Prairieland Talk . . .
Billy Graham Has More of It
By ROMA1NE SAUNDERS, Retired, Former Editor The Frontier
MARION, IND.—Back in Holt county, in dis
tant Nebraska, there are something like 24 or 25
church pastors, forming a small part of the large
group of gentlemen of the cloth looking after the
spiritual welfare of the fallen race. And out of
this group of clergymen Rev. Mr. Graham— I be
lieve he prefers to be addressed
as Billy—draws crowds up into
the hundrdes of thousands.
What is the Graham secret-'
Maybe a London newspaper
man had the answer when he said
whatever Graham has he has
more of it than any other. The
spectacular has appeal. But above
and beyond the spectacular and
shownmanship, with which Billy
is gifted, he brings to worried
men and women the calm assur- Romaln®
ance of somehing better to be
found in the religion he preaches.
But we wonder if it is not the humble pastor
of small groups here and there along with the
Tobed clericals in great cathedrals who are daily
fanning to greater flame that hope throbbing in
the human breast.
* • •
AFL members get voting recommendations at
labor temple before going to the polls. The forego
ing appeared in a Lincoln evening paper that
comes to me. I know something of labor union tac
tics around election time, as at one time I had ac
cess to that same labor temple. Perhaps it should
be said, tactics of a few guys who assume and
presume to dictate to union members how they
should vote. There are always a few who do not
think for themselves and do what they are told,
but the most of the dues-paying union members
think things out for themselves and vote indepen
dent of those responsible for the little paid ad ap
pearing in the Lincoln Evening Journal a day be
fore the late election.
• • •
The sentence of Cpl. Claud Bachelor has been
reduced from life to 20 years in prison. Let’s
give the young man a clean bill, let him out of
penal confinement and give him an honorable
discharge. He had been a prisoner of the reds in
Korea, charged with giving the enemy aid and
comfort. Maybe so—he was under pressure and
no doubt did and said things for which he was
hardly accountable. He came back to his home
with high hopes only to ge court martialed and
disgraced. Give him another chance before 20
yean roll by.
• • •
At least two old timers of Holt county were
the victims of the generation now running things
and maybe they see the handwriting on the wall
and don’t need to call in a Daniel to interpret. I
know’ of no two citizens in the county so well in
formed on its history' or better qualified to judge
present and future needs than L. G. Gillespie and
John Sullivan, each seeking a place on the county
board and meeting with defeat at the late election.
Well, John and Lloyd, you have each had a part
in developing the community that others now take
over as a heritage of those who have gone before.
You now can step gracefully aside and say, go to
it, boys!
• • *
Plans for prefab houses in the neighborhood
where I am planted for the moment are too nu
merous to mention. Workmen putter around a
month or two on the foundation work before the
prefab material arrives for the building. Dark red,
sky blue, orange, yellow or most any bright color
is favored for the up-to-the-minute dwelling.
* * *
It matters little which political party claims
a majority of the members of congress. The im
portant thing is— are they American patriots
who promote measures for the welfare of the
country as a whole as their first duty?
Human life began m a garden amid nature s
unspoiled beauty and the song of birds. The next
generation that followed built cities where the rush
and rumble of traffic confuses the senses and
brick walls and concrete walks all but hide the
memory of nature’s enchanted cathedral. I go
abroad in the morning, concrete under foot, the
swish of automobiles rushing hither and yon, the
toot of factory whistles, the activities of city life
starting another day in the endless struggle to
gain an honest livelihood. Over the distant treetops
appears the rising sun. So we have the sunlight, the
blue above us reaching out into the depth of eter
nity, the freshness of a November morning, and
what transcends all this here starting life in their
new home are my devoted children who also have
known the scenes and sounds and charms of prai
rieland, their lot now cast where they take their
place in the industrial life of a thrifty community.
The things of prairieland are not for the city bred
but they belong forever to the prairie bred. I have
been many places in America and am still a Ne
braskan.
“Out where the world is in the making,
Where fewer hearts in despair are aching,
Where there is more of singing and less of sighing,
Where there is more of giving and less of buying,
Where a man makes friends without half trying—
That’s where there the West begins.”
• * •
Glenn and Florence, ray son and daughter
in-law, at one time living in O’Neill, came over
from Dayton, O. today for a short visit with
what’s here of the family group. They look
prosperous.
* * *
A patriot over at Bristow who writes to The
Frontier has it that O’Neill may as well fold up if
certain highways are not conforming to his ideas of
tourist travel. He quotes figures that the South Da
kota governor sees through a magnifying glass of
what tourist travel means to the country towns. A
car with license plates from another state pulls
up to a filling station in a Holt county town, its oc
cupants mess up the “rest room,” buy a few gallons
of gasoline and roll on. Farmers, ranchers and
people from small villages come into O’Neill from
50 or more miles away, spend their money for
home supplies, ranch and farm equipment and
“fill ’er up” at the gas stations. Highways that
bring these customers in and parking places for
their cars are doubtless what towns like O’Neill
are most concerned over.
* * •
Indiana courts, as elsewhere, have the troubles
and crooks of the citizens to deal with. The No
vember term of court for the Marion district has
criminal cases on the docket involving the human
depravities from rape to murder and even no-fund
check artists. While the check writer goes to jail
maybe the one who accepts checks that they don’t
know are valuable or worthless should be sent to
a state institution for mental treatment. One guy
here accused of writing such a check appears in
court as his own lawyer with an array of witness
es to prove that the guardians of law and defend
ers of the peace and dignity of the Hoosier state
are all wet.
♦ * *
At a downtown street corner where stands an
imposing building that is the home of the Marion
National bank, is a clever arrangement of light
bulbs which flash the time of day—1:50, the next
1:51, and so on each minute. Above this is record
ed the temperature at the time. On the busy
streets of Marion, when I was downtown yester
day, the bank corner’s clever weather bureau told
me it was 66 degrees above zero, shirt sleeve
weather again after a light snow a few days pre
vious.
• * *
It is harder to listen to an ignorant man’s opin
ions than to express your own. but it usually pays
to listen.
Editorial . . .
Too Little Attention
About every month of the year is now dedicat
ed to some worthwhile cause as well as the weeks
and days of the month. November, which includes
Thanksgiving, has appropriately has been design
ed as a time to think about and teach religion.
There are many phases that may be given more
thought, among them more education for young
people for a happier married life later in life. Pos
sibly a way to combat the growing divorce epi
demic.
American educators and churchmen have been
taken to task for paying too little attention to the
job of training young people for Christian marri
age and family life. Meeting in Chicago, 111., at an
annual meeting of the board of managers of the
department of family life of the National Council
of Churches, a panel of family life experts advised
that “more teaching and more guidance” are need
ed.
Said Dr. David M. Fulcomer of Iowa State
college, Ames, “Young people are not helped suffi
ciently to develop their emotional lives in line with
growing intellects and technical knowledge. Train
ing an individual’s intellect will not determine his
behavior.” As a step toward meeting the need he
advised a four-point program, including: More
school and college courses to develop the ideas on
family living; more student centered guidance pro
grams; and the use of more consultants by schools,
churches and social agencies. Many phases of col
lege life, he said, should be geared to preparation
for Christian marriage, including dating, going
steady and the engagement period.
The Big, Lumbering, Docile Giant
(Guest editorial from the Stanton Register)
The United States can be likened, in many
respects, to a huge, lumbering, usually amiable
and sometimes quite stupid individual.
Like that particular person, with whom most
of us have a passing acquaintance since he’s repre
sented in many walks of life, the United States can
be gouged, cheated, pushed around, prodded and
stabbed without much of consequence happening.
And then, in a sudden fit of anger, the like of
which all of us are seized with from time to time,
that much-maligned individual turns upon his har
riers and with frightening power repays them in
full for past misdemeanors.
All of which is just one way to sum up what
has been happening to the United States around
the world in recent years. On every front we’ve
been harried and insulted by either red Russia or
its satellites. Our aircraft have been shot down; our
naval vessels fired upon; our soldiers taken cap
tive and held hostage under trumped-up charges;
our civilians molested in far-off lands and if re
leased at all, only after great duress and compres
sion have been brought by the state department.
Does it all mean Russia is eager to prod us to
a warring stage? Or are the reds like the little boy
with a stick pin pricking a gentle dog, driven on
by some insatiable curiosity to learn just how far
he can go before the animal will bite back?
This wreek the reds faired upon and downed an
other American military aircraft. It’s happened be
fore. Usually the excuse is that the American plane
was violating borders. Usually, too, the American
state department knows better but is content to
reprimand the foe and go no further.
We can’t help wondering what incident will
take place one day that wall plunge the world into
another frightening conflict which could well de
stroy civilization as we know it. When will the
lumbering giant be stirred by some unprovoked in
cident that will be too much to take with a simple
grin?
Honest Mistake
A bride and bridegroom left the church in Co
balt, Ont., in a shower of confetti, their car suit
ably decorated with slogans, only to be met 100
miles to the south by a reception committee — a
police roadblock. They were charged with the theft
of the car. However, the couple was innocent.
It seems their friends had decorated the wrong
car. Instead of the car borrowed from a friend,
friends of the couple had mistaken the car and
decorated another—of the same make and model—
and they had driven off in the wrong car. Cars
were swapped and all was well again.
One thing about getting along in years: You
feel your corns more than your oats.
iiSLFRpNTTER
CARROLL W. STEWART, Editor and Publisher
Editorial & Business Offices: 122 South Fourth St.
Address correspondence: Box 330, O'Neill, Nebr.
Established in 1880 — Published Each Thursday
Entered at the postoffice in O’Neill, Holt coun
ty, Nebraska, as second-class mail matter under
the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. This news
paper is a member of the Nebraska Press Associa
tion, National Editorial Association and the Audit
Bureau of Circulations.
Terms of Subscription: In Nebraska, $2.50 per
year; elsewhere in the United States, $3 per year;
rates abroad provided on request. All subscriptions
are paid-in-advance.
Audited (ABC) Circulation—2,335 (Mar. 31, 1954)
News, Views
and Gossip
BY THE EDITOR
^ - ^
Deer, Elk or Moose?
Most editors are besieged with
a variety of correspondence—all
of which is always welcomed.
This week’s crop produced these
queries and answers:
Route 3
Wisner, Nebr.
Dear Editor:
Guess I had better make us
known to you as you may not
want to believe what we saw.
We are residents around Pilger
and Wisner and are farmers.
We were up around that part of
the west on Friday, October 22.
We had been to Chambers with
Stanley Maddox of Neligh. As we
were returning to Neligh, and just
west of Ewing a few miles, we
came upon what we thought was
a deer.
We were visiting and I sudden
ly exclaimed: “Did you see the
deer?”
Then Mr. Maddox put the car
in reverse and backed up to where
it had been standing—a short dis
tance from the road. As we sat
there looking at the animal, Mr.
Maddox said: “That’s not a deer,
but a moose!”
Could you tell us if anyone has
ever seen a moose in those parts?
Yours truly,
MR. AND MRS. ADOLPH
LUESHEN
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lueschen:
Our quest for information on
this subject has produced the fol
lowing—the authenticity of which
cannot be absolutely verified. In
an area bounded by Ewing, Clear
water, Chambers and the Dewey
Schaffer home ranch, numerous
sightings of an animal described
as a mountain lion have been re
ported. These rumors have per
sisted now for the past year to 15
months, and apparently it is not
possible to prove absolutely a
negative nor a positive stand on
the matter.
Along the Niobrara river,
straight north of O’Neill, are sev
eral residents who insist that an
elk is living in the river bottoms.
They refer to several sightings
and the size and distance between
the tracks. If this situation is
correct, elk being the travelers
they are, perhaps this is the an
imal in question.
Of course, this country now’
supports a number of deer, enough
so that there is an open season on
them each fall. Possibly a large
buck with a good spread of ant
lers could be mistaken at a dis
tance for a moose. If we should
learn any factual information in
the future, we’ll be glad to keep
you posted.—Ed.
• • •
Hallowe’en Dancing
Hay Springs, Nebr.
Dear Cal:
Just a line tonight to thanH
you for printing the letter from
Mrs. Glen White concerning the
Hallow’e’en dance which was held
on a recent Sunday night in O’
Neill.
We heartily agree with her in
this matter and, too, will be pray
ing that O’Neill businessmen will
awaken to the situation.
I’m sure there are more Chris
tian people who read your fine
paper who feel as we do and
would be proud to push a cam
paign to abandon such practices.
Enclosed is a check for our re
newal of the paper.
Thank you,
MR. AND MRS. JOE
WADSWORTH
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth:
We invite brief letters, com
ments and opinions on pertinent
subjects. ‘Pop-off’ space made
available to readers is a newspa
per’s obligation. Thanks to you,
also to Mrs. White, for writing.—
Ed.
• * *
I
8 Young Visitors
Atkinson, Nebr.
i Dear Sir:
May we have an appointment
to visit your office around 10
a.m., Friday, November 19? We
plan to visit several O’Neill busi
ness places that day. I have eight
pupils in district 76.
MRS. L. MEDCALF
Dear Mrs. Medcalf:
Thank-you for your note. We’ll
be pleased to escort your pupils
through our newspaper and com
mercial printing plant and “Voice
cf TTie Froniter” studios on the
date you have stated.—Ed.
Booth Qualifies
for English 3—
O’Neill high school is one of 50
Nebraska high schools which has
distinguished itself by sending
students to the University of Ne
braska who are well prepared in
English, Kenneth Forward, as
sociate professor and supervisor
of freshman English, has an
nounced.
More than 25 percent of the
graduates of these schools quali
fied for English 3, top freshman
English course at the university.
O’Neill has qualified at least a
quarter of its graduates enrolling
at the university for the past two
cut of three years. This year, one
of two graduates entering the uni
veristy qualified for English 3.
He is Duane F. Booth, son of Mr.
arid Mrs. Clarence Booth.
Young Booth also is a member
of the University band.
PONTON INSURANCE
Florence Ponton, Prop.
Insurance of All
Kinds & Bonds
| Phone 106 — Golden Bldg,
JOHN R. GALLAGHER I
Attorney-at-Law
First Nafl Bank Bldg.
O’NEILL PHONE 11
3 Angel Food Cakes
Auctioned at Meet
EWING—The American Legion
and auxiliary, Sanders post 214,
held a party last Thursday evening
following the regular meeting of
both groups.
Card games were played and re
freshments were served by Mrs.
Mabel Boies, Mrs. M. B. Huffman
and Mrs. Maude Brion. Three angel
food cakes were auctioned.
At the business meeting of the
auxiliary, Mrs. L. M. Carter pre
sided, the holiday season was dis
cussed. Four tarlatan dolls to be
sent to the Veterans hospital and
two comforters will also be made.
At the December meeting, the aux
iliary will have a Christmas party
for the members with an exchange
of gifts.
When You and 1 Were Young ...
Boat Capsizes;
2 Gmahans Drowned
Incident Takes Place
at Goose Lake
50 Years Ago
Two Omaha men met a tragic
death by drowning when the boat
they wrere in capsized on Goose
lake, 25 miles south of O’Neill. . .
A concert will be given at the
Methodist church by the Peterson
Sisters Concert company, assisted
by Sidney Landon. . . Cal Moffett,
former cigar businessman here,
died in Spencer on election day.
. . . T. J. Fleener and his hired
man were mixed up in a more-or
less serious runaway. Mr. Wilson,
the hired man, was badly injured.
The wagon tongue came down as
the men were riding down the hill
approaching the Methodist church
The horses ran away and both
men were thrown from the wagon.
. . . The fire department gymna
sium now is equipped with a bar,
trapeze and apparatus for shoul
der and arm development, plus
other equipment. Their supplies
are not all here yet.
20 Years Ago
George Harrington left for
Washington, D.C., where he en
ters upon his duties as one of
the attorneys for the federal com
munications commission. . . The
government is asking for bids on
or donations of land that would
make a suitable site for a federal
building for this city. . . Mrs. J.
A. Naylor received word of the
death of her sister, Mrs. Laura
Cress, at Lincoln. Mrs. Cress was
one of the pioneers of O’Neill.
10 Years Ago
Mrs. Frank Nelson died at St
cred Heart hospital in Lynch fol
lowing an illness of only two days.
. . . Bob Brittell of Portland, Ore.,
is visiting old friends and rela
tives He has been on the West
coast for about a year. . . All men
interested in playing volleyball
each Monday evening are to re
port to the old gymansium in the
public school building. . . St. Ma
ry’s high school six-man football
team again gained state recogni
tion being placed sixth among the
state’s top 10 chosen by the Lin
coln Journal and ranked eighth in
the string of top 10 six-manners
chosen by the Omaha World-Her
ald.
One Year Ago
Julius D. Cronin, prominent
north Nebraska attorney and for
many years Holt cunty attorney,
was elected president of the Ne
braska State Bar association at
the conclusion of the group's 54th
annual convention. . . Fred Sal
ak, former state highway patrol
man at Scottsbluff, has been as
signed game warden in the O’
Neill area. . . Kenneth Ellston, 32,
cled in St. Anthony’s hospital
after a year’s illness. . . Simon
Eosn, 66, veteran foreman on the
Chicago & North Western rail
road, retired here after 43 years
continuous service. . . O’Neill’s
first municipal paving improve
ment in nearly 20 years is com
pleted.
Aircraft Prop
[ Snips Power Lines—
CHAMBERS— A light aircraft
landing at the Chambers airport
about 7 o’clock Sunday evening,
November 7, severed two REA
high tension lines at the end of
the runway, and plunged a num
ber of homes in the Chambers
and Martha communities into
darkness.
The pilot, Chet Fees, jr., of O’
Neill, and the passenger, Bennie
Benson, were unhurt. The lines
carried over 7,000 volts. The two
had completed a cross-country
hop and were landing after dark
ness had begun to set in.
The two escaped injury and
were thanking their lucky stars
because they might have been
electrocuted.
The propellor was slightly dam
aged.
First Anniversary—
Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Fernau and
Larry of Redbird, Miss Joan Godel
and Mr. and Mrs. Dickie Fernau of
O’Neill were Sunday Dinner guests
of Mr. and Mrs. F. S. BrittelL The
occasion honored the first wedding
anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Dickie
Fernau.
Mrs. C. H. Chambers, sr., re
turned Thursday to her home in
O’Neill after spending several
weeks with her son, Charles, and
family in Ringsted, la. Mrs.
Chambers and the Charles Cham
bers family were weekend guests
at the H. E. Chambers home in
Dubuque, la., during Mrs. Cham
bers’ stay in Iowa.
Social Security
Begins for Farmers
$400 Net Entitles
Insurance
Beginning January 1, 1955, social
security insurance protection is ex
tended by law to all farmers—in
cluding farm owners, operators,
renters and workers.
The November issue of Success
ful Farming magazine points out
that after farmers pay in for the
required length of time, they will
be entitled to benefits for their
wives and themselves of from $45
to $162.80 from age 65 the rest of
their life.
Any farm operator who makes
as much as $400 net profit in a
year is entitled to the insurance
and subject to the tax. The tax for
a typical farmer who owns and
operates his own place is three
percent of his net income up to $4,
200. That would make the maxi
mum social security tax $126 per
year.
Most farm workers are also
eligible for social security pro
tection if they earn as much as
$100 in cash from any one employ
er in a year. The employer deducts
two percent from the workers’
wages and pays two percent him
self for the coverage. This means
that it cost the farm operator an
additional two dollars in tax for
every $100 he pays his workers.
Even farm operators who rent
their land for cash are considered
eligible as a farm operator in the
social security program. Share op
erators have their social security
handled somewhat differently. If
the operator pays the owner a
share, he is self employed and pays
his own tax. If the owner pays the
operator a share, he is a worker
and the owner pays the tax.
All farmers are required to get
a social security card as soon as
possible at their nearest social se
curity office. Social security tax is
figured on income turned in for in
come tax through the internal
revenue service.
The first social security pay
ments will be made as part of the
1955 income tax which will make
the first payment in 1956.
Firs* Veterans Day
Noted at Ewing—
EWING— The first veterans’ day
was observed in the Ewing high
school auditoriam Thursday, No
vember 11, at 11 a.m., with a pro
gram sponsored by the Future
Homemakers of America. In at
tendance were the junior and high
school students.
Miss Fern Pruden, FHA advisor,
explained the change from armis
tice day to veterans’ day.
The pledge of allegiance was
given in unison, led by Miss Helen
Rotherham, FHA president.
The school band played “The
Star Spangled Banner”, led by
Miss Lila Woeppel, who is a sopho
more and also the FHA parliamen
tarian.
Royal Theater
— O'NEILL. NEBR. —
Thurs. Nov. 18
Family Nights
ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON
CRUSOE
Every unforgettable thrill
flames alive on the screen! Based
on Daniel Defoe’s immortal class
ic. Color by Pathe-Color. Starring
Dan O’Herlihy with James Fer
nandez (as Friday). Produced by
Oscar Dancigers, Henry Erlich.
Family admitted for 2 adult tick
ets—children uder 12 admitted
with parent. 50c; adults 50c;
children 12c
Fri.-Sat. Nov. 19-20
Big Double Bill o
KILLERS FROM SPACE
Invasion from another planet!
The last word in astounding sci
ence-fiction thrills, with Peter
Graves, Barbara Bestar.
— also —
THE LAW VS. BILLY THE KID
Starring Scott Brady, Betta St.
John. Color by technicolor. The
true story of the deadliest killer
in the West!
Adults 50c; children 12c; matinee
Sat. 2:30. All children under 12
free when accompanied by parent
Sun.-Mon.-Tues. Nov. 21-22-23
SITTING BULL
In magnificent color. Starring
Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J.
Carrol Naish. The biggest battle the
west ever fought thunders across
the screen. Dale Robertson stars
in the film as a young cavalry of
ficer who resents the unemotion
al, at times inhuman treatment
the conquered Indian is receiving.
Adults 50c; children 12c; matinee
Sun. 2:30. All children unless in
arms must have tickets
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