m & FOURTEEN ' PAGES ¥ TWO SECTIONS Section I—Pages 1-10 O North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper Volume 74.—Number 45._O’Neill, Nebr., Thursday, March 10, 1955. Seven Cents ttx ! Former Sen. Bowring to See Summerfield Stock Cows Valued at $80 by Assessor Household List Is Simplified The valuations of grain and livestock to be used in assessing personal property this year have been announced by County As sessor William F. Wefso. The prices quoted are full value and will be cut in half for figuring the taxes. Among the major items are: Corn, $1.20 per bushel; wheat, $2; oats, 70c; barley, 90c; rye, 90c; sorghum, $1.10, and popcorn, $1.20 per bushel; brome grass, 10c per pound; alfalfa seed, $12 per bush el; sweet clover seed, $6; red clo ver seed, $16, and hybrid seed corn, $5 per bushel. To be assessed at “local market value” are Sudan grass, edible beans and potatoes. The annual assessing period begins today (Thursday) — March 10. On a per ton rate will be prairie hay, $10; alfalfa hay, $16; red clo ver hay, $14; ensilage and fodder, $5. Purebred cattle valuations have been set as follows: Calves under 6-months, $30; 6- to 12-months, $90; 12- to 18-months, $120; 18- to 30-months, $130; milk cows, $190; stock cows, $120, and bulls, $400 and up. uraae cattle: calves under 6 months, $20; 6- to 12-months, $60; 12- to 18-months, $80; steers, 18 to 30-months, $110; heifers, 18- to 30-months, $80; steers over 30 months, $140; stock cows, $80; milk cows, $140; bulls, $140 and up. Cattle on feed 80 days will be assessed at $18 to $22 per hundred pounds. Horses will range from $60 for saddle horses to $200 and up for race horses. Butcher hogs will be valued at $14 per hundred weight and sows at $12 per hundred weight. Sheep will range from $8 per head for ewes and rams to $18 per hundred pounds for feeder lambs and sheep on feed. Turkeys will be assessed at $50 per dozen with chickens, ducks and geese at $10 per dozen. ’ Dogs will be assessed at $10 and up; minks at $8; chinchillas at $10 and rabbits at 50 cents. Bees will be assessed at $6 per stand. The itemized list of house hold goods has been simplified in this year’s assessment sched ule. Individual items to be listed are air conditioners, deep freez ers, dishwashers, pianos and musical instruments, refrigerat ors, radios and record players, sewing machines, stoves, tele vision sets, washers, dryers and ironers. There will be another line for “value of all other household goods.” All household items ex cept the above listed items will be grouped in this category and tax payers are u.'ged to have approx imate figures ready when going to the assistant assessor’s starting March 10. All military service will^lso be recorded along with this year’s assessment work. Under Interrog atory 5 the following will be ask ed: “Have you or has any mem ber of your household served or are you or any member of your family now serving in the armed services of the United States” If the answer is “yes,“ you must state such person’s name, address, branch of service date of enlist ment or commencement of such service and date of discharge. Mr. Wefso also suggests that this information be checked prior to appearing before the assistant assessor so the information will be correct. (A list of the assistant assessors and their office addresses may be found in an advertisement on page 2.) Broiler Meal Served to Clubbers— The Elkhorn extension club met Tuesday evening at the home of Mrs. Ray Lawrence. Following the business session leader B, Mrs. Hattie Kindlund, gave the second half of the lesson on broil er meals. The food used in the demonstration was later served as luncheon. The club will meet next at the Neil Clark home. Little Girl, 6, Treats Classmates— Dawnrae Robinson on Thurs day, March 3, treated all her httle classmates and her teacher to ice cream and cake—the event being her sixth birthday anniver sary. After returning home from school, another party awaited her at her home. Cubs Take Hike, Buy Treats— The cub scouts of den 2 met Wednesday after school. We gave the law of pack and scout pro mise. We discussed the theme, “Knights of Yore”. We are to make shields and swords. We took a short hike and bought treats at the Outlaw store. FIRM SOLD CLEARWATER—Raymond Fil singer has purchased the imple ment business of Emmett and Reed Mummert. He took posses- j sion this week. BAND IS HEARD The St. Mary’s band performed before an appreciative audience Tuesday evening. The Frontier for printing! Former U.S. Sen. Eve Bo wring of Merriman, who served in the senate in 1954 to fill the unex pired term of the late Sen. Dwight Griswold, is in Washington, D.C., this week and is devoting con siderable time to assisting the Save-the-Trains association. Mrs. Bowring is scheduled to confer today (Thursday) with Fostmaster General Summerfield in behalf of the last two remain ing passenger-mail-express trains, 13 and 14, which ply between Om aha and Chadron on the Chicago & North Western. The former senator, who owns and operates the Bar-99 ranch near Merriman, passed through O’Neill by train Friday night enroute to Washington. While in the nation's capital she is serving as a member of the na tional mental health council. Meanwhile, V. A. Klein, gen eral superintendent of the mail transportation service, has for warded to Washington a report of the February 25 conference in which Mr. Klein and his staff and a committee of the Save-the Trains association participated. Klein reported to George Seidle, assistant postmaster general in charge of mail transportation, the following comment: “It will be noted that several of the changes proposed by the Save-the-Trains committee are shaped (and so acknowledged by the committee) toward a single objective, namely, increasing train revenue w'hich is vital to the com mittee’s cause and under the cir cumstances any consideration of increased cost to the postoffice de partment or of less desirable ser vice to the local communities automatically become secondary features which should not obstruct the prime objective.” Mr. Klein then said: “This office has no desire to i suggest subsidizing the Chicago & North Western Railway company, nor to disregard the sound prin ciple of good mail service. “However, these people . . . are faced with a very serious loss if these trains are to be discontinu ed. A large and important section of the state of Nebraska is in volved in this case and it is our thinking that every reasonable avenue of assistance in keeping these trains should be fully ex plored.” Mrs. Bowring on Tuesday morning had breakfast on capi tal hill w'ith the Nebraska con gressional delegation. She dis cussed the Save-the-Trains as sociation’s recommend a t i o n s with them. Sens. Roman Hruska and Carl T. Curtis and Rep. A. L. Miller already have shown active interest in the move to restore consider able mail haul to the C&NW. Also, today Mrs. Bowring will be conferring with the South Da kota congressional delegation, be cause Black Hills area mail and “west river country” mail are in the overall plans to “firm up” the C&NW’s last two remaining pas senger-mail-express trains. Last October the C&NW indi cated it was considering taking the necessary steps to discontinue these two trains because of mounting operational losses. Recreation Is Topic— STUART—Parent-Teacher as sociation members Monday night discussed recreation facilities and landscaping of the school grounds. A movie, “Some One Pays the Pi per,” was shown. MOVE TO KANSAS EWING— Mr. and Mrs. Her bert Kirschmier and family have moved to Wichita, Kans., where Mr. Kirschmier has employment. Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Bergstrom have rented the property vacated by the Kirschmiers. Improvements for Camp Are Planned 2 Cleveland Youth Sessions Scheduled STUART—The needs ofCleve landBible camp for the 1955 sea son are gaining first consideration in the prayers, thoughts and dis cussions of its board of directors. The board met March 4 at Rev. F. F. Payas’s home in Atkinson. Charles Mulford, representing the Cleveland church congrega tion, is the crairman of the group. Stanley Cobb of the Stuart Com munity church is the secretary; Mr. Robert Deming of the Cleve land laymen’s council is treasurer. Other members of the board are: Clarence Focken, member; Rev. F. F. Payas, pastor of the Atkinson Presbyterian church; Rev. D. D. Su, pastor of the community church and Cleveland church and Mrs. James Allyn, member of the ! Cleveland church. Clarence Focken, spiritual di rector, led the group in prayer before discussion began. The board voted unanimously to unite through the pastors all of the young people of the surround ing Niobrara-Elkhorn area to the Cleveland Bible camp for the summer sessions. There will be two sessions, the first for high school age young people will be open June 28-July 1, inclusive; the second for the intermediate young people, will be July 5-July 10. inclusive. The annual camp picnic and consecration service for the pub lic will be Sunday July 10. Several material improvements for the camp were discussed. The board voted to elect Reverend Payas and Reverend Su to be in charge of the camp. I Municipal Balloting to Be Keen 6 Petitions Already on File While Others Being Circulated Petition couriers have been busy this week gathering signa tures in order to insure candi dates’ berths on the Tuesday, Ap ril 5, municipal election ballot. City Clerk O. D. French said at 3 p.m., Wednesday the following petitions already had been tfiled: For mayor—L. C. Walling, two year term. For city council, First ward— M. J. Golden; Second ward— H. E. Coyne; Third ward—Dale Fet row. (All two-year terms.) Of these, only Golden is an in cumbent. Meanwhile, two petitions for the city schools’ board of education already have been filed with the city clerk. They are: H. L. Lind berg and Mrs. Loretta Hynes. (Both are incumbents rounding. out their first three-year terms.) Other petitions have been in circulation this week—though not as yet filed. These include: For mayor—A. Marcellus and Paul Beha. For city council, First ward— Earl Rodman and Earl R. Hunt; Second ward — Marvin Johnson (incumbent); Third ward — Fred Heermann. Sidewalk gossipers say several other candidates might yet get into the field via the petition route. No caucuses were held. Deadline for filing petitions is March 15. The competition al ready points to one of the liveli est elections in recent years. Some observers say the Wal ling-Golden-Coyne-Fetrow group constitutes a ticket sponsored by the O’Neill Taxpayer^;’ league, which has gone on record opposed to the 60-thousand-dollar street widening issue. Members of the council whose terms expire are: First ward—M. J. Golden, who has been opposed to street-widening from the out set; Second ward—Marvin John son, who has voted “for” street widening agreements; Third ward — Norbert Uhl, who has voted both “for” and “against.” Uhl has been a memoer of the council 18 years. Mary A. Kelly, 67, Burial Set Today Lifelong Resident of Community Miss Mary A. Kelly, 67, who would have observed her 68th birthday anniversary the follow ing day, died at 9 am., Tuesday, March 8, in St. Anthony’s hospit al. She had been ill several months. She was the last remaining member of the Cornelius J., and Hanna Kelly family, and leaves no immediate survivors. Funeral services will be con ducted at 10 am., today (Thursday) from St. Patrick’s Catholic church. Very Rev. Timothy O’Sullivan, church pastor, will officiate and burial will be in Calvary cemetery. Pallbearers chosen are P. C. Donohoe, Ed Hanley, T. M. Har rington, D. F. Murphy, H. E. Coyne, Dennis Murphy, M. H. Horiskey and Norbert Uhl. The late Miss Mary Agnes Kelly was born at O’Neill March 9, 1887. She never married and was a continuous resident of Holt county. She was preceded in death by j her parents and three brothers— John, Patrick C., and Jerry. The late Miss Kelly was a member of St. Patrick’s church, the Altar Society and the League of the Sacred Heart. A rosary was offered Wednes day evening at Biglin’s funeral chapel. St. Mary’s Students Learn About Careers— Career week is being observed at St. Mary’s this week. Monday was devoted to appropriate skits and discussions. Tuesday panels were conducted by Mrs. JohnVitt, representing mothers of families, Miss Jeanne Head, the nursing profession; Mrs. A. Ramold, the teachers, and Miss Kathleen Warnke, secretaries. John R. Gallagher discussed the work of lawyers, Ben Gilli gan, the work of businessmen, Robert Shoemaker, the farmer, and Dr. Robert Langdon, medical profession. Todav (Thursday) Rev. Hoes inr the life of the minis try and Sister Benedicta OSB of Atkinson will speak to the girls on the life of a nun. Youth, 19, Suffers Spinal Disease Duane (“Sonny”) Boyle, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Boyle of O’Neill, is in “poor” con dition at St. Anthony’s hospital, suffering from an incurable spin al disease. He is in a semi-con scious condition and relatives say no hope is held for his recovery. The young man entered the hospital Friday after having been bedfast at home for about a month. He was hurt last year on a con struction project in Omaha and has submitted to surgery at Uni versity hospital, Omaha. The young man is partially par alyzed as a result of the spinal disease and the paralysis is of the progressive type, relatives told The Frontier. Carl E. Mitchell Expires in Hospital _ « Resident of Chambers Since 1934 CHAMBERS—Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 12, for Carl E. Mitchell, 65, resident of the Chambers community since 1934. Mr. Mitchell died at 5 a.m., Wednesday, March 9, in St. An thony’s hospital in O’Neill after an illness dating back to Thanks giving, 1954. The rites will be held in Me morial Baptist church and burial will be in the Chambers cemetery near the grave of his wife, Edna, who died 11 years ago. i Pallbearers will be Eric Dank- i ert, William Ritterbush, Clarence ; Young, Ernest Young, Wilbur Osborn and Warren Gribble. The late Mr. Mitchell was born April 30, 1890, at Burr Oak, Kans. On Christmas day, ! 1912, he married Edna Jessie Short of Burr Oak. The wed ding took place at the home of the bride’s parents. Mr. Mitchell was a farmer and rancher for many years, mov ing to the Chambers community from Kansas in 1934. Following 1 the death of his wife he quit the ranch and had been employed for 1 several years by Dankert’s Ser- - vice. ] Since Thanksgiving Mr. Mitch- ' ell spent a total of about two i months in the hospital. He reen- 1 tered the hospital in O’Neill only ’ three days before his death. < Biglin’s are in charge of funeral arrangements. 1 Survivors include: Sons—Carl < E. Mitchell, jr., Wallace Mitchell 1 and Lyle Mitchell, all of Wichita, 1 Kans.; Lee Mitchell of Boise, Ida.; 1 daughters—Miss Lorraine Mitch- ’ ell of Nampa, Ida., and Mrs. Frank (Evelyn) Tracy of Chambers; 22 ] grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. John Gray of Page ... he was reared in a “ritzy” soddy. Grays Wed 59 Years By MRS. N. D. ICKES, SR., Frontier Feature Writer PAGE— Mr. and Mrs. John Jray today will celebrate their >9th wedding anniversary quietly it the home of their son, Robert, ind family. The Grays marked heir golden wedding in 1946. John Gray and Essie Ward vere married at the home of rohn’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ro bert Gray, March 10, 1896. Rev. 3artley (“Grandpa”) Blain, with vhom Essie made her home, per ormed the ceremony in the pres ence of immediate relatives. John was born at Genoa, Wise., December 18, 1872, and came to ^olk county by prairie schooner vhen he was three-years-old A new territory of land having >een opened up for settlement, rohn’s father came here in 1881. lis timber claim had already )een staked out, papers filed and i well of the open variety had ieen dug, possibly by the Wagers, vho were the well-diggers of the iarly days. The well was a bored well, 60 eet deep. The water was clear, •old and healthful. A long bucket, hree deep with a valve in the >ottom, was constructed and it vas raised by windlass. A horse vas used to bring up the bucket Hied with water. The water was x>ured into the water trough for louse use. In time the windlass was re placed with a windmill. The family came two years la ter. First sod, for the new house, was turned with a big and strong pair of oxen- John’s grandfather, Ransom Hunter, and his uncle, George- helped in the construc tion of the two-room dwelling that featured plastered walls and rough flooring. The deeply recessed windows formed window seats and the door was a slightly sheltered doorway. Tire Gray soddy was “ritzy”, indeed, for many of the sod va riety were neither plastered nor floored, and the house wife swept her dirt floor and hung her extry quilts across the rafters. No more suitable construction materia] could be found as the soddies were warm and comfortable in the winter and cool and comfor table in the summer. At that time the country was a treeless prairie, lonely and desert ed, offering no confines to live stock and little to man. The set ters’ livestock enjoyed free range and it was the duty of the children to herd them so that they did not stray too far. Herds of antelope were a com mon sight and there was an abun dance of game and fish. Plums, grapes, sand and choke cherries, elderberries and buffalo berries (Continued on page 5) The Carolers in Season*s Finale Since the formation of The Car olers in the summer of 1950, this singing group of five solo voices has made three sue' *>ssful tours of the country and i embarking on a fourth. They will be heard here on Fri day evening, March 11, at the O’ Neill high school auditorium, in one of their unique and versatile programs, which have delighted concert audiences all over the country, on radio and television, with symphony orchestra and on MGM records. Their O’Neill appearance will mark the fourth—and final— concert in the O’Neill Commun ity Concert series. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. The combination of five s __ Petition Omits Regs, Challenges Council’s ' Assessment Policy The squabble over O’Neill’s street-widening issue is back in court again. At 2:30 p m., Monday, C. J. Gatz and Jack Arbuthnot, as plaintiffs, filed a new petition in Holt coun ty district court asking for a temporary injunction to be issued against Acting Mayor Emmett Crabb and members of the city council. Gatz and Arbuthnot are asking the court to restrain the council from proceeding with * street improvement projects which would result in widening of Douglas street “to approximately 79 feet.” Besides Crabb, other members of the council named defendants were Joseph Stutz, Marvin John son, Norbert Uhl, Max Golden and L. M. Merriman. The council entered into agreement with the state high way department on the premise the street-widening would keep U.S. highways 20 and 281 on present location through the business district Gatz and Arbuthnot, through their, attorneys, Harold Connors of Greeley and John R. Gallagher of O’Neill, last month made the city council members and State Engineer L. N. Ress defendants in a similar action. Notices were served on the city officials and Ress, but summonses were never served. In the initial action, Gatz and Arbuthnot alleged the city’s agreement with the state was ‘null and void” because of a series of technicalities. At 8 a.m., on Monday, February 14, the council convened and "ratified and reaffirmed” its ac tion taken during 1954. At the hearing before District Judge D. R. Mounts, two hours later, the city’s attorneys claimed the court had no jurisdiction in the matter because summonses had not been served. Whereupon the attorneys for the plaintiffs asked the court tc dismiss the original petition “without prejudice.” The court granted the request and Connors and Gallagher prom ised a new petition in behalf of their clients after “sufficient time to study the proceedings of the extraordinary 8 a.m., council meeting.” In the new petition filed Mon day, Gatz, Arbuthnot, and “others similarly situated,” still insist the council’s agreement with the state is “null and void.” They allege the state, in the contract, has given “no assurance in any respect that the state will not by pass said city.” The new petition assails the state highway department’s re quirements as "unreasonable” in requiring the city of O'Nelli to widen to 79 feet when “towns of greater sise and with heavier traffic are not required to widen that much.” Gatz and Arbuthnot, in their suit, refer to the November 8, , 1954, special session of the city I council at which a resolution was passed. They allege Councilman M. J. Golden had no written no tice of the meeting and further allege Emmett Crabb, president of the council, did not have lawful authority to enter into such an agreement with the state. (Crabb has issued a public statement in sisting he did have the authority.) The latest petition alleges the city’s agreement w;th the state is also null and void because “the (Continued on page 10) Visiting Couple Arrested on Arrival CHAMBERS — Mr. and Mrs. Jim Fry of Sweet Home, Ore., were arrested Sunday by Holt County Sheriff Leo Tomjack. They had reached Chambers the day before to visit relatives. An Oregon peace officer came Monday to return the couple to Oregon to face charges. Tomjack said the Frys were wanted in four states on check charges. BECOMES CAPTAIN INMAN—Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Brunkhorst have received word that their daughter, Audrey, has been promoted to the rank of captain. She is with the army nurse corps and is stationed in England. LEAVING FOR EUROPE REDBIRD—Pvt. Garry Wilson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Wilson of Redbird, called Monday from Ft. Bliss, Tex., to advise his par ents he will leave the latter part of this week for Europe. Try Frontier want ads! •