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North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper
Volume 74.—Number 32. (TNeill, Nebr., Thursday, December 9, 1954. Seven Cents
Soap, Beer Cans
Strewn in Accident
Property Loss Fixed
At $3,000
Two trucks collided 4 miles
west of Emmet early Friday
morning on a straight - away
stretch of U.S. highway 20. Holt
County Sheriff Leo Tomjack said
both trucks were “crowding too
closely” the white division line
in consideration of the width of
the trucks.
Gatz Bros, of O’Neill owned the
eastbound vehicle driven by Dan
ny Helmor. Amalgamated Truck
Lmes of Alberta, Can., was own
er of the westbound diesel, doing
transportation for the Canadian
. government. The cargo included
soap and chocolate. The Gatz
truck carried cases of beer. The
cargo was strewn over the scene
of the wreckage.
Because a foreign govern
ment was involved, the federal
bureau of investigation was
summoned to make a report.
i omjaek said conservative
estimates would place property
damage in the neighborhood of
three thousand dollars. Helmer
said hi? was enroute to O’Neill
after a late trip to Valentine.
A machine driven by Joe
Kokes of Atkinson smacked into
a cow belonging to Charles Ma
honey of O’Neill on a highway 2
miles east of O’Neill. The mishap
resulted in $250 to $300 damage
to the Kokes car and a $200 loss
of the cow, which died a few
minutes after the impact.
Mr. Mahoney said he did not
know his cow was loose. The
critter popped out of a ditch in
front of the Kokes car so quickly
the driver said he had no time
to avoid the accident.
Jack Gilman of Amelia, driver
of a truck, figured in a sideswipe
mishap with a vehicle driven by
Joseph Kamphaus, also of Am
elia. The side of the Kamphaus
•' . car was literally torn out. Prop
erty damage, the report stated,
would be about one thousand
dollars.
Complete or partial insurance
covered all of the losses.
Santa Coming to
O’Neill December 18
Ol’ St. Nick has sent word from
the North Pole he plans to be in
O’Neill on Saturday, December
18. The jolly fellow said he
would be laden with treats for
the kids.
As Santa has done the past few
years, he will buzz to O’Neill in
his jet (or atomic) powered air
plane, be met at the airport by
an O’Neill fire truck and meet
the smallfry at the O’Neill public
school. His arrival at the school
building is set for 2 p.m.
Former Ewing
Teacher Is Dead
EWING — Funeral services
were conducted last week at
Ponca for Mrs. Jack Humphrey,
. formerly of Ewing. Mrs. Hum
phrey was the former Miss Es
ther Schram, who was a music
teacher in the Ewing public
school in recent years.
Survivors include: Widower; I
son—Jeff, age 14-months.
Give The Frontier for Xmas!
2 Registrants to
Army This Week
Two Holt county selective ser
vice registrants leave this week
for military service.
Elmer L. Schwager, son of Mr.
and Mrs. August Schwager of
Ewing, goes as a draftee and Eu
gene V. Krysl, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Albert Krysl of Stuart, goes
as a volunteer.
Both go to the regular army.
J. W. Reftz/72,
Rites at Chambers
Holt Resident Since
1889 Long 111
CHAMBERS— J. W. Reitz, 72,
died Friday, December 3, in the
Neligh hospital. He had been ill
of cancer over six months.
The late Mr. Reitz submitted
to surgery at Rochester, Minn.,
this year and was hospitalized
there 40 days. He was accom
panied to Rochester by Arnie
Mace, sr., a longtime friend. Mr.
Reitz leaves no near relatives.
Funeral services were conduct
ed Tuesday, December 7. at 2
r m., from the Methodist church
here with Rev. J. M. Hodgkin,
church pastor, officiating. Burial
was in the Chambers cemetery
under the direction of Biglin’s.
Thomas Lambert and Stanley
Lambert sang, accompanied on
the piano by Mrs. C. V. Robert
son. Pallbearers were Leonard
Petersen, Earl Medcalf, Fred
Tucker, William Ermer, Mark
Gribble and Mr. Mace.
The late Mr. Reitz was born
December 5, 1881, at Waverly,
the only son of John and Mar
garet Hedges Reitz. He ac
companied his parents to Holt
county in 1889, coming from.
Lincoln.
He never married and was a
rancher in this community for
many years. His father died on
March 17, 1951, at the age of 95.
Survivors include several cou
sins in Pennsylvania and second
cousins in Nebraska. Two Central
C ity men, both named George
Hedges and both second cousins,
were the only kin at the funeral.
Former O’Neillite
Pneumonia Fatality
Bernard (“Barney”) Hynes, 28,
former St. Joseph’s hall student,
Atkinson, and an O’Neill high
school graduate, died Monday,
December 6, in a Portland, Ore.,
hospital. He was a son of Mr. and
Mrs. D. P. Hynes of Portland,
who formerly resided north of
O’Neill.
The young man had been ill
about a month and entered the
hospital two days before his
death, which was caused by in
fluenza turning into pneumonia.
Funeral services will be con
ducted today (Thursday) at
Portland and burial will be there.
Survivors include: Widow —
Betty; parents—Mr. and Mrs. D.
P Hynes of Portland; sisters —
Mrs. George (Ellen) Munyer of
Chicago, 111., and Virginia; broth
ers—Francis, Thomas, John and
James.
In August, 1953, one of his
brothers, Austin, together with
Austin’s two children, was killed
in an automobile accident near
Osceola while enroute from Ft.
Riley, Kans., to O’Neill.
This OF House . . .
The dwelling (below), owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs.
C. A. Townsend of Page (above), is now 40-years-old. Moreover,
the house is riding along on a more interesting reputation: It has
never Witnessed a birth, a death or a wedding. Furthermore, it
has never harbored a bed bug, according to Mrs. Townsend. The oc
cupants are pictured examining a photograph. —Frontier Photo.
Spacious combination wash-smoke rooms for men and women at opposite ends of the car are
features of the new, streamlined Challenger-type day coaches, which were inaugurated this week
on the Omaha-to-Chadron line of the Chicago & North Western. The railroad officials ordered
new equipment used on the last two remaining p issenger-mail-express trains during an experi
mental period.—The Frontier Photo.
“Wonderful” was the word Mrs. Abbie Homer of Ainsworth (foreground) used to describe the
riding qualities of the Challenger coaches used Tuesday for the first time by the North Western
railroad. The newest-type day coaches feature reclining seats and air-conditioning.—The Frontier
Photo.
Fine Carpentry, Cattle Are Hobbies
By MRS. N. D. ICKES, SR.
Special Feature Writer
PAGE — Seldom have we
known a man more versatile and
efficient than Paul Shanner, w’ho
came to Holt county March 13,
1883, being then only 10-weeks
old. His father, James L. Shan
ner, homesteaded the quarter of
land on which Paul resided un
til 1944, when he moved to Ar
kansas. In the South he spent
two years at Booneville and five
years at Charleston, returning to
Page in 1951.
When a lad of 17, he tried his
hand at the carpenter trade and
built the house where he now
lives. He joined two old home
stead shanties together, doing the
work himself and transforming
them into a creditable home. In
1910 a barn was built—36 by 85
by 40 ft. high. Even by modern
standards it is regarded as
‘•quite a barn.”
The major framing on the St.
Mary’s academy convent roof at
O’Neill is another monument to
his structural ability. Having
worked for and with a number of
individuals and companies, he
felt he had a complete under
standing of that line of work. He
was graduated from the Chicago
School of Carpentry and Joinery
in April, 1913.
This formal training coupled
with the practical knowledge
he had acquired earlier indeed
made Mr. Shanner a remark
able craftsman.
In 1914 Paul was responsible
for the silent movie at Page, a
gas-operated job. In 1916, he in
stalled the electric plant at Page
and did the wiring, much of
which is still in use. He was vil
lage engineer for Royal at the
tame the plant was built there,
also supervised the rebuilding of
the plant at Chambers. He also
did most of the house wiring at
Wannetoon. In 1923 the Page
plant was sold to the Foshay
syndicate. The franchise at Page
successively was in the hands of
Interstate Power company- and
* Consumers Public Power district.
With the advent of the sound
movie, the silent movie was dis
continued and the theater (the old
Methodist church) was moved to
the fai'm and made into a gran
ary.
Upon the death of his father in
I 1929, Paul was beckoned home
; to take charge of the farm and
i be with his widowed mother.
There was a string of grade
Guernseys on the farm. In 1934,
he decided he might better the
situation so he purchased two fe
males and a male, all regisitered
Guernseys. This move proved a
worthwhile investment as nearly
1,500 have been reared from that
foundation herd in the interven
ing 20 years.
Taking 23 head of the best to
Arkansas in 1944, he returned
six years later with 87 head. A
scurce of special pride is the herd
sire for that six-year period and
some of the foundation cows and
their daughters that were full
sisters.
The herd was finally dis
persed in March, 1954, keeping
five of the most outstanding,
the foundation for another val
uable herd. One of the founda
tion cows was 20-years-old and
has since been put to sleep.
At present, Paul is following
a hobby and making it pay off in
dollars and cents. He has equip
ped a room in his home with the
tools necessary to ply his trade
■nri iwiiii in—i —mu mm
and has more than he can get
done. One of his first projects
was to mend some very fine old
chairs which he found dismantl
ed in the dump. A friend pointed
cut to him that it took four
chairs for a set, so he set about
copying the pattern and matching
the wood. This he has done so
cleverly that it is difficult to de
termine which is original and
which are copies. He now has a
very fine set of antique chairs.
Many scraps of fine wood have
been tooled into useful and beau
tiful articles. Fitting electric
clocks into cherished old wood
frames is another example of his
skill.
Many Page homes boast a
drop-leaf table made from a
square, oblong or round-type ta
ble that still matches the buffet
and chairs while taking up less
room. But the seating capacity
remains the same. As news of his
success spreads, tables are now
coming in from far distant points
to be refashioned.
(Continued on page 12)
mamaem "ini.~ • — in ■mi
Paul Sha,nnei- . . . cedar chests, any size.—The Frontier Photo. I
Presbyterians Plan
New Church Here
‘S-D’ Day
to Be Noted
in County
Holt Safety Council
Picks Officers and
Plans for Campaign
A Holt county safety council
has been organized in compliance
with appeals from President Eis
enhower and Governor Crosby to
reduce highway accidents and
fatalities. The newly-formed Holt
council is preparing for county
wide participation in “safe driv
ing” day, which has been desig
nated as Wednesday, December
15.
Assistant Holt County Agent
Harry Stokeley presided at Tues
day’s organizational meeting,
which was instituted by the ex
tension service.
Officers elected are:
Mrs. Vern Sageser of Amelia,
chairman; Matthew Beha of O’
. Neill, vice-chairman; Mrs. Albert
Carson of Redbird, secretary.
Roger Bowen of Page, farm
safety chairman; Mrs. Robert
Clifford of Atkinson, home safe
ty chairman; County Sheriff Leo
Tomjack of O’Neill, traffic chair
man; Mrs. N. D. Ickes, sr., of
Page, publicity: Harry Stokeley,
ot O’Neill, other groups.
Mrs. Quentin Hickok of Stuart,
4-H chairman; Gene Closson of
Stuart, rural school chairman;
Mrs. Elsie Chase of Ewing, city
and town school chairman.
Finance committee members
are: Mrs. Ira Watson of In
man, chairman; Lawrence
ilamik of Stuart, vice-chair
man; Vincent Thiele of Clear
water and Leonard Miller of
Chambers.
Inman School Supt. Gerald
Nelson said there are 38 thousand
fatalities per year on U.S. high
ways with 3,800 farm and 2,900
home fatalities.
Cal Geapr of Inman made the
first contribution to the finance
department. He gave $20 — the
cost, he explained, of having a
car fender repaired. His vehicle
was damaged on the O’Neill
streets that day while he was
seated in his parked car. James
W. Rooney offered a $25 contri
bution in behalf of the O’Neill
Production Credit association and
Roger Bowen gave $10. Methods
of obtaining additional funds
were discussed and probable ex
penses were considered.
A fatality-free December 15 is
the national objective, Mrs. Sag
eser pointed out. Mayors of cities
and towns, superintendents of
schools and organizations will be
contacted for cooperation.
Another meeting is set for
Tuesday, December 14, at 2 o’
clock to further plans for the
campaign and name working
committees.
Elkhorn Valley IOOF lodge 57
of O’Neill, through its noble
grand, Dwayne Phiibrick, has
sounded its desire to cooperate
in the “S-D” day campaign. The
lodge originated the slogan: “Be
odd—be courteous.”
Mrs. Ickes, publicity chairman,
said the council feels there is “a
very definite need” for safety pa
trolmen in the O’Neill area.
County Sheriff Leo Tomjack and
Deputy Sheriff James Mullen
have been “covering” accidents
and making reports, but Tomjack
declares extensive patrol work is
not provided for in the sheriff’s
budget.
The council recommends fre
quent surprise visits to small
towns in the area and appearance
of cruiser cars on main arteries
(other than federal highways) to
make all residents safety - con
scious. “Blind” corners were dis
cussed, also bad placement of
signs at intersections were talked
about.
Recent highway accidents and
their causes were discussed by
Sheriff Tomjack. (See details
elsewhere on page 1.)
Lynch Woman Is
Loser in Court
BUTTE—Boyd county was the
winner in district court here
Monday in a suit brought by Miss
Mabel Mulhair of Lynch. She
contested the legality of a road
built by the county across part
of her property.
District Judge D. R. Mounts of
O’Neill ruled in favor of the
county and ordered Miss Mulhair
to pay the costs of the suit.
The next district court session
here will be Monday, January 3.
Burge Family Starts
Building Fund with
$3,000 i n Calves
Preliminary planning is under
way for a new 75-thousand-dollar
Presbyterian church to be erected
here.
Rev. J. Olen Kennell, church
pastor, announced to the congrega
tion Sunday a plan for financing of
the project is preceding “at a very
encouraging pace”.
The initial contribution came
from Mrs. Bessie Burge, her son,
Harold, and her daughter, Miss
June, who pledged 40 head of
spring calves valued at about
three-thousand-dollars. J. H. Pat
terson agreed to feed the calves
and fatten them until October 1,
1955—possibly doubling the value.
Patterson already has moved the
calves to his place.
These two gestures touched off
the finance drive which is under
the direction of D. H. Clausen.
Alfred Drayton is chairman of
the building committee; District
Judge D. R. Mounts, treasurer;
Mrs. Dwight Harder, secretary;
Mrs. D. C. Schaffer and Mr. Patter
son, committee members.
The new edifice, which has not
yet been sketched, will be erected
on the site of the present church
and manse. Preliminary planning
calls for two units. The first unit
will be the combination Sunday
school department and social
rooms; the second unit the main
church auditorium and attached
rooms.
Architectural details have not
yet been worked out. The present
church is believed to be about 72
years-old.
C of C Seeks Names
Guard Enthusiasts
Heninger Trip to
O'Neill Delayed
Men interested in joining a
national guard tank company, in
the event O’Neill is chosen as the
site for the not yet activated com
pany D, are asked to contact
Robert Hornby, secretary of the
Chamber of Commerce, phone
162-J.
The larger the informal list of
enthusiasts the greater is O’
Neill’s chance for winning the
competitive race for the unit.
Meanwhile, Brig.-Gen. Guy N.
Heninger of Lincoln, head of the
Nebraska national guard, has de
layed until January a meeting
with the C of C’s new industries
committee. The state administra
tive officer for the guards, Col.
F.var Peterson, Wednesday told
James W. Rooney, committee
chairman, the meeting scheduled
for Friday, December 10, at O’
Neill would have to be postponed
until “sometime in January.”
Peterson has already made an
ii.formal inspection of armory
sites here.
A full-strength tank unit would
consist of 105 enlisted men and
five officers. Thirty enlisted men
would be the minimum needed to
start a unit.
A full - strength company
would mean an annual payroll
of 40-thousand-dollars. One
million dollars’ worth of tank
equipment will be located in
the city chosen as a “home” for
company D, which at present
does not even exist.
If the unit is located in O’
Neill, suitable quarters for leas
ing would have to be secured. A
new armory would be built in the
town selected. The armory would
contain classrooms and facilities
for equipment. Facilities would
be built for a rifle range. The
building would have a large audi
torium with a kitchen. National
guard officials encourage the use
of the armory for certain civic
activities.
For company D, the armory
would have to offer door clear
ance of 13*/.? feet wide for the
hi? tanks; also access routes
that would support tanks to a
rural training area.
Men over 18%-years-old who
are physically fit would be eli
gible to enlist in the guard. Men
of draft age who enlisted would
not be subject to draft as long
as they performed their duties
“satisfactorily.” They would have
a 1-D classification.
Men enlisting would drill once
each week. Field exercises would
be in addition. One of the re
quirements would be 15 days of
service annually in camp, prob
ably in Camp Ripley, Wise.
Julius D. Cronin is spending
this week in Sioux Fails, S.D., on
business
New Rail
Coaches Go
into Service
Improved Equipment
Appears 5 Weeks
Ahead of Schedule
Westbound Chicago & North
Western passenger-mail-express
train number 13 rolled into O’
Neill at 6:30 a.m., Tuesday car
rying the latest-type, streamlin
ed daycoach.
The daycoach is of the Chal
lenger series—the finest owned
by the C&NW—and features re
clining seats and modem air—1
conditioning.
C&NW Vice-President J. E.
Goodwin, from his headquar
ters in Chicago, 111., decided
last Thursday the improved
passenger service would be
provided ahead of the holidays.
First news of the move reach
ed North-Nebraska when Mr.*
Goodwin telephoned Carroll
C'Cal”) Stewart, publisher of The
Frontier.
In November the C&NW an
nounced it was considering tak
ing appropriate steps to remove
trains number 13 and 14, which
ply the 447-mile run between
Omaha and Chadron (via Fre
mont, West Point, Norfolk, Ne
ligh, Valentine).
At a public hearing in Valen
tine November 18, Mr. Goodwin
was impressed with the group’s
desire for better service and
agreed to put modern coaches on
the line “sometime in January.”
Inauguration of the new coach
es on the line is the C&NW’s an
swer to criticism that the passen
ger equipment is outdated. (The
trains have been drawn by late
type diesel locomotives more
than two years.)
In addition, Mr. Goodwin, dur
ing the interval between the No
vember meeting and last Thurs
day’s announcement, arranged
for the-equipment to make the
complete trip from Chicago-to
Chadron, making it unnecessary
to change trains or coaches in
Omaha.
On the present schedule, train
Ti umber 14 (eastbound) leaves
Chadron at 3:55 p.m. (MST) and
O’Neill at 12:18 a.m. (CST); ar
rives in Omaha at 6:30 a.m.;
leaves Omaha at 8 a.m., and ar
rives in Chicago at 8:40 p.m.—an
hour or more earlier than the
streamliners which leave Omaha
r round noon for Chicago.
Train number 13 (westbound)
leaves Chicago at 9:51 * a.m. »
(CST); arrives in Omaha at 9:30
p.m.; leaves Omaha at 11:30
p.m.; O’Neill at 6:44 a.m., and
arrives in Chadron at 1:50 p.m.
(MST).
For the present, Mr. Goodwin
said the schedule would remain
unchanged — although the 0
C&NVV officials are reviewing
the schedules with a view
toward speeding up the run
ning time, possibly at a later
date. (The Omaha - Chadron
speed limit is 58-mph.)
Pullman service is available on
alternate days. Westbound first
class passengers desiring to use
the Pullman may board the train
and retire upon number 13’s ar
lival in Omaha.
In accordance with the under
standing reached at Valentine, «
the C&NW will watch closely the
patronage figures on the two
trains for a period of eight
months, beginning Monday, De
cember 6 — the date the new
coaches rolled from Chicago on
the first run to Chadron.
“We have no desire to remove
passenger trains or no intention
of doing so if they’ll pay their
way,” Mr. Goodwin told the Val
entine audience. The C&NW
claims the two trains—13 and 14
—are operating at an annual def
icit of 60-thousand-dollars.
Civic groups along the line are
devising means to cooperate with
the railroad in making all three
departments of the trains—pas
enger, mail and express-^arry
greater payloads.
Mrs. Abbie Horner of Ains
worth was one of a number of
passengers aboard the new coach
when it reached O’Neill. Asked
by a reporter how she enjoyed
the riding qualities, she exclaim
ed:
“Wonderful!”
O
PUBLIC LIKES ’EM
Eastbound train number 14
passing through O’Neill at 12:18
a.m., today (Thursday) carried
a near-capacity load of passen
gers in the new daycoach. There
were eight Pullman passengers.
