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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1954)
i .1 * * • »' TWENTY PAGES * In 3 Sections North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper Volume 74.—Number 31. O Neill, Nebr., Thursday, December 2, 1934. Seven Cents 1___I Receives State Award Miss Elizabeth O’Malley (above), member of a pioneer O’Neill family, recenty received a citation for being the top-ranking vital statistics reporter, in point of service, in Nebraska and one of 10 t p-rankers in the nation. She has recorded 18,656 births.and 4,048 • deaths since taking the job in 1910.—The Frontier Photo. Ticket Scramble Is Turkey Day Feature Basin Group Starts Drive for Members 300 Signers Sought at O’Neill A membership drive for the Niobrara Basin Development as sociation was launched Wednes day in O’Neill. The goal here has been set for 300 at $3 each. Plans for the drive were com pleted Monday evening when representatives of the Chamber of Commerce met with officers of the Niobrara association. Basin officers present were: E. C. House, director; La Verne Prang, secretary; L. R. Smith, member ship drive chairman, and William Smith, attorney for the associa tion, all of Ainsworth. It is suggested that each busi ness buy an individual member ship for each employee. In ask ing for the initial appropriation from congress, one of the first questions asked will be: How many members are there in the Nibrara River Basin Development association? The officers are in terested in a large membership in the basin association. Benefits to Holt county from the proposed irrigation develop ment are “incalculable.” Sixty-six thousand acres are included in the O’Neill unit. Ihe gross income per acre before ir rigation from the land now in the Mirage flats unit was $15 , per acre. Since the development of the Mirage flats unit, the gross income has been increased to $107 per acre in 1953. Benefits which would accrue in Holt coun ty could be similar. During the past 10 or 12 years, there have been periods when have increased yields in Holt water at the right time would county. Previous to that time, crop yields would have been as sured practically every year if water for irrigation had been available. Those from O’Neill present at the meeting were: William Mc Intosh, Robert Hornby, Robert, Krotter, Ed Wilson, William Bowker, Ed Thorin, Melvin Ru zicka, Harry Ressel, Harry Smith and Lyle Dierks. Omaha Postmaster, O’Neill Native, Dies Omaha Postmaster John H. Hopkins, 67, died of a heart at tack Monday night at his home in Omaha, 204 North 52d street. He and Mrs. Hopkins that day had celebrated their 35th wed ding anniversary. The late Mr. Hopkins was born at O’Neill. He was Douglas coun ty sheriff from 1934 to 1938 and had been postmaster since April, 1945. Survivors include. Widow — Alice; daughters—Mrs. Keith M. Griffith, Mrs. Frank J. Wear and Miss Patricia, all of Omaha; Mother Joan Hopkins, Barat col lege, Religious of the Sacred Heart, Chicago, 111., and Mrs. Thomas C. Smith of Sioux Falls, S D • six grandchildren; brothers _Frank of Omaha, Thomas of Los Angeles, Calif.; sisters—Mrs. T. J. Martin of Houston, Tex., Mrs. Arthur Heires of Colorado Springs, Colo., Mrs. Edward Manning of Elk Point, S.D. Funeral services will be today (■Thursday) at 8:30 a.m., from - the residence, at St. Mary 5 church at 9- Burial will be in Calvary cemetery.__ Man Killed when Train Hits Car— CHADRON —Earl H. Grass, about 38, Chadron rancher, was killed late Monday near here when the pickup truck he was riding m was in a collision with a Chicago and North Western diesel passen gex train. _ ., Seriously injured was Donald Christensen, about 27, Chadron farmer, who suffered two broken legs and a broken arm. Patrol Speeding Arrests Are Dp— The Nebraska Safety Patrol made 62 percent more arrests fo speeding during October than it did in the same month last year. Us! of radar and the fact more patrolmen were on highway duty were the chief reasons for toe sharp increase, according to Patrol Capt. Ivan Casey, of the Lincoln state patrol office. O’Neill will be hosts to thou sands of visitors on Saturday, December 4—the date of the an nual turkey day. Four trucks will depart simultaneously on the streets at 4:30 p.m., distributing tickets. Lucky ticket holders may claim the fowl until 6 p.m., at the Spelts-Ray Lumber company yards. Three hundred dollars’ worth of turkeys, geese and chickens are being provided the winners by the Chambers of Commerce. The scramble annually attracts much interest. (Details on page 15.) Meanwhile, O’Neill was transformed into a Christmas city at 8 p.m., Wednesday, De cember 1, as display windows were unveiled and newly-pur chased yule decorations on lamp posts were energized. In the display window decora tion contest, the following place ments were made: Religious: Niobrara Valley Electric Membership corporation, first; Evans Beauty Shop, second. Commercial: Gambles, first; Elkhorn Flower Shop, second. Judges were Mrs. James Cov entry of Inman, Mrs. Kenneth Adams and Mrs. C. V. Robertson, both of Chambers. O’Neill stores will be open Thursday evenings until 9, start ing tonight. The Thursday op ening policy will be effective also December 9, 16, and 23. Sat urday night store hours will fol low the customary policy: Open until 10. 7 Seniors Make OHS Honor Roll By virtue of attaining an aca demic average off B-plus or bet ter, the following O’Neill high school students have rated on the honor roll for the second six weeks period, according to Prin cipal Paul Baker: Seniors: Ardyce Alton, Jean ene Backhaus, Owen Davis, Jan et Hull, Marilyn Lindberg, Bob Sanders, Norma Timmerman. Juniors: Nina Burival, Robert Burival, Marilyn Carroll, Mary Fetrow, Kay Hibbs, Carolyn Lindberg, Vernon Passieux, Ma bel Thomas. Sophomores: Marlene Ermer, Gordon Fox, Carole Johnson, Judy Liddy, Demaris Lindberg, Linda Serck, Janice Sipes. Freshmen: Michael Liddy, Lyn da Haynes. Mrs. Pease Named Homemaker of Week Goes to Omaha for Radio Interview CELIA—Mrs. Ray Pease was chosen “homemaker of the week’ ty listeners of KOIL and inter viewed over KOIL Friday, No vember 19, by Julie Burns or the “Jaunting with Julie” pro gram. Mrs. Spann accompanied hei daughter to Omaha for the inter view. Mrs. Pease is one of Nebraska’s best-known homemaking column ists for newspapers. ★ ★ ★ Julie (left) and Mrs. Pease . . . radio interview. (Mrs. Pease is The Frontier’s homemaking editor.) ClairGrimes Rites Held atChambers [ - | Veteran Mail Carrier Victim of Lingering Heart Ailment CHAMBERS—Funeral services for Clair Grimes, 64, veteran rural mail carrier, were conduct ed Monday, November 29, from the Methodist church here. Rev. J. M. Hodgkins, church pastor, officiated in the 2 p.m., rite and burial was in the Chambers cemetery under the direction of Biglin’s. Mr. Grimes died Friday, No vember 26, in Clarkson hospital, Omaha, where he had been a pat ient about a week. The body lay in state at the church between 10 a.m., and the funeral hour. Pallbearers were C V. Robertson, Alvin Tange man, Keith Sexton, Herman Hol comb, E. R. Carpenter and Du ane Miller. An overflow crowd attended the services. Ushers were Eugene Baker and Gaius Wintermote. The late Mr. Grimes was born January 19, 1890, at Kankakee, 111., a son of Jer ome D„ and Sarah Ellen Kin kaid Grimes. He came to Holt county from Ij'inois in 1893. On June 21, 1916, he married Lovena Adams. They became the parents of four children. Mr. Grimes, who had been ser iously ill about two weeks, was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Methodist church. Mr. Grimes suffered a heart ailment and had been hos pitalized several times. He was taken by ambulance to Omaha Saturday, November 20, having been transferred from St. Anthony’s hospital, O’Neill, to Clarkson hospital. Survivors include: Widow; daughters—Mrs. L. E. (Arlene) Coppoc of Ottumwa, la., and Mrs. Hiram (Lela) Conley of Mt. Rose, Colo.; sons—Edward of Fresno, Calif., and Milton of Omaha; seven grandchildren; sister — Mrs. Marguerite Brittell of Vancouver, Wash.; brothers — Jay D. of Douglas, Wyo., James and Gleason, both of Chambers. Penny Carnival Held at Inman INMAN—The high school Pep club sponsored a penny carnival Friday evening, November 19. There were side shows, dart games, food booths and many other features. The club made $118 before expenses were de ducted. The carnival attracted a large crowd. The Inman high junoir class presented its class play, “Aaron Slick from Punkin Creek,” Tues day night, November 23. There was a good crowd and the play was enjoyed very much. The school was dismissed at l oon Wednesday, November 24, for the Thanksgiving vacation and took up again Monday. Mrs. Nora Henderson 81-.-Years-01d— PAGE—Mrs. Nora Henderson observed her 83d birthday an niversary Tuesday, November 23. Several friends called during the day and were served ice cream, cake and coffee. Her daughter, Mrs. Harley Kennedy, baked the birthday cake. Mrs. Henderson is quite active. She attends the Methodist church and seldom misses the WSCS meetings where she spends the hours quilting. She recently had her first air plane ride. She spent her 80th birthday anniversary at the Ken nedy home and enjoyed a horse back ride. 4> Runaway Girls, 16, Are Located Here Two 16-year-old Butte, Mont., runaway girls, Ruby Calkins and Sharon Askins, are being held by Holt County Sheriff Leo Tom jack pending the arrival today (Thursday) of the girls’ parents. Police Officer Walt Calkins, who had been observing the girls since their arrival on Sun day, asked Tomjack to question the girls who were located on Monday evening in the company of two O’Neill boys. The girls told Tomjack they reached O’Neill the day before and had spent the night in a ho tel. They were not without funds. The parents indicated the girls had been “gone for several days.” Mercury to Dip to 5-Above Today 4 Inches of Snow Falls Here The mercury was expected to drop to 5-degrees above zero in the early morning hours today (Thursday)—the lowest mark for the season. A mass of cold air moved into the region this week ap parently signaling the end of a prolonged Indian summer. Highest temperatures today will be around 32 degrees. Tuesday’s snowfall was gener al in north-central Nebraska. Reports of snowfall include: Spencer, 6 inches; Plainview, 3; Bristow, 5; Neligh, 1; Inman, 3; Atkinson, 4; Bassett, 3; Stuart, 3, Valentine, 8; Chadron, 5; Scotts bluff, 4. O’Neill received 4 inches, which amounted to .24 of an iich precipitation. The snow during the early Tuesday morn ing hours was accompanied by considerable wind and visibility was restricted. Streets and highways are slippery throughout the region. Summary: Hi Lo Prec. November 24 .. 45 30 November 25 ...42 16 November 26 .. 52 27 .02 November 27 ...50 26 .01 November 28 .. 39 23 November 29 . . .43 18 November 30 ... 34 25 .24 December 1 .... 31 19 Totals . .27 Don Kelley Hits 29 for Tigers St. Mary’s Cards Downed, 71-50 INMAN—Don Kelley, with 29 points, led the way Tuesday night as Inman downed the vis iting St. Mary’s cagers from O’ Neill, 71-50. St. Mary’s was paced by Tom Head, who accounted for 17 markers. Jim Becker and Schaffer ac counted for 11 points each. In man led, 39-21, at intermission. In the preliminary, the little Tigers were victorious over the SMA reserves, 42-33. Holly led the losers with 17 points. The Cards will go against the O’Neill high Eagles Friday night in the annual intracity cage classic. Former Resident of Ewing Expires EWING—Mrs. Winnie Florence Wright, 76, of Everett, Wash., died recently. Death came after [ she suffered her second heart j attack. The late Mrs. Wright! formerly resided northeast of Ewing. Funeral services were con ducted at Everett. Interment was in Cypress Lawn Memorial park cemetery there. Survivors include: Daughters— Mattie Closson of Gilchrist, Ore., and Theola' Stolp of Arlington, Wash.; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. Mrs. Wright’s first husband, Charles Slack, died December 7, 1936. Mrs. Wright lived in Wash ington the past 17 years. MARRIAGE LICENSES Maurice Chester Parks, 22 of Scottsbluff and Marleen Claire McDermott, 22, of O’Neill, No vember 24. Dennis Dwight LaFave, 21, of Onida S.D., and Loraa Mae Ste vens, 19, of Page, November 27. Mrs. H. S Moses left Friday, November 19, for Imperial to visit her son-inlaw and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Evans, and family. Mr. Moses joined her on Wednesday, November 24, and they returned to O’Neill Sunday. Mr. and Mrs. Ray Snell of Page visited Sundav at the home I of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Waller. Mrs. Joesph Axtell . . . “wilted flower.”—The Frontier Photo. + + + + + + + + + *Nothing Fancy 9 in 103 Years STUART— Holt county’s old est resident, Mrs. Joseph Axtell, on Thanksgiving day observed her 103d birthday anniversary. Her daughter, Miss Pearl, had piepared the chicken dinner and two longtime friends, Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Storie of Atkinson, gathered around the table to par take of the holiday bounty. During the forenoon the big page in the guest book began to fill. Rev. and Mrs. D. L». Su of the Stuart Community church had signed their names in Chi nese script, also other friends and neighbors had called. Mrs. Axtell came to the table in her wheelchair (she has been relying heavily on the chair since she took a fall on August 11). Between bites from a drum stick, Mrs. Axtell reminisced. She was born in New York state November 25, 1851. When she was a small girl her parents were told by the family doctor to take their daughter west. They lived for a time in Iowa before coming to Nebraska. Mrs. Axtell, whose maiden name was Alice Butterfield, was married at Valentine in 1886. They lived on a prairie home stead for many years, burned hay and cowchips, and fared as best they could against the haz ards of frontier life — drouths, prairie fires, Indians, pesti lences. On her 103d birthday anniver sary, Mrs. Axtell recounted In dian visits at their shanty. “Once nine of them came. I was a little bit nervous. I was alone—but a neighbor came and stayed until the Indians left. “One other time I spread quite a table for the Indians who stop ped.” Mr. Axtell died in 1911. In 1924, Mrs. Axtell and her only child, Miss Pearl, moved into Stuart. They reside in the northeast part of town. Mrs. Axtell loves to sit in the sunshine, but tartly remarked: “It makes me feel like a wilted flower.” (Cal Stewart interviewed Mrs. Axtell and the playback was heard on the Saturday, Novem ber 27, “Voice of The Frontier” program.) Asked if she had a recipe for longevity or recommendations for young people, Mrs. Axtell explained: ‘Tve always lived a plain life, nothing fancy. I never considered we had any hardships. We just took things as they came.” Between visitors Mrs. Axtell would catch a cat nap. In days past Mrs. Axtell has greatly enjoyed singing. She used to love to sing with Mrs Emil Olday, accompanied on the organ by Mrs. Axtell’s daughter. Allyns Wed 50 Years STUART—Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Allyn of the Cleveland communi ty in the northwest corner of Holt county, held open - house Saturday, November 27, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., in celebration of their glden wedding anniversary. A beautiful bouquet of chry santhemums, presented by the Ladies Aid and Men’s council of the Cleveland Presbyterian church, decorated the living room where Mr. and Mrs. Allyn greet ed their friends. The five-tier white wedding cake decorated with yellow flowers and topped with a min iature bride and bridegroom was baked and decorated by their daughter, Delia McClurg. Mrs. James Deming, sister of Mrs. Allyn, poured, and the granddaughters served re freshments. Mrs. Lawrence Lofquest, sis ter-in-law, was in charge of the guestbook in which 91 relatives and friends were recorded as guests. They were married in Butte on December 6, 1904. The 50th anniversary affair was held in advance of the anniversary so four granddaughters, who attend college, could be present during the Thanksgiving vacation. Mr. Allyn came to Cleveland community from Iowa in 1885, a lad of 5-years. He came with his parents, who were home steaders. Mrs. AUyn, nee Mabel Lof quest, was born on her father, Sven Lofquest’s, homestead in the same community. They Doth attended the Clay Creek rural school and their six children learned the “3 R’s” in the same school. Several of the couple’s grandchildren attend there now. Mr. and Mrs. Allyn’s home is located on Beaver Creek, about 17 miles north of Stuart, where they started housekeeping and have developed a sizeable ranch. They have retired in a modern home a few rods from their orig inal home, which is now occu pied by their son, James, and his family, who are operating the ranch in a father-son partner ship. The Allyns always have been and still are active in the Cleve land Presbyterian church and in community affairs. Always good neighbors, they are ready wtih a helping hand in sickness and misfortune. Mrs. Allyn frequently was called upon during the early days to serve as a midwife. There was little hospitalization in those days because hospitals and doctors were few and far between. (Continued on page 4) Revell Story Begins in Orphanage .fc*ach year the Holt county soil conservation district supervisors are obliged to select one cooper ator to represent the district in the Goodyear award competition. This year they selected E. J. Re vell, 74, of Star as an outstand ing example of a good conserva tionist—one who eagerly accepts progress in a practical way and who is a true conservationist at heart. Mr. Revell is regarded as a man who has known good times and bad and has overcome more than his share of hardships. He is a loveable, hard-working, eld erly gentleman, who has a world of wisdom for the young er generation if they would but listen. Not being one to burden others with personal details, his life story is presented in brief so that all who know him by name may know him better. He is very active in the manual labor involved in op erating a 3,000-acre farm. He has the help of his son. Dale, and son-in-lawT, M. E. Davis, in the overall operation. He has over 200 acres protect ed by terraces and waterways and all of the cropland is strip cropped. He believes that a * longtime rotation” is the answer to high production and hopes to keep most of his cropland in al falfa and grass five or six years and then crop it a year or so be fore reseeding. He has planted over 160 acres of trees (mostly by hand) on his place since he started operating the farm in 1915. Approximately two-thirds of the farm is in native grass be ing used for either hay or pas ture. Through the conservation ef forts of the Revells and a few neighbors, they had effected a watershed program for Steel creek long before the words “wa tershed planning” were publi cized. Although not planned for the purpose of flood control, the conservation practices of Mr. Re vell and his neighbors have sta bilized Steel creek. He has 24 dams on his place alone—four of which form excellent fish ponds. The remainder are “dry” dams whose basins fill up after each rain but the water seeps into the gravel subsoil in a few days. This conservation effected on the up per part of Steel creek has made fence repair and bridge and road washouts a thing of the past. While the little stream formerly went on a rampage after every rein, gullying the farm land, de stroying fences, bridges and road grades, during the past several years the situation has been dif ferent. People living on down stream will tell you that since these conservation measures have been established on many farms in the upper part of the watershed, the creek has neve: been out of its banks. Fourteen years ago Mr. Re vell received 10 pounds of ranger alfalfa seed from the university for foundation seed production. He has known crop failures before and saved back a double handful of seed which he did not plant. He failed on the first try — grasshoppers. The next year he planted that double handful oi seed with success and within a short time had over 300 acres oi foundation ranger alfalfa. The small amount of seed was planted in rows by hand. In fact much of the cultivation was bj hand, and, for a time, until the seed supply grew, the harvesting was all hand work. Now he us ually plans to leave most of the second crop for seed productior and has produced a tremendou: amount of seed annually for the past several years. The Revell place certainly i: not merely a grain and hay farm He makes good use of his haj and pastures with his herd o: approximately 400 Angus cattle —100 of which are registered He also raises from 250 to 30( head of hogs annually. He know; full well the value of propel (Continued on page 4) City May Get Guard Company _ o Committee to Confer with Gen. Heninger; ° and Col. Peterson Col. Evar Peterson, assistant administrative officer for the Ne braska national guard, Saturday conferred with a Chamber of Commerce group here. Possibili ty of establishing an armored tank company was discussed. Armory space, officer cadre and possible number of enlisted men available were subjects Discussed. o The Chamber has Invited Brig.-Gen. Guy N. Hanninger. Nebraska national guard com mander and adjutant general, to hold another conference on Friday, December 10. Colonel Peterson, who is ak brother of Former Gov. Val Pet erson, has indicated he would be here. It w.ll be an overnight trip and several possible armory sites will be inspected. A guard company, if establish ed at O’Neill, would be desig nated as company D. Several other cities are interested in get ting the proposed new company located there. The Chamber’s new industries committee is leading the move- . *■ ment to bring the company to C’Neill. James W. Rooney heads tnat committee. Pickup Hits Bridge; Plank Thru ’Shield EWING—Ed Spes, driver of a pickup, escaped serious injury Sunday when the vehicle, owned by Ruby Schindler of Elgin, went out of control at the Cache creek bridge three miles south of Ewing. The machine struck a bridge railing, sending a plank through the windshield. The car overturned and landed in the creek. Mr. Spes suffered only facial cuts and a neck bruise. He was taken to Antelope Memorial hos pital, Neligh. Deputy Holt Coun ty Sheriff James Mullen investi gated. . i O’Neill-Bound Bus Overturns at Stuart No one was hurt Tuesday after noon about 1 o’clock when an O’Neill-bound bus from Valentine overturned on slippery U.S. high way 20 east of Stuart. There were four passengers aboard. Crook Family Moving to Minnesota— The Charles B. Crook family will , move to Detroit Lakes, Minn., this weekend. Mr. Crook, a graduate of Kansas State college, has served the Holt soil conservation district for the past 8% years as soils sci entist. He has also mapped soils for the Boyd, KBR and Cherry Soil Conservation Districts. Mr. Crook served a 60-day detail at Furgus Falls, Minn., earlier this fall and found that he “feels much better’" in that climate. They have been active in 4-H, county, church and school activ ities. To Join Husband— ORCHARD—Mrs. Clayton John son left Saturday for Ft. Lewis, Wash., to join her husband who is stationed there. She was accom panied by her parents, Mr. and , Mrs. A. L. Robertson, and they were to visit the Robertsons’ son in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Gail Orr, and family at San Jose, Calif., enroute to Ft. Lewis. The Robertsons will return here later. I Holiday Guests— Mr. and Mrs. Fred Qsenbaugh of Norfolk were Wednesday evening and Thanksgiving day guests of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Osen baugh. Other guests were Mrs. Ruth Hilderhoff and children of Mullen who visited from Wednes day until Saturday. Auction Calendar There are three auctions on The Frontier’s sale calendar: Monday, December 6: W. H. David, residing 21 miles south of O’Neill, will offer 75 head of cattle, machinery, some house hold goods. (Advertisement on page 7.) Cols. Roy David and Ed Thorin, O’Neill, auctioneers; Chambers State bank, clerk. Friday, December 10: Glen Burge, residing 1 mile west of Inman, will offer 45 head of cat ; tie, three IHC tractors, machin ery, household goods; Col. Ed Thorin, O’Neill, auctioneer; O’ Neill National bank, clerk. Wednesday, December 15: Lyle Childers, 4 miles west of Cham • bers, farm close-out; livestock. ; machinery; Col. Ed Thorin, O’ Neill, auctioner; Chambers State bank, clerk. (Details next issue.)
