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North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper
Volume 76.—Number 42. O'Neill, Holt County, Nebraska. Thursday, February 14. 1957._Seven Cents
^ATE rriST 900
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Mr. and Mr*. Will Walter . . . they met at a country school
south of Ewing, married in Iowa.—The Frontier I’hoto.
Cheap Dollar Worries the Mister—
Will Walter, Wife Are
Honored at Clearwater
Leg Amputated
Hugh J. Birmingham (above),
prominent O’Neill resident and
livestock grower and president
of the First National bank of
Atkinson, submitted to the am
putation of his left leg in St.
Mary's hospital, Roche s t e r,
Minn. A blood clot had develop
ed here; he was transferred by
air ambulance from St. An
thony’s hospital here to Roches
ter, Members of his family were
near him at the time of the
operation, including his wife,
DeMaris; daughters—Miss Mary
Louise, who has been stationed
at Nancy, France with the Amer
ican Red Cross; the Misses
Barbara and Marde, both of
Denver, Colo. Miss Mary Louise
flew from France to Rochester.
His condition is “good.”—The
Frontier Photo.
Scouts Will Head
for Big Jamboree
The following Boy Scouts in the
area have registered for the 1957
national jamboree to be held at
Valley Forge, Pa.:
Duane Garwood and Edwin
Hall, both of Bassett; Thomas
Brewster and Douglas Cobb, both
of Stuart; Danny Pursel and
Lanny Weddel, both of Spring
view; Rodney Pearson and John
Cummings, both of Spencer.
Rev. E. E. Cummings, Spencer
scoutmaster, will be in charge of
the group.
Chambers Alumns
Plan 57 Reunion
CHAMBERS — Officers of the
Chambers High School Alumni as
sociation furthered plans for the
1957 reunion at a recent meeting.
The reunion banquet will be held
in the school auditorium May
30.
Glen Grimes is president; Ed
win Hubbard, vice-presi dent;
James Platt, treasurer; Mrs. Wil
lard Thomson, secretary.
By-laws for the organization
have been drawn and will be pre
sented at the annual reunion.
Sheets Sentenced
to Year in Pen
Virtus Sheets, 25, Saturday was
sentenced to one year in the Ne
braska state penitentiary in a
hearing before District Judge D.
R. Mounts. Earlier he had admitted
forging a $70 check. He was taken
to Lincoln by Sheriff Leo Tom
jack.
Previously Sheets had been held
in detention by the army and pre
viously had served in the reform
atory'.
CARS COLLIDE
O’Neill police Friday morning
investigated the collision of two
cars at the corner of Fourth and
Everett streets. An eastbound ma
chine driven by Mrs. Danny Hel
mer was in collision with a north
bound car driven by Miss Ber
nice Kallhoff. No one was hurt.
Property damage was estimated at
about one hundred dollars.
UNDER SL’RGERY
EWING — Thomas Eacker, thir
ty-five year old Ewing farmer
who was critically injured nearly
two months ago, underwent sur
gery Wednesday in St. Joseph’s
hospital, Omaha. Mr. Eacker was
hurt while riding on the fender
of a car in Ewing. The surgery
required three hours to perform
and he was given several blood
transfusions.
EWING — Will Walter and Ce
lia Nelson met at a country
school south of Ewing more than
a half-century ago when their re
spective families lived on farms
situated several miles apart.
But when they were about to
be married, the C. P. Nelson
family had moved back to Cas
tana, la. Because Celia was a
minor, she established residence
at the parental home at Castana
and the marriage took place Feb
rury 7, 1907.
For a time Mr. Walter worked
on the rails for the Great Western
(Omaha Chicago) railroad. A few
months of that was enough for
Mr. Walter, who was not of the
robu t type. Besides, he wanted to
get back to Nebraska farming.
The Walters farmed southwest
of Ewing continuously until 1944,
when they moved into town. To
day they live in a small frame
home one half block off Ewing’s
main street.
Son Arranges Affair
On Sunday, February 10, they
were formally honored at a recep-,
tion at St. Theresa’s hall at Clear
water. More than 60 friends and
relatives signed the guestbook
during the 1 to 4 p.m. affair,
which was arranged by their son,
Arthur Walter of Clearwater,
and his wife and family.
Carl Walter had charge of the
guestbook; Roy Walter, giftbook.
Both are grandsons.
The luncheon table, decorated in
a golden theme, was centered
with the wedding cake made by
their daughter-in-law', Mrs. Al
fred Walter and decorated by
Maisie Phillips. The cake was
flanked bv gold candles.
Assisting with the serving were
Laura and Joyce Walter, grand
daughters, Mabel Miller and
Maisie Phillips. Numerous gifts
were presented the guests-of
honor.
Mrs. Walter wore a blue-grey
silk dress. Her corsage was of
yellow carnations. Mr. Walter
wore a dark suit and yellow car
nation buttonniere.
Near relatives in attendance in
cluded: his brothers, George of
Clearwater, Charles of Chambers;
his sisters, Mrs. Ed Dewey of
Chambers, Mrs. Mary Daniels of
Ewing, Mrs. Emmet Dewey of
Tilden, and A. T. Nelson of Nor
folk, a step-brother of Mrs. Wal
ter. They were accompanied by
their families.
Other relatives were present
from Orchard, Clearwater and
Winnetoon.
The Walters became the par
ents of two children. Besides Al
1 fred, there is a daughter, Mrs.
Clarence (Katherine) Canaday of
! Centralia, Wash. Mrs. Canaday,
who has been on the West coast
17 years, wa.- Enable to be pres
j ent.
The Ewing pair counts 11 grand
children and six great-grand
children.
Recalls Big Blizzard
Mr. Walter’s father was from
Switzerland; his mother from
Germany.
Mr. Walter vividly recalls the
! famous blizzard of January 12,
1888. He stayed close at home that
fateful day when several Holt
countyans perished.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter are faith
ful members of St. Peter’s Catho
! lie church at Ewing. They are re
publicans.
They live modestly in their
small home. Mr. Walter is hard
of hearing; otherwise their health
is good.
(Continued on page 4.)
Ewing Pair
Wedded for
50 Years
Frank Slizeski, Wife
Receive 160 Friends,
Kin at Open House
(Photo below)
EWING—Married 50 years. Fif
teen children. The man — strong
and healthy at 71 and in no mood
to retire; the woman—in excellent
health and not a graf hair in her
head!
That the brief story of Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Slizeski (popularly but
eroneously spelled Slizouski).
They lived on a 320-acre farm
11 miles southwest of Ewing on
the Ewing-Chambers road.
Saturday, February 9, was their
golden wedding day and blue skies
and mild temperatures provided
the setting for a day that won’t
soon be forgoten.
Festivities began with a 9 a.m.
mass at St. Peter’s Catholic
church, conducted by Rev. P. F.
Burke. Hymns were sung by Mrs.
Kermit Jefferies; her daughter,
Miss Judy Jeffries of Omaha,
and A. E. Spittler who also was
organist. The altar was decorated
with golden gladioli and chrysan
themums, gifts of the children of
the couple.
Mass was followed by a family
breakfast at the farm home.
Father Burke was a guest. Pres
ent were nine of their children
and their families: Mr. and Mrs.
Louis Slizouski, Mr. and Mrs.
Steven Slizouski, Mrs. Rose Sy
nowski, Mr. and Mrs. William
Latzel, the Misses Esther and
Suzanne Slizouski, all of Omaha;
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Slizouski,
and Mrs. Eddie Slizouski, all of
Fullerton; Mr. and Mrs. John Sli
zouski of Ewing.
Two sons were unable to at
tend: Leo of Denver, Colo., be
cause of illness in his family,
and Ted, who is stationed in
South Carolina with the armed
forces.
Another son, Charles, died about
one year ago. Charles was the old
est in the family and had been in
fragil health for a number of
years.
Other guests were Mrs. Mary
Biblas of Chicago, 111., and Mrs.
Leona Cuba of Ogallala, both sis
ters of Mrs. Slizouski, and Mr.
and Mrs. John Zijia of Fullerton,
old friends of the family.
This honored couple counts 35
(Continued on Page 12.)
33 Herefords to
Sell Next Tuesday
Thirty-three head of registered
Herefords will be offered at auc
tion in O’Neill Tuesday, February
19, in the annual spring show and
sale of the Holt County Hereford
Breeders’ association. Show will
be at 1U a.m.; sale at 1:30 p.m.
Kieth A. Abart of O’Neill is
secretary-sale manager and will
furnish a catalog upon request.
Twenty-six bulls will be of
fered; seven females—represent
ing all popular blood lines.
Consignors are: Francis Anderl
of Inman; Mr. and Mrs. Harlan
Larson of O’Neill; Harold Mel
cher of Page; S. R. Robertson of
O’Neill; George Rowse of Cham
bers; M. L. Sageser & Sons of
Amelia; Whitaker & Whitaker of
Chambers, and Henry Wood of
Ewing.
INFANT DIES
STUART — Graveside funeral
services were conducted Wednes
day, February l3* at St. Boniface
Catholic cemetery for Carroll
Jamie Batenhorst, 10*6-hour-old
son of Mrs. James Batenhorst of
Stuart and the late Mr. Baten
horst, who was killed December
26, 1956, in an underslung acci
dent. The baby was born Tuesday,
February 12, in St. Anthony’s
hospital at O’Neill. Survivors in
clude: Mother—Marvel Jean; sis
ter—Lynette; grandparents — Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Batenhorst and
Mr, and Mrs. Clarence Johnson,
all of Stuart.
Pianist Freeman. Violinist .larto and Streeter . . . barber shop fiddle gets a professional tun
ing.— (Story on page 4.) —The Frontier Photo. •
Nebraska’s Honey Queen—
Denied National Title
Nebraska’s honey queen, Miss
Laurine Schmitz of O’Neill, miss
ed an odds-on-bet of being Ameri
ca’s honey queen in Long Beach,
; Calif., chiefly because a hunk of
mountains, desert and cornfields
1 separated many of the state
queens from the site of competi
i tion.
In other words, Miss Schmitz,
j a St. Mary’s academy junior, was
j one of two contestants who ap
I peared at Long Beach. Officers of
the American Honey Producers
association, in convention there,
decided to cancel the national
queen contest rather than choose
between the two beauties on
hand.
Miss Schmitz’s wellwishers here
(they are legion in number) rea
soned the administrative ruling
I simply denied O’Neill from being
: the home of a national queen.
Crowded in 1955
Laurine was crowned Holt
county’s first honey queen in 1955
| at the fair. Rules provided that
the entries had to be active in 4-H
club work and carry a food pres
ervation project. Exhibits were
judged and points totaled and the
girl with the most points, natural
ly, won.
The 1956 competition was along
the same lines. Kepeat winner:
Miss Schmitz! And, if the judging
were along pulchritude lines, it’d
be the same story—Queen Schmitz!
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Beilin,
O’Neill honeyproducers who are
active in state beekeeping circles,
took Miss Schmitz to Lincoln in
October to compete for state hon
ors. The trick was to bake a choc
olate cake and apply the frosting.
At the banquet, she was crown
ed and presented Gov. Victor An
derson a honey pack.
On January 20, accompanied by
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John B.
Schmitz, who live 11 miles north
of O’Neill and three miles east,
Queen Schmitz set out for greater
laurels—and Long Beach—under
the auspices of the Chamber of
Commerce.
Disa ppointment
Came the thud of disappoint
ment: No contest.
Undaunted. Miss Schmitz made
several appearances and plugged
her hometown and home state.
From her hotel room facing the
j ocean, she could see large vessels
I plying the harbor and had close
range views of ships at anchor.
She met queenless representatives
from most of the 48 states, tour
ed Knott’s berry farm, and enjoy
ed Ghost Town and Disneyland.
There was a night out, too — at
the 500 club.
A brunch one morning took up
I several hours. Several dozen flash
bulbs were spent on the two
queens who were present.
The Nebraska Beekeepers asso
ciation presented Miss Schmitz an
! orchid corsage for the banquet,
O'Neill’s Miss Famine Schmitz . . . odds-on national winner
but there was no contest.—The Frontier Photo.
which climaxed the Long Beach
stay.
Visits Canyon
Enroute home, Laurine and her
parents visited Grand Canyon,
Boulder Dam, Painted Desert and
historical points.
Laurine says it’s “hard to say’’
what the future will hold for her
beyond her graduation in the
spring of 1958.
“Right now I’m so busy making
up school work I can’t even
think about it.”
She is studying American his
tory, Latin II, chemistry, English
III.
Laurine has brown hair, dark
eyes and fair skin. She has a soft
voice, a sweet smile, and a whole
some as honey personality.
O’Neill Faces Neligh 1
in Class B Tourney
The O’Neill high Eagles will go i
against the Neligh Warriors in the j
east half of the class B high school
cage tourney to be held at O'Neill
February 25-26.
In tlie first game — Monday, j
February 25—Ainsworth will face ‘
Bassett, 7 p.m.; O'Neill-Neligh,
8:45 pm.
Winners will meet Tuesday, (
February 26, 8 p.m.
Winner of that game will play
in the finals at Valentine Friday,
March 1.
West half games will be played
at Chadron. Teams competing
there will be Chadron high, Craw 1
fod, Gordon and Hemingford. 1
Wickersham, 73,
i
Expires at Lynch
LYNCH Harvey Wickersham,
73, died Monday m Sacred Heari
hospital at Lynch where he had
been a patient.
He was a Lynch resident.
Van livery Leaves
Highway Position
f w |
‘Moved Lots of Dirt
with Horses’
‘'Sometimes 1 think we could
build road grades cheaper—and j
as good—with the teams and fres-'
nos we used 30 years ago."
Those were the words of George j
Van Every, 68, who has just re
tired as an employee of the Ne-!
braska department of roads and
irrigation. Mr. Van Every is the
first 30-year-man to retire at O’-!
Neill. The highway department is
a relatively young branch of state
government.
Mr. Van Every’s duties officially
ended December 1. But in Janu |
ary the fellow employees show
ered him with luggage and an en
graved billfold. On Saturday he'
received a certificate of apprecia ,
tion which had been signed by
Gov. Victor Anderson, State
Highway Engineer L. N. Ress, and
others. It was presented by John'
D. Osenbaugb, who is resident en
gineer here.
Help ricnliful
When Mr. Van Every went to
work, for the infant department in
1927 there weren’t many roads
hereabouts.
He was foreman of a crew of
92 men who, with horses and
fresnos, built the five-mile stretch
east from Chambers. That was his
first big job. Later, Mr. Van
Every directed road constuction
into Bartlett. He also built grades
in Rock, Keya Paha, Boyd, Knox
and Garfield counties.
"Let me tell you we’ve moved
a lot of dirt.”
When Mr. Ven Every signed up
I with the department, he rented
: his own services plus a team for
hauling gravel. He was born in
Antelope county. He and his wife
| moved to ONeill in March, 1920.
Asked about what he thought
I about the super-duper four-lane
! highway planned to cross Nebras
ka, he had a ready answer:
“I don’t think much of it. 1
can’t see everybody having to help
pay for something that will bene
fit only a few.
"Shucks,” he continued, ‘‘we’d
better improve and take care of
the other roads we’s got before
getting into that. I think they’ve
gone to extremes with a four-lane
business across Nebraska.”
During the depression years
help was plentiful, he remembers.
“I remember when we got our
i first road blade pulled by a trac
! tor. I operated it,” he declared.
Area Bigger
Time was when the O’Neill
road office administered a bigger
1 area than it does today—incluling
| all Knox, Holt and Boyd counties.
But during most of Mr. Van
Every’s stretch he has been classi
fied as a patrol foreman. He has
done extensive maintenance work
on the equipment.
“When spring comes the missus
and I are going to do some vaca
tioning,” he declared as he tender
ly caressed the handsome luggage.
T enor Crain
to Be Heard
Here T onite
Concert Group Book*
Opera-TV Star for
Third in Serie*
Personable and handsome Jon
Crain is the young American ten
or who will appear here tonight
(Thursday) in the third of th*
1956-57 series of concerts sponsor
ed by tlie O'Neill Community Con
cert association. Doors open at 7 50
at the O’Neill public school audi
torium.
Mr. Crain is recognized as one
of America’s busiest tenors. He
has been a leading tenor of the
New York City Opera association
the past four seasons. In additiin
he has been heard in recital all
over the country and recently has
been soloing with the Minneapolis,
Chicago and Los Angeles sym
phony orchestras. He has been a
top personality on radio and tele
vision both in the United States
and Canada.
A native of St. Louis, Mo„ Mr.
Crain made his operatic debut at
the age of 17. His career was in
terrupted by the war.While in the
special service section of the army,
his stirring, dramatic voice and
superb artistry were heard in
camp shows and in war bond ral
lies everywhere.
Following the war, Crain con
tinued his training at the Julliard
School of Music, New York City.
Fr a time he became a featured
singer with the Xavier Cugat or
ehestra. His wife also had been
featured.
Later, he joined the New York
Center Opera and has been a
leading tenor there since.
Follows a description of Mr
Crain from one of the metropoli
tan newspaper critics:
‘'Wherever he sings. Whatever ,
he sings. Jon Crain proves to be a
tenor who has all the attributes
that could be desired; an extensive
repetoire. Ingratiating stage per
sonality. Superior musicianship
and a really beautiful voice.'’
WEATHER SUMMARY
Feb. 7.,,41 16
Feb. 9. 51 24
Feb. 9 . 54 32
Feb. 10 47 19
Feb. 11 . 58 17
Feb. 12.52 19
Feb. 12 .52 21
Mrs. Charles Nutter, Mrs. Kath
ryn Indra and Mrs. Itoy Way man
[ attended the 4-H leader's training
conference in Norfolk Wednesday,
February 6.
Auction Calendar
Monday,* February 18: Glenn
White administrator, estate 'of the
late E. H. and Pearl White, 780
1 acre southwest Holt ranch; Col.
j Ed Thorin of O’Neil], auctionoer
| real estate broker. (Details on
page 7.)
Tuesday, February 19: Holt
1 County Hereford Breeders as
soeiation, annual spring sale, 33
lots, O’Neill; Keith Abart of O’
Neill, secretary and sale mana
ger.
Wednesday, February 20: Lome
j and Lorraine Hickok, north of
I Emmet; 160-acre farm, livestock,
I machinery; Col. Wallace O’Con
' noil of O’Neill, auctioneer; Col
j Vern Reynoldson of O’Neill, auc
tioneer-broker; Gene Hickok of
Atkinson, clerk. (Details on page
8.)
Friday, February 22: Max and
Marie Farrier, five miles ea.st of
Phomlv.rc turn mllne n/mll, 4t«»/i
miles east, one-half mile north;
herd of Holstein dairy cattle;
complete line farm machinery;
feed; some household good ; Col.
Ed Thorin of O’Neill, auctioneer;
Chambers State Bank, clerk. (De
tails on page 9.)
Friday, February 22: James and
Iris Millard, south of Spencer;
full line of farm machinery;
household goods; CoL Lester Pear
son of Spencer, auctioneer; Ne
braska State bank of Bristow,
clerk. (Details on page 4.)
Saturday, February 23: North
Central Nebraska Hereford asso
ciation, annual spring sale, Bas
sett, 35 bulls; Tug Phillips of
Bassett, secretary and sale mana
ger.
Monday, February 25: Mr and
; Mrs. Dale Potts and sons, resid
ing 7% miles south of Chambers;
livestock, machinery, household
goods; Col. Ed Thorin of O’Neill,
auctioneer. (Details in next issue.)
Wednesday, February 27: Mr.
and Mrs. John A. Tenborg, sale of
800-acre grain and stock ranch
near Atkinson; 80 head of cattle,
full line of new and near - new
machinery; Col. Wallace O’Con
nell of O’Neill, auctioneer; Col.
Vern Reynoldeon of O’Neill, auc
tioneer-real estate broker; Kieth
A. Abart of O’Neill, clerk. (De
tails on page 6.)
Wednesday, February 27: B. W.
Waldo & Sons, eight miles west
of Chambers on highway 95; 190
head of Hereford cattle; ranch
and haying equipment; dissolving
partnership; Col. Ed Thorin of
O’Neill auctioneer; Chambers
State Bank, clerk. (Details In nex^
i issue.) .
The Slizeskis . . . met at a Genoa dance.—The Frontier Photo.
Mrs. Loren Nelson
Dies at Fremont
Mrs. Loren Nelson, who was an
O’Neill resident for many years
and moved to Fremont in Janu
ary, died at 3:45 a.m., Wednes
day, February 13, at her home in
Fremont, 320 East Military ave.
Mrs. Nelson had been in ill
health for some time. Last year
she submitted to surgery on sev
eral occasions in Omaha hospitals
and had been hospitalized most
of the year.
Her husband, night operator at
the Chicago & North Western rail
road, was transferred to Arlington
January 1. They established their
residence at Fremont and Mr.
Nelson has been commuting
Funeral services will be con
ducted at 2 p.m., Friday, Febru
ary 15, at the Bader funeral home
! in Fremont.
Survivors include: Widower,
mother, two sisters and one broth
er.
Van Every . . . moved lots of dirt.—The Frontier Photo.