12 PAGES — 2 SECTIONS
North-Nebraska’s Fastest-Growing Newspaper
VOLUME 71._NUMBER 1. O'NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY. MAY 10, 1951. PRICEj 7 CENTS
78 Seniors in
City's Schools
0 _ A - ■ ■- ■—
Whirl o f Activities
for O’Neill High
Graduates
A busy week lies ahead for the
38 members of the graduating
class of the O’Neill public school.
Rev. Ralph Gerber, pastor of
First Presbyterian church of O’
( Neill, will give the baccaulaur
eate address Sunday evening,
May 13, at the high school audi
torium.
Monday, May 14, has been
chosen as the night for the an
nual class night program, which
includes the reading of the class
will, the class prophecies, and
other entertainment by the grad
uates. The public is invited to the
program and no admission will
be charged.
Commencement exercises
will be held at 8 p.m., Wednes
1 day. May 16. Dr. L. A. Bur
gess, president of the board of
education, will present the di
plomas. Scholarships will be
awarded by Supt. Ira George
and Prin. Howard Dean.
Grade school graduation will
also be held in the auditorium
Wednesday evening. Diplomas
will be presented by Mr. George,
who will also announce the win
ners of the “fair and square” a
wards. These awards are given
each year to the student in each
class who is chosen by his class
mates to be the “fairest and
squarest."
Thursday evening, May 17, be
ginning at 8 o’clock, in the high
school auditorium the band and
the mixed chorus will give the
last concert of the year. A short
f operetta, “The Dizzy Baton,” will
be the highlight of the evening.
The term-end whirl for the
graduating class has included the
junior-senior banquet and prom
on Wednesday, May 2, and the
senior class play, which was pre
sented Tuesday evening, May 8.
Members of the graduating
class are: Leo Babutzke, Arthur
C. Benash, Irene Benash, John
Brady, Donna J. Crabb, Clifford
Dick, Vernyce M. Dye, June Er
nst, Robert Fox, Donald Fridley,
Dolly Grunke, Barbara Hancock,
Lois Harder, Marjorie Huebert,
Lois Hull, Opal Huston, Joan
Kallhoff, Don Kloppenborg, Alice
Knepper, Ted Lind berg, Madeline
Meyer, Earl Miller, Ivan McClan
ahan, Frank McKenny, Laverna
f Nekolite, Richard Nelson, Don
Petersen, Dorothy Pinnt, Shirley
Rieck, Leonard Ritts, Wayne
Schollmeyer, Phyllis Seger, Lean
M Serck, Donald Sparks, Mavis
Spry, Rosalie Summers, Helen
Thomas and Ivan Wayman.
The term will officially close
Friday, May 18.
Lincoln Sowers
Coining Today
The Sowers club, of the Lin
coln Chamber of Cotnmerce, will
\ reach O’Neill at 11:50 a.m. today
(Thursday). The touring boosters
will have treats for the children
and other mementos for the men
and women. . , ,
O’Neill’s Municipal band win
serenade the Lincoln wholesalers,
manufacturers and retailers when
they step from their eastbound
chartered busses. ,
The visitors will be served
lunch at the American Legion
auditorium, dining with members
of the O’Neill Chamber. It will
be a “Dutch affair ’ and tickets
are $1.50 each. The meeting will
also serve as the regular month
^meeting of the O’Neill civic
b°The Sowers club schedule at
other Holt county points ^day
includes: Arrival at Stuart. 10_20
i am departure 10:30 a.m., ar
rival at Atkinson, 10:55 a.m., de
parture 11:15 a.m., arrival at In
man 1'40 p.m., departure 1.5U
p.m.’; arrival at Ewing, 2:10 p.m.,
departure 2:25 p.m. —
The Omaha Chamber
merce goodwill caravan will stop
in O’Neill at 2:45 p.m., Saturday,
May 19. There will be plenty of
candy and balloons.
The 100 Omaha businessman
wiU be traveling by special train.
O’Neill Composer s
Selection Aired
Mrs. Howard Wallace, wife of
an employee of the Force Con
> Struction Co., has composed about
30 tunes and written words lor
her music. .. “MritH
One of these selections, Notn
ing Ventured, Nothing Gained,
recorded in Hollywood, Cald.
was broadcast Wednesday v9 45
a.m., WJAG, 780 kc) on the
-Voice of The Frontier” program.
Mrs. Wallace’s music is written
under her maiden name,.Phylhs
Katuska. Her home address is
Pomona, Kans., route 2 she be
gan composing music at the age
of 25, received a certificate of
merit from the Haven Press, New
York Citv and has been compli
merited’for her literary efforta by
the Atlantic Monthly.
Visit New York—
Mr and Mrs. William J. Beha
and family arrived late Tuesday
from Sioux Falls, S. to visit
< relatives for 2 days. The Behas
were returning from New Ro
chelle, N. Y.,
Alumni Banquet, May
Crowning Next for
SMA Seniors
Amid traditional ceremonies
and social events, 40 St. Mary’s
academy seniors will close their
high school careers in the next 3
weeks.
On May 18 the high school stu
dents will present their "Spring
Revue,” a program of singing,
dancing, and dramatic entertain
ment. It will begin at 8 p.m. at
the public school auditorium.
Members of the senior class
will be honored guests at the an
nual alumni banquet to be held
Sunday evening, May 20. This
will be followed by the May
crowning ceremony on Tuesday
May 22. The coronation will take
place in St. Patrick’s Catholic
church and the public is invited
to attend.
On Monday, May 28, the sen
iors will present their class
night skit, "Memories.'' This
program will also be held in
the public high school auditor
ium and will begin at 8 p.m.
Several awards will be pre
sented.
Commencement exercises will
begin at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May
29, at St. Patrick’s Catholic
church. Rev. Peter Burke, of St.
Peter’s Catholic church, Ewing,
wiil address the graduates. After
the presentation of the diplomas,
scholarship winners will be an
nounced.
(Continued on page 8.)
CITY LEASES
PARKING AREAS
Strategically Located Lots,
Lighted and Policed,
Will Aid Visitors
The city of O’Neill this week
completed arrangements for leas
ing 2 well-located parking areas.
Both areas will be graveled,
lighted and policed. These facili
ties will help relieve the thorny
traffic and parking problem in
the city—particularly on Thurs
days (livestock sale days) and
Saturdays.
The largest area lies between
the Arbuthnot service station and
the American Legion club. The
property measures about 50 feet
by 180 feet and easily will ac
commodate more than 50 cars. -
This real estate is owned by
the J. B. Ryan estate and is be
ing leased for the consideration
of tax payments only.
The second parking area is lo
cated south of the Texaco service
station near the corner of Second
and Douglas streets. This area is
smaller than the Ryan property
but is a parking lot centrally-lo
cated. The city will lease this
ground for only $1 per year.
Lt. Baker Heard in
Recorded Interview
“Voice of The Frontier” listen
ers Saturday (9:45 a.m, WJAG,
780 kc) heard a recorded inter
view with 1/Lt. John Lee Ba«er,
of O’Neill, son of Mr. and Mrs.
H. J. Lohaus.
By special arrangement with
the air force, the “Voice of The
Frontier” played-back a 3Va-min
ute question-and-answer discus
sion between an air force public
information officer and Lieuten
ant Baker, a jet fighter pilot.
Baker has flown more than a
hundred missions against the
North Korean reds and Chinese
reds, including many close-sup
port sorties. Baker has been in
the Far East theater for a year
and a half. He expects to be pro
cessed in Japan May 14 and be
enroute back to the U.S. by air
on May 18 or 20.
130 Attend Mother
Daughter Banquet —
CHAMBERS — One hundred
thirty attended the mother and
daughter banquet held Friday
evening, May 4, at the Metho
dist church parlors It was spon
sored by the Women’s Society of
Christian Service.
Mrs. C. V. Robertson was the
toastmaster. The program open
ed with a group song, “Our
Mother,” followed by a wel
come by Mrs. Sarah Adams;
“Tribute to Mother,” by Lylas
Tangeman; “Tribute to Daugh
ters,” by Mrs. E. R. Carpenter;
duet, “I’m Wearing a Flower for
You,” by Herbetta Hutton and
Irma Brown; reading, by Leve
na Grimes; talk, by Buelah
Grimes; pageant, “Patch Work,”
by Mrs. J. W. Wintermote, Con
nie Werner, Judy Fagon, Jo
ane Daas, and Armenta Gleed.
Legion to Talk
'51 Celebration—
At the regular monthly meet
ing of Simonson post 93, of the
American Legion, principal item
on the agenda will be the 1951
Legion-sponsored celebration.
Meeting will begin at 8 o’clock
tonight (Thursday).
Also to be discussed will be
Memorial day observance plans,
which will be in charge of Glea
H. Wade.
HOLT RESIDENT
27 YEARS EXPIRES
Edwin A. Walker, Page,
Dies at Son’s Home
in Norfolk
PAGE—Edwin A. Walker, 69.
died at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 6,
at the home of his son, C. Fred
Walker, in Norfolk. He died sud
denly. He had been ill 5 months.
Funeral services for the late
Edwin A. Walker were held on
Tuesday, May 8, at 2 p.m. in the
Methodist church at Page. Rev.
C. E. Wilcox, church pastor, offi
ciated. Burial was in the Page
cemetery under the direction of
Big] in Bros.
Pallbearers were Alton Brad
dock, Frank Cronk, Jerome Allen,
Bernard Allen, Robert Gray,
Carl Max, Leonard Miller and
Jesse Kelly.
The late Mr. Walker was
born in Collins, la.. March 20,
1881, a son of John and Mark
Walker. When he was 4-years
old the family moved to Mid
dlebranch.
In 1900, he went to Hurdsfield,
N. D., to reside.
On March 9, 1910, he married
Mary E. Neiman at Carrington,
N. D.
In 1923 the Walker family
moved to the Page community
from North Dakota. Except for
a short period during World War
II, when the late Mr. Walker was
employed in a defense plant at
Wahoo and Los Angeles, Calif.,
he lived in the Page community
continuously until his death.
As a young man he was engag
ed in farming and at Page was
employed in various businesses
until retirement in 1950.
Mrs. Walker died in January,
1950.
He was preceded in death by 3
brothers and 5 sisters.
Survivors include: Sons —
Cordes, of Page; C. Fred, of
Norfolk; John D., of Ewing;
daughters—Mrs. Anthony (Beu
lah) Craig, of Norfolk; Mrs.
James (Carol) McNally, of Den
ver, Colo.; brother—Dave Walk
er, of Vineland, N. J., and a sis
ter, Clara, who lives in Oakland,
Ore.; and 13 grandchildren.
Singers were Ralph Gray, Ver
nie Hunter, Marvin and Dale
Stauffer.
Mrs. Alton Braddock, Mrs.
Ralph Larson and Mrs. Ivan Heiss
(Continued on page 8)
Henry Werner, Wife
Wed Half-Century
“Henry Werner and Miss Millie
Myers, both of Emmet, were
united in marriage at the Meth
odist parsonage in this city on
Wednesday, Rev. Rominger offi
ciating.”
This is an excerpt from the
files of The Frontier dated May
16, 1901.
Tuesday Mr. and Mrs. Werner,
who are now residing 5 miles
southeast of Atkinson, will cele
brate their golden wedding anni
versary. A family dinner, to be
held Sunday, May 13, will be
followed by a reception from 2
to 5 p.m. to which all their
friends are invited.
Two sons, Harry and Kenneth,
of Atkinson, and two daughters,
Mrs. Cecil Bogue and Mrs. Lila
Snyder, also of Atkinson, will oe
present for the festivities. A third
son, Wayne, is living at Spen
nard, Alaska.
Joan Kallhoff
Is FFA Queen
Miss Joan Kallhoff, high school
senior, ruled as queen at the an
nual parent and son banquet of
the Future Farmers of America,
Monday evening, May 7.
Clifford Dick was presented ,
with the DeKalb award as the
senior ranking highest in farm- :
ing and leadership abilities.
James W. Rooney was guest •
speaker. Richard Nelson served (
as toastmaster.
Arizonan Conducts
Sunday Rites —
•NORTH OF STUART-Church :
services at the Cleveland rural
church were conducted Sunday ]
morning by Rev. Tab Loats, of |
Phoenix, Ariz. He represents i
the interdenominational Cook
Christain training school for In
dians. Mr. Loats showed films
of mission work among the Na
vajo Indians in Stuart Sunday
evening.
MAY 19 POPPY DAY
Saturday, May 19, will be pop- 1
py day in O’Neill. Mrs. Dean !
Streeter, poppy chairman of the *
American Legion auxiliary, Si
monson post 93, will be on the
streets of O’Neill with her staff
of poppy distributors.
‘Grandma Johnson Now 91
AAA ▲ _
HEADS TWO 5•'GENERATION GROUPS . . . Mrs. Mattie John
son, a Holt county pioneer, posed on her 91st birthday anniversary
with two 5-generation groups. Top photo: Standing—Henry Walt
ers and his mother, Mrs. J. Victor (Christine) Johnson (widow of
the late William Walters); seated—Mrs. Benny (Lavone) Johring,
her son, Freddie, 1, and “Grandma” Johnson. Lower photo: Stand
ing—Mrs. Dewayne (Wilma) Anson, Mrs. George (Helen) Nelson,
Mrs. J. Victor Johnson; seated—Sharon Kay Anson, 8-months-old,
and “Grandma” Johnson. All persona in both pictures reside in
the O’Neill community. Besides, Freddie Johring and Sharon Kay
Anson, the 91-year-old Holt woman has 8 other great-grandchil
dren.—O’Neill Photo Co.
'ormer Amelia
Resident Dies
AMELIA— Chester Sammons,
H, died Monday, May 7, at the
Beth-Page home at Axtell, where
le had resided about 20 years.
Funeral services will be held
loday (Thursday) at the Metho
iist church in Amelia and burial
vill be in the Chambers ceme
;ery.
The late Mr. Sammons was
jorn September 17, 1910, a son
>f the late Mr. and Mrs. Otto
iammons. He attended school
iere, lived for a time with his
mcle, A. E. Sammons, and also [
or a time with a neighbor, Vern ,
Sageser.
Survivors include: Brother—N.
r. Sammons, of Chicago, 111.; sis
er—Mrs. Morris Nelson, of Min
leapolis, Minn.
Vorth-Central Press
Meet Here May 19-20
The north-central district meet- 1
ng of the Nebraska Press asso
:iation will convene in O’Neill
Saturday and Sunday, May 19
md 20.
Newspapers from 9 counties in
he district will be represented
n addition to state officers and
visitors from nearby counties.
Niobrara Basin
Meet Here July 17
Annual meeting of the Nio
brara Basin Development asso
ciation will be held in O’Neill on
Tuesday, July 17.
At last year’s meeting the O’
Neill Chamber of Commerce ex
tended to the association an in
vitation to meet in O’Neill in
1951.
Dr. E. A. House, of Ainsworth,
president of the group and also
president of the Nebraska Recla
nation association; Verne P. Lin
iolm, secretary of the Ainsworth
Chamber of Commerce, and
Ulyde Burdick, project engineer
'or the bureau of reclamation's
Niobrara plans, met last Thui -
lay with O’Neill Chamber of
Commerce officials, including
President D. D. DeBolt and Sec
-etary James W. Rooney.
Tentative plans include invit
ng a high official from the
Washington, D. C., bureau of rec
lamation to be principal speaker
it the banquet in the evening,
which will conclude the day’s
activities.
A formal affair is scheduled
several days later in connection
with the Big Thompson project
jf Colorado and it is possible a
group of reclamation officials
will fly first to O’Neill and then
3n to Colorado.
Tune in! “Voice of The Fron
tier,” 9:45 a.m., Mon., Wed., Sat.
Holt Pioneer Heads
5 - Generation
Group
Mrs. Mattie Johnson celebrated
her 91st birthday anniversary last
Thursday at a party at the home
of her daughter, Mrs. J. Victor
Johnson. There were about 29
guests.
Mrs. Johnson, who was born in
Denmark, came to America at a
bout the age of 20. She was mar
ried to Andrew Johnson in Iowa
December 28, 1881, at the age of
21.
In the spring, they came to
Holt county and settled on the
farm where Mrs. Johnson still
resides.
Mrs. Johnson became the
mother of 9 children. They are:
Mrs. J. Victor (Christine) John
son, of O’Neill; Jens Johnson, of
Bellingham, Wash.; Andrew, jr.,
north of O’Neill; Mrs. Esther
Harding, of Whiting, la.; Mrs.
Anna Harding, of Modesta, Calif.,
Mrs. Otto (Emma) Claussen, of
Inglewood, Calif.; and Mrs. John
(Cora) Claussen, who resides on
the home place.
A daughter, Mrs. Mary Clev
enger, of O'Neill, died in 1922
arid another daughter, Minnie
Johnson, died at the age of 14
months.
Mr. Johnson passed away De
cember 22, 1926.
Mrs. Johnson has 29 grandchil
dren, 50 great-grandchildren and
10 great-great-grandchildren.
At the party, 2 angel food
cakes baked by Mrs. J. Victor
Johnson and Mrs. John Claussen
were served with sandwiches,
ice cream and coffee.
JOHN W. FINCH, SR.,
ILL 3 DAYS, DIES
Funeral Rites Tuesday for
Middlebranch Store
Proprietor
John W. Finch, sr., 68, died a
bout 4 p.m. Sunday, May 6, in the
O'Neill hospital.
The late Mr. Finch became ill
Thursday evening, was taken to
the hospital Friday evening and
died 2 days later. He suffered an
internal hemorrhage, caused by
stomach ulcers.
He was born at Naperville,
111., a son of Ora and Sarah
Finch. On September 20, 1905,
Ve married Alta Wolfe, of Ce
dar r.apids. They farmed for 18
years.
Mr. Finch, who formerly lived
at Fullerton, purchased the Mid
dlebranch store in 1923, and con
tinued to operate that rural store
until his. death.
Survivors include the widpw.
Alta Finch; sons—John W., jr., of
Orchard, and Clarence, of Venus,
daughter — Mrs. Kenneth (Paul
ine) Waring, of Page; brothers —
Bryan, of Middlebranch; Frank,
of Crawford; O. S., of Fullerton;
Arthur, of Walterville, Ore; sis
ters— Mrs. Irene Smith, of Al
bion, and Mrs. Maggie Fish, of
Buhl, Ida.; 9 grandchildren; 1
great-grandchild.
Funeral services were held
Tuesday, May 8, at Hamilton fu
neral home in Orchard at 1 p.m.
and at Venus church at 2 p.m.
with Rev. Charles Phipps offi
ciating. Burial was in Enterprise
cemetery.
The Strope singers sang “In the
Garden” and "Beautiful Isle of
Somewhere.’
Mrs. Hester Edmisten, Mrs. Roy
Waring, Mrs. Mable Davis and
Mrs. Sidney Faulhaber were in
charge of the flowers.
Pallbearers were Frank Sholes,
C. J. Schroth, Don Huston, Vin
cent Jackson, Sidney Faulhaber
and Glenn Waring.
Relatives present from a dis
tance were: Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Finch, of Crawford; Mr. and Mrs.
O. S. Finch, of Fullerton; Mr.
and Mrs. Forrest Smith, of Al
bion; Johnson Caskey and Mr.
and Mrs. Dale Caskey and daugh
ter, of Rose; Mr. and Mrs. Val
i’ichler and Mrs. Lon Pichler, of
i Grand Island; Mrs. Clyde Allison,
Miss Shirley Rathbun, Mrs. Mearl
G.-ek, of Cedar Rapids; Mrs.
Ai-.iam Kolm, Mr. and Mrs.
Janies Wolfe and Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Rathbun, of Belgrade, and
Maurice Waring, of Omaha.
Boys' Town Director
Stuart Speaker—
STUART— Baccalaureate ser
vices will be held in the city
auditorium Sunday, May 13, at
8 o’clock. Rev. A. J. Paschang
will be the speaker.
Rt. Rev. Nicholas Wegner, di
rector of Boys’ Town, will deliver
the address for commencement
exercises which will be held in
the city auditorium May 17 at 8
o’clock.
WILLIAM GRUTSCH
EXPIRES AT LYNCH
Prominent O’Neill Farmer
in Failing Health
Several Years
William Grutsch, 65, prominent
Holt county resident, died at 11:15
a.m., Wednesday, May 9, at Sa
cred Heart hospital in L^ncli
where he had been a patient onjy
one day.
He had been in failing health
for several years, dating from a
pneumonia attack in 1943. Tawt
week he spent several days at
the hospital and reentered the
hospital early Tuesday.
Funeral services will be held
at 10 a.m., Friday, March 11. ha
St. Patrick's Catholic church
and burial will be in Calvary
cemetery.
George Curran, Francis Curran,
Henry Murray, Levi Yantzi and
Dave Moler will be pallbearers.
The body was removed from
the hospital Wednesday after
noon and taken to BigUn Bros,
funeral home.
A rosary will be offered at 9
o’clock tonight at the funeral
home.
William Grutsch was the
youngest spn of the late John
and Bndgeit Grutsch, who came
to the U.S. from Canada. He was
born on the family place 12 miles
north of O’Neill, was reared and
got his elementary education in
a country school in that commun
ity. He then spent several year*
in Canada where he served on the
police force of Stratford, Ontario.
On May 15, 1907, he married
Miss Celia Morris, of Ontario,
Canada. One son, John, was horn
in Canada, the family coming to
Holt county in the spring of liMUl
settling northwest of O’NedL
where the late Mr. Grutsch re
sided until his death.
He was active in Rock Falls
township activities.
Survivors include: Widow;
sons—John and Joe, both of O’
Neill; aaugnters — Mrs. James
(Marjory) McNulty, Mrs. Harry
(Mane) Lansworth, Mrs. Lyir
lueila) Vequist and Mrs. Berruuof
(Vera) Pongratz, all of GNed|;
12 grandchildren; brother—John
M., of O’Neill; sisters—Mrs. Sid
ney (Elizaoeui) Mitchell and Mrs.
Maggie ACivcii, of Stratford, Oni,
Can.
McDonalds Show 1
21 Percent Gain
J. M. McDonald Co., midwest
department store organization,
with 56 units and whose manag
er here is Joe Stutz. has published
its third annual report to share
holders.
J. M. McDonald Co. report*
that for the fiscal year ended
January 31, 1951, sales were ap
proximately 21 percent greater
than in the previous fiscal year,
and the best in the company^
history. Although earnings weir
approximately 68 percent in ex
cess of a year earlier, they were
not the beat annual record be
cause of narrowing profit mar
gins and ever increasing tax
costs. Comparing the sales and
earnings for the two years, 1951
1950, the results were as follows:
Yr. Ended Yr. Ended
Jan. 31. ’51 Jan. 31,50
Net Sales .-.$9,602,473 $7,949,123
Earnings be
fore taxes .. 903,360 509,111
Provision for
taxes_ 383,181 195,421
Net earnings
after taxes _ 520,179 313,740
Earnings per
share Com
mon Stock 1.62 .98
Dividends pd.
per share of
Com. Stock .90 .80
Commenting on taxes, in the
annual report just distributed ta»
the company shareholders, Pres
ident J. M. McDonald, jr., said
that in the year ended January
31, 1951, taxes required 42.4 per
(Continued on page 3)
Mayor Turns $100
‘Salary’ to Hospital
«
St. Anthony’s hospital build
ing fund Tuesday got a $100
boost in the form of a warrant
drawn on the city treasury, ac
cording to James M. Corkl^
building fund chairman.
O’Neill’s Mayor J. E. Davis,
who receives a $100-per-year
“salary,” endorsed his check
and deposited it in the build
ing fund account at one of the
local banks.
The mayor’s ar.d city cotw
cilmen’s salary is considered
only a token because of the a
mount of time consumed func
tioning in those jobs.