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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1957)
Prairieland Talk— Moderns Blush for Shame By ROMAIVF. 8AUNDERS, 4110 Sooth Slat St, Lincoln «. Nebr. LINCOLN- A Dr, Walter O'Neill has come out of the East to O'Neill to learn something of the promoter of the colony that set in motion the founding of a village called O'Neill, only to see die modems blush for shame. Nothing here stands as a memorial of Gen. John O'Neill. A little house stood for more than 70 years which had been the home of Mrs O'Neill, her son and daughters That, too, is gone gone from where the General built it and where early memories cluster. The town’s first and only brick house stands today af ter more than three score and 10 years in the northeast section of the city a monument along with The Frontier to W. D. Mathews. A modest home Komalne on South First street is but a Saund memory of O'Neill's first den- Saunder* tist as a house on North Fifth street stands as a monument to O'Neill’s first printer. Other houses that the pioneers built stilt stand. St. Mary’s academy is a monument to the memory of Father Cassidy, long pastor of St. Patrick's church. And that large building near the post office that Joel Parker put there, might have been dedicated by him to the memory of his ancestors who were here before there was an O - Neill. J H. Riggs and G. M. Cleveland handed down the Presbyterian church as a monument o their memory. Bartley Blain’s monument, the Methodist church, was torn down to clear the way for a more pretentious edifice. The monument at Fourth and Douglas streets stands in memory of Dave Adams. Dave Darr and John I)wyer-or was it Tim'' Axid across the corner where Eddie Gal lagher and Eddie Campbell take care of your cash b a monument to Ed Kelly and the Mann family. And just across the street stands a modem hote , a monument to the memory of Tom Golden. Up there in what seemed to be an unfavorable location is the beautiful Brennan park, a monu ment to a pioneer freighter and later hardware dealer. The Western hotel revives memories of the past of both Fred Gat?; and Wes Evans. And at Fourth and Everett Streets stands the old Commercial hotel, a monument to yet another John O'Neill. • • * Out beyond the reach of human hand the un clouded sky- hangs in blue radiance nliove green mbed prairieland this July morning. Summer days come and go as human feet go rushing to and fro. It is the season of nature’s full growing wonders tinted here and there with floral beauty that sends forth inviting fragrance. Roses are in bloom, sand cherry and apple blossoms are gone and hanging where they' were two months ago today is ripen ing fruit. Wheat fields have given up their rich store of grain, the hum of mowers is heard through out the miles of prairieland’s hay lands. City dwellers look out upon the verdant beauty of vel vet lawns and stalwart trees with silken leaves fluttering in a southern breeze. Country lads and ladies walk and talk where the Ixmntiful hand of nature lays its riches across prairieland. Items from "Southwest Breezes appearing in The Frontier 20 years ago: Mrs Fanny Riley. Mr. and Mrs. T. T. Baker. N'ed and Mildred Saunders spent a day in Albion ... E. E. Young went to his former home in Kansas to close up some af fairs. . . A cow from the Riley ranch brought S105 in the sale ring at Burwell. . . Wm. Amholdt came over from Amelia with his power saw rig to convert cottonwood into fuel for DeLance With ers. . . As a result of the tuberculosis tests one reactor was reported in the herd of Raymond Bly and one at Bill Carpenter’s. . . The funeral for Will Sammons was held in the Amelia Methodist church Rev. Conrad, formerly of the community but at the time living in O’Neill, conducted the church service. . . Mr. and Mrs. Jay Roblyer, long residents in Swan precinct, were moving to near Atkinson. . . Two horses belonging to Cap Addison ! were killed by lightning. • • • lie gave me the glad hand today. Once crowned with dark hair, Mr, Mills now steps about under a crown of white glory. He lends an attentive ear to any word concerning affairs in the Atkinson community. Mr. Mills Ls a nephew of the late Doctor Studevant and his brother Itrantly who were among the pioneers in Atkin son. He continues his work in one of Lincoln’s mercantile establishments supplying customers with coats, shirts and many other things. • • • Mr. Beck doubtless feels it his duty as attor ney for the state to appeal the federal court deci sion in the Grandsinger case, but I venture a guess that Nebraskans are convinced that enough has been done to send an innocent victim to the electric chair and that no more state funds should be wasted in court proceedings in this case. Le gal death decree blocked for a period of three years I by mysterious circumstances leads to the conclu sion that the convicted party is innocent of the ! crime charged. If our attorney general can hunt down the real perpetrator of the crime he will be doing the right thing. * * * O’Neill friends of Mrs. Nellie Hunt may be Interested to learn that she recently returned from a visit to members of her family in Cleve land, O., and in New York, stopping at St. I^otils, Mo., on the return trip and then to her home in Lincoln. Mrs. Hunt’s early childhood and her first years of married life were in the O’Neill community, her home for many years being in Lineoln. Mrs. Hunt’s husband, Den Hunt, who was also a pioneer lad of the O’Neill community, died about a year ago after being struck by an automobile. • • * Weather marked and wrinkled, still in mid dle life but aged. I sat beside him today where loafers and superanuated patriots park at times in the shade. He had been everywhere, including Holt county, but Oregon is his elderado with the best of everything, including beef herds, peaches and climate. Boastful blow went on until the weather worn guy was reminded that Nebraska has the makings of a beef sandwich and human death rate here is the lowest of all the states. We just live longer because prairiel^nd has what it takes for human welfare and happiness. Editorial— Fireworks Coming to Valentine A last ditch stand is being developed by the Save-the-Trains association and persons in north Nebraska and southern South Dakota. Monday, July 29, is the hearing date set by the Nebraska state railway commission on the Chicago & North Western railroad’s application to discontinue the last two remaining passenger-mail express trains—13 and 14-plying daily between Omaha and Chadron, a distance of 450 miles. The hearing will be held at Valentine, start rig at 10:30 a.m. C&NW recently offered a compromise — O’Neill as the western terminal (instead of Chad ron i and substituting bus service between O’ Neill and Chadron. The S-T-A president, Cal Stewart of O’Neill, says the association, organized three years ago to stimulate use of the two trains, now is marshalling forces to oppose the abandonment of these last two trains. “The association intends to stand or fall on the proposition of keeping the two trains in daily service between Omaha and Chadron.’’ Judging from the articles appearing in var ious newspapers along the line, there will be fire works at the Valentine hearing. In the July 10 issue of the Gordon Journal, the editor says the removal of the trains would have a permanent adverse effect on the region, and pointedly raised this question: “Have C&NW railroad executives placed freight business (notably livestock, grain, lumber, coal and farm produce) against the alleged loss suffered in operating the mail and passenger ser vice? It is quite easy to read between the lines that the company is not as interested in breaking even on the deal as it is in pulling the passenger mail-express trains off the track and making room for ponderous and profitable freight trains. “If the North Western's curtailment attempt is successful, repercussions will echo down through the years,” the Journal declared. At Chadron, Hay Springs, Rushville, Gordon, Cody, and Valentine serious freight diversion move ments got underway last week. Petitions are be ing circulated, particularly among major shippers, with forewarnings of diverting freight to trucks and to the Burlington railroad at Broken Bow, An selmo, Seneca, Hyannis, Alliance, Crawford, etc). The petitions are being forwarded to C&NW President C. J. Fitzpatrick in Chicago with copies to the Nebraska railway commission. The Sheridan County Star at Rushville offered this: “We must show the railroad wre mean business. We’ve got to let them know that if they persist in abandoning passenger service wfe are going to work hard to divert freight from their railroad.” M. H. Snider of Clearwater, special represent ative for the Save-the-Trains association, said many livestock men, who have shipped North Western for y'ears, have volunteered to fill-out our questionnaires and to testify at the healing. The feeling seems to have spread like a prairie fire. “Many people have the idea the North West ern has deliberately tried to downgrade service and speed the day they could take off the passen ger trains. Nobody would offer much objection to taking off two trains if there were others. But these are the last two trains serving thousands of square miles and thousands of people.” The Hay Springs News said last week: “The loss to this community in the event of removal of those last two trains would be nothing short of staggering.” Fay Hill of Gordon, S-T-A director, summed it up this way while speaking before the West ern Nebraska United Chambers of Commerce: “The C&NW' brass doesn’t care to discuss the profit side of the freight business. They know this main line is highly profitable and always has been in terms of freight. They want only the cream off the top and they want to dismiss any other obligations in half the state where distances are vast and where there is no other service. “The outcome may well be considered another golden spike—either driven through the heart of the region or riveting cooperation of people toward a common goal.” Weather and Reporting Someone asked us the other day if mother na ture is misbehaving more nowadays or whether it’s a matter of more comprehensive (and some times over-enthusiastic) news reporting? Without benefit of statistics and studies on the subject, we were hesitant to venture our views on the matter. We will state, however, that television and radio newsmen are prone to dramatize nature’s ac tivities to the extent that storm warnings some times are unduly emphasized. The idea, of course, is to keep people glued to their receivers. Occasionally, however, the weather service is criticized for not providing adequate warning, so take your choice. We like to look back on interviews with some of the world-renowned scientists of the O’Neill wind test days. Dr. Vera Sumi, head of meterology at the Uni versity of Wisconsin, told us one time that glaciers in this big world are good barometers of weather. Students of the glaciers, he declared, can fore cast continental weather conditions, ie dry cycles and wet cycles, hot and cold cycles. Correlating the continental studies makes a glo bal picture, he told us. The glaciers are vast and slow, and their behavior must be studied on the one hundred year basis. Nebraska and Kansas, for example, have been cyclone states for centuries. Dozens of twisters are sighted on a given day when temperatures are right for brewing up a storm. For years Kansas and Nebraska have been known as "hail states.” Some people firmly believe that H-bomb and A-bomb tests affect the weather. 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 year; elsewhere in the United States, $3 per year; rates abroad provided upon request, All sub scripitons payable in advance only. Betrothal 1 old Mr. and Mrs. Leo Lydon of Ewing announce the engage ment of their daughter, Miss ( Connie t above t, to Ronald R. Park, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Park of Page. No date has been set for the wedding. When You & I Were Young . . . Lightning Invades Bedroom at Page Nobody Hurt But I Cow Is Killed 50 Years Ago Miss Florence May Lowrie, daughter of Rev and Mrs. Newell S. Lowrie of Lincoln, formerly of i O'Neill, was married to David E. Watkins of Kansas City Mo., . . R. E. Bowden, one of the pio neers of north Holt county, died of blood poisoning at Norfoik. . . Lighting hit Page at 2 a.m., do ing some damage to Clint Town send's house occupied by Albert Brown and family. It went through the roof and the ceiling, passed over the bed where they were sleeping, through the door and went through the door, tear ing the screen and passed out in to the yard, killing a cow. Before night another cow had replaced the dead one, thanks to kind neighbors. 20 Years Ago Arthur Wertz of northeastern Holt county and Milo Eppenbach, 23. son of Mr. and Mrs. Julia Ep penbach, were injured in acci dents with horses in two separate accidents. Mr. Wertz was thrown from his horse and suffered se vere lacerations on his legs. Mr. Eppenbach’s horse fell on him and he suffered an injury to his hip. He was taken to Norfolk. . . Lt. and Mrs. J. V. Carney and | children and Mrs. Laura Kibler arrived here to visit relatives and friends. 10 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Frank Smith and son, John, arrived from their na I tive England to fake their home ! here and join their daughter, Mrs. j Byron Grenier. . . Five members of the Holt County School Land Leaseholders organization were dissatisfied with their visit to Lincoln. They had gone to pro test what they described as "a too great an increase” on the valuation of Holt’s 77,000 acres of school land. . . Col. and Mrs. William Cummings of Norfolk, Va., arrived to visit friends and her father, T. R. Cooper of At kinson. Mrs. Cummings is the former Donna Day, who won fame as a singer in Fred Waring’s band. One Year Ago Mr. and Mrs. Berlin Mitchell and family of Stuart attended a family reunion in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Mitchell of Dal las, Ore. The gathering took place at the Charlie Mitchell home near Atkinson. . . Willis Rockey of Ewing was hurt when a tractor fell over on him from a loading platform. . . Eighty two persons attended the Tuch reunion at Lynch. Stop Briefly— Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Rossi te r and Terese and Claire of Hart ington stopped in to see Mr. and Mrs Carroll W. Stewart Monday evening. The Rossiters were en route home from a vacation at Jackson Hole, Wyo. fmr. 'A.-! Exctthi* »«»• g^ bom Americas Jwk largest antomo bile insurance im«a*wc« company 1 State V Farm Mutual now offers case Ibl drivers a brand-new auto policy with over 44 extra-pro tection features. It’s the broadest coverage ever of fered by State Farm. Gel) full details from a man yo«i ought to know—yosur Stele Farm agent: Ed Thorio O’Neill State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co. Home Off.: Bloomington, El. \1 iss Condon to NX ed Roosevelt, k i n Miss Hope Marie Condon and' Ludlow Hall Rathbone will bo I married in Los Angeles on August \ 31. Miss Condon is the daughter of ; Mrs. Edward Joseph Condon, sr., | formerly of O'Neill and now of j New York City, who has announe- i ed the engagement, and the late | Mr. Condon. Mr. Rathbone is the son of Mrs. Gordi>n Boone j Scott of Westhampton Beach. L. j I., N Y , and Norwood Rathbone | of Westport, Ci>nn. Miss Condon, who is with the Los Angeles office of Young & Rubieam advertising agency, is I a graduate of St. Mary's acad emy and has attended Fordham university. Mr. Rathbone is working for a master of science degree at the University of Southern California and is with the Royal-Globe In surance Group. He is a gradu ate of the Pomfret (Conn.t School and of Lehigh university, class of 1952. His mother is the former Miss Elizabeth L. Hall, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ludlow Hall of New York, and a cousin of Mrs. Franklin D. Roos evelt. Battle of Music’ Planned at Lynch LYNCH The Assumption BVM church Altar society met at the Catholic rectory Wednesday after noon. July 10. Fourteen ladies re ported that an electric roaster was earned by the ladies purchasing products. More redecorating will be done next week at the church. Plans were made for the annual parish bazaar to he held August 31st. Battle of music, with two bands will be one big feature of the dance in the Lynch ball room Concessions of all kinds on the midway will be full of entertain ment for everyone. Nelsons Host to Relatives Mr. and Mrs. Dick Nelson are hosts this week to a number of relatives. Tuesday her brother Burdell Rowe and family of Lu verne, Minn., arrived. Mr. Nel son's uncle and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Brouilette and Lucille, arrived Wednesday for a week. They are on their way home to California. At the end of the week, Mr. Nelson’s brother, Mr and Mrs. Gordon Nelson of Kansas City, Mo., will arrive. They will leave shortly for England, where he will be stationed with the air force for two years. The Dick Nelsons and family returned from a week's vacation in Worthington, Adrian and a lake at Ashgy, Minn., where they visited her brother Go to Stuart— For the Fourth of July the John N. Schmit family was in Stuart at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Engler. Oth er guests were Mr. and Mrs Al fred Straka of Atkinson and Mr. and Mfs. Leonard Engler and Jimmy of Lincoln. Frontier for printing! O’Neill News Mr. and Mrs Clyde McKenzie, jr., and family went to Lynch Sunday to visit Mrs McKenzie, sr . Mr and Mrs. George L. Mop tang went to Valentine over the wet kend On the way they stop ped at Ainsworth to visit his par ents, Mr, and Mrs Abe Morlang. Mr, and Mrs. H. P. Savidge were in Omaha Mondav July 8. Mr and Mrs. George Schaaf of Albuquerque. N M arrived Sat urday, July 6 to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs George Schaaf of Atkinson, and his brother, Mr. m l Mrs. Marcellus Schaaf until Saturday. Mr. and Mrs Leonard Engler and Jimmy of Lincoln were guests of Mr. and Mrs. John N. Schmit Saturday. July 6. Mi's Zeffa Stein of Burbank, Calif., arrived Friday from Wash ington. D. C.. where she had vis ited her twin sister. She is staying with Mr. and Mrs. John Shoe maker while visiting relatives. Dr. and Mrs. Rex Wilson and family left Tuesday for a vacation in the Black Hills. Bill Hendershot of Kilgore vis ited his brother and wife. Mr and Mrs Louis Wray, and family ov er the Fourth of July. Dick Wray returned with his uncle for a visit and returned Monday. Miss Jeanne Koch of Norfolk was a guest of Miss Marilu Wil son, daughter of the Ed Wilsons one day last week. The girls were classmates at Duchesne college in Omaha. Sunday, July 7, Mr. and Mrs Leonard Davis and family attend ed a family reunion picnic at the C. J. Prussa home in Atkinson. Mrs. Ruth Hilderhoff and Mrs Mabelle Ericksen, both University of Nebraska summer school stud ents, came to spend the Fourth of July with their children, who are staying with their grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Osenbaugh. while their mothers are at school, They returned Saturday, July 6. Weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Thierolf and family were Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Christian sen and Sharon of Lynch. Mr and Mrs. R‘. E. Tingle and family were in Butte Sunday vis iting Mr. Tingle’s grandmother, Mrs. Martha Tingle. John Joe Uhl left Sunday, July 7 for Washington, D. C., where he will be employed Lijtle Allison Jane Edwards and ’ her sister, Little Laurie, are DR. II. I). GILDER SLEEVE OPTOMETRIST Northeast Corner of 4 th & Douglas O’NEILL, NERR Phone 187 Office Hours: 9-S Eyes Examined-Glasses Fitted Monday thru Saturday ■■■■■■»■■ —.————————— spending this week in Norfolk with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs Dwight Edwards Their par ents. the William L. Edwards and Chris will go down for them at the end of the week. Miss Joan Higgins of Naper ar med Sundav to spend two weeks with her friend. Miss Diane Graves. Mr and Mrs Wally R. Shel hamer and daughter were at Gav ins Point Sunday. i nil Mrs Edwin Sevcik had as their guests all last week her parents. Mr and Mrs. Leland Barrett of Lincoln Miss Jeanette Straka of Atkin son returned Sunday after spend ing a few days with Mr. and Mrs John N. Schmit. Mr and Mrs. Kenneth Curran and l.itida returned last Thursday evening from a vacation of near lv two weeks in the mountains of Colorado. They v isited friends on the way. Mr and Mrs Dean Streeter and the Misses Patricia and Carolyn McKenzie*- returned Sunday from a 10 day vacation in Wyoming and South Dakota. Cattle Auctions WILL HE HELD Every Tuesday For the convenience of yon who have even a limited number of cattle to sell, we will hold our regular sale every Tuesday. Phone us your listings in advance when pos sible. Your patronage Is ap preciated. Northern Nebraska’s Best Advertised Auction “The Old Reliable" Atkinson Livestock Market Ph. 5111 Atkinson. Nebr. “Selling Cattle Exclusively” cW^EVERAGES NOW - in the New KING SIZE! Your Dealer Has DODGER for you! Try DODGER . . . dis cover for yourself its thirst-quenching good ness! "DODGER BEVERAGES TASTE GOOD” DODGER Bottling 7-UP Bottling Company Company ! O’NEILL and NORFOLK I ____ ^ They know there’s still nothing Nke a ROCKET T-4QO Engine I They know that Oldsmobile's RESALE VALUE consistently tops Its field I V^They checked the price and discovered that Oldsmobile's big-value "88" actually costs much less than they guessed! Tom hi CSS-TV • THE YK DAMONl SHOW • Erarf W«in—4ty Mfe|f / SAFETY MAKES SENSE • NATIONAL FARM SAFETY WEEK • JUiY *1 .»7