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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1955)
L'!''' ^ TWELVE I 4^ jrh *•» U -',JBAQES‘ > Pages I to 12 ; . " •■' '"- f ‘-Ms ,!'.)V II / ■-• ■ ■ I North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper Volume 75.—Number II. O’Neill, Nebraska, Thursday, July 14, 1955. Seven Cents »‘Herb’ Hammond . . . resembled the late Will Rogers. — The Frontier Photo. Well-Known Land Abstractor Dies .^ Henry Murray, 70, Dies Suddenly Heart Attack Fatal to Farmer Henry Murray, 70, farmer liv ing alone 13 miles northwest of O’Neill, was stricken Sunday, July 10, with a fatal heart attack while doing chores at his home place where he had resided for many years. The late Mr. Murray had at tended church in O’Neill Sunday morning and had visited briefly at the home of his son, William, in O’Neill. He declined an invi tation to stay for lunch. It was not determined ex actly when Mr. Murray died, but his lifeless body was found in a hog lot about 7 o’clock in the evening by the son. He died sometime during the afternoon. Mr. Murray had suffered a heait ailment “four or five years,” relatives said. A rosary rite was conducted • Monday evening at Biglin’s fu neral chapel. Funeral services were conducted at 10 a.m., Tues day, July 12, from St. Patrick’s Catholic church. Rev. Thomas Hitch officiated and burial was in Calvary cemetery. Honorary pallbearers were Ed w a r d Earley, James Earley, James Curran, John Grutsch, Levi Yantzi, William Claussen and Herbert Jansen. Active pallbear ers were James Conway, John Grutsch, Robert Gallagher, Clar ence Murphy, Jack Murphy and Ardell Curran. The late Patrick Henry Murray was born June 13, 1885, at Leigh, a son of the late Patrick and Cath erine Doyle Murray, who were immigrants from Ireland. He came to Holt county with his parents in 1897—at the age of 13—and spent his entire life , on a farm. On April 23, 1906, at Bassett he married Cora Ratliff. They be came the parents of two sons and two daughters. Mrs. Murray died August 27, 1939. One son died in infancy. Survivors include: Son— Wil liam Thomas Murray of O’Neill; daughters — Mrs. Elaine Marie Eallew of Sioux City and Mrs. James (Kathryn Eileen) Murphy of O’Neill; seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Among out-of-town relatives attending the funeral were: Mrs. Elaine Ballew of Sioux City; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Waldrop of Wea therford, Okla.; A/lc and Mrs. John Long of Beausejor, Man., Can.; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Mur phy of Sioux City; Mr. and Mrs. • Alex Cleary, Mr. and Mrs. Clem ent Cleary and Mrs. Norbert Schaaf all of Atkinson. Alvia Brobst, 85, Formerly of Stafford, Expires in Omaha PAGE—Alvia H. Brobst, 85, retired Chicago & North Western railway station agent and a resi dent of Omaha since 1942, died Tuesday morning, July 12, after an illness of two months. The late Mr. Brobst was for several years depot agent at the now extinct town of Stafford. He recently visited in the Mer wyn French' home at Page and was featured in a picture story in the June 16 issue of The Frontier. Survivors include: Widow— Ada Elizabeth; sons—A. M. and E. L. Brobst, both of Havre, Mont.; E. H. Brobst of Omaha; and W. H. Brobst of La Mest, Calif.; daughter—Mrs. Neosha Norman of Havre; seven grand ma children and one-great-grand child. Services will be held today (Thursday) at 2 o’clock from the Cutler chapel in Omaha. Burial will be at Chadron. O Herbert J. (“Herb”) Hammond, 67, real estate abstractor here for more than 51 years and a mem ber of a pioneer Holt county fam ily, died at 4:10 a.m., Monday, July 11, in St. Anthony’s hospital. He had been ill for several years, hospitalized on several occasions, and last week suffered a stroke while a patient in the hospital. A rosary service was held Tues day evening at Biglin’s funeral chapel. Requiem high mass was offered at 9 a.m., Wednesday, July 13, from St. Patrick’s Cath olic church with Very Rev. Tim othy O’Sullivan, church pastor, officiating. Burial was in Calvary cemetery under the direction of Biglin’s. Pallbearers were Edward Campbell, P. C. Donohoe, M. H. Horiskey, H. E. Coyne, Joseph Dufek, Dr. W. F. Finley, Lyle P. Dierks and Dr. L. A. Burgess. The late Herbert James Ham mond was born October 24, 1887, at O’Neill, a son of the late Arthur J. and Sarah Fitz simmons Hammond. His father was an immigrant from Eng land, and his mother was a na tive of Illinois. He was reared and educated in O’Neill. He joined his father in the abstracting business on Octo ber 24, 1903 — his 16th birthday anniversary. His father had estab lished the A. J. Hammond Ab stracting company in 1885. The senior Mr. Hamjnond died in 1918, and the firm name subsequently was changed to Hammond Ab strating company. The late Mr. Hammond was noted for having “covered” vir tually every parcel of land in Holt county in paper work. Early ab stracting was done painstakingly by hand. About a year ago Mr. Hammond retired as financial secretary of Charles Carroll of Carrollton council of the Knights of Colum bus here—a position he had held without interruption for 44 years. He was a member of St. Pat rick’s Catholic church and Knights of Columbus, and fishing was his (Continued on page 12) Lettau Returns Dr. Heinz Lettau (above), in ternationally-known meteorolo gist who was chief scientist at the O’Neill wind test site in the summer of 1953, arrived in O’ Neill late Wednesday for a two day visit with friends. Doctor Lettau, his wile and three chil dren live in Massachusetts and are enroute West for a trip. Doctor Lettau was chief weath er officer for the German gov ernment during World War II and has been employed by the U.S. air force since the end of the war doing scientific re search.—The Frontier Photo. Teacher, 26, 111 Several Years, Dies Rites Held Saturday for University of Colorado Graduate Miss Joann Burgess, 26, daugh ter of Dr. and Mrs. L. A. Burgess of O’Neill, died at 1:50 a.m., Thursday, July 7, in St. Mary’s hospital at Rochester, Minn. She suffered a lingering illness and had been hospitalized on nu merous occasions. She had been a patient in Rochester since the first of ihe year. Her parents were near her when she died. Funeral services were conduct ed at 2 p.m., Saturday, July 9, from First Presbyterian church. Rev. J. Olen Kennell, church pas tor, officiated and burial was in Joann Burgess . . . long ill. Prospect Hill cemetery under the direction of Biglin’s. Pallbearers were Gene Porter, Alvin Vorce, William Artus, Roy Berner, Larry Schaffer, Robert Cole, G. Owen Cole and Dale French. The late Miss Burgess was born November 7, 1928, at O’ Neill, the daughter of LeRoy A. and Hazel Walker Burgess. She was reared here, attended O’Neill public school and was graduated from O’Neill high school in 1946. She received her high school diploma from her fa ther, who was president of the O'Neil city schools board of edu cation. Miss Burgess attended Colorado Women’s college at Denver for two years and was graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She was trained as a school teacher, having majored in edu cation, and she taught one term in Lakewood Junior high school in Denver. Illness interrupted her teaching career. She was a member of the Order of Eastern Star chapter here and was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian church. Survivors include: Parents—Dr. and Mrs. L. A. Burgess of O’Neill; brother — Warren L. Burgess of Lincoln. Among relatives and friends from a distance here for the fu neral were: Mr. and Mrs. Warren Burgess of Lincoln; Mrs. Laura Walker of Hyannis; Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Johnson and Dianne of Hyannis; Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Miller of North Platte; Mr. and Mrs. K. A. Miller of North Platte; Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Crandall of Fremont; Mr. and Mrs. Ed Bright of Or chard; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bur gess of Polk; Mr. and Mrs. Chris tie Stoffer of Hastings. Mrs. Fred Bedient of Polk; Mrs. Dale Perkins of Bradshaw, Dr. William Burgess of Omaha; Mrs. Eber Newman of Julesburg, Colo.; Wallace Switzer of Denver, Colo.; Mrs. Henry C. Switzer of Denver, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Fowl er and Nancy of Enid, Okla.: Mr. and Mrs. Cordis Walker of Page Dr. and Mrs. J. E. Fickling of Plainview; Dr. and Mrs. J. M. Pucelik of Spencer. ‘Jim’ Storms New Conco Agent— James E. (“Jim") Storms, Jor merly of Winner, is the new Con tinental Oil company bulk agent at O’Neill. Mr. Storms, who ser ved in a simliar capacity at Winner, has been moved to O’ Neill with his wife and their in fant daughter, Gail, and they are residing at 114 West Clay street.. (See formal announce ment on page 6.) Cpl. Paul Moseman, jr., arrived home Saturday, July 2, after be ing discharged from the army. He has been stationed at Ft Monmouth, N.J. He will be em ployed at Cedar Rapids, la., after the first of August. All employ ees of that firm are now on vaca tion. Entertain Guests— EWING—Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kruntoard were hosts at a family dinner on Sunday at their home in north Ewing. Search Spreads for Child Slayer Federal bureau of investigation agents and state and county law enforcement officials Wednesday continued the search for the ab ductor and slayer of Donna Sue Davis, 2, a Sioux City infant. The child was snatched from her crib Friday night within minutes after her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Davis, had tucked her into bed. The rapeu fbody of the blue eyed child was found late Mon day afternoon in a farm field near South Sioux City. Wednesday’s “Voice of The Frontier” radio program (WJAG, 780 k.c., 9:30 a.m.) was interrupt ed by a bulletin from Dakota County Sheriff Tony Goodsell. The Dakota county sheriff asked residents of northeast Nebraska to be on the lookout for Otto Weenkamp, 28, a Thurston county farm laborer who could be any where in the area. Weenkamp is wanted for questioning in con nection with the child’s slaying. Goodsell said Weenkamp is 5 ft. 8 in. tall, weighs 150 pounds, wears a butch haircut and usual ly appears in levis or bibless ov eralls. A warrant has been issued for his arrest in connection with theft ot a car from Emerson. The ma chine was a black four-door Ford with a Dixon county (Nebraska) plate on the rear and a Woodbury county (Iowa) plate on the front, 97-18851. Goodsell speculated the driv er of the car might be trying to steal gas, another car or transferring gas. The FBI agents on the case are working on a “John Doe” warrant for the kidnapper’s arrest. ‘Grandma Fuchs Burial at Bristow In Failing Health Past 5 Months Mrs. Frances Fuchs, 84, affec tionately known as “Grandma” Fuchs, died at 4:30 a.m., Thurs day, July 7, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Adolph Sedivy, in O’Neill. She became ill in Febru ary, 1955, and her health failed rapidly. Funeral services were conduct ed at the Lutheran church in Bris tow at 2 p.m., Saturday, July 9, with Rev. Donald Johnson offi ciating. Music was furnished by a mixed quartet composed of Keith Pierson, Mrs. William Stan ton, Mrs. Walter Boetcher and Ivan Hiatt. The piano accompan ist was Mrs. Ernst Chore. Pallbearers were Harry Ruda, Clyde Beckner, Clifton Nelson, Guy Hull, Ted Crawford and Ru dolph Johnson. Burial was in the Bristow cemetery near the grave of her husband, the late Peter Fuchs. The late Mrs. Fuchs was bom in Bohemia and came to the United States at the age of 17 with her brother. In 1891 she was united in marriage with Mr. Fuchs and the ceremony was perform ed in Omaha. They became the parents of five children. One daughter died in infancy. In 1912 the family came to Boyd county. Following the death of her husband she made her home with her daughters. While she en joyed good health she spent con siderable time crocheting. Survivors include: Daughters— Mrs. Leonard (Emma) Femen of Mission, S.D.; Mrs. Barbara Fer nen of Bristow; Mrs. Adolph (Mary) Sedivy of O’Neill; son— Frank Fuchs; sister— Mrs. Bar bara Jones of Center; 12 grand children; eight great-grandchil dren. -- Caroline Mikus, 71, Dies in Atkinson ATKINSON — Mrs. Caroline Mikus, 71, who was was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States as a married wo man at the age of 17, died early Friday morning, July 8, shortly after midnight. She had been in poor health about five years. Funeral services were conduc ted Monday afternoon, July 11, from the Methodist church with Rev. E. G. Hughes officiating. The late Caroline Vidra was born June 14, 1884. She lived in Pennsylvania before coming to the Amelia locality with her famly in 1914. The Mikuses re sided on a ranch. In 1929 she moved into Atkin son where she continued to reside until her death. Survivors: include* Sons— Steve of Holdrege and Leonard of Norfolk daughters—Mrs. Leo (Ann) Penry of Atkinson; bro ther—Carl Vidra of Norfolk grandson—Keith Mikus of Hold rege. To Enter Hospital— Fred Bazelman, who last week visited a hospital in Sioux City for medical attention, Wednesday was called by Doctor Leiter to re port at once to enter a hospital for treatment of cancer. Ex-Holt Youth Drowns in Norway Richard McIntosh Is Victim PAGE—Al/c Richard McIntosh, 23, formerly of Page, was drowned Sunday in an accident in Norway. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd McIntosh of Tekamah, who re rently moved from Holt to Burt county, do not know the details concerning the mishap. Mrs. Nell McIntosh of Page, the airman's grandmother, received word Tues day morning. The airman’s mother is report ed to be ill with a heart ailment at the home of a sister. The air man’s father, Floyd, and ' one brother, Walter, have been em ployed at Tekamah. Richard was educated at Page school and was graduated in 1951. Richard enlisted in the air force in the fall of 1952. He received several promotions. His gland mother told The Frontier the young man was sent to Norway on air force du ty this spring. She did not know the nature of his work or his location. The next-of-kin were not told the cause of death. They can only speculate it was an air accident, a swimming or boating mishap. Richard participated in athlet ics at school. Survivors include: Parents; brothers — Walter and Robert, both of Tekamah; grandmother— Mrs. Nell McIntosh of -Page. Hay Days, Town’s 75 th Birthday to Be Celebrated ATKINSON — The Atkinson Whiiker club has begun plans for the *1955 Hay Days celebration. August 7 the town will observe its 75th anniversary. Present plans call for that day, Sunday, to be included in the three-day celebration honoring old settlers and pioneers. Iiic’uHed on the Sunday pro gia :( will be special services at all local churches, folowed by a homecoming reunion and old settler’s picnic at the city park. The afternoon program will fea ture entertainment by local tal ent, an address by one of the couny’s prominent old-timers, and a band concert. Sunday evening the planned feature will be a rodeo Monday, August 8, there will be a parade, stock car racing, rodeo and pony races with danc ing in the evening. Tuesday, August 9, will be farmer-rancher day. Proposed activities include street sports, stock car races, pony races, a free barbecue, coronation of the 1955 hay queen, entertainment and dancing. Hurry-Up Storm Delivers Damage -——. <s> Mrs. Floyd Long was busy closing windows in a trailer house 40 feet away from the Ryan barn, a neighbor told her what had happened.—The Frontier Photo. Omaha Firm Buys Atkinson Bonds ATKINSON—Bonds for At kinson’s new $155,000 elementary school building were sold at pub lic auction last Thursday after noon to the Kirkpatrick-Pettis Co., of Omaha. Their bid of a net interest rate of 2.728 percent was lowest a mong those submitted by repre sentatives of the six bond houses attending the auction. It is expected that the new building will be ready for use in the fall of 1956. FIREMEN SUMMONED O’Neill firemen Monday were called to the Vern Grenier home where a shed in the rear of the home had caught fire. The blaze was discovered on the roof. Dam age was minor. Jaycees Plan ‘Old Tyme’ Dance The Junior Chamber of Com merce has scheduled an “old time” street dance Saturday, July 16, on North Fourth street, im mediately west of the Golden ho tel. Music for the affair will be furnished by Johnny Mullen’s or chestra. MARRIAGE LICENSES John W. Kersenbrock of O’ Neill and Florence Schultz of O’ Neill, July 2. Edward Francis Walnofer, 19, of Stuart and Darlyne Viola An son, 16, of Atkinson, July 7. Richard Lyons Keilholz, 24, of West Lafayette, Ind., and Lois Ann Maxine Miller, 19, of Star, July 8. Mrs. Lois Hartman (at left) views her damaged car which was creased by a failing tree during Tuesday’s storm. Her vehicle was parked in front of her home on East Fremont street, one-half block west of the city hall. A drainage problem caused the street to be filled with water for nearly a block.—The Frontier Photo. a —- - ™-. - -- This is a view of the demolished Ryan hay barn, one-half block west of the J. B. Ryan com pany office building. This was the only building badly damaged by Tuesday’s wind, which was de scribed by several eye-witnesses as a small twister.—The Frontier Photo Ryan Barn Destroyed; Power, Phone Lines Snapped by Wind What may have been a small twister swished through O’Neill about 3:20 p.m., Tuesday. Dam age was not great and nobody was ' hurt. Within a four-minute span, more than a half-inch of rain fell • in torrents, accompanied by some hail and intense wind. A hay bcm on J. B. Ryan Hay company property near the rail road tracks was completely de molished, power and telephone lines were snapped within the city, and at least two automobiles were damaged by falling trees. AH of the city was without power for 58 minutes and elec tricity was not restored to other sections until later. Long distance telephone cir cuits from O’Neill to Norfolk and to points east were snapped in several places within two blocks of the telephone office. Long dis tance calls were rerouted for sev eral hours until the broken cir cuits could be mended. Mrs. Fred Bazelman, 3l» E. ° Fremont st., said she saw the twister touch down and blow to smithereens the Ry3n barn which had been situated about 75 feet away. Mrs. Bazelman said the wind broke a large tree nearby “like snapping a twig.’’ Mrs. Floyd Long, who lives in a trailer house in the Bazelman backyard, was busy closing win dows when the hurried storm swept in from the south. Mrs. Long’s trailer was parked only about 40 feet from the barn which was reduced to shambles. “I was so busy closing Windsors I didn’t realize what had happen ed,” Mr. Long explained. “I knew it was something terrible, but Mrs. Bazelman came and told me about the barn.” Gutters in O’NeiU overflowed and couldn’t accommodate the deluge. The rain was driven an hard visibility was restricted to just a few feet. Scattered thunder showers had been forecast by the weather bureau. Mrs. Harold calkins, who was driving in a car with her two children and several others, was within 50 yards of the Ryan bam when the blow hit. “Gave me the feeling some one had lowered a curtain around me,’' she explained. “I could tell we were In a sort of vacuum because of the sudden change in air pressure.” o Most residential properties in O'Neill suffered tree and shrub bery damage. At the W. J. Froelich residence on the north side of town, two large-size trees were snapped off. „ At the nearby John R. Gallagher residence one-third of an enor mous tree buckled and was draped across the yard. At least two automobiles were damaged. A large cottonwood fell on a 1953 car owned by Mrs. Loie» Harman. Her car was parked on East Fremont street across from and within a half - block of the the Harry R. Smith Implements and within a half-block of the dilapidated Ryan barn. John Grutsch, who lives near the cor ner of First and Douglas, suffer ed damage to his car when a tree fell on it. Homer Davis reported numer ous uprooted trees, scattered tfaa ber and five windstrewn hay stacks on his farm, which is lo cated south of the O’Neill Live stock Market. The intense wind (nobody can guess how hard the wind actual ly was blowing) ripped awnings, toppled television antennaes and ruthlessly twisted power awt phone lines. Within a few minutes after the short-lived storm had sub sided the streets were filled with curious people—many mi whom expected to find consid erably more damage. All were happy to settle for what tbey saw. The official precipitation meas urement of the main storm wax 35 of an inch with showers contin uing. By nightfall the sky cleared. Ed Kirkpatrick, O'Neill cart- ® tractor at work on a job, to his car to get out of the rain. When the storm was over, he re covered some of his lumber ma terial several hundred yards away. An oil switch exploded at Nor folk and that city was without light or power for seven hours. Norfolk received only a few sprinkles while O'Neill was being belted, but counted .27 of an inch early Wednesday morning. The Hoerle station, south of O’ (Continued on page 12)
