12 PAGES—2 SECTIONS I SECTION — 8 PAGES
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North-Nebraska 8 Fastest-Growing Newspaper
VOLUME 69—NUMBER 46 O'NEILL. NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MARCH 23, IS50 PRICE; 7 CENT!
Cattle Are Making
Great Comeback
P But Losses Continue to
Mount as Result of
March 7 Storm I
It is the considered opinion of
leading Holt county stockmen'
that cattle have made a remark
able comeback since March 7.
That was the date the live
stock industry absorbed its
worst setback in history, direct
ly causing the death of several
thousand head of cattle.
Now, more than 2 weeks fol
By lowing the Hurricane Blizzard,
the death count continues to
■K*- mount. Pneumonia is taking its
toll among the blizzard-weak -
| ft ened animals.
Il.'l It is impossible to ascertain a
complete listing of losses by in
dividual operators, but virtually
| ■ every ranch—large and small—
has recorded its dead.
Most of the deaths wore
caused by smothering when
ice formed on the nostrils.
Others perished in ponds,
lakes and creeks that were op
en—the livestock being blind
ed by the driving snow and
100-mile-per-hour wind.
# In the March 16 issue of The
Frontier L. D. Putnam, well
known O’Neill stockman, was
quoted as saying Holt losses
would run “about 5 per cent.
A week later Putnam declin
ed to revise his estimate, say
ing “5 per cent is running just
about right.”
The toll is considerably great
er than at first thought. Most
I ■ stockmen readily assert that
losses as a result of the 24-hour
storm will exceed by far the
• cumulative losses of last year
during the now-famous Recur
ring Blizzards.
I Holt stockmen saw men.
tie visibly weakened from the
March 7 belting. In fact, many
* were “down” in the snow and
1 needed aid to get back on then
feet. Shrinkage was alarming,
but moderate weather during
the past 2 weeks has helped re
covery.
Rendering plants in the vicin
ity have been jammed to capac
ity processing. Most plants re
port a heavy backlog of calls to
be made.
Bruce Covey, Ord rendering
plant proprietor, said that Rus
sell Jones lost 42 head on his
ranch north of Burwell.
Storm stories continue to tit
ter in from outlying communi
ties.
Roy Worden, of near Swan
Lake had gone to the barn to
look after his stock. The storm
increased in fury while he was
4 there and he became lost £ryms
to get back to the house. He fi
nally ran into a windbreak, fol
lowed it to the end, only to find
he had gone the wrong way.
Had he missed the windbreak
he would have frozen to death.
Charley Peterson, well
known Atkinson rancher, was
reported to have said his loss
es wonld fall short of 300 head.
Dewey C. Schaffer, O’Neill
rancher, has indicated that ms
livestock losses will mount to
well over 300.
Leslie Anderson, a farmer
south of Clearwater, had to
work fast to save his flock of
250 lambs during the blizzard.
% The snow froze over the lambs
heads in thick layers, complete
ly blinding the animals. Each
one had to be caught and the
mow removed. Only 6 head ct
the entire flock were lost. An
derson also reported loss of a
calf.
Earl Peterson and Floyd Ar
rowsmith, living near Bassett,
have reported the loss of around
60 head from each of their herds.
Louis Meyer, who lives a
miles east and 2 miles south of
O’Neill, reported loss of 2 head
out of a herd of 50.
James Gallagher, of Inman,
reported loss of 13 head of cat
tle—first loss to wintry weather
I Gallagher Bros, have ever ex
perienced.
Stuart Vicinity Scene
Of Foot Hunt-—
STUART — About 40 foxes
belonging to the Norris Coats
farm decided to take a tour of
the countryside after the big
blow. . , . 4.
Snow had drifted into the
pens on the Coats place, about
3 miles north of Stuart, making
it a simple matter for the an
imals to walk to freedom over
the tops of the drifts and fen
ces.
Many of them were tame and
some ventured into neighbors
i yards. Some were killed be
fore they had opportunity to
turn savage.
The Coats fox farm, which
has counted up to 150 pair, is
located on the Naper road.
John Walker in
Narrow Escape—
EWING — John Walker, Ew
ing gravel pit operator, had a
close call during the Hurricane
Blizzard.
He left town and headed for
the pit, a mile east of Ewing, to
recover a tractor. This was
about 10 o’clock in the morning.
When he was unheard from
for several hours a group of
men began a search. He was lo
cated okay and escorted back to
\ town.
(Continued on page 9)
LIVESTOCK SALES
RESUME TODAY
Formal Opening of New
Pavilion Set for
March 30
Resuming of the livestock
sales at the O’Neill Livestock
Market will begin today (Thurs
day). Reconstruction of the new,
enlarged sales pavilion this
week moved into the final
stages.
The 50- x 75-foot frame struc
ture has been enclosed and the
seats will all be installed for
the sale today. Workmen have
completed putting on sheeting,
the roof and temporary wiring
will be installed for this week’s
sale, according to the coman
agers of the market, Verne and
Leigh Reynoldson.
The Reynoldsons said the
increased seating capacity will
accommodate approximately
300 more people. The old pa
vilion's seating capacity was
somewhere in the neighbor
hood of 650.
Other completed sections of
the new sales pavilion include:
scales, sorting alleys and sort
ing pens, and the sale ring.
Office, permanent wiring,
siding and shingles, and some
inside cement work will be
completed in time for the for
mal opening of the new pavilion.
The formal opening is schedul
ed for Thursday, March 30.
Workmen were given a 7-day
setback in the rebuilding of the
pavilion when the historic
storm of March 7 paralyzed the
O’Neill area.
Last regularly scheduled sale
in the old pavilion was held on
Thursday, February 16. The
bam was destroyed by fire sev
eral hours after the close of a
I special sale of registered Here
I fords on Saturday, February 18.
The special sale was sponsored
by the Holt County Hereford
Breeders’ association.
Meanwhile, O’Neill merchants
will herald the formal opening
j of the new pavilion a week from
today with a citywide bargain
| day merchandising event. Prob
! ably a hundred prizes will be
awarded at the livestock mar
: ket. These prizes will be pro
vided by business firms.
(Complete details will be pub
lished in the March 30 issue of
The Frontier).
WILTON HAYNE,
PAGE MAN, DIES
Heart Attack Fatal To
Holt County
Pioneer
PAGE — Funeral services for
Wilton Hayne, 73, a retired
Page blacksmith, \*tere held at
2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at
the Methodist church. Rev. T.
O. Brownfield, church pastor,
had charge of the service, as
i sisted by Rev. Carl Rayburn, of
Hildreth, formerly of Page. Bur
1 ial was in the Page cemetery.
The late Mr. Hayne was
; stricken suddenly early Friday
morning at the home of his
daughter, Mrs. Carl Nuss, of
Wayne. Relatives said death
| was caused by a heart attack.
Pallbearers were Leonard
Miller, Will Simmons, Lester
; Riege, LaVerne Van Connett,
I Kenneth Braddock, Glen Stew
art, Glen Harris and Verne
Riege.
The singers were Mrs. Alton
Braddock, Mrs. Ray Snell, Ed
gar Stauffer and Vernie Hunter,
with Mrs. John Lamason as
pianist.
Mrs. Will Simmons, Mrs. Rob
ert Gray, Mrs. Kenneth Brad
dock and Mrs. Gerald Lamason
had charge of floral offerings.
A son of the late George
and Martha Jane Hayne, the
late Mr. Hayne was born in
Marshalltown, la., on Janu
ary 10, 1877. With his parents
he moved to Holt county dur
ing 1883.
On August 23, 1902, he mar
ried Minnie S. Fray, at O’Neill
and to them 3 daughters were
born. For a time during the
early 1900's he was a member
of the O’Neill police force.
In 1904 he went into the
backsmith business at Page and
had been a continuous resident
since.
Mr. Hayne was a member of
the IOOF and of the Garfield
AF&AM lodges.
When a young man he loved
to play baseball and became
quite efficient in this sport. He
was a blacksmith in Page for
46 years and was mayor of the
city for 4 years. He played in
the band and was interested in
all advancements in the com
munity.
Survivors include: widow;
daughters—Mrs. Venice Bress
ler and Mrs. Carl (Lillian) Nuss,
both of Wayne; Mrs. Roy (Ida)
Johnson, of O’Neill; 12 grand
children; 2 great-grandchildren;
sister—Mrs. William Anderson,
of Page; brother—Charles, of
Los Angeles, Calif.
Leigh Reynoldson (above)
and Verne Reynoldson . . .
starling over. (Story at left).
FRED HITCHCOCKS
MARRiED 50 YEARS
ATKINSON — Mr. and Mrs.
Fred Hitchcock entertained
scores of friends and well-wish
ers Tuesday afternoon, March
1 21, in an open-house observance
of their golden wedding anni
versary. They received their
guests at the Stockman hotel,
where they have an apartment.
Mr. Hitchcock and the former
Mary Elizabeth Enbody were
married on March 21, 1900, at
the home of the bride’s parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Lucien Enbody,
south of Emmet.
They havf? made their home
at Atkinson continuously. Mr.
Hitchcock has practiced vet
inary medicine and raised
livestock. For about a year
the Hitchcocks lived on a
farm. He served several terms
as a police officer for the
town.
Regarding their health, Mr.
Hitchcock is “just fine now,”
although he has had a series of
operations for eye cataracts.
Mrs. Hitchcock says her health
“couldn’t be better.”
The couple has a daughter,
Mrs. John W. (Hazel) Baab, who
lives on a farm IV2 mile east
of Atkinson. There are 2 grand
children—Mrs. Irvin Forbes, of
Amelia, and Mrs. Charles Smith,
of Osmond.
Mrs. Baab and Mrs. Henry
Houten helped arrange Tues
day’s open-house affair between
2 and 5 o’clock. Mrs. Houten,
the former Emma Enbody, was
also present at the wedding rite
50 years ago. Mrs. Houten is
Mrs. Hitchcock’s sister.
The Hitchcocks have attended
the Methodist church.
BAD ROADS SLOW
HOLTASSESSORS
Many Have Not Yet
Drawn Assessment
Supplies Here
It can be said that the March
7 blizzard and the resultant
snow-clogged roads have slow
ed the annual tax assessment
process in Holt county.
L. G. Gillespie, Holt county
assessor, said Monday that only
three-fourths of his assistants
have been able to draw their
supplies. This means that one
fourth of the workers will be
over 10 days late in getting un
derway. The assessment begins ,
on March 10 and all personal j
property is assessed as of that |
date.
Gillespie spent Monday in
Atkinson and Tuesday in Stuart
assisting with business sched
ules. He was scheduled to be
at Ewing Wednesday
Every person having attain
ed the age of 21 years, or over,
must file an assessment return,
according to Gillespie. This ap
plies whether or not the per
son has any property.
Those between 21- and 50
years-old are subject to old age
and poll tax or only old age, as .
the case may be.
/-vssisiaru a&sessuis ntivu uccu
assigned to each precinct to
contact the taxpayers and to |
make their assessment. How- ’
ever, the number of taxpayers
to be contacted, the time re
maining and the prevailing
road conditions may not permit
the assistants to contact all
taxpayers.
“Therefore,” Mr. Gillespie
says, “If at all possible, con
tact your assessor and be asses
sed as early as possible, inas
much as the law makes it the
sole responsibility of the tax
payer to see that he is assessed
by April 20.”
Failure to be assessed makes
the resident subject to special
assessment and other penalties.
Business schedules should be
filed by April 10, if possible, ac
cording to Gillespie. All sched
ules are subject to review by
the state tax commissioner and
his representatives for any val
uation revisions.
Holt county’s 1950 precinct
assessors follow:
Antelope—L. Crumly; Atkin
son—V. W. Kirkland; Atkinson
two—Frank LaMunyan; Cleve
land—Waldo Frost; Conley —
B. Rickard; Chambers vill.—C.
Dallegge; Chambers twp.— C.
(Continued on page 4)
NIOBRARA GROUP
IN SHOW, SALE
50 Head of Herefords
Consigned to Butte
Show & Sale
BUTTE — A livestock field
day and judging contest and
the fourth annual spring show
and sale of the Niobrara Val
ley Hereford association will
be here Friday and Saturday,
March 24 and 25, highlighting
activity in the new spring sea
son.
The field day and the judg
ing contest will be sponsored
jointly by the Butte Commun
ity club and the Hereford as
sociation.
Field day will get underway
at 9:30 a. m. Friday, March 24,
(Continued on page 5)
O'Neill's new livestock market pavilion U
taking shape . . . will be scene of first sale to>
I day (Thursday).—The Frontier Photo by John
H. McCarville.
Plan Construction on
St. Anthony's by July 1
Another Weekly
Takes to Radio
Nebraska’s third weekly news
paper has taken to the radio
airlanes to supplement its news
coverage in its field.
The newcomer is the Dakota
County Star at South Sioux
City, published by Paul Wag
ner. The Star is heard daily at
12:15 p.m. on radio station
KCOM. Sioux City.
The Frontier was the first
weekly in Nebraska to use ra
dio. In January, the Blair Pilot
Tribune, published by Reed O’
Hanlon, jr., linked itself with
radio station KGFY, Fremont,
for daily broadcasts.
MRS. BETSY ALM
91-YEARS-OLD
Married Here, She Knew
Her Late Husband
In Sweden
Mrs. Betsy Aim celebrated
her 91st birthday anniversary
Monday, March 13, at a family
dinner.
Mrs. Aim, who was born in
Sweden in 1859, lives with a
daughter, Miss Clara Aim. Her
other children are: Mrs. Harold
(Alma) Rosenkrans, of Dorsey;
Mrs. Herman (Elsie) Dimmitt.
of north of Page; O. W. Aim, a
psychology professor at Kansas
State college, Manhattan Kans.;
and Arthur Aim, of O’Neill.
Betsy Peterson came to Amer
ica in about 1885 and spent a
year in Illinois before coming
to Holt county. She married
Swan Aim in O’Neill and has
lived here since. She knew Mr.
Aim in Sweden. He died in No
vember, 1915.
All the children were bom in
Holt county on the old home
stead, situated 20 miles north
east of O’Neill.
Mrs. Aim has had “good
health,” but recently has “not
been too well.”
Return from Florida—
ORCHARD — Mr. and Mrs.
Paul McBride returned home
last week from Florida, where
they had spent the winter.
O’Connells Go Home—by Auto
Timothy Joe Showered
With Gifts from Well
Wishers Everywhere
Mrs. Wallace O’Connell and
her famous son, Timothy Jo
seph, last Thursday were re
leased from O’Neill hospital
Mrs. O’Connell’s return home
was much less dramatic than the
trip to the hospital.
It was about 11 o’clock on the
morning of March 7 that the
stork began hovering around the
O’Connell household and it was
thought time had come to get the
expectant mother to the hospi
tal. The historic March 7 bliz
zard had gained most of its mo
mentum by the time Mr. O’Con
nell had hitched-up a team and
wagon, helped Mrs. O’Connell
into the wagon, and set out for
O’Neill, only 3 miles away.
The team bogged down about
half-way, Mr. O’Connell had to
abandon the scene and go for
help.
Mrs. O'Connell stayed be
hind in the wagon huddling in
a corner under soma bankets.
The wind shrieked across the
countryside, some times moun
ting up to 100-mies-per-hour.
Mr. O’Connell reached O’Neill
but was exhausted. A rescue
party was organized and finally,
after being out in the unprece
dented storm for 10 hours, Mrs.
O’Connell was carried by litter
into O’Neill hospital by a gal
lant band of rescuers. There, 4
hours later, Tunothy Joseph ar
rived. weighing in at 7 pounds.
Hundreds of newspapers over
| the land carried pictures of the
mother and her famous “bliz
zard boy." Their fame spread
| rapidly.
Even while they were still
; confined to the hospital, mail
! from well-wishers began to
burden the postoffice. By Mon
day, nearly 300 letters, cards
; and package- had been received
j from well-wishers across the
I land.
Timothy Joe was showered
i with booties and blankets, rat
tles and panties. Mother came
j in for some gifts, too.
Everybody forgets father,”
! mused Mr O’Connell.
" Getting to and from the O’
Connell place, 3 miles north
west of town, still is a horse
and- wagon proposition because
of the snow. There is no road
and the mother and her famous
son were taken home through
the fields by auto aided with
tractor.
Most of the correspondence
poured in from the sunny climes
of Florida and California, and
many letters came from the Da
kotas.
Homemakers Coming
Thursday, April 6—
Fourth annual rural home
makers’ county recognition
luncheon and program will be
held in O’Neill on Thursday,
April 6, instead of April 16, as
announced in last week’s issue
of The Frontier.
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, Hooper, Thomas and Blaine
counties.
REV. CRESS MOVING
TO OHIO PARISH
Lutheran Pastor in O’Neill
Over 2 V2 Years to
Leave April 16
Rev. Clyde O. Cress, Christ
Lutheran church pastor here ■
for more than 2*4 years, has ac- j
cepted a call from a Missouri
synod pastorate in Mayfield
Heights, O., a suburb of Cleve
land.
He will deliver his farewell
| sermon to Holt county parish
j loners^on Sunday, April 16, and
; depart with his family later
' that day.
Pastor Cress's new parish is
Our Saviour’s Lutheran church
in a newly-built suburb of
Cleveland. The parish there is
only 3-years-old and most of
the dwellings have been built
since World War II.
A congregational meeting
was held Sunday at which
time Pastor Cress was offici
ally released to accept the
Ohio call. Another meeting
will be held Sunday, March
26, at which time the congre
gation will issue an invitation
to applicants from Missouri
synod seminaries at St. Louis
and Springfield, Mo.
Reverend Cress came to O’- j
Neill in August, 1947. from Con
cordia theological seminary at
Springfield. He began serving
Christ Lutheran parish at O’
Neill and Immanuel Lutheran
parish at Atkinson—his first
pastorates.
since ms coining uuin purumca
have prospered. The O’Neill con
gregation has purchased its
church building and a parson
age. Number of communicants
at O’Neill has swelled from 44
to 90; number of persons bap
tized but not confirmed has in
creased from 87 to 140. A like
gain has been shown at Atkin
son: 35 to 55 communicants,
64 to 90 others.
Christ Lutheran church had
been idle and without a pastor
for 18 months when Reverend
Cress arrived.
Pastor Cress and Mrs. Cress
have a son, Donald, 15-months
old.
The Lutheran clergyman ex
pressed regret in leaving O’Neill
but is enthusiastic about the
“huge, new field at Mayfield
Heights.”
“I will be doing open mission
work there," he explained, “and
helping with an already planned
construction program.”
140 Piglets Born on
Boyd County Farm—
SPENCER—While the March
7 blizzard caused many losses
amoung cattle, the high wind
ushered in a bumper crop of
pork chops at the Bert Johnson
farm near here.
On the historic date 12 sows
farrowed 140 piglets. Thus,
there was considerably more
excitement around the Johnson
place than could be conjured
up by a north wind.
In addition, a Brown Swiss
dairy cow gave birth to a set of
twin calves.
Rev. Wadsworth Visits—
ATKINSON — Rev. D. L.
Wadsworth, who has been lo
cated at Ipswich, S. D., for the
past 4 years, arrived Friday for
a visit with his father, George
Wadsworth, at Atkinson, and
with other relatives at Stuart
and Atkinson.
Conference with Architect
Planned Saturday
In Denver
Construction of the 40-bed,
400-thousand-dollar St. Anth
ony’s hospital in O’Neill is ten
tatively scheduled to begin on
July 1.
This was revealed this week
by James M. Corkle, hospital
fund-raising chairman.
Mother Erica, head of the Sis
ters of St. Francis provincial
mother house in Denver, Colo.,
advised Corkle this week that
she and 2 superiors from other
hospitals operated by the same
Roman Catholic order, will con
fer in Denver Saturday with
Frank N. McNutt, head of a
well-known architectural firm
there.
In April the same group
will meet in O'Neill with fed
eral authorities and final plans
for the big medical center
will be drafted. This meeting
will take place during the
course of the St. Mary's acad
emy golden jubilee celebra
tion.
Mother Erica advised Mr.
Corkle that plans for St. An
thony’s hospital have been “pro
gressing satisfactorily.’’
She expressed hope that pre
liminary planning will be com
pleted by May l and actual con
struction can begin by July 1.
Denver is the provincial head
quarters for the Sisters of St.
Francis, who own and operate a -
number of hospitals in the Uni
ted States.
A year ago the hospital
movement was revived here un
der the guidance of Mr. Corkle.
By year’s end the committee
counted 115-thousand - dollar*
cash in Holt county banks. Fed
eral government will participate
in the construction of the class
A hospital and the Sisters will
assume "any reasonable indebt
edness.”
Site for the hospital is north
west of the academy.
The 115-thousand-dollar fig
ure is exclusive of pledges for
room memorials.
Frontier’s Paid
Circulation 3,266
A new high in paid circula
tion for any North-Nebraska
newspaper west of Norfdlk haa
been established by The Fron
tier.
Its paid circulation on the
March 9 Blizzard Edition ha*
reached the 3,266 mark—with
more requests for extra copies
still coming in. Last week’s is
sue stated the March 9 circula
tion mark was 2,815.
Publisher Carroll (“Cal”)
Stewart explained that the de
mand for extra copies has been
“unprecedented.” The Frontier
anticipated a heavy “run” and
printed about 1,300 extras.
Meanwhile, a “run” has also
been made on extra copies of
the March 16 edition. Already
2,432 copies of that number
have been sold.
The Frontier’s normal circula
tion since the first of the year
has been in excess of 2,100, with
the gross distribution growing
steadily.
12 Head of Cattle
Wander info Creek—
ORCHARD—Joe George has
reported that 6 head of cattifl
belonging to him wandered in
to a creek during the March 1
storm and they died.
Pete Cooper also lost 6 beat
in the same manner. /