Wfld Missouri
Sweeps Valley
(Continued from page 1)
Sioux, staved at the fortress. He
was reared at O’Neill.
He said mass Easter morn
for refugees and workers and
immediately took off his vest
ments and went to work on the
now-famous South Sioux dike.
Several South Sioux City
churches held Easter mom ser
vices. Evangelical Luthpran
church voted to turn three thou
sand dollars in the building fund
over to relief work.
Mr. Lockwood and Mr. Bless
ing told us the American Red
Cross was doing a terrific job at
South Sioux.
I asked Joe what America
would be like in times of disaster
without an agency like the ARC
—the only organization that is
big enough and has the know
how to move right in. Joe mum
bled that he wouldn’t want to
think about it.
ine relatively new uaxota
county courthouse was upended
internally. All records had been
moved to the top floor. The dis
trict courtroom was a women’s
refugee center A dike had been
started around the building and
then the idea was abandoned,
presumably because of higher
priorities.
An amateur radio operator
from Winnebago stayed at his
post in the otherwise empty
county judge’s office.
Old men lined the top floor
hallways. Louis Larson had liv
ed there 60 years. “Nothing like
it ever before,” he said.
We couldn’t get a broadcast
line out of Dakota City. Not a
chance. We eyed the Burlington
rail dike carefully, water already
was splashing over. We wanted
to linger for the rescue of that
couple at the west edge of town
—but thought we’d better move
out while the getting was good.
You see, we had the mistaken idea
that The Frontier couldn’t go to
press four days later without us.
Down the road a few miles pa
trolmen were battling the sight
seers. It’s understandable why
folks in their Easter finery would
want to view the sights, but not
understandable why six or eight
pleasure cars would tie up a
bulldozer heading for the front.
The men and machines mov
ing in on Jhe scene reminded
me of a settinq in Europe just
a few years ago. Instead of
drab-green war machines and
GI uniforms the dozers came
in orange and yellow and the
warriors were a motley crew
dressed in everything imag
inable.
There was a big road block at
WinneMago. It turned away
thousands of motorists.
The highway patrol had radio
ed clearance for us and we took :
the badly - chewed river road, i
highway 73-E, from a point five
miles east of Walthill to Decatur.
Perched atop a high bluff ov
erlooking the valley, near Macy,
we looked out on an expanse of
water that stretched as far as
the eye could see. A mist or haze
hung over the monstrous river.
You had to have a high vantage
point or go aloft in a plane to get
the full picture. To determine
the exact width of the savage
Missouri you merely asked your
self or consulted a map and de
termined how far apart were the
bluffs. This yardstick was par- j
ticuiany true uciuw ,
where the river valley begins to
narrow. Upstream at points the
bluffs are 30 miles apart—Ne
barska side to Iowa side — and
nowhere was the river actually
that wide:
Clusters of trees and bits of
high ground presented an island
effect. Reminded me of that part
of Minnesota known as the land
of a thousand islands. Some al- j
most submerged buildings pro
truded above the water here and
there.
There was no mistaking what
had happened to personal
property and once proud real
estate under that cruel, cold
crest of water: Ruin and de
spair.
At Decatur, itself built on the
side of a bluff, every ounce of
energy was being hurled into a
dike a mile southeast of the
town. The dike is lVz miles long,
five to eight feet high, about
eight feet thick at the top and
varying thicknesses at the base.
It was a titanic community
effort that warmed one’s heart.
Like ants on an ant hill we saw
a hundred men working along
side five giant ’dozers. The dike
was designed to protect thousands
of acres of rich bottomland, hun
dreds of farmsteads and possibly
prevent water reaching Teka
mah, normally five miles from
the water.
Workers came from Lyons,
Walthill, Oakland and Fremont.
The Red Cross chapter hurriedly
established a canteen where tir
ed workmen, pulling shifts a
round-the-clock, were battling
time and the river gone mad.
WJAG was going to stay on
the air a few hours overtime in
anticipation of a report from us.
Their reporters already had been
heard from South Sioux and
Blair. We were doubling our ef
forts to give an assist to their
burdened staff.
We couldn’t get a wire at De
catur, either, so we high-tailed in
land. Communications along those
river towns flow toward Oma
ha and Sioux City. We felt we
could tie-in okay at Oakland. We
reacned there at 6 p.m., and went
on the air 35 minutes later from
the office of the Oakland Inde
pendent.
Formalities and protocol are
dismissed on slam-bang special
events broadcasts. At 6:28 the
phone people gave us our
broadcast connection and at
6:35 we went on the air.
We didn’t know how long our
tape interviews were, hadn’t
heard them, didn’t, know if they
were good or bad, didn’t care.
c uuuwing me z.(-minuie sum
mary irom Oakland we reentered
the disaster zone at Tekamah, got
briefed, returned to Decatur and
that magnificent mud dike.
bomenow we were impressed
with that site. At the canteen
late Sunday night we talked with
weary ’dozer operators, tired
runners and fuel haulers, and
methodical women who kept
bringing out hot meals for the la
borers.
There was an air of optimism,
fostered mainly by lean Joe Mal
loy, whose ancestry was unmis
takable.
"if the wind dimipishes to
nigat, holding down those slap
pin’ waves, we’ll hold ’er,” Joe
Doasted.
Joe was a tired man. About
65, he’d lost lots of sleep since
that dike was started on Wed
nesday night, April 9.
“We have muu, corncribbing,
mud, straw, snow fence and
more mud in that dike. An army
engineer looked it over this
morning and said we’d done a
good job.”
i'he crest of 23 feet hit Tues
day morning and the Decatur
dike held!
One of the ladies mashing po
tatoes at the Decatur Legion hall
was Mrs. Gertie Minahan's cou
sin, Mrs. Pearl Lewis. Mrs. Min
ahan is a clerk at McDonald’s
store.
We talked with a bewhisker
ed, tired-looking young fellow
by the name of Rollie Wil
liams. He had just been evacu
ated from his 16J-acre farm on
the bottomland three miles
southeast of Decatur.
Williams, by the way, turned
out to be a nephew of Inman’s
Postmaster James McMahan.
His place was covered by not
less than two feet of water. He
had stayed as long as he could,
finally gave up when water got
over a foot deep in the house.
Williams had just returned
from the Veterans hospital where
he had received skin-grafting on
his hand. A veteran of World
War II and married, he had been
on his own there years. Last
year he was flooded out in a dif
ferent way. No crops because the
land was too \yet.
It was impossible to move our
“put-put” and recorder from the
station wagon to the dike. With
only a camera and boots we rode
the drawbar of a tractor the
quagmire-mile from where we
were parked on highway 77 down
to the dike.
The drone oi tne Dig cats
and the brilliance of their flood
lights seemed to break the eerie
spelL It was late—10 o’clock.
One “cat” and crew stopped
long enough for a couple of pic
tures. We wallowed up to the top
of the dike.
It was next to impossible with
a small flash bulb to light the
faces of the men, the black mud
dike, the dirty and almost color
less flood water, and the darkest
of dark nights.
There was smooth efficiency
and plenty of spirit — two most
important elements in any bat
tle.
Those men fought gallantly
that night and in the ensuing 36
hours—and won!
There were no Easter parades
from Jackson to Blair. Milady
iVith all her finery wasn’t taking
part this year because of water,
mud and more water.
It was unkind of us to knock
on the door at the Reed O’Han
lon, jr., residence in Blair about
midnight. O’Hanlon, editor and
publisher of the Blair Pilot-Tri
bune ard probably Nebraska’s
most widely-quoted fourth estat
er, greeted us in a bathrobe. The
kids were asleep and Mrs. O’
Hanlon came down in a house
coat.
We told our mission, knew they
had a couple of spare beds, and
announced we’d like to do a
broadcast at the Pilot - Tribune
studio the next morning. (The
P-T has a radio link with KFGT,
Fremont.)
O’Hanlon, whose humor runs
as deep as the Missouri any
i ol’ day, hesitated .for' a moment
then said:
“I didn’t come up to your snow
but the idea sounds okay. Come
in.”
Among other things, O’Hanlon
is Washington county disaster
chairman and had missed plenty
of sleep until a headquarters was
established in the Legion club.
In spite of the tragedy and
irony of it all, it oheers one to
brush with guys like O’Hanlon.
“Want to know where this wa
ter is coming from?” he asked
dourly. )
With profound admiration for
his official capacity and learned
background we said, “Yes, we’d
like to know.”
"Well/' he reflected, "there
was a terrible series of snow
storms up in northcentral Ne
braska and southern South
Dakota during the winter of
1948-'49. O'Neill seemed Jo be
the hub. I guess that water
went north, took a big swing
around Montana and the Da
kotas and is Just now getting to
Blair."
O’Hanlon wasn’t as funny on
his Monday morning broadcast on
KFGT, or later on our half-hour
“Voice of The Frontier” program
I originating that morning from his
Blair office.
He said that more water was
flowing across U.S. highway 30
a half-mile east of the
Blair rail and highway bridges
than under the bridges. Both ap
proaches were cutoff. The river
threatened to cut a new channel
and might leave the multimillion
dollar bridges high and dry.
At least J50 Blair families
drew their livelihood from the
bridges, considering rail work
ers, truck freight line drivers,
tollkeepers, port of entry em
ployees, etc.
He prepared for “Voice of The
Frontier” listeners an interesting
comparison by estimating O’Neill
would consume 600,000 gallons
of water for domestic purposes
on a record-breaking summer
day.
“More than that now flows
past Blair in a single second,” he
said. “If all 365 days in the year
were record-breaking days for
water consumption at O’Neill
there would not be as much
consumed as is flowing past Blair
right now in a single minute.”
Blair was bathed in a bright
sun—42 degrees—as we went
on the air from there. The city,
perched on a plain one hundred
feet above the river, belied the
drama down below on the bot
tomland. We suggested that it
might seem strange to many of
our listeners for us to be cover
ing a flood story 170 miles away.
We insisted it wasn’t strange
at all. For this flood is of such
terrible, tragic proportions that
the impact will be felt directly
and indirectly wherever we live
in these United States.
Loss of life todaie has been
held to a minimum—a fact that
might place the disaster a few
notches below other maior
ones in America history. But
financial losses are staggering.
President Harry S. Truman
flew to Omaha Wednesday to
meet with governors and con
gressmen from affected states.
Gov. Val Peterson said he would
call a special session of the Ne
braska legislature and asked 500
thousand-dollars for flood relief
in stricken eastern Nebraska
i counties.
Joe and I palled out or Blair
and headed home from the bat
tlefront. It had been only a
quickie—a pinhole peek at some
thing that had gone wrong to
the everlasting sorrow of a lot of
people.
As Joe and I rolled homeward,
we had time to relax and reflect
while folks we left behind were
in agony.
Something must be done, we
thought, to prevent a recurrence.
Something—but we don’t know
what. Somehow—yet we can’t
conceive a plan.
INMAN NEWS
LeRoy Moore, who is employ
ed at Rushville, spent the week
end with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Moore.
Mrs. Chester Hackett and fam
ly left Saturday for Wichita,
■vans., where they will make
heir home.
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey A. Tomp
kins were hosts at a cooperative
’inner in their home Easter Sun
day. Those present were Rev. and
Mrs. Charles Chappell and
aughters, Mrs. J. LaVernc Jay
Mr. and Mrs. A. Neil Dawes and
;ons, Mrs. Jennie Wilhoit, Mrs.
Tarold Wilhoit and sons and Mr.
nd Mrs. L. R. Tompkins. During
he afternoon a short memorial
service for the old farm home
was held, followed by a service
f dedication of the new home,
both of which were conducted
Reverend Chappell, assisted
'V Mrs. Jay.
Sgt. Darrell Jacox left Mon
'ay morning for Ft. Ord, Calif.,
vhere he will be stationed. He is
^youngest son of Mr. and Mrs.
Valter Jacox.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Wolfe and
<mily have moved to their new
'ome on the Ross Paddock ranch
ear Amelia.
Mr. and Mrs. Mick Gallagher
'nd daughter, Janet, had as their
7uests Easter Sunday the follow
ing: Mr. and Mrs. Fred Moore
and LeRoy, Mr. and Mrs. John
Gallagher and Betty and A1 Ha
mik.
Mr and Mrs. Ira Watson and
family spent Sunday in Valen
tine visiting Dr. and Mrs. W. J
Slusher and sons.
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Leidy
and sons and Walter Jacox, of
Minturn, Colo., came Saturday
to V1,s^t the McGraw and Ja
cox homes.
Delmont Heck left Monday for
Jmaha wher he will spend a few
day^,
Mr. and Mrs. Chester Youngs
spent a few days last week in
I Omaha with relatives and
j friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Gray, of
Blue Hill, were Inman visitors
Friday afternoon.
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Berg
strom, of Omaha, spent the week
end here with Miss Elsie Krueger
and other relatives and friends.
Mrs. Clarence Hansen, Miss
Murl Keyes, Mrs. James McMa
han and Mrs. Kenneth Smith at
tended OES chapter meeting in
O’Neill Thursday evening.
Mrs. A. N. Butler returned Fri
day from Independence, Mo., and
Omaha where she had been visit
ing.
Mr. and Mrs. Mick Gallagher
and daughter, Janet, spent Sun
day evening visiting Mr. and
Mrs. Leo Mossman.
Mr. and Mrs. James McMahan
and James Coventry were Sun
day guests in the home of Mr.
and Mrs. John Mattson.
Miss Deritha Smith, of Norfolk,
spent the weekend visiting her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
Smith.
Miss Barbara Brunckhorst, of
Norfolk, spent the weekend vis
iting her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Ernest Brunckhorst, and other
relatives.
The following were Sunday
dinner guests in the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Harry McGraw: Mr.
and Mrs. Keith McGraw and
Isons, of Crete; Mr. and Mrs. El
;mer Crosser and family, of Shel
don, la.; Mr. and Mrs. Leonard
Leidy and sons, of Minturo,
, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. Donald
Wolfe and family, of Amelia; Sgt.
Darrell Jacox, of Ft. Ord, Calif.;
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jacox and
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Miller, of In
man.
Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Crosser
and son, Jerry, of Neligh, were
Sunday visitors in^Inman.
Miss Mildred Keyes had as her
guests Easter Sunday Mr. and
Mrs. Milton McKathnie and son,
of Atkinson, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert
Rouse and Marvin, and Mr. and
[ Mrs. Karl Keyes.
Pat Hickey, John Joe Uhl, Jack
Gatz and Thomas Harty return
ed to Creighton university, Om
aha, after spending Easter vaca
! tion with relatives.
Try The Frontier Want Ads.
- ■ ■ - - . I
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■W
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And LOOK at These PRICES!! j
j I VAN CAMP — (“sF CN«.21$1 ~
11 PORK & BEANS'. FAMILY 1^ Cans ■ ^ I fImIly I ** Cans I f
H and G
WHITING 2 Lbs. 35c
ALL MEAT RING
BOLOGNA Lb. 45c
Pork
CHOPS
43c Lb.
NECK
BONES 2 Lbs. 35c
CERVALOT SUMMER
SAUSAGE Lb 65c
HOMOGENIZED
SPRY
3 Lb. Can .. 79c
-^mm^ ^
GOOCH’S 3-Lb. Pkg.
PANCAKE FLOUR 35c
SWEETOSE GOLDEN
SYRUP Gal. Can 99c
TOILET
TISSUE 3 Rolls 25c
SWEETHEART
SOAP 4-Bar Deal.... 29c
! TASTE GOOD | I
CHEESE 2 U>. Ptg. .69c |)
STOKELY’S
GRAPEFRUIT
JUICE
5 46-Oz. Cans $1
CELERY
HEARTS Pi's 2fr
SOLID CRISP
RADISHES 2 Bun. 9c
r 1 i
JUICE
Oranges
7Vac lb.
American Beauty 3 Cans
Chicken Nczdle SOUP 25c
BEE BRAND'
PEAS 3 Cans 25c
{HUNT’S PEACH
PRESERVES Jar 19c
4-Pkg. Deal
I BLUE WHITE 31c
GALLON (In Syrup)
ftPRICOTS 99c
TREND 2 Ptg. Deal 37c
Nash
Coffee
79c ifc.
■ ■ ■ ■ m
BROWN OR POWDERED
SUGAR 2Lb.Pkgs...
—
I Plenty of
C'
(ft
