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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1956)
Prairieland Talk . . . o Mother, Dad Their Best Pals By ROMAINE SAUNDERS, Retired, Former Editor The Frontier l.ixnuu1jJN—we ao not near of girls being mo lested when attending Sunday-school or prayer circles of young people. Coming from or loitering about movie theaters or dance halls more often invites disaster to the lone girl. Two sweetly mannered young girls grace the home just south of my typewriter. They head for school together in the morning, are home when school is out for the day, go to church and recre ation places not alone but with their parents, and mother and daddy are their best pals. Their father teaches in a school of a small town 32 miles away to which he drives every school day. Should matters arise re quiring the teacher and lady of the house to be out some evening, a nearby hospitable home is a welcome place for those girls for the evening. Saunders In another direction from Prairieland Talker the incapacitated veteran of foreign wars takes his wife to the air base daily where she serves as a nurse. And across the street a friendly couple with a married son living downtown pulled in yesterday from a trip to Parker, S.D., bringing with them the neighbor lady’s mother, who comes here to make her home. Just a little neighborhood doings—the simple things of every day life of folks just like you. That town of Parker up there in Dakotaland — could it be named for O’Neill’s Sanford Parker, an uncle of R. H. and Joel, who in years now gone and forgotten had to do with matters pertaining to the rights of Sioux Indians, married a beautiful maiden and took an active part in securing the admission of Dakota territory into the Union as two states? * * * While a masked bandit broke into the home of a Lincoln police officer and stole the officer’s gun with which he bluffed a citizen in a home a block away into handing over his wallet, fire destroyed a hen house and the 800 chickens roosting therein on the west edge of the city. * * • Those patriots of southwest Holt who are seeking relief from excessive real estate taxation coming out of valuations set by imported “valua tion experts” have the blessing of this former southwesterner. Outsiders who know nothing of conditions and possibilities or what land in that section will yield to the owners are not qualified to determine valuations, as the precinct assessors are. 1 refer to such as Ray Bly, who knows the country, operates a ranch himself and knows what sandhill country is worth. The men who brought court action for judicial relief from unfair assess- : ments are loyal citizens and wish to do their fair ' share in support of government agencies through taxation, but now feel they are unjustly assessed. City, county, state and federal governent is getting somewhat topheavy, requiring cargoes of cash, which comes from the citizens and officials will be fair about it if given all the facts. * * * With respect to some things most of us are outlaws. As I read the story of a group of govern ment agents, including the newspaper guy who told the story, organized for a raid on a moonshiner’s still in Virginia hills, my reaction was to give those hillbillies the tipoff. I have no use for the product of the still, legal or moonshine, but “hold these truths to be self-evident” that any man has the inalienable right to make the stuff if he wants it. Government interest in business is not so much “regulation” as it is the revenue involved. But reg ulation steps in if you are at the steering wheel bleary-eyed and booze-soaked. Then a little more revenue—$50 and costs. Householders snoveied snow uns morning, something like four inches in depth. Prairieland in length and breadth lies under a white blanket, a blessing to winter wheat fields, wooded slopes and lengthened grass lands. And the kids will have fun pelting us with snowballs. The worries of swivel chair farmers over the “lack of mois ture” are over for a minute. An Indiana statesman is said to shed tears of grief over the “desperate plight of the American farmer.” I sat at the ban quet board January 12 where prairieland farmers and ranchers with their wives mingled with city dwellers, The sons of the soil shaven and well groomed, their ladies togged out in the latest and best and all farm couples flush with the coin of the realm, unmindful of agriculture’s “desperate plight,” and joining other American thrifties in an afternoon’s fun. I see a prairieland patriot from time-to-time who spent a lifetime at the plow handles and he smiles when this “desperate situa tion” is mentioned. * * * How reliable is that gadget attached to a hu man wrist called a lie detector? It is both he did it and he didn’t do it, depending on what the one giving the test wants told. * * * A cold January day in 1903, Richard Kilmurry, living a mile or so north of O’Neill, was taken with apoplexy which threatened to end him, but recovered. . . Rev. B. J. Bothomer came down from Stuart to conduct Sunday services at the Presbyterian church, the young people of the church keeping up the church activities, under the leadership of Billy Lowrie, the group having no pastor at the time. . . Thitry friends and neigh bors of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Meredith surprised them a January night that year when they went to the Meredith home and put on a dancing party, G. W. Smith and Walter Laviollett furnishing the music. . . William Welsh of Knoxville and Miss Jane Lawless, of the Lawless family living a mile east of O’Neill, were married at St. Patrick’s PathAlif* Taruinmr Ofl 10HO spent a week in Lincoln, among other interests looked in on legislative sessions. . . Dr. and Mrs. J. P. Gilligan became the parents of a daughter on January 25 that year. . . What was considered a “big deal” was consummated when T. V. Golden deeded 2,040 acres of Holt county land to J. J. McCafferty in exchange for the McCafferty hard ware and furniture business at Fifth and Douglas streets. . . Taxes were a pain in the neck 53 years ■Jgo, too. J. P. Mann, as a stockholder in the First National bank and representing other interests, went to court in a taxation suit case entitled John P. Mann vs. Holt county. * * * She was a child of 10. He first met her then— rosy cheek and sky blue eye, graceful limb and ample thigh, smiling face and winsome way as they romped to school that day. . . Another 10 makes it 20 — years of youthful dreams aplenty. And hand-in-hand at the altar they stand, pledging eternal loyalty and love to carry them on to realms above. . . Another 10, another 20, another 30 — childhood, youth, age, romance and Hymen’s bliss ful hour, then comes the grim reaper and one treads the highway of life into the sunset alone. * * * Devastating floods and wasting flame on East coast and West coast, shivering in the cold in Flor ida, out on the porch post the record reads this mid-January morning four below zero—that in the capital city of the beef state where prairieland dwellers live longer than those in other sections of the country and that span of lengthened years can be enjoyed to the full only here. Editorial .... They Upgraded Their Industries A newspaper’s week-to-week mission includes the responsibility of reporting deaths of persons in the area it serves. Too frequently the death no tice is cryptic, almost statistical. Modem journal ism has abandoned tributes to the deceased in the news columns as routinely practiced years ago. The Frontier editor very often regrets he had not known the deceased better or wishes he had had access to better information, particularly in instances where useful lives have been led. Occasionally death removes from the scene persons who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields. Two weeks ago The Frontier chronicled in its columns the death of Former-Gov. Sam McKelvie of Valentine. This week we report the death of Fay A. Miles of O’Neill. While Governor McKelvie won national recog nition as chief executive of this state and as an administrator, he will be remembered chiefly be cause of his intense desire to upgrade the cattle industry in this great state of Nebraska. His By the-Way ranch near Valentine is a symbol of that purpose. The late Mr. Miles, co-editor and co-publish er of the Holt County Independent, who was buried this week, earned widespread recognition in the , graphic arts industry. He enjoyed an enviable reputation as a master machinist and as a gifted artist in the printing realm. In a less-spectacular but sure manner he upgraded the graphic arts industry ir this region. Few persons realize the printing-publishing industry is the second-ranking manufacturing in dustry in the state. This fact enhances Mr. Miles’ contribution because he was unexcelled in his field in north-Nebraska. Singularly, Mr. McKelvie was a publisher, too, heading the Nebraska Farmer ownership and management from shortly after the turn of the century unfit his death. Mr. Miles was intensely proud of his printed products and of his machines. And, as an extra ordinarily good craftsman and machinist, he had reason to be. He was of generous nature and he was liberal with his knowledge, most of which was gained on the-job and as a constant student. Not infrequent ly he was called to mend ailing typesetting ma chines (they have 19,000 parts) and presses for fellow publishers. The Frontier can vouch for the latter statement because Fay, busy as he has al ways been, cheerfully took valuable time on a number of occasions to respond to SOS calls when our machinery faltered. He will be missed at the Independent and the graphic arts field has lost perhaps its most valu able member in north-Nebraska. Coffee Cogitation You can pick up a lot of very useful informa tion if you keep your ears open when you go someplace for coffee, according to Bill Plourd of the Nance County Journal. Great men sit in high places worrying about national questions, when like as not they could settle the whole business in a half hour by striking up a conversation at any one of the nation’s thousands of coffee counters. Just the other afternoon we learned of a sur prisingly simple method for balancing the budget and reducing taxes practically to the vanishing point, Plourd reports. The economist who was speaking was in good voice and we are sure we got the formula straight. He summed it up this way: “The government owns them printing presses they print the money with, don’t they? They got plenty of hired help to run ’em, ain’t they? What they oughta do is run three eight-hour shifts and print up enough paper money to pay off the na tional debt and pay all the other expenses and give everybody a free pension when they get to be 60 years old.” He looked to be getting close to 60 himself, Plourd added. Can’t Win the Farmers Speaking of the farmers, one of the reasons why the new AFL-CIO is unlikely to wield the power some people fear is the fact that the union movement has never succeeded in winning over the man with the now figurative hoe, according to the Christian Science Monitor. In fact, his attitude grows even hostile as the prices of what the farmer sells continue to fall, while prices of what he must buy (which in clude industrial wages) certainly have not. — Sometimes it seems the Eisenhower adminis tration is trying to outdo the new dealers. Spe cifically we refer to the positions on foreign aid and federal-aid-to-schools. You could end most quarrels if you could get the belligerent parties to define exactly what they mean. Some parents have difficulty deciding upon a name for the new baby. Others have rich relatives. Even a rich nation like the USA has a limit to the amount it can spend. e Frontier CARROLL W. STEWART, Editor and Publisher 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 advanee. Audited (ABC) Circulation—2,530 (Sept. 30, 1955) When You and I Were Young . . , Runaway Locomotive Strikes Barricade Sam Pugh Chagrined by Engine in Ditch 50 Years Ago William Gielish, who lives about 2% miles northwest of O’ Neill, had the misfortune to lose his house and household goods by fire. . . T. J. Gallagher return ed from a month’s visit at his old home in Pennsylvania. . . Sam Pugh of the Great Northern ran an engine up to the water tank, shut it off and went into the roundhouse. While Sam was in the roundhouse, the engine start ed up the track toward the depot. It went on past the station about three blocks west, where it ran a couple of heavy ties placed across the rails to prevent cars from leaving the track. The iron horse struck the ties and went over them into the ditch, pulling the tender after her. . . Romaine Saunders of The Frontier is laid up this week with an attack of rheumatism. . . George Syfie re turned from Lyman county, S.D , after a five-weeks’ absence. . . M. L. Wintermote left for Omaha to undergo an operation for ap pendicitis. 20 Years Ago Lowest temperature in O’Neill was 18 degrees below zero. Throughout the middlewest the temperature plummeted to record low readings as the year’s worst cold wave struck. . . Mayor John Kersenbrock thought it time to help the kids out by flooding the ice rink at the corner of Seventh and Douglas streets. He was alone in the undertaking and had a tus sle with the hose with the result that he got a good soaking. To cap the climax, he slipped and fell into the water. John got a se vere cold out of the undertaking, but he was undaunted and had the job completed so the boys would have a place to skate. . . Raymond Heiss of Page suffered contusions on his face in a fall when a rope broke as he unload ed hay from a rack. . . Little Donna Gallagher entertained about 20 of her friends with a bobsled party. . . A crew of Ital ian workmen is putting in the fancy floors in the new Inman schoolhouse. 10 Years Ago According to Mayor Kersen brock, there is not likely to be a meat shortage in O’Neill as a re sult of any suspension of opera tions on the part of the packing concerns involved in labor con troversy. . . D. H Clauson, chair man of the O’Neill march of dimes committee, announced that the appeal will continue until the end of the month. . . Edward Morrow has recently taken on the responsibility of assistant editor of the Omaha World-Herald. Mr. Morrow’s father, John C. Mor row, was county superintendent of schools of Holt county. . . Miss Lorraine French, who is attend ing college at Lincoln, recently visited with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Merwyn French, at Page. . . The O’Neill Production Credit as sociation held its annual meeting at which all officers were re elected. . . Mr. and Mrs. Fank Howard returned from Rochester, Minn., where they had been for a couple of weeks while Mr. Howard underwent surgery. One Year Ago Four Holt county business firms were entered by burgulars during the week. Biggest loss was reported by Herbert Nielsen of Nielsen’s Market at Inman where the big safe was punched and the intruders made off with between $800 and $900. . . Mrs. Jack Bai ley found a hardshelled hen’s egg measuring eight inches in length and 7% inches in girth. . . Mrs. Fred W. Lorenz, 58, died at her farm home near Inman. She had been ill about 15 months. . . Charles Harding, a Spanish-Am erican war veteran and a resident of Holt county since 1880, observ ed his 82nd birthday anniversary at his home here. . . The 1955 Holt County high school cage champions are the Inman Tigers. . . . The Townsend hardware clos ed at Page after being in opera tion for 56 years. Frontier for printing. MORGAN WARD Accounting and Auditing . . . Specializing . . . Federal Income Tax Estate and Gift Tax Golden Hotel Annex—Pli. 414 Polio Benefit .. DANCE .. AT O’NEILL AMERICAN LEGION AUDITORIUM AND BALLROOM Saturday, January 28th NOSMO COMBO Admission: Adults, $1 ; Students, 50c Ends Recruit Training Richard O. Dye (above), son of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde S. Dye of route 2, Spencer is scheduled to complete recruit training Friday, January 27, at the mar ine corps recruit depot, San Diego, Calif. The 10 - week course includes instruction in all basic military subjects and the firing of all basic infantry weapons. Upon completion of training, the new marines are assigned to Camp Pendleton, Calif., for futher infantry train ing, or to one of the many mar ine corps schools. Lynch News Mrs. Harry Mulhair visited her sister in Spencer last week. Mr. and Mrs. Ted Crooks were business visitors in Butte on Wednesday, January 18. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Wurtz of Spencer on Friday visited the former’s mother, Mrs. Laura Wurtz Friday. Mr. and Mrs. George King of Stuart and Mr. and Mrs. Leo King of Atkinson recently visited the Fredrick King home. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Row of Spencer visited at the Harry Mul hair home Tuesday, January 17. Mr. and Mrs. Dean Soulek of Lake Andes, S.D., were Sunday, January 15, visitors at the Ted Crooks home. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Johnson of Bristow were Lynch visitors Sun day, January 15. Rev. Charles Kamber motored West Point Wednesday, January 18, for a visit with Rev. John Wieczorek, former pastor of the Assumption BVM church. The Hasenpflug brothers of Creighton attended the funeral of their brother, Jack Hasenpflug, held here Sunday, January 22. Orie Ellis of Verdel called at the Ted Crooks home on Wed nesday, January 18. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Birmeier and family were in Spencer Mon day, January 16. Mrs. Clayton Thomson and sons, Leo and Frank, were Om aha visitors the first of the week. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Tejral of Spencer visited at the Joe Slech ta, sr., home here Sunday. Fred Spencer was a business visitor in Spencer this week. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Christen sen were Spencer visitors Mon day, January 16. Dr. J. A. Guttery returned home from Pilger on Thursday. He had attended the funeral of his brother-in-law, Paul Schnei der, held there Wednesday, Jan uary 18. Royal Theater - O'NEILL, NEBR. - Thurs. Jan. Family Night IT’S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER M-G-M’s burst of musical sun shine in color and Cinemascope starring Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Dolores Gray, Mi chael Kidd. The sunshine of screen musicals^ Packed with spectacular numbers! Brimful of talents and beauties! Rousing with song and romance! It’s M-G-M’s newest musical tri umph! Family admitted for 2 adult tick ets; adults 50c; children 12c Fri.-Sat. Jan. 27-28 Big Special Program Walt Disney’s AFRICAN LION PETER WOLF EMPIRE PENGUIN DON’T MISS IT! Adults 50c; children 12c; matinee Sat. 2:30. All children under 12 free when accompanied by parent Sun.-Mon.-Tues. Jan. 29-30-31 Plan now to join the gang coming down to see . . . GOOD MORNING, MISS DOVE Cinemascope. Jennifer Jones, co-starring Robert Stack with Kipp Hamilton, Robert Douglas, Peggy K n u d s e n , Marshall rhompson. A picture of every body for everybody. Attention, all ilumni of grades l-to-1000! Our favorite teacher, Miss Dove, is unfolding her wonderful life on the screen at last! Adults 50c; children 12c; matinee Sun. 2:30. All children unless in arms must have tickets. Get-Well Cards Go to Three Members CHAMBERS—The Kellar club met Wednesday, January 11, with Mrs. Reed Bell, Mrs. Melvin Bell was co-hostess. Sixteen members answered roll call. Mrs. Melvin Bell was named to serve as treasurer instead of hav ing that office combined with the secretary. Get-well cards were signed and sent to Mrs. L e 1 a Grubb, Mrs. Gaius Wintermote, and Mrs. Lois Adams. Mrs. Ernest Farrier, Mrs. Glen Grimes, and Mrs. Clyde Kiltz were appointed as flower commit tee. It was decided to give $5 to the polio fund. Mrs. Louis Harley won the door prize. Door prizes were also pre sented to Mrs. Clarence Grimes, Mrs. Donald Hoffman, Mrs. Glen Grimes, Mrs. Raymond Beed, Mrs. Charles Coolidge and Mrs. Paul Shierk INSURANCE AGENCY O’NEILL, NEBR. Insurance of All Kinds Res. Ph. 235 Reed Bell, making a prize award ed to each member for the year 1955. The program consisted of poems read by Mrs. G. H. Grimes and Mrs. Melvin Bell, lunch was served. The group met again Wednesday, January 25, at the home of Mrs. Hattie Tibbets. It Happened In NEBRASKA In 1850, wagon trains moving West became acquainted — much like the next-door neighbors these folks had left behind. At night they visited one another’s camp, told stories and sang. Often the trains had their own bands which might join together after supper, marching and playing in military formation on the prairie. Today a favorite meeting place for friends is the neighborhood tavern. Its clean, friendly atmosphere invites us to enjoy a glass of beer or ale —at our leisure. NEBRASKA DIVISION United States Brewers Foundation 710 First Nat’l Bank Bldg.. Lincoln See the Two Most Exciting, New'56 Cars at Your HUDSON Dealer's Now Product! of American Motors 56 RAMBLER The smart, new All-American Rambler is king-size inside, still Rambler-size outside, and it outparks, outmaneuvers. outhandles all other cars. 56 HORNET Alive with new V-8 power, distinctive with new V-Line styling, it’s, more than ever, the most beautiful performer of them all. i TUNE IN “DISNEYLAND” ABC-TV NETWORK JAcv-x-a > v. * 'yW ■ _ See Them at Your HUDSON Dealer’s Now! GONDERINGER MOTOR CO. Atkinson, Nebraska Just What Is The Nebraska Public Power System? Here is how NPPS helps supply Nebraskans with plenty\ of power at lower rates than neighboring states. If you live in the eastern two-thirds of Nebraska (excluding Omaha and vicin ity), the power you get from your local electrical distributor probably is supplied by the Nebraska Public Power System. it is important to your pocketbook and future to know these facts. NPPS is owned and jointly operated by the Loup River Public Power District and the Platte Valley Public Power and Irrigation District. Here is how NPPS operates, what it has done for your area since 1940, and what plans NPPS has to make sure you will always have plenty of low-cost power. HYDRO-ELECTRIC PLANTS like this one at Columbus are part of nearly 60 million dollars worth of power facilities operated by NPPS in the eastern two-thirds of Nebraska. NEW KRAMER PLANT at Bellevue uses steam to generate electric ity. It is more efficient than older steam plants—provides a major share of power to meet increasing needs. mi wiu i-^ui-u. transmission lines built and operated by NPPS deliver power to electric retailers such as rural districts (REA’s), some city-owned systems and Con sumers Public Power District. MORC IRRIGATION is possible be cause of water and low-cost power supplied by NPPS. Nebraska now has more than 1,500,000 irrigated acres, a 60% increase in the past five years. What Is Your Stake in the Future of NPPS? Since World War II, NPPS has kept pace with growing power needs with an expansion program av eraging approximately $4,000,000 a year. • ur»f l expansion will soon be necessary. Power use m Nebraska has doubled since 1950 and is ex 2dNten mue mc^ease at this rate. Although ^JPPS expansion plans have been temporarily delayed by circumstances beyond our control, NPPS S™™g *??*¥** .new construction — to pro vide you with plenty of low-cost power. For more facts on public power, write for the NPPS Question and Answer booklet, Nebraska Public Power System, Dept. CY, Columbus, Nebraska. Producers of Low-Cost Power for Nebraska’s Expanding Needs Nebraska Public Power System » low «n« panic eown earner and aiatt. v.lut au.uc down. and ....oat.cn ontakt