Nebraska Newspapers

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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.