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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1953)
“VOICE __ OF THE FRONTIER- ■ _ TWELVE m ^Frontier z ^ Sat. --—- ^ ^ Pages 1 to 12 9:45 A.M. — 780 k.c. North-Central Nebraska’s BIG Newspaper Volume 73.—Number 13. O’Neill, Nebr , Thursday, August 13, 1953. - Seven Cents MIT Employs Wind Tower This 55-ft. wind tower resembles a cross between a water mill and an oil derrick but its functions are quite different. Air Force Capt. Robert Gentzler (above), former Rapid City, S.D., newspaperman, is making a routine check on the tower at the wind test site near here. The tower is part of the equipment em ployed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in connection with the air force-sponsored wind study in progress here. The arched pipes are used for measuring wind temperatures, the white-tailed object is a wind vane, and the cupped gadgets are anemometers (for measuring wind speed).—The Frontier Photo. Holt 1953- ’54 Budget Higher but Levy Less Ptolt county’s expenses for the 1953 - ’54 fiscal year will in clude $137,805.34 to be raised by a 3.31 mill levy. Last year’s levy was 3.55 and raised $134,815.84. General fund requirements are increased over 16-thousand dollars and the medical and hospitalization fund will need 15-thou sand-dollars. Formerly the state treasury paid 75 percent of the cost of administering medical aid and hospitalization to aged, blind and financially insolvent residents of each county. The county will continue to foot 25 percent of the bill until January 1, 1954, and from there on the entire 100 percent. Other sources of county income are provided by county officers’ fees, gasoline tax, motor vehicle licenses, delinquent tax collections. There also are some unexpended cash balances. Abbreviated levy tables and camparisons follow: MILLS ON THE DOLLAR 7-1-53 Amount Amount to Last to be Last Fund 6-30-54 Year's Raised Year County general fund _1.90 1.64 $ 78,932.61 $62,283.59 County bridge fund_ .90 1.51 37,044.17 57,342.82 Unemployment relief fund and assist, supp._.10 .30 4,056.28 11,392.70 Soldiers’ and sailors’ relief fund .01 .02 424.71 759.45 Holt county fair fund_.05 .06 2,347.57 2,277.83 tMedical and hospitalization fund .35 15,000.00 County road fund- 02 759.45 TOTAL COUNTY LEVY 3 31 3.55 $137,805.34 $134,815.84 State general fund- 3.90 5.88 •State special building fund — 1.10 1.10 •State service (teachers’ pension) annuity fund - .50 •U of N medical college build ing fund--25 Care of insane_1 10 1.12 Care of feeble minded- .29 .28 University hospital-.03 .07 TOTAL STATE LEVY 7.17 8.45 TOTAL STATE AND COUNTY _—-10 48 12.00 fCounty foots 25 percent of bill until January 1, 1954: then all the expense, as provided by ’53 legislature. •Levies fixed by statute law; sharp valuation increases swell these funds. tCounty foost 25 percent of bill until January 1, 1954; then all the SCHOOL DISTRICT LEVIES 7-1-53 to Last District 6-30-54 Year's 2.—Page _ 33.4 45.2 7.—O’Neill--- 13-2 22.2 20. —Emmet -12- 8. 21. —Atkinson- 21.6 29.6 29. —Ewing--- 22.2 47.8 30. —Inman-41.8 46.6 44—Stuart--- 26.6 33.8 137.—Chambers-16. 50.8 CITY & VILLAGE LEVIES MILLS ON THE DOLLAR 7-1-53 to Last 6-30-54 Year O’Neill-I®! 23-5 Atkinson-11 ' 16-3 Staurt_l2- 16 Ewing-16- JS Page —----- };■ Inman _-—-};■ TOWNSHIP LEVIES 7-1-53 to Last | Iowa _ 4. 3.8 6-30-54 Year Josie _ 2. 3.4 AnteloDe_2-8 3. Lake-3.8 3.2 Atkfnson _ 18 2.8 McClure _ 3.8 2. Chambers__ 4. 3.8 Paddock - 3. 2.2 Cleveland _ 3.6 4. Pleasant View- 4. 4. Coleman -HI_ 2.4 2.4 Rock Falls - 2.2 2.4 kHoft -_ 2.4 2.6 Saratoga- 4. 1.8 Si HI_8 1.6 Scott - 3.2 3.6 rr.Tmrt - 3.8 3.6 Shamrock_2.8 2.6 iS* . . 1.2 1.6 Sheridan .._. 3.2 3.6 Fairview' H__2.6 2.4 Shields - 2.8 1.8 Fr-mcis “ 2.4 2. Steel Creek_ 2. 2.2 Carden —HI_2.2 2.2 Stuart _ 3. 3. Grattan HI—-/ / Swan —- j. J.4 Creen Valiev_4- 4- Verdigris-3.4 4u Creek_4 .4 Willowdale_3.6 2.( itman . .:::_2.8 3.8 Wyoming-4. 3.< Identity of Body Unknown Authorities Say / Foul Play May Have Caused Boy’s Death Mystery still shrouds the death of an unidentified 8- to 10-year old boy, whose lifeless body was discovered about 7:20 a.m., last Thursday by two fishermen. Claude Milligan and Louis Jis kra, both of Plainview, had ar rived early at O’Donnell’s lake, located 2Vz miles east of Inman, in anticipation of a day of fish ing. They saw an object floating in the water and upon investi gation found it to be the corpse of a young boy, clad only in abbreviated shorts. The body had been mutilated by wildlife at the lake, especial ly one side of the face. Milligan and Jiskra first noti fied T. D. Hutton, North Western railroad agent at Inman, who, in turn, sent a message to Holt county authorities. The body was taken to O’Neill where a preliminary autopsy was performed by Drs. O. W. French and J. P. Brown. Doctor French said there was no water in the boy’s lungs and Milligan and Jiskxa . . found body. there were indications the boy was dead before his body entered the water. Deputy Holt Sheriff James Mullen said the boy’s body ap peared to be normal and well nourished. That evening the body was re moved to Omaha where a detail ed autopsy was carried out at University hospital. A spokesman there announced the following < morning the boy had been in the water “from two to four days” and the exact cause of the death could not be determined. No boy answering to the de scription had been reported miss ing in Nebraska. But a Brook line, Mass., boy, age 5^, had turned up missing over two years ago. Omaha authorities forward ed to Massachusetts foot and fin ger prints taken from the body found in the lake. The unidentified youth wore a small silver ring with a tiny red heart emblem on the index finger of the left hand. The Massachusetts lad was listed in a circular as having been wearing the same kind of inex pensive ring when he disap peared. The youth whose body was yielded by springfed O’Donnell’s lake had dark hair and a dark complexion, and led authorities to believe he was of Mexican or Indian descent. Holt authorities issued a pick ■ up order via shortwave radio t among law enforcement authori ■ ties in several states for a couple > driving a late-model car drawing 1 a housetrailer. Traveling with the couple were “five or six” children. A family answering to that de scription camped near the lake on Monday, August 3. | At that time all of the children —boys and girls— were wearing abbreviated shorts. It is believed the car bore an Indiana license. . | Griffin said that if the boy j I died from natural causes only 2 charges that could be brought against the parents would be foi 2 illegal disposition of a body. Deputy Sheriff Mullen said he 4 thought there might have beer 4 some foul play. Holt authorities B conferred with the criminal in 0 vestigation bureau of the Nebras 0 ka safety patrol to make labora 0 tory tests in an effort to estab 8 lish the cause of death. 2 A half-dozen farmers from the O’Donnell’s lake area searchec 4 on horseback fo*r several hour; Thursday morning in an attemp 6 to find some clews. No addition 6 al clothing was found. New Helicopter Arrives from Memphis Another air force model H-13 helicopter has reached the air : force wind test site. The craft j reached here Monday, having j been flown from Memphis, Tenn. Captain Butcher, a veteran fighter pilot, is the skipper or. this craft It replaces the original machine which crashed and claimed the lives of six men aboard on Thursday, July 30. Actual wind test operations began at 8:31 p.m., Saturday arid continued through the night and most of the day Sunday. South erly winds are required by the scientists who are working on the air force-sponsored project The crew was scheduled to go go on duty again at 4 a.m., today (Thursday) and possibly again work around-the-clock. Open-hcuse for the public is scheduled on Sunday, August 23 between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. ‘Pioneer Women’ Hay Days Winner — Morgan, Wefso, New Royalty (Pictures at right) ATKINSON— Mucn-welcomed moisture dampened festivities here Monday and Tuesday in connection with the annual hay days celebration. But the obliging weatherman held off the droplets until after the 90-unit parade had been viewed by thousands of visitors. Rain Monday evening prevented the customary coronation in front of the grandstand. The coronation party brokeup when the cere mony was half finished. The cor onation ball was held in the Crystal ballroom to the accom paniment of .75 of an inch of rain. LaVern Morgan, 29, became king of hay for a year and Miss Lodema Wefso, 17, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Wefso, be came the hay queen. Morgan is a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan and re sides five miles west of Atkin son on a ranch. Queen Wefso is a 1953 Atkinson high school graduate. Grand prize In ihe parade went to the Atkinson Style shop’s entry entitled, “Prairie Women of Nebraska.” The float present ed a primitive homestead scene complete with sodhouse, churn, washboard, lantern and hand pump. This entry also was judg ed first-place winner in the com mercial division. Second place honors in the commercial division were shared by Smith’s Federated store and the Atkinson Veterans’ Wives club. The Smith entry was the title float in the parade — “Ne braska, 99 Years of Progress.” The AVW club titled its entry, “Stoiy of Nebraska.” Third place honors in the same division went to the Cath olic Daughters of America. First prize in the 4-H club di vision went to the Clover 4-H club with an entry entitled. "Nebraska Law — Past and Present." Second place honors went to the Emmet Elkhorn Valley 4-H club. This float bore the inscrip tion and told the story, “4-H Will Advance.” The third-place float also told a 4-H story, “Ne braska Progress in 4-H,” entered by the Green Valley Bluebirds. Judges were Robert Swanson of Stanton, district American Legion commander; John C. Watson, commander of Simonson post 93, O’Neill; William McGin nity of Norfolk, and Ray Estes, commander of post 115, Stuart. The celebration annually is sponsored by Farley-Tushla post of the American Legion. — Polio Fatal to Young Father INMAN—Funeral services will be conducted at 9 a.m., today (Thursday) for Patrick (“Pat”) Laney, 29, who died early Mon day, August 10, of polio in a Sioux Falls. S.D., hospital. He was stricken Friday while assisting his father on a farm near Flandreau, S.D. He was tak en to Sioux Falls and placed in an iron lung. “Pat”, as he was best-known, attended the Inman public school and completed his sophomore year here, transferring to St. Mary’s academy, O’Neill, where he graduated. Recently he had been working at Sioux Falls and Minneapolis, Minn., with a trucking line. Survivors include: Widow; son —Robert Joseph; parents— Mr. and Mi'S. Joseph Laney of Flan dreau: grandparents — Mr. and Mrs. George Laney of Inman: aunt—Mrs. Harold (Elizabeth) Ticknor of Denver, Colo. Mrs. Ticknor, who had been helping care for the elderly Lan eys for several weeks, accompan t ied Leo Harte and Miss Bea ■ Gallagher to Flandreau to attend I the funeral. Hay days royalty . . . King LaVern Morgan, 29, and Queen Lodema Wefso, 17.—Frontier Photo. Sodhouse and primitive utensils . . . grand prize winner.—The Frontier Photo. --—---— Former Holt Priest Dies in Hotel Room Rev. Byersdorfer, 58, Founded St. John’s Rev. Clement A. Byersdorfer, 58, retired Roman Catholic priest who founded St. John’s parish south of Ewing, was found dead in a hotel room at Tulsa, Okla. Death apparently resulted from a heart attack. Father Byersdorfer, who was retired, was found in his night clothes at his bedside by hotel employees. He had scheduled a breakfast meeting with John Pariseau. sales director for a Catholic cemetery at Tulsa. After being ordained in 1917 he was assigned to St. Francis Bor gia church at Blair, wnich he served until about 1930. He then founded St. John’s church in Holt county and later served as an assistant at Atkinson’s St. Joseph church. His last assignment be fore retiring in 1949 was pastor of St. Patrick’s church at Clyde. Father Byersdorfer was well acquainted in Holt county. He has no known survivors! 3 SMA ’33 Grads to Become Nuns The motherhouse chapel of the Franciscan Sisters. Marvcrest, in Denver, Colo., will be the scene on Saturday, August 15, of the religious reception of the habit of three graduates of St Marv’s academy with the class of 1953. They are Anna Marie Schulte, whose name in religion will be Sister M. Pauline; Agnes Langan, i Sister Mary Phillip; Rita Ann Simons, Sister M. Antoinette. A novice, Sister M. Helen, for merly Arlene Borszich, aslo a St. j Mary’s graduate, enters her sec ond year noviceship. These young ladies are recruits to the Franciscan order to which St. Marv’s academv and St. An thony’s hospital belong. MORE PLASTIC SURGERY CHAMBERS — Little Arlene Potter, 9, entered Lincoln Gen eral hospital Monday, August 10, and submitted to more plastic surgery the following day. She expects to be there a few days. Little Arlene was bitten by a dog last winter and has had a series of operations. • Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Beckwith and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Harley and family went to Norfolk Sun day to visit Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Keeney and family. Neck Fractured in Basement Fall EMMET—William Grolhe, 73 year - old farmer residing 1% miles northwest of here, suffered a fractured neck Saturday in a fall down the basement steps at his home. He was taken to St. Anthony’s hospital and transferred Monday by ambulance to a Lincoln hos pital. Those who accompanied him were Herman Grothe, Mrs. Bert Henning of Atkinson, Earl Farr, Sam Banks and Mrs. William Grothe, sr. Graveside Rites Held at Chambers Mrs. Sprandel Dies in Omaha CHAMBERS—Funeral services were conducted at the Chambers cemetery at 2:30 p.m., Monday, August 10, for Mrs. William Sprandel, 62, native of this com munity, who died last Thursday, August 6, in Omaha. Rev. C. D. Ankney, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran church, of ficiated. The late Mrs. Sprandel, whose maiden name was Clara Dore fhea Walter, was born October 28, 18S0, at Chambers, a daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. John Walter. She married William Sprandel on April 26, 1911. The family resided for several years in Chambers, moved to Beatrice and then to Plattsmouth where the late Mrs. Sprandel was active in Sunday - school and church work at First Lutheran church for a number of years. The Sprandels became the par ents of four sons. Survivors include: Widower; sons — Clarence of Plymouth; Gustav of Omaha; Martin of San Francisco, Calif., and Louis of ct. Louis, Mo.; father — John Walter of Chambers; seven grandchildren: brothers—Alfred and Henry Walter, both of Cham bers; sisters — Mrs. A1 Dierking and Mrs. C. V. Robertson, both of Chambers, and Mrs. Chris Haussler of Holbrook. Rare - Lighting Scheduled Tonight Natural gas will be formally ushered into O’Neill at 8 o’clock tonight in a flare-lighting cere mony to take place in front of the Holt county courthouse. Emmett Crabb, chairman of the citv council, will light the natural gas flare in behalf of Mayor J. E. Davis, who is out of the city. The Municipal band will provide music. Frank Soldan of Hastings, sales manages for Kansas-Ne sales manager for Kansas - Ne will be the Drincinal speaker. O’Neill is the largest of 14 north east Nebraska cities and towns in the 1953 expansion plans of the Kansas-Nebraska company. Mayor Davis. Mrs. Davis and family departed Friday for the West in a recently - purchased ; housetrailer. Thev snent several : days at Colorado Springs, Colo. Fair Headliner Mary Jane Truax (above), Minnesota’s champion baton twirler and acrobat, will be one of the featured entertainers at the 1953 Holt county fair in Chambers. Fair dates are Sep tember 1, 2, 3 and 4. Other grandstand performers include JV-Roy & Co., magician; Lew Fine and Jeanei, comedy em cee with music; The Cut-Ups, five-piece band. Next week’s issue of The Frontier will enter 3,500 homes in Holt county and will feature a 16-page premium list and fair supplement. Ress Tells Oil Plans Hiway 281 Bituminous Matting Is Set for 16 Miles in O’Neill Vicinity BARTLETT — One hundred day evening attended a banquev meeting oi the Nebraska High way zai association held here. Principal speaker was Stale; nignway Engineer L. N. Ress o-St Lincoln. Delegates heard Ress tell oi , plans tor improving highway 28 i across the state. Ress said tt«* highway will get “slightly more than its proportionate share oi improvements” during the nexT two years under the revenue measure passed by the recent ses sion of the legislature. Ress said a program 3.2 times greater, both mileagewise and dollarwise, would result than would have been possible under the old revenue plan. But he added during the next two years improvements on 281 will involve 3.6 times as many miles and 4.3 times as much money as would have been the case without the added revenue Specific projects involve im provement of 44.8 miles of 28i at an estimated cost of $1,361,000 This includes 12% miles of bitu minous mat from O’Neill north (toward Spencer) or 11.4 miles olE new hardsurfacing (north from the drive-in theatre junction ot highways 20 and 281); also 4Vi miles of bituminous mat from a point 13 miles south of O’Neill to the junction of U.S. 281 andt state 95 (also known as the Chambers junction). Hess said that at present rev enue rates 12 years would be re quired before all of highway 28A across Nebraska—a distance of 235 miles — would be hardsur faced. Officers elected are: Earl Car penter of Red Cloud, president ; Julius D. Cronin of O’Neill, vice president; John R. Krotter cii Spencer, secretary-treasurer. All were reelected. Carpenter is com - pleting his seventh year as asso ciation president. Directors elected are: Butte— D. B. Raymer and C. J. De» pheide; Spencer — Gayle Coucfa and C. H. Fisher; Bristow— L.. W. Gibson and Floyd Kelly; O’ Neill — District Judge D. R~ Mounts and Axel Borg; Charo> bers — Edwin Wink and M. V Gribble; Bartlett— Arthur Ause rod and John Nichols; Greeley— E. A. Ondracek and John F. Ry an; Spalding — James Conway and Emmet Lee; Wolbach—John C. Wilson and Edward L. Kolar; St. Paul—Clayton Peterson and Elmer Okeson; Grand Island—G F. Keegin and M. J. Betwiler' Hastings—Harry Purdum and C G. Wallace; Blue Hill — Byron Vaughn and Alfred Buschow; Red Cloud—J. O. Smith and Lee Barcus. The women of the Methodist church served the banquet. A severe rain and hail storm left the meeting without elec tric lights when power failed in portions of the town. Res*, spoke with the use of a f lasts light on his notes. Delegates to this year’s meet ing encountered a unique demon stration of hospitality in this sandhills community of 150 per sons, which also is the county seat of Wheeler county. The bus inessmen of the town arranged, for the visitors to enjoy the fa cilities of the restaurants and recreational places without charge. The association went on record1, urging Gov. Robert Crosby tp appoint Mr. Cronin, an O’Neill attorney and staunch good roams booster, as a member of Gfee state highway commission. Nonagenarian Dies in Atkinson ATKINSON — Mrs. Matilda Genevieve Barnes, 95-v ear-old' Atkinson woman, died Wednes^ day afternoon, August 12, at her home in Atkinson. She had suf fered a stroke 12 years ago awK had been in failing health sine? that time. Funeral services will be con ducted at 2 p.m., Friday, August 14, in Atkinson and burial wil3 be in the Chambers cemetery. The late Mrs. Barnes was bonre February 8, 1858, in Cincinatti. O Her husband, Christian Fremont Barnes, died in 1920. The family' resided for a number of years in the Chambers community. Mrs. Barnes moved to Atkinson about !2 years ago. Survivors include: Daughter1: — Mrs. Edna Schwarz of Sloan, Iau. and Mrs. Earl Ellsbury of At kinson. Mr. and Mrs. Leo Tom jack and son, TeiTy, returned Sunday from;' a vacation at Park Rapids, Minn.