun
shone brightly and there were
drifts higher than all last win
ter’s snow' had piled up. There |
were lots of places where the
snow wasn’t deep. This could be
noted w'here there was nothing
to hold it. Farmers were kept
busy “digging out” so livestock
could be found, fed and water
ed.
Quite a lot of cattle will lose
their tails as they were badly
frozen.
In the Celia locality REA and
telephone lines continued to
(Continued on page 8)
ALL STATE ROADS
ARE NOW OPEN
But County Highways Are
Choked and Impassable;
Fresh Snow Falls
As if the snow borne by the
Hurricane Blizzard of March 7,
didn’t create enough of a pro
blem for state highway snow
plow crews, a fresh 5-inch snow
fall Friday added to the task.
Snow-removal men and mach
ines have been working contin
uously since the big storm to
keep traffic flowing
The state department’s 18-man
force here has been forking on
a 24-hour basis since the storm
in an effort to keep snow and
ice free from state roads.
The additional 5-in. snow that
fell on top of the 18 inches al
ready on the ground was ac
companied by light winds and
drifted snow back onto roads
and railroad right-of-ways.
John D. Osenbaugh, resident
engineer for the state highway
department, said continual po
lice of the state roads have kept
them open to traffic with one
exception. A stretch of highway
11 north of Atkinson 8 miles was
blocked again by the new snow
Friday night. The road was re
opened early Sunday morning,
Osenbaugh said.
The condition of the high
ways in the O'Neill region
Wednesday were generally
good. Osenbaugh said. High- i
way 275 in this region is
"clean and dry." There are
some spots of highway 20 be
tween O'Neill and Emmet and
east of O'Neill that are icy.
The Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy railroad agent here re
ported to The Frontier Wednes
day that freight train 96, held
here from Monday, March 6, be
cause of the March 7 storm, re
sumed its run late Thursday
evening, March 9.
There was some slight re
drifting of the snow Friday and
Saturday, on the CB&Q’s right
of-way in Holt county, but no
trains were held up.
Spokesmen for the O’Neill bus
terminal said 4 busses did not
make their usual scheduled run
late Friday and early Saturday,
because of highway conditions.
The two incoming busses from
Norfolk at 5 p. m., and midnight
Friday did not arrive. The Nor
folk - bound Rapid Transit bus
was not dispatched at 8:30 a. m.
Saturday. A Sioux City-bound
bus was forced to return to O’
Neill after it started on its sched
uled run at 8:25. Most busses re
sumed the regular running
schedule later Saturday.
In O’Neill, Mayor H. E. Coyne
said late Wednesday that all
of the city’s streets now are
opened. The finishing touches
on the opening of the streets in
outlying parts of the city was
completed Wednesday.
The tractor scoop used in re
moving the snow from the bus
iness district streets in O’Neill
broke down Tuesday. The snow
removal is temporarily held up
pending the arrival of repair
parts from Omaha. Upon re
ceipt of the parts, snow remov
al will begin at the Golden ho
tel and then work east.
Frontier's Paid
Circulation 2.815—
The Frontier’s paid circulation
for the March 9 issue reached
an all-time high of 2,815. And
more copies of the same issue—
Blizzard Edition—are still be
ing sold.
The circulation department
has been swamped with requests
for extra copies. These have
been mailed to several foreign
countries and to most of the 48
states.
Extra copies above The Fron
tier’s normal distribution, which
is over 2,100, were printed in
anticipation of the demand.
The screaming 100-mile-an-hour hurricane
storm handed the O'Neill Livestock Market a
setback. Workmen were nicely underway on
the new pavilion when the March 7 storm
struck. Despite the reversal, work is progress
ing rapidly and sales will be resumed a week
from today—Thursday, March 23.—The Fron
tier Photo by John H. McCarrille.
Elkhorn River
Quiet in Holt
Worried about the Elkhorn
river flooding?
Well, there’s no immediate
danger of the Elkhorn river
sweeping out of its banks, ac
cording to Glea Wade, county
disaster chairman of the Amer
ican Red Cross.
In addition to the “no imme
diate danger’’ sign the county
disaster chairman said Wednes
day he does not believe the
river will out-do itself as com
pared to last year’s rampages.
Although Wade does not have
any statistics available on last
year’s water heights, he was
confident flooding would not be
as extensive as a year ago.
Although the Elkhorn is
causing some speculation in the
Norfolk area with respect to
flooding there is no cause for
alarm in Holt county, Wade ex
plained.
The river reached its highest
point in 25 years during April,
1949, when the mountains of
snow left by the recurring bliz
zards began to melt and run off.
Neverthless, Wade added, the
flat country in Holt county gives
the river plenty of room to
spread out and consequently
there would not be much depth
when the river does get out of
its banks.
Stuart Legion Auxilary
To Hold Initation—
STUART — Members of the
Norton - Carlisle American Le
gion post 115 auxiliary Friday
night, March 17, wil] hold an
initiation for new' members, ac
cording to Legion spokesmen
City to Be Host
To Homemakers
The fourth annual rural home
makers’ county recognition lun
cheon will be held in O’Neill on
April 16, sponsored by the O’
Neill Chambers of Commerce.
Recognition will be given to
presidents of home extension
clubs, county chairmen, officers
and directors of the council of
home extension clubs from Keya
Paha, Boyd, Brown, Rock, Holt,
Loup, Garfield, Wheeler, Cher
ry, Grant, Hooper, Thomas and
Blaine counties.
4-H Family Fun Slated
At O'Neill Legion
Holt county’s annual 4-H fam
ily fun night celebration will be
held Saturday, March 18, at the
American Legion auditorium,
beginning at 8 p.m. The pro
gram will be under the direc
tion of Holt County Agent A.
Neil Dawes and there will be
many awards and “good” local
entertainment on the agenda.
STORM STORIES
Mrs. H. O. Russ and her
daughter, Mrs. T. G. Hufcton, of
Page, were caught in the storm
in Omaha. They saw blown to
pieces a plate glass window of
the barber shop at the Conant
hotel, where they were staying.
They saw ambulances at work
helping the injured. It required
1 men to open the hotel door to
let people in during the fury.
People didn’t dare cross streets
in the open; instead they hug
ged buildings and doorways. Be
cause of the over-taxed dial
ohones, many people were un
tble to contact their families in
Omaha. Mrs. Russ and Mrs.
Hutton returned home last
Thursday by train. The conduc
tor, after reading about the O’
Neill area, said, “I wouldn’t
stop at that town if I were you.”
# • *
Sylvester Zakrzewski tried tc
get to his farm 3 miles from Op
oortunity last Thursday. He
went around on the Spencer
ruad, but was unable to get all
the way through. He took a
olane the rest of the way. He
took the same journey Sunday
>nd remained for a few days.
Paul Zakrzewski, his son, re
ports no stock losses. He walked
1 miles to a telephone to tell
his parents he was safe in the
blizzard.
• • •
John and Bernard Janzing
came down Monday from the
farm to see their parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Herman Janzing. This
was the first word the Janzings
had from their sons as they
have no phone at the farm. The
boys reported their loss as very
small—one guinea.
* « *
Three strom - stricken men
walked into Sylvester Zakrzew
ski’s home Tuesdav, March 7.
TH»V were from Kansas, Nor
folk and Lynch. Thev had met
in the storm and stuck together.
After eating, they remained
overnight.
• • •
Dr. and Mrs. Harry D. Gilder
sleeve received a picture of O’
Neill in the bizzard from a Los
Angeles, Calif , paper. The clip
ping was sent bv friends. The
Gildersleeves lived in Califor
nia before coming to O’Neill.
• • •
L. D Putnam last fall pur
chased a bam from the Sisters
of St. Mary’s and moved the
bam to a ranch 9 miles south
of O’Neill. The hurricane slid
it 40- to 50-feet and caused it
to partially collapse.
• • •
Mrs. William Griffin sent a
clipping and picture to friends
in O’Neill from a Minneapolis,
Minn, paper. She sent one of
Mrs. Wallace O’Connell and ba
by to the O’Connell family.
* « »
Mrs. Rex Brown, of Cleveland,
O., formerly of O’Neill, sent a
newspaper clipping to friends
here from a Cleveland paper of
the O’Neill blizzard.
(Continued on page 8)
A CREIGH rON .. .
Lady Asks: ‘ What Was It We Had?’
An irritated Creighton worn-*
an who signed her name as
“Mrs. M. H.” aired her feelings
in Wednesday morning’s edition
of the Omaha World-Herald.
Editor of ‘The Public Pulse"
column posted her letter con
spicuously at the top of the col
umn.
She wrote:
“I am not writing to seem
pugnacious, have refrained from
writing before about all the pub
licity that O’Neill, Neb., seems
to merit in all the papers when
ever a storm moves in. How
ever, when relatives write about
‘poor O’Neill’ I cannot restrain
myself.
“We, here in Creighton, re
ceived a scant few inches less
snow, although pictures of O’
Neill’s main street looked no
^worse than ours. The wind howl-'
ed as fiercely here (Creighton).
We were without power for 36
hours. All the weasels were cen
tered at O’Neill and our men
in their trucks could not look
for breaks in wires.
“We were isolated but per
haps we aren’t as quick to com
plain.
“O’Neill certainly has the
right procedure in obtaining
publicity. It has been featured
in the World Herald, the Sioux
City and Norfolk papers.
“The rest of apparently
didn’t have a storm. I wonder
what it was we did have,
MRS. M. W.”
The Creighton woman’s letter
stirred considerable comment
throughout O’Neill. But The
•Frontier’s printer’s devil, an
■ighth grader, summed up the
Creighton situation nicely:
“Why did they keep their
storm a secret?” he quipped.
MINISTER 54 YEARS DIES
SPENCER — Jones funeral
horn'1 here was in charge of bur
ia1 ites Wednesday afternoon,
M-1 h 15, for Rev. O. W. Beng
sto" 38, of Randall Valley, S. D.
TT was a Swedish Lutheran
ter for 54 years. Survivors
in'-' 1e: Widow; I daughter; 2
ON GRAND JURY
r. Chace, of Atkinson, left
c / for Omaha to serve on
t' nd jury. Monday, he was
;ed foreman of the grand
I i
1 Livestock Pavilion
Work Progresses
i
Physical reconstruction of the
[ O’Neill Livestock Market sales
pavilion this week moved into
advanced stages as workmen
completed putting on the west
and north wall siding of the
new frame structure. In addi
tion, some of the seats around
the sale ring have been install
ed.
The original pavilion was des
troyed by fire the night of Feb
ruary 18.
The rebuilding crew was
handed a 7-day setback by the
hurricane winds and snow that
lashed the O’Neill region Tues
day, March 7.
The Reynoldsons, Verne and
Leigh, comanagers of the mar
ket, said the storm inflicted
damage to the partially recon
structed building. The main r6of
supports and the wall studdings
were severly bent by the 65-to
100-mile-per-hour winds that
shrieked across the countryside.
Workmen were obliged to
start almost from scratch the
day following the storm.
"We plan to hold the first
sale in new pavilion Thurs
day, March 23." Verne Rey
noldson said Tuesday. "By
that time the major portion
of the new structure will be
completed."
Prior to the storm, workmen
completed laying the cement j
footings, putting up the stud- j
dings, rebuilding some of the i
north pens of the yard.
Funeral Held for
Storm Victim
- j
ATKINSON — Funeral ser
vices were held Saturday at
2:30 p.m. from the Methodist
church here for Robert L. Ge
siriech, 24, w’ho froze to death
during the historic wind and
snow storm of Tuesday, March
7. Rev. W. C. Birmingham offi
ciated and burial was in Wood
lawn cemetery.
Gesiriech’s body was found a
mile east of O’Neill’s city lim
its lying along side of highway
20 and 275 about 8 a.m. Wednes
day morning, March 8. the day
following the storm. The body
was discovered by a state high
way department snowplow crew.
Gesiriech was one of 5 Nebras
ka fatalities directly attributed
to the violent storm.
Born on May 2, 1925, at Stu
art, Robert Leroy Gesiriech was
the son of Mr. and Mrs. Florien
Gesiriech. When a small boy the
family moved to Newport.
Married and a veteran of
World War II, Gesiriech served
a year in the Army Medical
corps. He was separated from
the service at Ft. Warren, Wyo.,
on April 20, 1947.
Survivors include: widow, the
former Darlene Steskal; par
ents—Mr. and Mrs. Florien Ge
siriech, of Atkinson; sisters —
Mrs. Lloyd Thurlow, of Stuart;
Mrs. Edward Bausch, of Atkin
son; Mrs. Claude Callen, of Los
Angeles, Calif.; Mrs. Norton
Thurlow, of Atkinson; brothers
—Edward, of Lincoln; Florien,
jr., of Los Angeles and Eugene,
of Atkinson.
_—. ■
Plaster Falls
In Rural Schools—
Rural teachers this week re
ported to the Holt county su
perintendent, Elja McCullough,
that the high winds of the his
toric storm on March 7 is tak
ing its toll of ceiling plaster.
Many rural teachers said the
wind drove the snow through
roof cracks then melted. oil the
plaster which fell. No injuries
were reported
CECIL MALLORY
DIES SUDDENLY
Son of Wealthy Sioux City
Wholesaler a Heart
Victim
Cecil Mallory, 62, a Holt coun
ty resident who for several years
has been living alone on his
ranch east of the Spencer dam,
was found dead about 5 p. m.
Tuesday, March 14, by neigh
t r4> was a son of the late
w. Mallory, prominent Sioux
v1iy^Wh°Jf“ler °ne °f Elmer
K.raft s children discovered the
body.
Mr. Malloy was last seen by
triends on Thursday, March 9.
ui a visit to Spencer. A Spen
cer physician estimated that
he died later that day.
I Lemuel Cecil Mallory was
i Sioux City on August
16, 1887. His father, Lemuel, sr.,
was founder of the Hess-Mallory
wholesale dry goods company,
founder of the Pratt - Mallory
wholesale grocery firm, a part
ner in the M & L Baking Co.,
and the Artificial Ice Co., of St
Louis, Mo.
The elder Mr. Mallory died in
1931. Mrs. Mallory died in Sioux
City in 1936
L.emuei, jr., grew to manhood
in Sioux City. He was coheir
with his brother, Julius, now
deceased, to the large estate of
his father, but had sold his in
terests to other members of the
firm and so took no part in the
operation of the Hess-Mallory
company.
He was married twice: first,
to Frances McKercher, in Sioux
City, and later to Lila Donavan,
also of Sioux City. Both are de
ceased.
Survivors include: Sons —
Stewart, of Phoenix, Aria.;
Ward, of California; daugh
ters—Mrs. Robert (Joan) Pu
celik. of Spencer, and Mary,
who is married and resides in
California. There are several
grandchildren.
The body was taken to the
Jonas funeral home in Spencer
pending funeral arangements,
which were incomplete until 7
pm. Wednesday night. Bur
ial will be on the ranch, 8 miles
south of Spencer.
ARC Solicitation in
Rural Areas Begins
The weather this week is
hampering the Holt county Red
Cross drive, too.
Mrs. Guy Cole, of Emmet,
county chairman, said that door
to-door solicitation in the Holt
county towns will begin as soon,
as the slush and snow is out
from underfoot.
However, mail solicitation to
the rural residents of the county
is underway. Prior to the day
of the historic storm over 1,800
solicitation letters were sent to
rural residents. Mrs. Cole said
responses to these letters have
been “fair” thus far.
The membership drive began
March 1.
Chairmen in Holt county
communities are:
Atkinson — Mrs. Harvey
Shaw; O’Neill — Mrs. Thomas
Greene; Chambers — Mrs. J.
W. Walter; Ewing — Miss Fran
ces Rotherham and Mrs. James
Pruden; Stuart — Mrs. Stanley
Cobb; Page — Mrs. Elsie Ball
antyne; Inman — George Cole
man; Emmet — Mrs. P. W. Mc
Ginnis.
‘Voice' Covers
Class *B' Meet
The “Voice of The Fron
tier’s” special events staff
was on hand at the champ
ionship game of the class “B”
basketball tournament Satur
day night when Neligh down
ed a heavily favored Ord
team, 44-41.
A tape recording of parts
of the final quarter was made
and played-back on the regu
lar morning program at 9:45.
With the special basketball
tape recording, Monday’s
“Voice of The Frontier” was
extended 10 minutes.
Chuck Apgar, regular “Voice
of The Frontier” announcer,
did the descriptive and Joe
Ryan, sports editor of the Ne
ligh News, assisted.
_ t
Rural School Song
Practice Postponed—
The rural school song prac
tice which was scheduled to
be held at the Atkinson public
schools Friday, March 17, has
been indefinitely postponed,
according to Elja McCullough,
Holt county superintendent of
public instruction.