SIXTEEN PAGES ★ SECTION ONE 1 TO 12 - North-Central Nebraska’s BIG Newspaper Volume 74.—Number 12. O Neill, Nebraska, Thursday, July 22, 1954. Propel" fy Values Down , 1954 1953 Cattle 159,326 $ 12.815,510 151,710 $ 17,074,030 Horses & Mules 3,365 87,805 4,455 120,390 Sheep _ 2,841 28,550 2,662 37,435 Hogs .. 10,618 364,701 6,704 221,170 Poultry (Doz.) _ 9,504 95,292 8,118 88,020 Corn (Bil) 630,742 819,857 247,191 321,270 Wheat (Bu.) 25,461 50,922 13,952 27,900 Other Grains (Bu.) . _ 109,439 81,469 40,253 29,535 Tractors 3,038 1,137,749 2,999 1,539,170 Farm Mach. _ 1,340,770 1,395,845 Cars and Trucks 4,972,392 4,455,400 Household Goods 888,232 804,385 Business Property 2,641,325 2,964,275 Farm Lands _. 28,745,820 41,065,460 Town Property 9,181,800 * 11,477,250 Intang. Ciass “A” 3,408,352 1,978,160 Intang. Class “B” 590,054 1,376,601 Bank Ix>an, Trust & Invest. Co’s. 972,646.99 943,576.00 Assessing expense amounted to $2.26 for each schedule. Total Assessed — 1954* - $30,676,334 Total Assessed — 1953 ----- $42,040,620 •Does not include valuations of railroad property nor the franchise valuations of power, telephone, telegraph and gas com panies. Foregoing figures show total assessed valuation approximate ly 12-million-dollars under 1953. However, when rail and franchise valuations have been entered the gap will narrow to approximately 10-million-dollars. The estimated 10-million-dollar decline is ac counted for in the 30 percent reduced valuation on Holt county farm land and 20 percent lower valuations on city and town prop erty, determined by the county board, and approximately 3-million doLlars reduction on personal property valuations. The 3-million drop is attributed to lower cattle values. .23 of Inch Rain Falls; Neee built in Norfolk, followed by paving. The same firm built eight blocks of pavement here in 1953 and constructed the new munici pal swimming pool. in discussion of the city coun cil's tabling of future paving plans in O’Neill, The Frontier last issue said: “None of the 11 proposed im provement districts have been obstructed officially with 51 per cent of the abutting real estate owners filing protests.” This was in error. A petition opposing paving in one of the proposed districts carried 60 per cent/of the eligible signatures, sufficient to prevent the council from creating a district. (See “Letter to Editor” on page 3.) Pongratz Brothers, A p a r t 60 Years, Are Reunited Here Sebastian Pongratz, 62, brother of George Pongratz of Emmet, arrived last week to visit the Pongratz families in Holt county. It was the first reunion of Sebastian and George in 60 years. Sebastian was 2-years-old when George, 11, came to the United States alone from Ger many. Sebastian stayed behind and has resided continuously in Germany. Two Pongratz sisters are in the U.S., Sister M. Gerona, who is at the St. Francis hos pital in Grand Island, and Mrs. Michael Ilausland of Platts mouth, */h0 has been in this country about 15 years. Nebraska Methodist Bishop Speaks Here The district meeting of the northeast Nebraska conference of the Methodist church for both pastors and laymen was held in O’Neill Wednesday morning. Emphasis on Stewardship of Property” was the topic of dis cussion. Featured speakers were Bish op H. Bos com Watts of Lincoln; Mrs. Charles W. Mead of Omaha, jurisdictional officer of the WSCS and board member of the national board of missions of the church; Nile Barnard, conference lay leader from Lincoln, and Rev. Richard E. Carlson of Scottsbluff. They appeared on the morning program. .. . Two Men Leave for Army Induction Two Holt county selective ser vice registrants, Kenneth L. Moore of Inman departed late Tuesday for army induction at Omaha. Hartigan is a volunteer. Holt county has been ordered to furnish two men in August for the draft. Tune m “Voice of The Fron tier,” thrice weekly. Protivinsky Rites Set Here Friday Retired Grocer, Bom in Austria, in 111 Health Three Years John Peter Protivinsky, 73, retired O’Neill grocery merchant, died at 2:25 a.m., Wednesday, July 21. at his home in O’Neill. He had been in failing health ebout three years. He suffered an apoplectic stroke late Sunday and failed to recover consciousness. The late Mr. Protivinsky was born in Vienna, Austria, April 25, 1881, a son of John and Mary Nozveda Protivinsky. He came to the O’Neill com munity May 18, 1919, from Til den. On that same date at Til den, he married the former Tes sie Bauman The Protivinskys became the parents of ive children. Survivors include: Widow; son —John H. of Sioux Falls, S.D.; daughters — Mrs. John (Berna dine) Grutsch of O’Neill; Mrs. Bud (Eva) Thomas of North Platte; Mrs. Claude (Jeannette) Johnson of Sioux Falls, S.D.; sisters—Mrs. Tressie Crosby of Omaha; Mrs. Mary Sanders of West Point; Sister M. Athanasius of Oneida, Wise. One daughter died in infancy. The Catholic Daughters of American will conduct a rosary rite at 4:30 p.m. today (Thurs day) at the Protivinsky resi dence. The public rosary rite will be at 8 o’clock this evening, also at the Protivinsky residence, 730 East Benton street. Funeral services will be con ducted at 9 o’clock Friday morn ing, July 23, from St. Patrick’s Catholic church with Rev. Thom as Hitch officiating. Burial will be in Calvary cemetery under the direction of Biglin’s. Pallbearers chosen are Fran cis Murphy, Leonard Shoemaker, Melvin Ruzicka, Glea H. Wade, Norbert Uhl and James Kelly. Fair Judges Have Been Selected CHAMBERS—Judges for the 1954 Holt county fair were an nounced this week by the officers of the Holt County Agricultural society, sponsors of the annual fair. Livestock — Jess Kavonda of Ord: 4-H club work—Mrs. D. E. Powell of Stromsburg; farm pro duce—H. A. Millen of Albion; needlework and pantry stores— Mrs. Eunice Mann of Burwell. The ’54 fair dates are Monday through Thursday, August 16-19. Highlight of the rodeo this year will be rodeo performances un der the arcs. The complete program will be announced in the annual pre mium list supplement, which will appear in The Frontier next week—July 29. Curtis ... 16 years. ★ ★ * ‘Honest Differences’ with Ike Foreseen Curtis for Slashing Federal Taxes Congressman Carl T. Curtis, 49, of Minden, republican repre sentative from Nebraska’s First district, Saturday spent a half day greeting and visiting with Holt county voters here. Earli er in the day he had visited Bas sett and Atkinson. In a press statement issued here. Curtis pledged that he will represent all the people of Ne braska if nominated and elected to the United States senate. “I believe in the sovereignty of the people,” Mr. Curtis said, “and I respect their views on matters both foreign and domes tic. For 16 years I have presented the Nebraska viewpoint of sound and sensible government in congress, and, if elected to the senate, I will continue to do so.” Mr. Curtis, a native of Minden, said that he will continue to co operate with the Eisenhower ad ministration ‘‘in a spirit of help fulness and of mutual respect.” "I have successfully assisted the administration in some of the major parts of its pro gram, including the very cor nerstone of the administration's program, that of lowering fed eral taxes." Mr. Curtis said. “On the other hand,” Mr. Cur tis added, “there occasionally will be honest differences of opinion. Then, as always, I will vote my convictions.” Mr. Curtis particularly men tioned global spending, which he has consistently fought to re duce, and the Bricker amend ment, which he supports. “The preservation of free gov ernment depends upon ample discussion and debate of these important issues,” Mr. Curtis said, “and I expect to present the views of the people of Ne braska.” Curtis was escorted at O’Neill by Elgin Kay, manager of the Spelts-Ray Lumber company. Ray has been named Holt county (Continued on page 12) Froelich Is Champ Long-Distance Commuter (Editor’s note: The following feature story concerning O’ Neill’s William J. Fnoelieh appeared in the Sunday, July 18, issue of the Omaha World-Herald. A picture of Mr. Froelich with brief case in hand appeared in color on the magazine cover. The story, written by World-Herald Staff Writer Harold Cowan, is reproduced below by special permission.) By HAROLD COWAN The boys who once haunted the back room of the Saratoga billiards at Lincoln could hardly be expected to remember one of the university kids who racked balls back in 1919. Even if they did, they would find it hard to associate yester day’s boy with today’s man. William J. (“Bill”) Froelich is head of a Chicago, 111., law firm specializing in corporation and 'icome tax work. He holds di rectorships in many corporations. He won fame as a prosecutor in the government case which brought down gangster A1 Ca pone. He owns a seven-thousand acre Nebraska ranch and has other Nebraska holdings. As a weekly traveler between home and job, Mr. Froelich (pro nounced Fraylick) is a champion j i long-distance commuter, j It is approximately 650 miles from home to office. He drives 125 miles to Sioux City, travels the remaining distance on the Milwaukee railroad. He is a member of the line’s board of directors, and of its executive committee and finance commit tee. It was after he had the pool hall job fhat Bill Froelich rode a hog train east to enter law school. Mr. Froelich lived in the Ne I braska sandhills as a boy and j chooses to live in O’Neill because he wants his family here. His wife is the former Irma Stout, daughter of a former O’Neill mayor and druggist. They have three sons and two daughters, two of them grown. The commuting business has been going on since the mid ’30’s, when the Froelichs decided against rearing their children in Chicago. “We wanted them to grow up in a small town environment,” Mr. Froelich said. “Besides, we have our relatives and friends here.” The Froelichs often have as guests friends and business as sociates or contacts. One visitor couldn’t under stand why the attorney chose to live in a small Nebraska town so far from his job. After visiting the home at O’Neill he couldn’t “understand why he ever leaves it.” The commuting schedule fits into his busy schedule. In Chica go he lives weekdays at the Blackstone hotel. Business permitting—and he sees to it that it usually does —he leaves Chicago late Fri day. sleeps overnight on the train to Sioux City, arrives at O'Neill by car early Saturday. He has two days with his fam ily, then makes an overnight journey to the big city. (Continued on page 12) The Froelichs ... he is champion commuter with office in Chicago 650 miles from his home here.—O'Neill Photo Co. Seated background—Mrs. Vic Halva, Mr. and Mrs. Vaclav Uhlik, Mr. Halva; foreground—Eva and Vaclav, jr.—The Frontier Photo. Curley’s Products Go Afar By WILL H. SPINDLER The residents of O’Neill—that progressive little city of north central Nebraska sometimes la conically called “young Ireland” —are very proud of their “Curl ey” Washacheck and his “bed side lapidary” which he operates in a room of his home. Until 14 years ago, Curley, who was born Carlyle Washe chek but won the nickname of Gurley in his youth, was a large, strong, powerful young man with the stature and physique of a J hnny Weissmuller. Among oth er occupations, he worked as a truck driver for a number of years and his strength and en durance were remarkable. Then in 1940 grave misfortune struck in the form of a rare bone disorder, which gradually began tearing him down and reducing him to greater and greater de grees of helplessness. Over this period of years he has contacted many doctors but, while they have eased his discomfort some what, they have been unable to cure him. The strange malady seemed to attack his spine chiefly. Carlyle ("Curley") Washechek . . . untold hours of work go into uncounted items of costume jewelry and ornaments. gradually making it solid and stiff, until the day came when he could no longer sit up and had to take to his bed. For some years now he has been able to move only his head and arms as he lies flat upon his back. His mother and sister and her husband live with him in the large, tidy, comfortable home in O’Neill and take care of him. It was while he was in Wheeler, Ore., for his health some years ago that the idea of his bedside lapidary was conceived. Rocks of many kinds are plentiful there, and a friend suggested grinding rocks for a hobby. Curley grasp er at the suggestion, went at it with much enthusiasm, became a real “rock hound,” and this art that started as a hobby soon became his life’s work and a new career for him was launch ed. From his past experience as a talented mechanic, he rigged up a large turntable over his bed which can be swung to one side when not in use. On this table he mounted a lapidary machine, a cut-off saw, and electric sol dering machine, a stone polish er and other various accessories. By the use of his faithful mir ror Curley can reach his various machines and set them to work. Since he must use this mirror, he is forced to do all or most of his work in reverse. And when one considers that all of his work must be done from a prone position flat upon his back in bed, it is no wonder that all marvel at his amazing work and praise his fine efforts. Through tireless effort and in domitable, sheer will he has ★ ★ ★ stuck with his trade until he has mastered the finer points of lapidary and the making of ex- . site jewelry, beautiful and allur ing beyong description. He now has a very interesting trade j which completely occupies his time and which brings him a j good income. With no one to teach him, he has made very re- j markable progress down through j the years, turning out endless beautiful stone sets and mount ing them into rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and the like. Work which persons in nor mal health can perform with more or less ease is for patient, exacting Curley a tedious op eration. While those in good health can get out and scour the countryside for the materi als of their occupation, Curley must rely upon others to secure them for him and often has to pay for them. His mother and sister and her husband must serve as “legs” for him, run all of his errands, and they are very cheerful and lov able with him. He and his fam ily are most remarkable persons and at once capture the love and respect of all who visit there and become acquainted with them. In spite of his great handicap that holds him to his bed most of the time, he does take rides in the family car and get out into the bright sunshine and joy of the great outdoors he loves so much. To accomplish this, a long bridge constructed of boards has been placed from the front porch floor over the several concrete steps to the sidewalk. Down this (Continued on page 10) ★ ★ ★ Editor s Note: Will H. Spindler of Wounded Knee, S.D., and Mrs. Spindler have been employed by the U.S. Indian service as teacher and housekeeper in Indian day schools on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation of South Dakota since 1929. At present they are located in the Wounded Knee day school near the historic site of the Wounded Knee battlefield and cemetery of December 29, 1890. He is the author of four Western books; “Comrades of the Lone Star,” “Lure of the Hills,” “Rim of the Sandhills” and “Bad lands Trails.” Of these books, only “Badlands Trails” is still in print, and copies of this book may be secured from the author, Will H. Spindler, Wounded Knee, S.D., at $150 per copy post paid. Will is a son of the late George H. Spindler and a brother of Floyd Spindler of Atkinson. He is a native of Holt county, having been bom and raised in the Phoenix community north west of O’Neill.—C.W.S. ‘Czech Freedom Tank* Builder Visits City ★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★ ♦ _ Vaclav Uhlik, Wife, 2 Children Spend Day with Vic Halvas By CAL STEWART Editor, The Frontier This is the story of a dark haired, determined young man, now 33, who led his wife, two children and four companions in a widely-heralded escape from the Soviets just one year ago. It’s the story of Vaclav Uhlik, a former Czechoslovakian army ordnance captain, who secretly built a bogus “tank” behind tha iron curtain and successfully made a run for freedom int® Western Germany. The reason the story of the now - famous “Czech freedom tank” is retold in these columns today is because Vaclav Uhlik, his young wife and their two small children were O’Neill vis itors last Thursday. Traveling by bus, they arrived early, stayed late and spent the day with Mr. and Mrs. Victor Halva. It was primarily a social visit for the Uhliks — although Halva was so impressed by Uhlik’s ingenu ity and courage, he wrote Uhlik upon his arrival in the U.S., and urged him to come to O’Neill. Halva suggested that perhaps an employment arrangement could be worked out in Halva’s motor and generator repair shop here. Bui let's retell the Uhlik story—the almost unbelievable saga of skilL bravery, guts and know-how that has gripped the hearts of folks throughout the free world. A little past midnight July 25, 1P53, a strange-looking vehicle growled to life and wheeled into high gear in the Czechoslovakian hamlet of Lone, near Pilsen. Camouflaged with leaves and branches, it resembled one of the armored cars used by the Czech bolder patrol in scouting expeditions to keep the oppress ed people within bounds laid down by the Soviet tyrants. Uhlik was the driver. With him were his wife, Marta; their two children, Vaclav, jr., 6, and Eva, 4; Joseph Pisarek, a me chanic; Mrs. Leonard Cloud, v/ife of a U.S. army veteran; Walter Hora and Vaclav Krej cirik — two Czech soldiers who deserted to escape communist terror. As the motley vehicle cianxea along on its massive treads, Uh Jik might well have thought of the three years he had spent building it A mechanic, first class, and a former labor trans port driver, Uhlik used the war tom hulk of a British gun car rier as a nucleus. He had not only built the bogus armored tar, he had literally stolen it! Every ounce of material in the vierd machine was scrounged. Three years of secret, des perate effort! Three years of securing practically non-ex istent scrapmetal — a baffle plate here, a sheet of rusty steel there, a length of wire, bits of rubber, a washer, a nut. a bolt. Uhlik persevered, despite the many heartaches, disappoint ments and the frightening pros pect of being caught. He recounted with us some of those experiences for “Voice of The Frontier” listeners (Satur day, 9:35 a.m., WJAG) in a tape recorded interview. Mr. Halva was the interpreter. For three harrowing years tnere hovered over Vaclav Uh l;k the chance of being picked up by the security police — being • turned in by the spies. Now, in the darkness of that July night, the miles—70 of them —stretched endlessly ahead. Not far by American standards. Not far at all. But an infinite dis tance in a land strangled by the Soviets. Ever since 1951, when i-he leds moved in and took over his machine shop, Vaclav Uhlik. had dreamed about this journey. The armored car's treads were ponderous as the machine clank ed down that one-way road. Much too loud, thought those brave persons huddled inside. Tension mounted. As the miles rolled under the machine, Czech secret police occasionally would come to the roadside and quietly speculate among themselves on the nature of the mission. They thought members of their own force were proceed ing undeT special orders lhai dark July night. Uhlik was one of the best me (Continued on page 8) Miss Jackie Nettleton of Des Moines, la., arrived Monday and will visit for several days with Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Hill.