"Voice of The Frontier"
jwr f
Mon. — Wed. — Sal. *
9:45 A.M. — 780 k.c.
North-Central Nebraska’s BIG Newspaper
Volume 74.—Number 8. O’Neill, Nebr., Thursday, June 24, 1954. Seven Cents
1 “■ --
George Lightner of St. Edward (left), a veteran of 28 O'Neill •
tourneys, won top honors in the 1954 meet. Edward Campbell. jr„
of Racine. Wise., triumphed in the first flight. — The Frontier
Photo. Ay, ;
Oldest and youngest entrants in the golf meet gained the fi
nals in the second flight. Chris Mortenson, 69., of Albion) yielded
the honors to Ivan Kaiser, 16. of O'Neill_The Frontier Photo.
(See SPORTS on page 4)
Tornado Skips Across
!
County But None Hurt
'
Rash of Filings
for County Board
Four Toss Hat into
5th District Race
Business has been brisk this
week in the office of Holt Coun
ty Clerk Ruth Hoffman Baker
as political hopefuls are coming
forward to beat the July 1 filing
deadline.
Latest filings;
Supervisor, Second district —
Henry W. Walters of O’Nlill and
Harvey A. Tompkins of Inman,
both republicans.
Supervisor, Third district —
Clarence Ernst of O’Neill, re
publican.
Supervisor, Fifth district —
Kenneth L. Barthel of Chambers,
Fred D. Smith of Chambers and
Leslie Lieswald of Chambers, all
republicans; Edw A. Wink of
Chambers, democrat.
Supervisor, Seventh district —
Otto Gloor of Atkinson, repub
lican.
Meanwhile, Howard D. Man
son of O’Neill has been appoint
ed to succeed Ira H. Moss as
clerk of the Holt county district
court, rounding out Moss’s un
expired term. The appointment
was made Tuesday by the board
of supervisors. Moss will be pull
ing out of the clerk’s office to
become O’Neill’s new postmas
ter. His appointment by Presi
Eisenhower already has been ap
proved by the senate, but no in
stallation date has been an
nounced.
Moss has resigned as clerk,
effective June 30. The unexpired
term continues until the first
week of January, 1955.
Jack Arbuthnot of O’Neill, re
publican, has filed for that of
fice.
On Wednesday morning, How
ard Manson filed on the repub
lican ticket for the office of
clerk of the district court.
McKenna Elected
U.S. Jaycee Officer
Hugh McKenna of Omaha, son
of Mrs. Mabel McKenna of O’
Neill, Friday was elected vice
president of the United States
Junior Chamber of Commerce
The election climaxed the annual
national Jaycee convention,
which was held in Colorado
Springs, Colo.
Mr. McKenna recently com
pleted a one-year term as presi
dent of the Nebraska Junior
Chamber and he has been active
in helping in organization of new
groups throughout the state.
REPLACED ON BOARD
CHAMBERS — Lloyd Gleed,
who has served as treasurer of
school district 137 for 30 years,
was replaced this year by Guy
Blake.
The Frontier for printing
CHAMBERS — A man-sized
tornado hopscotched across the
southeastern corner of Holt
county Sunday evening, sent
people scurrying for cellars and
caves, and demolished a number
of buildings. Luckily no one was
hurt.
Except that Mr. and Mrs. Er
nest Durre and their neighbor,
Mrs. Julia Oetter, were visiting
in Burwell when the storm
struck and no one was at home
on their respective farms, there
easily could have been some fa
talities.
Gene Hoerle, who operates the
Hoerle station on TJ.S. highway
281 on the Holt-Wheeler .county
line, said he stood outsiaf’t and
watched the storm churning
eastward. He said the tirrie was
about 6 o’clock.
"It was a dark funnel mov
ing away from our place so I
stood and watched it," he said.
First place hit was the Mrs.
Julia Oetter place, about IVt
miles east from the Hoerle sta
tion. All buildings on the Oetter
place, except the dwelling, were
demolished.
At the Durre place, one-half
mile east of Oetter’s, the air
craft hangar was wrecked and
segments of the galvanized iron
roof were carted away. One strip
of iron was driven into a tree.
Two windmills were completely
wrecked and there was also
damage to the bam.
Several hundred chickens and
some geese were killed. Dead
chickens were strewn all over
the place. Huge cottonwood- trees
were uprooted.
The storm veered northeast
ward to the nearby Lloyd Knox
place, but, apparently, lifted and
caused no damage there whatso
ever although it was obvious the
Knox place was in the path.
About one mile south of the
Knox place, the twister touch
ed down again at the Edward
Trennepohl place. Most dam
age there was done to hay
stacks—18 out of 19 being scat
tered over the countryside.
The Frank Urban cattleshed
was torn apart and a brooder
house damaged. The dwelling
also was damaged.
Apparently the storm lifted
again and touched down in the
Deloit vicinity, toppling over
nuge trees.
There were various reports of
rainfall in the area- southeast of
Chambers ranging from 3 to 5%
inches. Deloit reported over 3
inches—a hard, driving rain
There was considerable hail
damage in the path of the storm.
Some hailstones as large as hen’s
eggs lingered until early Monday
morning.
Neighborliness prevailed a s
cleanup operations began. ’Doz
ers and tractors came to the res
cue, clearing fallen trees from
driveways and general mop-up.
Women brought lunch to the
male workers.
Wind and hail losses also were
reported by Gene Hoerle and
(Continued on page 12)
Ex - Judge
Harrington
Dies at 85
Elected to District
Bench in 1899 at 31;
Demo Party Leader
Former District Judge J. J.
Harrington, who in 1899 at the
age of 31 became the youngest
judge ever to serve the Fifteenth
judicial district, died Friday,
June 18, in St. Vincent’s home
at Omaha at the age of 85. Death
came about noon following a
seven years’ illness. He had been
a guest at the home only three
weeks.
Requiem high mass was said
at 9 a m., Monday, June 21, in
St. Patrick’s Catholic church
with Very Rev. Timothy O’Sul
£55* >
Judge Harrington ... ill
seven years. — O'Neill Photo
Co.
livan, church pastor, officiating,
Burial was in Calvary cemetery
under the direction of Biglin’s.
Pallbearers were Peter Mor
gan, Dr. W. F. Finley, Bennett
Gilligan, H. E. Coyne, Ira H.
Moss, John R. Gallagher, P. V.
Hickey and Edward M. Galla
gher.
A rosary was offered at 8 p.m.,
Sunday at the residence.
The late James Joseph Har
rington was born Oct. 29, 1868,
at Lindsay. OnL. Can., a son
of the late John and Margaret
Carroll Harrington.
He was educated in the Lind
say Separate school at Lindsay,
attended Rohrbough’s Commer
cial college at Omaha, and was
graduated from the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, college
of law in 1894.
For a time he shared an office
in partnership with his brother.
As a young attorney he came
to O’Neill in 1894 and establish
ed a practice. In 1899 he was
elected to the district judgeship,
a post he held for three terms
during a historic era in which
portions of his district were op
ened for settlement.
In 1912 he resumed private
law practice in which he was ac
tive until ill health forced his
retirement in 1948. He was
prominent in democratic politi
cal circles in the state and for
many years was regarded as the
titular head of the party in the
county. He was a member of St.
Fatrick’s Catholic church, Char
les Carroll of Carrollton council
of the Knights of Columbus and
Nebraska State Bar association.
In 1948 Mr. Harringlon and
his wife, the former Mary El
len Daly, celebrated their
golden wedding anniversary.
They were married at O'Neill
October 26, 1898.
The late Mr. Harrington prac
ticed extensively in both state
and federal courts. He was ac
tive in the movement to secure
a Carnegie library for Grattar
township.
He was also active in the firsl
major street improvement in the
city’s history, helping the city
to receive a 75-thousand-dollar
grant for paving Douglas and
Fourth streets.
Mr. Harrington was a lover ol
good horses and helped promote
race meets here many years ago
His health began to decline
when he fell on icy sidewalks
on November 17, 1947, fracturing
his right hip.
The late Judge Harrington’s
brother, M. F., also was a prom
inent O’Neill attorney. Their
mother resided in O’Neill for
many years.
(Continued on page 7)
Archbishop to Lay
Cornerstone Today
ATKINSON— Today (Thurs
day), in a 4 o’clock afternoon
ceremony, Most Rev. Gerald T.
Bergan, archbishop of Omaha,
will lay the cornerstone for the
new St. Joseph’s Catholic church
which is being built in Atkinson.
Construction, which is proceed
ing at a satisfactory pace, ac
cording to Rev. R. J. Parr, pastor
of St. Joseph’s, was begun in
mid-April. The new $200,000
Gothic structure will have a
seating capacity for more than
500 persons
The foundation has been laid
for the new church and the con
crete floor poured. The Kasota
stone exterior walls are going
up and the laminated arches,
which will form the superstruc
ture skeleton, are tc arrive in
the near future. Since the raxing
of the old church, daily and
weekly masses are being held in
the Knights of Columbus hall in
Atkinson.
Rt. Rev. Daniel E. Sheehan,
chancellor of the archdiocese,
will act as master-of-ceremonies
at the cornerstone laying. Others
in attendance will be the clergy
of the O’Neill deanery, who have
been invited to attend.
Bride-Elect Feted—
Mrs. R. L. Owens entertained
at a miscellaneous bridal shower
on Wednesday evening honoring
Miss Helen Kubitschek, who will
be married Saturday.
Frontier for printing!
New Manager
at Harding’s
Ben E. Vidricksen has been
appointed as manager of the
Harding creamery here. He has
recently been at Kearney but is
originally from Salina, Kans.
Mr. Vidricksen, who is 27, is
one of the youngest managers
in the firm. He has been asso
ciated with Harding’s for six
years. He is married and is the
father of four children. He plans
to move his family to O’Neill as
soon as housing can be found.
$1,632 Collected
for Hospital Aux—
Reports were made on the re
sults of the St. Anthony’s hospi
tal fund drive sponsored by the
hospital auxiliary.
The following is a list of the
amounts contributed in the vari
ous towns;
Stuart_$ 40.00
Chambers_70.00
Inman_150.50
Emmet __ 43.50
Ewing_80.00
O’Neill_1,105.65
Mail_135.00
Total-$1,632.65
Fortnightly Dinner—
A dinner from 6 until 7:30 p.
m„ will be held at the O'Neill
Country Club Sunday, June 27.
Mrs. Larry Schaffer is chairman
and her cochairman is Mrs. Don
ald Peterson.
Farewell Sermons
Sunday for Rev. Lee
Rev. Samuel Lee, pastor of
First Presbyterian church at
O’Neill and Bethany Presbyteri
an church near Chambers will
deliver his farewell sermons in
his Holt county pulpits on Sun
day, June 27. The worship ser
vices will be held at the regu
lar hour.
No replacement has been
made for Reverend Lee, who
with his wife and two children
vail be leaving for their new lo
cation at Osborne, Kans.
Farewell Event
for Rev. Carl
Rev. Kenenth Carl, assistant
pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic
church in O’Neill for the past
three years, has gone to his par
ish at Leigh after his vacation.
As there was no opportunity for
the usual farewell, his friends
are invited to attend a farewell
party for him at the Knights of
Columbus hall in O’Neill Wed
nesday evening, June 30, at 8
p m., it has been announced.
Father Carl’s successor at St.
Patrick’s, Rev. Thomas Hitch,
will be present for the affair.
Attend Bible Camp—
Rev. and Mrs. Samuel Lee are
attending the boys and girls
Bible camp being held in Col
umbus this week.
Mx. and Mrs. Ernest Price and their three sons who have been ordained into the Catholic
priesthood. The sons are (left-to-righi): Rev. Basil Price, S.J., Rev. Peter Price, S.J., and Rev.
Francis Price.—The Frontier Photo.
--—------—---— ----* ---
By a Staff Writer
Nature will stage an impressive blackout on Wednesday, June
30—a total eclipse of the sun—and scientists throughout the world
will have Holt county pinpointed on their maps and charts.
The central point of the start of the eclipse—the last chance m
this Twentieth century for millions to see this grand celestial show
—is designated by the nautical almanac as longitude 99 degrees
4 minutes and latitude 42 degrees 22 minutes. This is pinpointed as
12 miles south of Atkinson and five miles west, or near the point
that joins the W. A. Sitz, Joseph Dobrovolny, Albert Lemmer and
Ernest Gotschal ranches.
« n n
Eclipse at a Glance
Date and time: Wednesday,
June 30, approximately 5:0tSJ,a
a.m., (sunrise).
Starting line: On “front” ex
tending from 3 miles west of
Cumminsville corner to point
12 miles north of Bassett. Cen
tral point of the “front” in Er
nest Gotschall pasture. 12 miles
miles south of Atkinson and 5
west.
Duration: About 1 minute at
Holt county’s longitude and lat
itude. Duration lengthens and
path broadens a s blackout
moving northeasterly.
Course of backout: From
Holt county to Lake Superior,
Canada, Greenland, Norway,
Sweden, Russia, Pakistan, In
dia.
Warning: If the sky is clear
do not view spectacle with
naked eye, instead through
smoked glasses or one or more
thicknesses of developed film
negative.
Don’t be disappointed: If
there is a thick early morning
haze and the thrill is not as
great as you had hoped.
If you elect to sleep: You’ll
not have another opportunity
to see a total eclipse in these
parts until 2048 in Omaha,
even then Nebraska’s largest
city will be on the edge of it.
Best point of vantage in Ne
braska: Probably on the high
est hill in the Niobara vicinity.
Hay Days Queen
to Film Capital
ATKIN sun—sometning new
has been added to Atkinson’s
! 1954 hay days celebration!
i A. G. Miller, program chair
man, has announced that the hay
queen, to be selected at a beauty
pageant the evening of August 23,
will be given a free three-day
will be in Hollywood.
Mr. Miller says that towns in
north Nebraska’s hay country'
will be invited to send a contes
tant to paticipate in the final
contest.
Present plans for the entertain
ment of the hay queen include:
Roundtrip to California by air
line; tours of Los Angeles, Holly -
wood and the homes of movie
stars; an excursion at Catalina;
a tour of motion picture studios;
luncheon and interviews with
movie sars; guest starring on a
radio program, i*id appearing On
a television show.
Bemie Wilson, Atkinson drug
store owner, again is chairman of
the parade committee.
Departs for East—
Mrs. J. F. Bangs of Danbury,
Conn., who had been a guest at
the H. E. Asher home and at
tended the wedding of her son,
Joseph, and Miss Evalyn Jean
Asher Tuesday, June 15, left for
her home Wednesday, June 16.
She was taken to Omaha by Mr=.
Asher, from where she left by
plane for Connecticut.
Plan All-day
Swimming Party—
There will be an all-day swim
ming party held at the O’Neill
swinning pool Wednesday, July
7, for all Boy Scouts of Holt
County and the surrounding
vicinities. The pool will be open
to Boy Scouts only that day.
Open swimming sessions will be
held in the morning and compet
tion between the various troops
in the afternoon.
EMERGENCY APPENDECTOMY
Mrs. Ray Bartos left last
Thursday for Omaha where she
will meet her husband, Corporal
Bartos. He expected to arrive
there between June 23 and 25.
For the past 18 months he had
been stationed in Honue, Ger
many. Aboard ship enroute to
the U.S., he underwent an
emergency appendicitis opera
tion.
UPPED TO SERGEANT
James E. Bridges, son of Mrs.
Alice Bridges, was recently pro
moted to the rank of sergeant.
Sergeant Bridges is in the med
ical corps of the army and is sta
tioned at the army hospital at
Ft. Bragg, N.C. He has been
serving in the armed services
since July, 1952.
Visits in Neligh—
Dick Gaskill left Sunday for
Neligh where he will visit for a
week in the Robert Gaskill home.
i nose wno u warn 10 see m*
rare spectacle of the moan
blocking the sun will haws to
get up early. They'll see day
turned to night in the total
blackout, starting shortly after
sunrise (approximately StOBlfe
ami.)
Only those persons living in a
narrow band pf land extending
from Holt county to Lake Su
perior will see the total black
out. But millions more Ameri
cans will be able to see from
one-half to 90 percent of the sun
bitten by the moon.
A total eclipse of the sun will
touch in Maine in 1963, another
in Florida in 1970, and a third
will barely kiss the Pacific
Northwest in 1979.
But the rarest of all astronom
ical shows next week will be
second only to a total eclipse in
Omaha in 1717, according to sci
entific data. And, of course,
there were no white men around
for that one and the site of Om
aha belonged to the Indians.
Astronomers say there may be
disappointments for residents
and visitors because the hazard
of horizon haze and1 clouds is
greater at sunrise and the path,
of totality is narrower and dura
tion shorter than it will be far
ther to the northeast.
The dark path of totality will
measure about 75 males wide,
and just about its center will
(Continued on page 8)
■ 1 — " i.
Holt County Fair . j
Dates Aug 16 to 19
I V- Uii(UO-Incites IOC Lllf*
1954 Holt county fair, annually
sponsored by the Holt County
Agricultural society, are Monday
through Thursday, August 16L
17, 18 and 19.
Preparations are rapidly mow
ing forward for this year’s edi
tion. Program plans are not yet
complete. Premium lists soon will
be published.
Lloyd Gleed of Chambers is
president of the society this year,
succeeding Vern Sagpser of
Amelia.
•. *
Mrs. Sam Barnard
Expires in Omaha
Mrs. Samuel Barnard, a for
mer resident here and the moth
er of Mrs. C. E. Yantzi of O’Neill,
died Tuesday, June 22, at a rest
home in Omaha. She was more
than 90-years-old.
Her husband, the late Samuel
Milton Barnard, died February
15, 1953, at the age of 94.
The body of Mrs. Barnard was
brought to O’Neill Wednesday
and funeral services will be con
ducted at 2 p.m., today (Thurs
day) in the Methodist church
here, under the direction of Big
lin’s. Rev. Samuel . Lee, First
Presbyterian church pastor, will
officate. Burial will bein Pros
pect Hill cemetery.
Survivors include: Son—Wil
liam (“Bill”) Barnard of Casper,
Wyo.; daughters — Mrs. C. E.
(Edna) Yantzi of O’Neill and
Mrs. Ruth Byers of Omaha.
The former Flora Chapin and
Mr. Barnard were married at
Lusk, Wyo M.harc8,Y,
son, Richard, and one daughter,
Katie, preceded their parents in
death.
Kersenbrock, Ralya
Firms Close Doors
Two O’Neill firms are in the
process of closing out their
stocks: Ralya IGA store, next
door to the Golden hotel, and
the Kersenbrock Meat market.
Mr. Kersenbrock, who came to
O’Neill from Osmond, December
24, 1923, 31 years ago, served 12
years as mayor of O’Neill. He
has no definite plans for the fu
ture and plans'“to take it easy
for awhile.”
The Ralya’s, who came to O'
Neill in 1944, no immediate
plans for the future.
Honors Sister—
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Beckwith
and family of North Platte ar
rived on Sunday to spend the
week visiting Mrs. Beckwith’s
hnother, Mrs. Lod Janousek, and
other relatives.
Mrs. Eld Schmidt entertained
a group of ladies on Wednesday
at a coffee hour in honor of her
sister, Mrs. Beckwith.