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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1950)
16 PAGES - 3 SECTIONS I SECTION - 8 PAGES I i i North-Nebraska’s Fastest-Growing Newspaper VOLUME 70—NUMBER 7 _ O NEILL. NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1950 PRICE 7 CENTS June 13 Storm Damage Great Chambers Locality Hardest Hit by Gale; 35 Steers Die from Lightning BY MRS. E. R. CARPENTER (Special Correspondent) CHAMBERS—Residents of the Chambers locality are mop ping up after the damaging tornadic windstorm that swept Holt county shortly after midnight on the night of Tuesday, June 13. For about 45 minutes the storm raged, uprooting hundreds of trees, demolishing many buildings and windmills and killing some poultry. , Most every farmstead reported damage of some kind. Some folks say it was one of the strongest winds ever witnessed in ; south Holt county. Many giant cottonwoods, some of them a half-century old, yielded under the impact of the swirling wind. Apparently, the twister touched down in a locality 5 miles northwest of Chambers, moved eastward 4 or 5 miles and slanted southeast toward the Deloit community. Worst damage was reported^ at the place occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Bell, located 3 miles west and 3 miles north of town. The house and the principal buildings remained in tact but half of a long hogshed was destroyed with portions of the roof being blown off and landing in a nearby tree. Two hogs were killed. A hundred cottonwood trees on the Bell place were blown down. They blocked the road running past the place on the north. The trees were several feet in diameter. Later, when all the felled trees had been pulled into a nearby field they covered an acre of ground. The George ,Rowse place, 2 miles north and lVfe miles east of Chambers, reported many up rooted trees, 2 destroyed wind mills, collapse of a brand new corn crib a hundred yards from the house and extensive dam age to a granary. Mr. and Mrs. Herman Hol comb, Rowses’ neighbor on the west, suffered the loss of 2 windmills and numerous trees. Others in that same locality, Robert Gartner and Jack Ald erson, also reported heavy dam age. H. C. Walter, who resides 2% miles west of Chambers and a mile north, had a chicken house completely destroyed. Ed Wondersee, in the same com munity, reported his blacksmith shop was demolished. Trees were uprotted at Ernest and Chester Jungbluth’s. One tree straddled their tractor, a big limb on either side. Lightning struck the C. V. I Robertson house on highway 1 95, 3Va miles west of town, and nearby, on the Elwyn Robertson place, a roof was blown from a barn. Mrs. John Cox, living a few miles southeast of Robertsons, lost a corn crib and granary. Because telephone lines were damaged, fallen trees blockaded many of the roads and others were impassable due to heavy rain and high water, the full ex tent of the storm damage was not known for several days. Quarterly Rainfall Already Above Normal— Government Weather Ob server Elmer Bowen declared Wednesday that precipitation for April, May and June already has exceeded normal with 9 days still remaining in the quarter. Precipitation for April was .55 of an inch; in May the moisture amounted to 4.18 inches, and todate in June a total of 3.18 inches of rainfall has been recorded at O'Neill. Normal precipitation for the O'Neill region for the second quarter of the year is 8.16 inches. Todate this year the normal has been exceeded by .07 inches—or 8.23 inches Week’s Weather summairy based on 24-hour periods end ing at 6 p. m. daily follows: ni uu x ivv. June 14 - 86 64 June 15 - 89 68 , June 16 - 80 55 June 17_ 84 53 .20 June 18_ 59 53 1.52 June 19 - 75 58 June 20_ 82 60 Total - 1-72 Lightning Strikes Graham Herd— REDBIRD — Thomas Gra ham and son, farmers in the Redbird community, lost 35 head of big steers in a freak manner during the electrical storm on Friday night, June 16. The lightning struck a fence line, killing 23 at one place, 12 head at another place along the same fence. “Nearly all were good, heavy steers,” Mr. Graham explained. Loss will run into several thous and dollars. Most of the fence line was suspended by steel posts, but the lightning charge was not grounded. More Storm Losses Are Reported— DELOIT — More reports of storm damage from the wind on the night of June 13 are being heard. The Frontier last week car ried the first news, including a description of the damage at the Augie Thiele place where all buildings were damaged except (Continued on page 8) L. M. Diehlman . . . former Texan to lead civic group. DIEHLMANNAMED CHAMBER HEAD Succeeds Melvin Ruzicka; Other Officers Are Elected L- M. Diehlman, manager of the Tri-State Produce Co. plant here for the past 2Vz years, Tuesday was elected president of the OiNeill Chamber of Commerce for the new year. He succeeds Melvin Ruzicka, hardwareman, who headed the body for the past 12 months. Mr. Diehlman came to O’ Neill on February 17, 1948, from Texas and last year serv ed on the C of C board of di rectors. Other officers are: D. D. DeBolt, first vice-pres ident; William McIntosh, sec ond vice-president; B. J. Gra dy, treasurer; Joe Stutz and Gene Cantlon, directors for 3 year-terms; A- P. Jaszkowiak, director for a 1-year-term (to fill vacancy). Only 13 were present for the June meeting, which had been delayed a week. Golf tourna ment in progress reduced at tendance. The Chamber heard a report on (the highway 20 association meeting held last week in Sioux City, voted to again sponsor' the annual Holt coun ty stocker - feeder calf show ind sale—this year to be held m October 11, voted to renew ts membership in the Niobra a River Basin Development tsisociation, and authorized purchase of an identification anner for the O’Neill munich ial band. Luncheon meeting was held ,t Slat’s cafe. Guests included: mrenz F. Bredemier, of Val ntine, district soil conserva tonist, and Art Marquardt, of | Jncoln, assistant staite soil onservationist. lamp Blamed for Farm Home Fire CHAMBERS — About 6:30 a. m. Saturday, June 17, the house on the Dale Bell place, located 2 miles west and lVz miles north of Chambers, burned to the ground. It is believed a lamp that ex ploded may have originated the blaze. Mr. Bell lives alone and was out choring. He drove to a neighbor’s, Vz mile, for help. When they got back the whole building was gone. Nothing was saved. Chambers Youth Hold First BanquetI CHAMBERS— Mel Hanson, farm service director of radio station WOW. of Omaha, and Guy Davis, of Lincoln, state rural youth leader, were guest speakers at the first banquet of ‘he South Holt Rural Youth club. The event, which is to be held annually, was held Tues day evening in the American Lgion auditorium here. Theme of the banquet was a western setting. Ruth Weber, club president, was in charge of arrangements. St. Anthony's Bids Approved • / _—___ * a. MOTHER OF 7 CHILDREN DIES »"1 Mrs. John E. Rotherham Burial Saturday in Calvary Cemetery Funeral services were held sere Saturday morning, June 17, at 10 o’clock for Mrs. John E. Rotherham, a 36-year-old mother of 7 children, in St. Patrick’s Catholic church. Ve ry Rev- Timothy O’Sullivan of ficiated at the rites and burial was in Calvary cemetery here. Mrs. Rotherham died at her home here at 8:30 a. m. Thurs day, June 15. She had given birth to a son, Edward, several hours before. Pallbearers were: John Rein hart, Edward Reinhart, Patrick Hynes, John Hynes, Joseph Langan and James Langan. A life - long resident of Holt county, Adelaide Ther esa Spittler was born De cember 14, 1913, at Ewing, the daughter of Mfr. and Mrs. Arthur E- Spittler. She had been reared at Ew ing and was a graduate of the Ewing schools. On January 14, 1937, she married John E. Rotherham at Ewing. Following their marri age they lived for 10 years at Ewing. During 1947 they mov ed to O’Neill where Mr. Roth erham was employed. Survivors include: Widower; laughters — Mary Elizabeth, 11; Theresa Ann, 19^months: sons—John Anther, 10; Jerry Eee, 8; Patrick, 7; Daniel, 4, ind infant Edward; 3 brothers —Lee, of California; Jerome, of O’Neill; and Jerard, of Ew ing- and parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E- Spittler, of Ewing. Sheriff Hubbard to Meet with Board Holt County Sheriff A. B. Hubbard told The Frontier Tuesday that he would decide whether Or not he would be a candidate for reelection fol lowing th Tuesday, June 27, meeting of the board of county supervisors. Hubbard has until 5 p. m., June 29 to file for the position, according to law. Filings for present county office holders *o file for other county posi tions closed Monday, June 19. Meanwhile, Leonard Thom azin, of Chambers, incumbent county surveyor, Tuesday fil ed on the Republican ticket for reelection. Thu% far Thomazin is the only candidate for the surveyor’s post. John Grutsch, Holt county service officer, Tuesday with drew his candidacy for nomi nation as county clerk. He was a lone Democrat in the pri mary race for nomination for the clerk’s post. Strope Family in Reunion at Neligh— EWING—Mr. and Mrs. An drew Olson, of Ewing, attend ed a family reunion of her fam ily, the Stropes, at the River side park in Neligh on Tues day, June 13. Those present were: Mr. and Mrs- Wallace Strope and fam ily, and Mr. and Mrs. Mervin Strope and family, all of Ve nus; Mr. and Mrs. George Hamill and family, Mr. and Irvie Anson, all of Orchard; Mrs. Fred Howard and Mrs. Mrs. Oscar Wilson and daugh ter, Mardelle, of Clearwater. A picnic dinner was enjoyed at noon followed by a social af ternoon and a business meet ing. Ice cream and cake were served before going home. Quorum Not Present For Special City Meeting— A special session of the O’Neill city council was held Friday night. However, a quorum was not present so no official busi ness could be transacted. Interesting discussions were held in connection with trees that are along the right-of-way for the new street lighting sys tem. Also, a discussion about numbering houses for forth coming mail delivery was held. MARRIAGE LICENSES Donald W Green, 28, and Marjorie Rose Harvey, 19, both of Chambers, June 21 Thomas E Wright, 21, of At kinson, and Rosie Margaret Howard, 18, of O’Neill. June 20. “Voice of The Frontier,” Mon., Wed.. Sat.. 9:45 a m.. WJAG. There's an acre of uprooted trees at the Melvin Bell place, northwest of Chambers. A “-♦ tornado ripped across south Holt county short ly after midnight of June 13. | PLANS UNDERWAY FOR CELEBRATION Legion - Sponsored Event Set Tentatively For July 15, 16 Saturday and Sunday July 15 and 16, are the dates for the second annual American Legion sponsored celebration in O’ Neill. Decision to stage a 1950 fes tival was made at a special meeting of Simonson post 93 on Monday night, June 19. According t o Commander Gordon O. Harper, tentative plans call for a parade, con cessions, carnival, activity at the O’Neill municipal airport, baseball games and a variety of other events. Heads of committees include; Legion club aativities—Ben nett Gilligan, Dorrance Crabb and Eugene Cantlon. Commit teemen are Fred Appleby and John R. Gallagher. , Parade—Elgin Ray and Noal Long. Concessions and carnival — Melvin Ruzicka and Jack Ar buthnot. Police—Dr. H. L. Bennett. Airport activity — Harper and Samuel Grasmick. Spo<rts—Fred Appldby. Publicity— J R- Lyons and Kieth Abart. Harper said late Wednesday “O’Neill merchants have wel comed the idea for the forth coming celebration.” Malloy, Davis To Scout Jamboree Bill Malloy, 15-year-old O’ Neill Scout, on the eve of his departure for the National Boy Scout jamboree to be held at Valley Forge, Pa., smiled and thought it was “really okay" to represent troop 210 of the Cov ered Wagon council. Malloy, son of Mrs. Ruby Malloy, of O'Neill, is sponsor ed by the O’Neill Chamber of Commerce. Another O’Neill Scout, Richard Davis, son of Mavor and Mrs. J. E Davis, wiTl make the trip also. They will leave this weekend. Folowing a few days of in docrination training at Ft. Omaha a large grouD of Scouts from ‘he Covered Wagon coun cil will move eastward through Niagara Falls, N Y.. New York City, Washington, D. C., and then to Valley Forge, Pa Malloy and Davis will spend from June 29 through July 7 at the jamboree They are scheduled to return home July 10. Meanwhile, the O'Neill Scout mothers are planning to hold a benefit bazaar and food sale for troop 210 Saturday, June 24, from 10:30 a. m. until 6 p. m. in the Gatz building. MARKET REPORT Wednesday Noon, June 21 (Prices subject to change) Corn, No. 2 yellow . 1.26 Bariev 1 03 Whtfat ' 05 Oats -80 Rye; 1 -56 Bu*terfat, No. 1 57 Butterfat, No. 2 . .54 Eggs -24 “Voice of The Frontier,” Mon., [ Wed Sat 3:45 am. WJAG. Roof off a hog shed was blown into the top of a nearby tree, which was also damaged (note severed trunk).—The Fron tier Photos. WORLD WAR I VETERAN DIES Russell Rossman Succumbs In Veterans Hospital At Lincoln ATKINSON— Russell Ross man. 55, a World War I veter an, died Friday evening, June 16, in the Veterans’ hospital at Lincoln. The late Mr. Rossman was born at Atkinson on June 19, 1895, and lived here most of his life, except for time spent in the army during the first war and the past 4 years dur ing which he resided at Fre mont. During his service career he was wounded while in France. He was united in marriage to Gertrude Erb in 1924. To this union 7 children were born. Funeral rites were held Monday, June 19, at St. John's Lutheran church in Atkinson with Rev. E. C. Ihrig, church pastor, officiating. Misses Joan Jarvis, Jean Humphrey, Helen Spence and Elaine Harshfield sang, accompanied by Bonnie Humphrey. Survivors include: sons — Richard, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Douglas, LeRoy, William and Kenneth, all of Atkinson; daughters—Mrs. Ralph (Ber nice) Seger and Eunice, of At kinson; brothers—Truman and Bernard, both of Atkinson; sis ters—Mrs. Charles Tasler and Mrs. John Warner, of Atkinson. — 225 4-H’ers Attend District Judging Day Two hundred twenty-five 4- I H’ers from Holt, Boyd, Wheeler and Garfield counties Wednes day attended a district judging day held at the O’Neill public school. Day convened at 10 a.m. and girls’ home economics classes participated in learning the fundamentals of judging. The girls judged clothes and home making as well as home econom ics. Livestock judging was held at the O’Neill Livestock Market; on the L. D Putnam place and at the Lloyd Gibson place east of O’Neill. The day concluded at 3:30 p. m. — Fire Destroys Tractor at Bristow BRISTOW — A fire at the home of Emil Prokop Thursday 1 night. June 15, destroyed a new tractor belonging to Edtvard Prokop, brother of Emil. The flames, first noticed by Mr. and Mrs. E H. Wenke as they were returning home about 11 p.m., are thought to have been started by a short in the battery. The tractor had been used that morning to grind corn. The tractor was near a pile of corn, but was moved before flames could reach the grain. Mr. and Mrs. Wenke wakened Emil Prokop upon discovering the flames, and the siren was sounded. Neighbors and towns people arrived to extinguish the flames Contractors Will Begin Massing Equipment Immediately Bids on the 420 - thousand dollar St. Anthony’s hospital have cleared the U. S. depart ment of health hurdles and are now being signed. This means that contractors will begin to move in and be gin construction on the 40-bed health center to be built on O’Neill’s north side. James M. Corkle, heel oi the St. Anthony's b’ <*..j committee, said Wednesday that all of the bids had been reviewed by federal agencies participating in the project Suqcessful bidders are: Busboom and Rauh Contract ors, of Salina, Kara., -242,700, general construction contract. James Davidson & Sons of O’Neill, $78,985, plumbing, heating and ventilating con tract. Lester Electric Co., of Wayne, $17,798, electric con tract. Busboom and Rauh officials told the architect, Frank Mc Nett, of Grand Island, that they would begin amassing -the necessary equipment in O' Neill immdiately, and expect to begin not later than July 17. Meanwhile, Corkle has call ed a meeting of all persons in terested in the hospital move ment for Monday, June 26, at 8 p. m. Meeting will be held in the American Legion auditorium. Principal item on the agenda will be discussion of plans for appropriate ground - breaking ceremonies Corkle said he hoped there would be a “good turnout." Bids were opened in O’Neill on June 8. Site of the hospital is immediately west of St. Ma ry's academy. Father Lehmen Returns from Europe ATKINSON — Rev. A A. Lehmen, pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic church, Monday, June 19, returned to Atkinson after an extensive tour of Europe, Accompanied by his brother, Rev. A. B. Lehmen, of Chester, 111., they made a Holy Year pil grimage to Rome in a party oi 22. They sailed from New York harbor on April 29, toured England, Belgium, Holland, a pontion of Austria, Germany, Switzerland France and Italy, returning aboard the same vessel. Father Lehmen was on the continent for 6 weeks. On May 27 he had an audience with His Holiness, Pope Pius XII. Following day he witnessed the cannom/ation of St. Jean of France. “There’s lots of reconstruc tion and activity in Europe to day,” the Atkinson priest de clared. “Everywhere crops seem to be good and people were busy in the fields ’ Former Publisher Dies Suddenly BUTTE — Funeral services were held Sunday, June 18, at Lincoln for Kenneth Whitla, former editor and publisher of the Butte Gazette and Spencer Advocate. Burial was in Cres ton Whitla died suddenly Thurs day, June 15, at his home in Lincoln, where he had been living since the early 1940s He had become ill Thursday and 3 hours la‘er he died. Whitla at the time of his death was working with the University of Nebraska print ing shop at Lincoln. Prior to tha? he had sp-mt most of his business life publishing Boyd newspapers. He had disposed of his business interests when h<* moved to Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs William McIn tosh. of O'Neill, attended the burial rites Mr. McIntosh is a cousin of the late Mr Whitla. Building Under Construction— A 40 x 100 foot brick build* ing is under construction as an addition to the Outlaw Imple ment company located in West O’Neill. The new addition is on the west side and is intended to be used as a show room for . Kaiser and Frazer automobiles. Construction got underway recently, according to Tony Asimus. owner.
