Nebraska Newspapers

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"Voice of Tho Frontiar"
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Volume 74.—Number 4. O Neill, Nebraska, Thursday, May 27, 1954. Seven Cents
Daniel Joe Bids Nurses Adieu
On April 26 a little fellow named Daniel Joseph Laible ar
rived on the scene at Atkinson Memorial hospital. He weighed
only 3 pounds 2 ounces and for the ensuing 12 hours the thread
of life wore very thin. In fact, there were times during that ox
deal in the incubator and air lock that everyone had given up—
—except Daniel Joe. Undaunted, ihe inched along, ounce by
o'unae, and hundreds o<f persons followed his progress with “Voice
of The Frontier” bulletins. By Wednesday. May 26, the once-del
lcate baby had reached the 5 pounds 4% ounces mark, and the
doctor said he could go home. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jo
seph Laible of Atkinson. He was being held by Sister M. Anton
lsia in the hospital’s nursery when The Frontier photographer
called.
Redistricting Plan
Gets Judge’s Okay
-. <
The seven Holt county super
visor district boundaries have
been redefined.
District Judge D. R. Mounts
sighed an order Tuesday which
creates the new boundaries.
These precincts form the new
official districts:
District 1: O’Neill First and
Third wards.
District 2: Paddock, Scott,
Steel Creek, Willowdale, Ante
lope, Iowa, Inman, Shields.
District 3: O’Neill Second
ward, Grattan, Coleman, Sara
toga, Rock Falls, Belle, Pleasant
View.
District 4: Verdigris, Golden,
Ewing, Deloit, McClure.
District 5: Emmet, Swan, Jo
sie, Wyoming, Fnirview, Lake,
Shamrock, Chambers, Conley.
District 6: Stuart, Cleveland,
Green Valley, Holt Creek, Fran
cis, Sheridan.
District 7: City of Atkinson,
Atkinson precinct, Sand Creek,
Dustin.
The redistricting was brought
about through a mandamus
pressed by the Holt County
Rural Road Improvement asso
ciation. The officials of the
group, including F. J. Brady of
Atkinson, L. D. Putnam of O’
Neill, H. R. Tompkins of Inman,
dug up an ancient Nebraska law
which required redistricting fol
lowing each federal census.
The original law was intend
ed to enable an adjustment for
increasing population in the
homestead era.
The Holt county board of su
pervisors, somewhat in a quan
dary in being confronted with
the unusual mandamus, present
ed to Judge Mounts a plan for
redistricting The proposal was
hot in strict accordance with the
law and allowed a margin oi
about 15 percent in point of
population.
judge mourns cia not accept
the proposal and ordered the
board to produce another in the
form of an answer to the man
damus action. The definition of
the districts, as now approved by
Mounts, leaves a population
margin of something under 10
percent, a spokesman for the
board said.
Meanwhile, the road group
also had presented several plans.
But all were strictly conjecture
until Judge Mounts put the
okay on the board’s second pro
posal.
Until Late Wednesday there
had been no filings for supervis
or posts in connection with the
forthcoming primary election.
Now that the redistricting issue
is settled, filings can be expect
ed.
Supervisors will be elected
this year in the First, Third,
Fifth and Seventh districts.
Deadline for filing is June 30.
Observers are generally agreed
the newly defined districts will
be administered in much the
same manner as before.
EHen Overdoes
Things — and Dies
Two enormous chicken eggs,
• weighing 4‘-2 ounces each.
„ were brought to The Frontier
this week by Mrs. Kenneth El
lingson, O’Neill farm woman.
Mrs. Ellingson explained
that the hen occasionally ov
erworked and produced over
sized eggs. Last week the hen
produced the two big ones on
two successive days.
Next day the womout
chicken quit. She died.
Tune in “Voice or Tne Fron
tier’’, thrice weekly!
o
Henry Lane, 87,
Dies in Hospital
Retired Stuart Man
111 18 Days
STUART—Henry Ralph Lane,
87, resident of Holt and Rock
counties for 60 years, died early
Wednesday morning, May 26, in
Atkinson Memorial hospital
where he had been a patient 18
days.
Funeral arrangements were
not completed late Wednesday.
Mr. Lane’s wife died in 1942.
He retired from"tKe ranch about
13 years ago.
Survivors include: Sons—Ross I
E. of Colorado Springs, Colo.;
William K. of Winnetoon; Herb
ert of Stuart; daughter — Mrs.
Ora Blowers of Midwest City,
Okla.; brothers—Clyde of Stam
ford, Conn.; Ross of Provo,
l tah, and Owen of Stuart; sister
—Mrs. Fannie Fuller of Stuart.
APPAREL SHOP TO MOVE
The Apparel Shop, owned and
operated by Winnie Barger and
Bernice Elkins, will launch a re
moval sale today (Thursday),
1 continuing through Friday and
I Saturday. During the week of
, June 1 the firm will move into
| new quarters in the Downey
! building, next door west of the
! Royal theater, formerly the Mc
j Cartney Style Shop location.
The building has been complete
ly remodeled, enlarged and air
conditioning has been installed
(See advertisement on page 4.)
Weekend Guests—
Mr. and Mrs. George Stuessi
and family of Kearney will be
weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs.
Reed Herley.
First Mass
for Priest
on June 6
Dinner and Reception
for Father DeBacker
Are Being Planned
Rev. Thomas Edward DeBack
er, son of Mi. and Mrs. G. C- De
Backer of O’Neill, will be or
dained into Roman Catholic
priesthood on June 6 at St. Ce
celia’s cathedral in Omaha. The
ordaining prelate will be Arch
bishop Gerald Bergan, D.D.,
archbishop of Omaha. Father
DeBacker’s first solemn high
mass will be i id Sunday, June
6, at 10:30 o’clock in St. Pat
iick’s Catholic church in O’Neill.
Officers of the mass will be:
Very Rev. Timothy O’Sullivan,
archpriest; Rev. F. R. Price of
Emmet, deacon; Rev. Robert
Schmitz of Petersburg, subdea
con; A1 Bosn, student at Con
ception college, Conception, Mo ,
master-of-ceremonies, and Frank
Shefl, censorbearer.
Rev. Austin Wilier, S.J., if
Creighton university, Omaha,
will deliver the sermon. He is
a cousin of G. C. DeBacker.
A dinner sponsored by the
guilds of the Altar society of St.
Patrick’s church will be held in
the gymnasium at St. Mary’s
academy at 2 o’clock.
Those in charge of the dinner
are; Mrs. Harry Sullivan of St.
Margaret’s guild, general chair
ian; cochairmen are Mrs. John
avelka of St. Elizabeth’s guild,
Mrs. J. L. McCarville, jr., of St.
Rita’s guild, Mrs. L. A. Becker
t St. Teresa of the Little Flow
• guild, Mrs. M. A. Schelkopf
if St. Bridget’s guild, and Mrs.
1. E. Coyne of St. Agnes guild.
Jthers asisting will be members
of the guilds.
Following the dinner, a public
reception will be held in the
gymnasium for all of the people
of O’Neili and surrounding
towns who will be unable to at
tend the dinner, due to the lim
ited seating capacity of the gym
. nasium.
Reverend DeBacker was born
June 2, 1927, at Brookings, S.D.
He attended grade school at
Scotland, S.D., and the parochial
school at Parkston, S.D. He enter
ed the eighth grade at St. Mary’s
’ academy and was graduated
I from there in 1945.
Following graduation, he serv
ed in the navy 16 months. Ha
then attended college for two
years at St. Benedict’s in Atchi
son, Kans.; one year at Kenrick
seminary, St. Louis, Mo., and
the past five years at S.t Paul
eminary at St. Paul, Minn,
i While at St. Paul he has taught
n the parochial schools there.
★ ★ ★
•>
Father DeB acker . . . banquet and reception planned in his
honor.
Mr. and Mrs. Nels Colfack . . . great-grandsons—Gene Christiansen (left) and Michael Chris
tiansen.—The Frontier Photo.
★ ★ ★ ★★★ ★★★
Start Married Life in Denmark
ATKINSON — Mr. and Mrs.
Nels Colfack, who were married
May 20, 1904, at Hygun, Den
mark, were honored Sunday by
more than one hundred relatives
and friends when they observed
open-house in St. John’s Luth
eran church parlors.
A section of the church was
reserved for the Colfack family
during the morning worship ser
vice, Rev. E. W. Danitschek of
ficiating. The minister paid a
tribute to the Danish couple who
on that day were observing their
golden wedding anniversary.
There was a family dinner at
r.oon followed by the reception.
Mrs. Colfack is 73; Mr. Col
fack 72. They both enjoy good
health.
Mr. Colfack, a young farm
worker, asked a young Danish
maiden to dance during a fes
tival. The acquaintanceship
blossomed into a romance and
they married.
The Colfacks settled on an 80
acre farm in Denmark, consider
ed large by Low Country stand
ards but small compared to
acreages in Holt county.
Mr. and Mrs. Colfack came to
America in 1910, leaving behind
in Denmark their next to the
eldest daughter. They resided
for nine years at Atlantic, la.,
and Osceola, la. Upon coming to
Nebraska, they lived for 26 years
cn a ranch in the Dustin com
munity, northwest of Atkinson. I
In 1945 they moved onto a
ranch southeast of Atkinson
where they lived until retiring
in 1952.
The Colfacks became the par
l ents of nine children. One son
died about 20 years ago. Two of
their living children were un
able to be present for the 50th
wedding observance. They .ve
the daughter living at Stauer,
Denmark, and one son, Arthur,
who is living at Sedro Woolley,
Wash
Children present for the ob
servance were:
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence C. Don
aldson of Marathon, la.; Mrs.
Roscoe Gorden and James of
| Manson, la.; Emil of Atkinson;
Carl and Harold, both of O’Neill;
Mrs. Oscar Wondercheck of Val
entine; 23 grandchildren and
two great-grandchildjren.
Also in attendance were Mr.
and Mrs. Elwood Christiansen
and two sons of Webb, la. The
tw'o little boys posed with their
great-grandparents for a picture.
A tape-recorded interview
with Mr. and Mrs. Colfack was
heard on the Monday "Voice
of The Frontier" program
(WJAG. 780 k.c.)
The four-tier wedding cake
was baked by Mrs. Carl Coffack
and, was used as the centerpiece
on the table.
The couple received numer
ous congratulatory messages
from Denmark, including one
from their daughter there.
Kathryn Carter
Rites at Lynch
y
LYNCH—Funeral services for
Mrs. Kathryn Carter, 83, were
held Thursday, May 20, at the
Wesleyan Methodist church with
Rev. J. K. Cunningham in
charge.
Pallbearers were Harry Mul
hair, Ted Crooks, Don Stewart,
Clarence Moody, sr., Kenneth
McMeen and Jerry Sixta.
Burial was held in the Pleas
ant Hill cemetery south of town.
The late Mrs. Carter was born
at Boston, Mass., in 1871, and
died at Coleridge May 18. She
was married to Robert Carter in
1890. Her husband died in 1937.
Survivors include: Sons—Ed
gar of Grandview, Wash.; Leslie
of Belle Fturahe, S.D.; Frank of
Mitchell, S.D.; George of O’
heill; daughters — Marjorie of
Wood, S.D.; Lillian of Junction
City, Kans.; Catherine of Mit
chell, S.D.
AWARDS PRESENTED
Fifty-six persons attended the
Holt county Rural Youth ban
quet held Thursday evening.
Miss Elsie Peter of O’Neill re
ceived the WNAX farm service
award and Mr. and Mrs. Edgar
Stauffer of Page were presented
the WNAX adult service award.
Moisture Termed
Highly Beneficial
Showers Big Help to
Pastures
Showers late Saturcay, early
Wednesday and late Wednesday
vening brought to .85 inches
the amount of welcomed precip
itation received this week. Dry
ness had characterized the con
dition of pastures and growing
crops and livestock men and
farmers were quick to agree the
rainfall is highly beneficial.
The rainfall late Saturday
amounted to .20 of an inch here.
Neligh received .60; Clearwater,
1.25; Chambers, .22; Page, :50.
Atkinson, Stuart and Bassett
received lesser amounts while
_ynch reported nary a drop.
In the Riverside community
there were varied reports.
Norfolk received a half-inch of
rain during the early morning
hours Wednesday; O’Neill, .05;
Clearwater, .35; Bassett, .15, and
"in west the amount of moisture
diminished, according to the
Chicago & North Western rail
road.
Wednesday night a heavy
hower totaled .60 of an inch.
Ed Wink of Chambers reported
1.30 inches fell there in 35 min
utes. Summary:
Ki Lo Prec.
Mav 20_74 46
May 21 _84 56
May 22 _90 59
May 23 _82 51 .20
May 24_68 43
May 25_75 37
May 26 _65 48 .05
Stores to Be Closed
on Monday, May 31
O’Neill stores will be closed
on Monday, May 31, in ob
servance of memorial day,
which falls on Sunday, May
30.
This was announced this
week by the Chamber of Com
merce retail trade committee.
Iowan, 72, Stricken
Watching Races
Snrth Dies Enroute
to Hospital
STUART—A 72-year-old Iowa
man who had been visiting at
Stuart was stricken with a
heart attack Sunday afternoon
while a spectator at the stock
car races here. Joseph Smith
died before reaching Atkinson
Memorial hospital.
He was taken to the hospital
by Patrolman Robert Gude of
O’Neill while a resuscitator was
being administered by Stuart
firemen.
Mr. Smith had reached Stuart
three days earlier to visit rela
tives—the Henry Baum, William
Culp and A. M. Batenhorst fam
ilies.
The body was removed late
Sunday to Cherokee, la.
The late Mr. Smith had resid
ed northwest of Stuart until
1927 when he moved to Iowa. He
was a retired farmer.
Frontier for printing.
Plan Test for
Beginner Pupils
A Child must be 5-years-old
by October 15, 1954, in order to
be a beginner anytime during
the school year 1954-’55, accord
ing to Miss Alice French, Holt
county superintendent of pub
lic instruction.
“If you have a child who will
be 5-years-old anytime from
October 16 to December 31 and
you are interested in having him
tested to determine whether he
is ready for school, please con
tact the office of the county su
perintendent soon,’’ Miss French
urged. “This testing will be
done sometime during August
but we need to make arrange
ments early in June.’’
The office of the county su
perintendent will close at noon
on Saturday during the summer
months, starting June 5.
Open-House Sunday
at New Muny Pool
Swimmers May Get
Chance Next Day
Open-house is planned Sunday
afternoon, May 30, between 3
and 6 o’clock at O’Neill’s new
40 - thousand - dollar municipal
swimming pool. It is intended
that persons visiting the park
can have a first-hand view of
the workings of a modern pool,
including the filtering system,
chlorinator and bath house fa
cilities.
No swimming will be permit
ted on memorial day.
However, it is tentatively
planned to open the pool for
swimmers on Monday, May 31.
Forenoons will be devoted to
swimming instruction. After
noon hours will be 1 to 5 and
evening hours will be from 6 to
9. No swimming will be permit
ted unless a lifeguard is in at
tendance.
Don Templemeyer of Hol
rook, recently signed teacher
coach at St. Mary’s academy,
has been engaged to manage the
pool for this summer, according
to an announcement made this
week by the park board. Mem
bers of the board are A. P. Jasz
iwiak, John C. Watson and
Raymond Eby.
Three young women will serve
as lifeguards—the Misses Mary
Lou Wilson, Mary Lou Conaid
and Elizabeth Schaffer. Miss
Vilson is taking an American
Red Cross instruction course
this week at Kearney. Miss
Schaffer and Miss Conard al
ready have qualified.
Nearest pools are at Lynch,
i Tilden, Randolph, and Winner,
3.D.
(Details on regulations and
icket prices may be found in
advertisement on page 9.)
Formal opening of the pool
originally was scheduled me
norial day but vandalism hand
ed the pool managemfent a set
back. A definite announcement
concerning the first swimimng
date will be made on the Satur
day “Voice of The Frontier”
program.
Train Delayed
by Generator Trouble—
The westbound passenger-mail
train Wednesday was three
hours late, due to generator
trouble.
Memorial Day Rites Planned
Memorial day cemetery rites
will be conducted at O’Neill un
der the sponsorship of Simonson
post 93 of the American Legion
and the ladies’ auxiliary.
A parade will assemble at the
Legion auditorium at 1 p.m.,
moving up Douglas street at 1:30
p.m. The parade will be headed
by the colors and firing squad
and followed by the Municipal
band, flower girls, Boy Scouts,
Girl Scouts and Legionnaires
and auxiliary members with and
without uniforms.
Legion Commander John C.
Watson requests that all per
sons planning to take part in the
parade be on hand at 1 p.m.
Rev. Kenneth Carl, assistant
pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic
church, will deliver a brief ad
dress at the decoration day rites
between the two cemeteries —
Prospect Hill and Calvary.
Father Burke
Ewing Speaker—
EWING — A memorial day
program will be held at the Ew
ing school auditorium on Sunday
afternoon, May 30, at 2 o’clock,
sponsored by the American Le
gion, Sanders post 214.
Program follows:
Advance of colors by Legion;
pledge of allegiance to the flag
by a Boy Scout; invocation by
Rev. F. A. Hand; band selections
by the Ewing high school band
under the direction of Paul
Cooper; address by Rev. R. F.
Burke; Gettysburg address by
Diane Baum; benediction by
Rev. F. A. Hand.
Following the program, cere
monies will be held at the Elk
horn river bridge, St. Peter’s
cemetery and the Ewing ceme
tery.
Rev. Lee Will
Speak Twice—
CHAMBERS—The annual me
morial day service at the Beth
any Presbyterian church will
feature an address by Rev. Sam
uel Lee, pastor of the O’Neill
and Bethany Presbyterian
churches. The rite will be held
at 9:30 a.m., Sunday, May 30.
Reverend Lee will also address
the Chambers service at 2 p.m.,
Sunday.
Following each service the
Chambers post 320 of the Amer
ican Legion will salute the dead
in memorial observances at the
Chambers and Bethany ceme
teries.
Paddock Union
to Hold Rites—
Memorial services will be held
at Paddock Union church at 2
o’clock Sunday afternoon, May
30.
Rev. Melvin Grosenbach of
O’Neill will be the speaker.
A short program will be pre
sented.
FIREMEN SUMMONED
STUARTT—A fire Tuessday
afternoon on the Lee Hyland
farm, located four miles north
west of Stuart, destroyed a gar
age, which housed a farm elect
ric light plant. The building also
contained three loads of wood.
The Stuart firemon were called.
They prevented the blaze from
spreading to other buildings. It
is thought tre fire was started
by a defective circuit.
Brownies Hold
Picnic in Park—
On Monday, May 24, Brownie
troop II held a picnic in Ford’s
park with ‘their leader, Mrs.
Reed Herley. Time was spent in
recreation.
The next regular meeting will
be June 14 with Jolene Stutz as
hostess.—By Jolene Stutz, scribe.
Appraisal Firm’s Figures Dropped
_____.__ t> _
Old Values
to Be Used,
Board Says
Legal Threat Causes
Change in PJans for
Equalization Body
Complications have set in for
the Holt county board of equal
ization and representatives of
the E. T. Wilkins & Associates
firm of Lincoln with this rfesult:
The set of town real estate
valuations "scientifically de
termined" during the past few
months will be dropped for
this year and the old (last
year's) valuations will be used
in making the computations.
The decision was reached
Wednesday by the board, head
ed by Frank Cronk of Page, and
announced by County Assessor
William F. Wefso of Atkinson.
On Saturday, May 15, several
thousand notices pertaining to
valuation changes were mailed
to real estate owners in Holt ci
ties and towns—O’Neill, Atkin
son, Ewing, Stuart, Inman, Page,
Chambers, Amelia and Emmet.
Time ran out before the Wil
kins firm, operating in 22 coun
ties, could reappraise rural real
estate. But notices were sent,
anyway, to town real property
owners in this county. ,
The board of equalization in
session last week heard scores
of protests, all from owners
whose property had been scaled
I higher in value. Members of the
| Wilkins firm were to have been
[ cn hand to go over the pro
cedures ana formulas with the
taxpayers, but, instead, the ed
ucational chore fell upon the
equalization board.
Meanwhile, an Otoe county
suit reached the Nebraska su
preme court. A Nebraska City
group previously had asked the
lower court and now is asking
the supreme court to rule that
town property values cannot be
reappraised on one hand while
other classes of real property
rural) are carried over on for
mer values
Because the Otoe situation
so closely parallels the Holt
county assessment picture, the
board decided the best thing
to do was to issue the Wilkins
firm part-payment for their
work and not attempt to
utilize their findings until an
other year rolls around.
By that time both town and
rural real .estate will have been
reappraised
Chairman Cronk insists the
Wilkins firm will, in the long
run, do us a lot of good. They
l ave been rushed and some mis
takes have been made, but the
board is confident we are on the
right track. We intend to use the
Wilkins figures—but they’ll be
carried over until next year.”
Real estate values in the
towns were determined by lot
measurements, locations, status
and size of improvembents, and
other factors.
Other counties in which Wil- 0
kins figures will not be applied
immediately are Dakota, Mer
rick and Hamilton.
The Wilkins firm i§ involved
in the Otoe county suit.
The Wilkins-Holt contract is 0
in the neighborhood of 40-thou
sand-dollars and only part pay
ment has been made todate.
The equalization board is
tentatively scheduled to meet
Tuesday and Wednesday, June
1 and 2.
; Arbuthnot, Hancock
File for Positions
There have been two filings
this week for Holt county politi
cal posts.
Jack Arbuthnot paid his filing
fee and entered his name on the
republican ticket for the nomi
ation for clerk of the district
court. A navy veteran of World
War II, Arbuthnot has been in
the petroleum business in O’
Neill for many years. The in
cumbent, Ira H. Moss, recently
was nominated by President
Eisenhower for O’Neill postmas
ter.
J. Ed Hancock has filed on the
republican ticket for county
treasurer, a post he has held
several terms.
Guests Here—
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hamik of
Stuart were Sunday guests of
Mr. and Mrs. A1 Hamik.