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North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper
Volume 75.—Number 48. O’Neill, Holt County, Nebraska, Thursday, March 29, 1956. Seven Cents
Mrs. Bessie Burge gets assist from Rev. J. Olen Kennell in
turning first shovel of dirt in ground-breaking ceremony for new
Presbyterian church here. District Judge D. R. Mounts looks on.—
The Frontier Photo.
Presbyterians Start
New $75,000 Church
o
Mrs. Ries . . . the former
Irene Schollmcyer.
Mother of Four
Children Dies
f
Mrs. George Ries, 32,
Former WAC
Mrs. George Ries, 32, of Seattle,
Wash., mother of four small chil
dren whose ages range up to 10
3’ears-old, died Sunday, March 25,
in a Seattle hospital. She entered
the hospital about a month ago
and submitted to major surgery.
The late Mrs. Ries, whose
maiden name was Gertrude Ir ne
Schollmeyer, was bom in the
Dorsey community November 27,
1923, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Joe Schollmeyer. She attended
rural schools near Dorsey.
During World War n she
served iy2 years in the wom
en’s auxiliary corps (WAC).
She was stationed in Iowa and
in Alabama.
She married Mr. Ries, a Rolling
field employee, on February 3,
1951, at Seattle.
Survivors include: Widower—
George; daughters — Sharon, 10
(adopted), and Martha Jane, 1;
sons — George, 4, and Darrell
Wayne, 3; parents—Mr. and Mrs.
Joe Schollmeyer of O’Neill; sis
ter — Mrs. Francis Pribil of O’
Neill; brothers — Pvt. Wasme
^Schollmeyer of Ft. Lee, Va., and
Darrell of O’Neill.
Mrs. Schollmeyer, mother of
Mrs. Ries, went to Seattle a
month ago to be near her daugh
ter, and was enroute back to O’
Neill with the four Ries children
when the young mother died. The
grandmother and the children
reached O’Neill Monday.
An autopsy was performed
Monday and funeral services were
held Wednesday, March 28, in Se
attle.
Death was caused by a bone
cancer.
o U.S. 281 Route
in Boyd Settled—
The Nebraska highway advisory
commission Monday at Lincoln
voted 6-1 to relocate U.S. highway
281 through Spencer and thence
north on the present route of
state highway 18 to the Nebraska
South Dakota line.
Monday’s decision climaxes sev
eral years of dispute. One group
held that 281, from the junction
with state highway 12 in Boyd
county, should -veer easterly to
join up with a South Dakota high
way to cross the Missouri river
at the Ft. Randall dam. Another
group, led by the Spencer Com
mercial club and the U.S. High
way 281 association, favored a
westerly route to induce traffic.
Ground - breaking ceremonies
were conducted at 2:30 p.m., Sun
day, March 25, signifying the
start of a new a 75-thousand-dol
lar First Presbyterian church
here.
Mrs. Bessie Burge, a gold star
mother whose four-thousand-dol
lar gift was the first substantial
contribution for the building
fund, turned the first spadeful of
dirt. Her effort was followed bj*
District Judge D. R. Mounts, who
also broke ground.
Rev. Robert Ware, pastor of
First Presbyterian church at Nor
folk, was the speaker and the
church pastor, Rev. J. Olen Ken
nell, officiated.
First on the construction pro
gram will be a two-story fel
lowship hall and a Sunday
school unit at the rear of the
present 75-year-old church.
The hall and Sunday-school
unit will be connected. .
The Sunday-school unit will
measure 30 by 66 ft. and will
feature four classrooms.
The fellowship hall will have
a kitchen, minister’s study and of
fice, and a choir room all on the
main floor, and a youth room, cry
room and storage space on the
second floor.
Total cost of the Sunday-school
unit and fellowship unit is ex
pected to be 42-thousand-dollars.
New sanctuary (to replace the
original church building) will be
built later at an estimated cost of
30-thousand-dollars.
When finished the overall
structure will resemble a T. Top
of the T will include a sanctuary
wing and a 24 by 30-ft. office
wing. Perpendicular portion (or
vertical base of T) will include
Sunday-school unit (on east end)
and fellowship hall (west).
Building will be of brick
construction with Ed Pavel of
Chambers the supervisor and
Ray Hamik the bricklayer. Some
of the material already has been
unloaded.
Alfred Drayton is chairman of
the building committee. ' Other
members include Judge Mounts,
treasurer; Mrs. Dwight Harder,
secretary; D. H. Clauson, Mrs. D.
C. Schaffer and Henry Patterson.
Longtime Phoenix
Resident Dies
ATKINSON— Funeral services
will be conducted at 2 p.m., today
(Thursday) for Mrs. Christian C.
Henkel, 76, who died at Des
Moines, la. The rites will be con
ducted from St. John’s Lutheran
church with Rev. Adolph Lillich
of Creighton and Rev. E. W.
Dannitschek, church pastor, of
ficiating.
Burial will be in the rural
Phoenix cemetery under the di
rection of Seger’s.
Pallbearers will be John
Schwindt, Fritz Naber, Ed Bausch,
Max Cobum, Carl Damero and
William Obermire.
The late Mrs. Henkel, whose
maiden name was Marie Habe
nicht, was bom February 20,
1880, at Blueker - Boizemburg,
Germany.
She married Mr. Henkel at
Odebolt, la., May 10, 1898.
The Henkels resided many
years on a farm in the Phoenix
community.
Survivors include: Widower —
Christian of Des Moines; sons —
Franz of Des Moines, Albert of
Bridgewater, Chris of Messana,
la.; daughters—Mrs. Harold (Au
gusta) Kirkland of Atkinson, Mrs.
Fred (Alvina) Tesch, sr., of At
kinson and Mrs. Eugene (Elsie)
Karr of Atkinson; brothers—Hen
ry Habenicht of Wisconsin and
Pi u d o 1 p h of Hartington; 16
grandchildren.
Navy Pilot
from Page
Is Killed
Lt. Tegeler and Two
Companion Drown
i n Eastern River
PAGE—Lt. (jg) Harold D. Teg
eler of Page was pilot of a twin
engined SF2 reconnaissance type
navy plane that crashed Monday,
March 26, into the Monongahela
river at Masontown, Pa., near
Pittsburgh. The plane from the
naval air station at Quonset, R.I.,
carried a crew of three.
The nose settled into mud in 12
feet of water and only the tail of
the plane stuck out. It was the
Lieutenant Tegeler . . . made
heroic try.
third military plane to crash in
the river since December 22,
1954.
Besides Tegeler, other members
of the crew were: Lt. (jg) Law
rence P. Ash of Colorado Springs,
Colo., and AMM/2c Charles
Beauemel of Bartow, Fla.
The control tower at the
Pittsburgh airport said the
plane’s pilot reported ice for
mations shortly before contact
! was lost.
Another navy plane, following
the same course but on a sepa
rate flight, also reported ice trou
ble.
Tuesday two of the bodies
were recovered from the wreck
age, including the Tegeler body.
The third Body had not been lo
cated.
Relatives at Page said Lieuten
ant Tegeler and his crew were
enroute from Columbus (O.) na
val air station to Quonset, R.I.,
on a training mission.
The navy airman was the only
son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Teg
eler, who reside on a farm one
half mile north and two miles
east of Page. He was born and
was reared in the Page communi
ty and was graduated from Page
high school.
His survivors include: Widow—
Frances; parents—Mr. and Mrs.
Harry Tegeler of Page.
The widow is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Anderson of
Randolph.
Lieutenant Tegeler received his
flight training in Florida. Both
he and his wife are former Uni
versity of Nebraska students.
In the pre-Christmas crash
of 1954, 10 of 28 aboard an
army chartered plane died. Last
January 31, two air force men
drowned when a B-25 bomber
was ditched in the river.
Stanley DeBolt, a Masontown
gauage operator, and his wife
heard Tegeler’s craft in trouble.
Mrs. DeBolt said the plane explod
ed. DeBolt said the plane sounded
as though it was very low and
about to land. Then, he said, it j
circled the community. A few■
seconds later the motor sounded 1
“poorly” and then came the ex- !
plosion.
A navy spokesman said Tegeler
made a heroic attempt to ditch in
the river and set the craft down
in shallow water instead of the
main channel.
The widow is to arrive in Chi
cago, 111., today (Thursday) where
she will be met by her parents.
Funeral arrangements had not
been completed Wednesday night.
Mrs. Smith Is
Runnerup—
CHAMBERS — Mrs. Wayne
(Lorine) Smith, Chambers house
wife, last Thursday was judged
runnerup in the “Mrs. Nebraska”
elimination contest held at Hast
ings. Earlier, Mrs. Smith had won
the 10-county (Antelope, Holt,
Eoone, Nance, Howard, Knox,
Cedar, Wayne, Dixon, Pierce)
district competition at Albion.
Mrs. Smith, mother of two chil
dren, was presented an automatic
gas clothes dryer and a complete
set of kitchenware for her efforts.
Legion’s 37 th
Birthday Noted
The 37th birthday anniversary
of the American Legion was ob
served Sunday evening at the
Simonson post 93 clubrooms. Only
two charter members—Julius D.
Cronin and Leo Carney — were
present. They made brief remarks.
The auxiliary entertained the
Legionnaires at a potluck supper.
Sixteen charter members of Si
monson post (some of them now
deceased) were Leo Carney, Leo
Sougcy, Walter L. Brennan, Frank
H. Murray, Luther Clark, John
Davidson, Ed M. Gallagher, Frank
D. Harnish, Julius D. Cronin.
Francis Martin, Pat B. Harty,
Oscar Hagensick, Clarence F.
Pine, H. G. Radaker, E. H. Whe
len, Edwin Whelen.
Heavy Voting
Forecast Tuesday
O’Neillites will go to the polls
Tuesday, April 3, in the annual
general city election. (Sample
ballots appear on page 15.)
D. C. Schaffer opposes Alva
Marcellus (incumbent) for may-!
or. There will be a contest for
First ward councilman between |
J. J. Berigan and Francis;
(“Fritz”) Bazelman.
In the Second ward, Leigh Rey
noldson and Don Petersen are op
ponents for the two-year council
term, while James Earley, John
Turner and Don Enright are seek
ing the short (one-year) position
on the council.
In the Third ward, Norbert Uhl
is opposed by Robert (“Bob”)
Moore for the council.
Ralph Walker is the only candi- '
date for police judge.
On the board of education
slate, H. J. Lohaus and Elgin Ray,
incumbents, are seeking reelec
tion. A third candidate is Cecil
Baker.
All names to appear on the
municipal ballot will have gain
ed the mention via the petition
method.
Usual voting places will be
used: First ward — courthouse
basement; Second—A. Marcellus
Buick garage; Third ward— city
hall. Polls will be open from 8
a.m., until 8 p.n».
Most of the interest will center
on the Schaffer-Marcellus race.
A 20-thousand-dollar bond is
sue proposal will face voters.
They will be asked to vote “yes”
or “no” regarding a new fire sta
tion.
The Frontier will operate an
election bureau as customary.
This is the aircraft wreckage in which Donald E. Rohde and Bryce VVhitla were killed early
Wednesday. Bodies are being removed.—The Frontier Photo,
Mr and Mrs. Bates . . . ketchup bottle, sheep nipple helped.—The Frontier Photo.
THREE SCORE YEARS AGO . . .
Homesteading Neighbors Wed
By a Staff Writer
ORCHARD — Mr. and Mrs.
Deemer E. Conner of Ewing are
weather-wise when it comes to
picking celebration days.
Their 50th wedding anniversary
day, in 19,46, was grand. Their
60th anniversary celebration, held
Sunday, March 25, at the home of
their daughter, Mrs. William Rob
inson, coincided with clear skies
and the mercury was in the sev
enties.
Mrs. Conner, 79, whose maiden
name was E. Alice Nolze, was
born in Jefferson City, la. She
was two-years-old when she ac
companied her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Nolze, to Deloit town
ship, Holt county, where they set
tled on a homestead.
Mr. Conner, also 79, was bom
in Columbia county, Pennsylvania,
" t"' * \ ' " " •' A
of Irish parentage. He was five
years-old when his parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Reason Conner, moved
to the same community.
Deloit township was barren
and treeless those days, the
Conners remember. School was
conducted only two months out
of the year; hay was used for
fuel; there was always lots of
work to be done at home.
“I remember the blizzard of
1888,” recalls Mr. Conner. “I was
in school at Deloit and the hired
man came to get me. Good thing,”
he mused, “because I’d have been
in trouble. We lived about a mile
from the school.”
Little Alice Nolze hadn’t gone
to school that day, but vividly re
members the blizzard.
Mr. and Mrs. Deemer E. Conner . . . honored at family dinner
on their 60th wedding anniversary.—The Frontier Photo.
The Nolze and Conner families
resided on homesteads seven
miles apart. The couple met while
attending a literary affair at the
Deloit school. They were married
March 28, 1896, at the home of
the bride’s sister, Mrs. Alfred Pat
ras of Clearwater.
For 26 years the Conners farm
ed south of Ewing where their
three children were born. They
moved to Ward county, North Da
kota (north of Minot) where they
operated a wheat farm three
years.
“Those North Dakota winters
were tough ones,” Mr. Conner
recollects, “Some of those storms
were fierce. Wow! Were they ever
cold!”
Returning to Holt, the Con
ners resumed farming north of
Ewing where they had an Or
chard address.
At present they live at Ewing
and, until very recently, have en
joyed remarkably good health.
Mrs. Conner tires easily and for
that reason no big celebration was
planned. A dinner was served to
members of the immediate family
at the Robinson home in Orchard.
Present besides the horlbred guests
were Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, Bob
Lee, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Conner
of Orchard, Mr. and Mrs. Orval j
E. Conner of Norfolk, Mrs. Duane j
Lee, Vickie, Steven and Cindy;
Lee, all of Neligh.
The Conners’ three children are
Alfred of Orchard, Orval E. of
Norfolk and* Mrs. William (Luel
la) Robinson of Orchard. Two
grandsons were bom to their
daughter—Bob C. Lee, who at
tends Norfolk Junior college, and
Duane Lee of Neligh, who was
accidentally killed last summer.
Great-grandchildren are Vickie,
Steven and Cindy Lee of Neligh.
Vickie had charge of the guest
book—the same book used at the
golden wedding observance 10
years ago.
A four-tier wedding cake -was
a gift from Mrs. Donald McKamy
of O’Neill and Mrs. Willard Sher
er of Orchard.
The Conners received a num
ber of friends and relatives dur
ing the informal afternoon spent
at the Robinson home and they
received numerous gifts and cards, j
(Continued on page 8) '
Triplet Calves
Are ‘Doing Fine’
—
EMMET—Triplet calves ar
rived at the Wayne Bates farm
Saturday and they’re doing, fine
thank-you.
Triplet births occur once out
of one hundred thousand in the
cattle industry. And, when they
do occur, death usually claims
one or two of them.
The mother is a four-year-old
cow, weighing around 1,200
pounds — a cross between a
Hereford and a Jersey. She had
one calf earlier.
. Breeding with a Guernsey
bull was accomplished by artifi
cial insemination.
One of the triplets is a heifer
calf and the two others are bull
calves. All are strong and j
hearty.
The little animals tried to feed
off their mother but were un
successful. Mr. Bates said he
pepped them up with some I
streptomycin and penicillin.
Mr. Bates and his wife fed j
the calvqp the first day with
the aid of a ketchup bottle and j
a sheep nipple.
The calves basked in Sun
day’s sun and visibly gained
strength. By Monday they were i
drinking out of a bucket.
PAROLED TO MINISTER
Glen Jungbloed, 52, of Cham
bers Wednesday was paroled in
Holt county district court to Rev.
Howard Claycombe, jr., of Cham
bers. Jungblood was in court on
a check charge.
Mr. Rohde ... in politics.
Fuel Lack,
Weather
Blamed
Both Rohde, Whitla
Law Students a t
State University
By a Staff Writer
Two young married men, both
fathers, were killed Wednesday,
March 28, when their two-place
1947 Funk aircraft crashed in a
field about 4 Vi miles southeast of
the Stafford school.
Dead are:
DONALD E. ROHDE, 29, of
Lynch, senior law student at the
University of Nebraska.
♦
BRYCE WHITLA, 22, formerly
of Butte, a third year law stu
dent at the University of Ne
braska.
The two had left Lincoln early
in the morning, presumably en
route to Butte and Lynch.
John Steskal of Ewing, who
farms in the Stafford area, dis
covered the wreckage abouit 11
o'clock. He advised Holt County
Sheriff Leo S. Tomjack.
No road led directly to the
wreckage and tractor power was
needed to enable rescuers to re
cover the bodies. Scene of the ac
cident would be about 17 miles
southeast of O’Neill or 4 Vi miles
southeast of the Stafford school.
Rohde, who has been flying
for a number of years, was at
the controls. One of the wrist
watches was smashed and stop
ped at 9:25. The other man's
watch stopped at 10:15.
Sheriff Tomjack said the con
dition of the bodies indicated the
crash had taken place only a few
hours before the wreckage was
discovered. Tomjack theorized
that death for both came instant
ly
The plane was registered in the
names of Rohde and W. Niswon
der, a Lincoln salesman.
Wreckage was headed south.
The plane was completely demol
ished. Intact condition of the
propellor suggested the engine
was dead at the time of impact.
Observers said there was no sign
of ice on the wings. A strong
theory holds that Rohde encoun
tered bad weather, resorted to
instrument flying and ran out of
gas.
Ice and near-blizzard conditions
prevailed in the O’Neill area.
Surface visibility was near zero*
here because of swirling snow and
state highway department officials
were urging motorists to proceed
carefully from Neligh west be
cause of ice.
Civil aeronautics authorities
will arrive today (Thursday) to
commence an investigation.
Rohde was a son of Mr. and
Edmund Rohde, farmers near
Lynch.
He was born and reared at
Lynch. He served In the army
during World War n, was re
called as a reservist on October
1, 1951, during the Korean
emergency.
He was separated from the ser
vice as a first lieutenant in 1953.
Mr. Rohde’s survivors include
his widow, two children, and his
parents.
He was a candidate for the
state legislature, seeking the nom
ination for the 28th district uni
cameral seat. In 1954 he was un
successful in a bid for the office.
His Lincoln address is 4838 Cal
vert street.
Whitla was reared at Butte
where his father, the late W. K.
Whitla, published the Spencer
and Butte newspapers.
He moved to Lincoln in about
1944. Whitla’s wife is the former
Jane Grotlushen of Creston.
They have one daughter, Linda,
2^-years-old. The family’s ad
dress: 5820 Knox street, Lincoln.
Survivors include: Widow —
Jane; daughter—Linda; mother—
Mrs. Flora Whitla of Lincoln;
brothers—Fay Whitla, a pharma
cist at McCook, and Dean of
Cambridge, Mass., an instructor
at Harvard university.
The Whitla body was to be re
moved from Biglin’s at O’Neill to
a Lincoln mortuary early today
(Thursday). Arrangements for the
Rohde burial had not been com
pleted and the body is at Biglin’s.
Good Friday Rites
Scheduled Here—
The O’Neill Ministerial asso
ciation has changed its plans for
Good Friday services.
The rites will be held at the
Methodist church instead of the
American Legion auditorium, as
originally announced. Services
will be conducted between 3 and
5 p.m.
Mayor Alva Marcellus has an
nounced that O’Neill stores will
close at 3 p.m., and remain closed
the balance of the day.