Prairieland Talk An 'Otolope' Birth, Maybe? Hy KOMAINK SAI NDKKS, 4110 South 51st St., Lincoln 6, Ncbr. Twin baby girls were bom March 1 to a couple fving in Auburn down in Nemaha county, one came to the surface at home and to complete the job of *hdd bearing, the mother was whisked away to Nebraska City in Otoe county where twin numt>er tv was Ixirn in a hospital. Something like that m '»ccur any time down at Tilden, where if you tur r in bed. you may tie in another county, gal • town in Antelope county, the other half [n n. Just where is the birth of a kid re c v jiat is born to a mother in flight via air pi., .rom one end of the country to the other? • • • One hundred years ago a few cabins stood in 1m vicinity where now our stately State Capital building stands. That was the beginning of a town in prairieland called Lincoln. Our capital city now rears buildings grand and high, stately mansions, bumble homes, streets and parks over about half at I Lancaster county. About the beginning of Lincoln bistory, a small group of brave men and courageous Momen and curious kids jumped out of their covered wagons, unhitched the horses and started life along fltv hanks of the flowing Elkhom a mile east of where the city of O'Neill now stands. The Thomp •on .McEvenoy colony and the Parkers. Only the Memory of the colony lingers, but at least two de scendants of that group of pioneers, R. H. and Joel Parker, survive. And O'Neill is here, the metropolis at north central Nebraska. * • • Open the windows of your soul through which the glow of God's creation may shine. Not just one window pane of partizan adherence and creed’s hide-bound devotion, for through that one narrow window pane but little light will shine. But the soul with radiance glows when light shines through the spirit's open windows. June 28, 1904, Kinkaiders to the number not just counted but said to he more than 600, lined up at the government land office in O’Neill, located on north 4th street about where the telephone office is today. Men and women made up that 600 that ac quired homesteads of 640 acres each. Congressman Kink a id of O'Neill secured the passage of a mea sure in congress that increased the homesteads available in his district from a quarter section to a bill section. With today just here and there an (Minted tract of land, that section homestead law brought the government lands in Nebraska into priv ate or individual hands and thus became taxable property. ~ • • * Down at the Statehouse Governor Brooks an nounces that he is "master of all he surveys." Be careful, your honor, you may be up against our Terrable Terry next state election. * • * A short summer. Few days radiant wth sun shine, snows of winter melted away, birds awing and singing. Then it came, a Nebraska snow and blow that Old Bates there at his case of type in O'Neill in '88 called it a blizzard. The Capital City blanketed with 8 to 10 inches of snow midweek the first w’eek in March schools closed, no business, clerks in stores standing with their hands in their pockets, city buses not at the usual stops and work ers getting to their jobs late the best way they could, mail carriers hours late, and all of us who could, looking out the windows at the picture such as only a prairieland blizzard paints. Again the sun glows bright, snow fades and the late blizzard only a memory. TIm* public was shocked to hear ot rus eleven j killings, IJncoln housewives locked doors, nailed up windows, the jury found him guilty of murder and young Starkweather was sentenced to die in the electric seat at our state prison. Courts, pardon and parol boards step in after the jury findings. The. voting killer still lives. Move that death chair out J of our state pen, set a table of roast turkey, hot | rolls and pumpkin pie. Come, you bloody killers, | sit down and eat! * * * He owns a section of com and wheat land two hours drive out from the Capital City, dwells there] with his life’s companion in a large “farm house" and no beast or bird in the red bam where once were horses and cows. Twelve to fourteen thousand dollars worth of grain off of that section of land in a season shared by the renters as he sits twiddl- ^ ing his thumbs in an easy chair. Oh, next month he is eligible for social security checks. • * * A friend of Prairieland Talk down In sunny Flor ida writes me a letter that I feel will be of interest to many readers of this department of The Frontier. It appears as follows: 4339 Colt Lane, West Palm Beach, Fla. Dear Mr. Romaine Saunders: We sure do enjoy your most interesting articles in the O'Neill Frontier: I was raised in Lincoln, lived at 334 North 23rd St., and attended the Old Elliot School. In 1914 I came to O’Neill, Nebr., with Max Golden. We really came to Ewing and spent the summer at the Ranch down at Ewing. Mr. Tom Golden was runing the ranch, and Max and I came up to spend the summer and keep out of mischief in general. I stuck right there at Ewing and never left until 1957, when I came to West Palm Beach. I am not one of the filthy rich of this locality. I work for an asphalt company. I am the nite man and keep the material hot so as the crew can take off in the mornings. • I sure like to hear of all of the old timers you mention in your articles. I remember a lot of them, I was kinda disappointed in one a few weeks back when you mentioned a long string of the oldsters and you did not mention T. V. Golden’s name. As I look back at O'Neill, I place him at the top of the list of the real O’Neill citizens. He really stuck his neck out when he built that fine hotel building. It was a long time before there was any pavement on cither side of it, but there stood that fine building taking all of the dust and mud. And of course, I was a little bit prejudiced for the many fine things the Golden Family did to and for me. I was much impressed with the article some time hack where you mentioned Mrs. F. J. Dishner as taking Frank Nelson’s place in the Unicameral. I too think she would be a very able representative for her district. I also grew up in Lincoln. As a kid I can remem l>er all of the big fires. Old Number 2 from 23rd was the best in our mind. I was a small boy the night of the Walter block fire where the Steuart building stands now. Across the street west you can still see the two little round window glasses still broken from the streams of water, shot up there by one of the old steam pumpers. Can you give any dope on Old Dr. Middleton, the horse thief that ran loose up there? Kid Wade was his lieutenant. Yours very truly, R. G. Rockey, 4339 Colt Lane, West Palm Beach, Florida. Editorial O'Neill's Attitude Picture It has been said by many a successful promoter of civic enterprise and industry that the responsible prospective industry is interested, not so much in itself, hut in the attitude of the city. The hard hearted businessman is quick to point (Hit that nothing could be further from the trulh and that any prospective industry is primarily interested in how easy it is going to be for the industry to get a start. However, if you will ask the men who look your eity over and you seldom know what they're up to —you will find out that they are looking for the picture of a city wrapped up in the casual remark of a service station attendant or a waitress. ‘‘What do you think of O'Neill and how do you like living here,” they might ask. And because the waitress and attendant hold an important key to the city’s "attitude picture,” the prospective industrial man with his camera-like mind records an important event. Nationally gathered statistics show that there are. on the average, two such men who travel through cities like ours each month. These men are prone to avoid the civic leader, they stay away from banks, newspapers, and men who are inter ested in their city because of their own “life-blood.” It is true that they want to know just what kind at improvements have been made in the past year ar so including such things as new schools, paving mi new church improvements. But they don’t like the idea of questioning the civic leaders until the attitude picture is formed. For this reason, then, we all can play a part in the promotion of our community. Guest Editorial The Burwell Tribune In our last week’s column, we made mention of flic “usual” small turnout at the city caucuses. Well, after last week’s gatherings, we’ll have to amend the statement; there really was a fine turn out at both. We were more than pleased to see this interest manifested in city politics—and we’d say there was no particular “axe to grind”—just sincere interest in city government. One thing very notice able was the large number of ladies present; vve thought it was just simply grand to have this interest among the women of the community. They play a big part in Burwell, and their voice should be heard and their influence felt. When we read in the daily papers about some of our representatives, in Washington, putting their relatives on the government payroll, at fabulous salaries, and even let Uncle Sam pay rent on the front porch of one home, as a private office- it al most makes one lose faith in mankind. How any one of the caliber these men should be, could stoop to such a practice, is hard to understand, and we’d think the expose of the practice would make for domed poor campaign fodder in forthcoming elec tions We will say, that none of our Nebraska rep resentatives have been so accused, of which we are proud to say. Free Spending? By Dick Howe (Boone Companion) Brass hats in the American Legion, who believe that service in the armed forces somehow makes them eligible to say how the government should be inn, are plugging for a $100 monthly bonus for vet erans of World War I. The cost of this program would run into the bil lions of dollars; and of course it eventually would be extended to veterans of World War II and the Korean War. If I should live to be 80 and collect it from the age of 60 on, it would mean $24,000 to me— but I'm against it. Just why anyone should think that a few months of army (or navy or marine) duty entitles them to special privileges, I’ll never understand. Veterans shouldn't be allowed to stick their hands in the public purse any more than ex-Boy Scouts or retired news papermen. (The government should, and does, take care of persons suffering service-connected disabil ities. But there should be periodic examinations to see just how much they still are disabled). The country owes little more than a pat on the back to most veterans, and that is more than amply paid in the form of low-cost GI insurance and gov ernment-guaranteed loans to buy homes. Although the GI bill enabled millions of veterans to attend college and did immeasurable good, I’m not certain that even it was entirely justified. I know personally of scores of cases where the GI bill was abused; seemingly with the knowledge and tacit consent of the college and Veterans Administration. I just can’t understand anyone who has no more ambition than to be a professional veteran. Do you feel sorry for the soldier-scientists who were courtmartialed at the army chemical center in Maryland last year? They felt that their brains entitle’d them to different treatment than the ordin ary dog-face; recently the top army brass said they have no intention of treating scientists as a class apart. I can sympathize with the scientists, but feel they are on the wrong track. I, too, had sergeants and officers whom I considered, well, stupid. It’s a shame that we are forced to have armed services, but as long as we do they must be operated along the lines of a dictatorship and absolute discipline must lie maintained at all times. Otherwise you have a mob, not an army. “VOICE OF THE BEEF EMPIRE” 122 South Fourth St. — Box 330 — O’Neill, Nebr. JAMES CHAMPION, Co-Publisher JERRY PETSCHE, Editor 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 newspaper is a member of the Nebraska Press Association, Nation al 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 upon request. All subscriptions payable in advance. • F rontiers Auo The Frontier Was Young Neil Brennan was one of the happiest men in O'Neill near St. Patrick’s Day in the year 1899. In that morning’s mail he received from the Sisters of Charity, of Ballaghadenn County, Mayo. Ire land, a beautiful spray of sham rock fastened with a green ribbon upon which was printed in gilt let ters ’’God Save Ireland." The Frontier reported: It is a beauti ful token from the "old sod" and Mr. Brennan is justly proud of it and he has good reason to be, coming, as the letter accompany ing it says, as a token of gratitude for the love you have shown to Ireland. The shamrock was sent by Superioress Catherine Norris. Ballaghaderin w:as in the famine district in 1898 and assistance was solicited for them of the exiled children of Erin in this country and Patrick Ford, editor of the Irish World, raised a fund in America for their assistance. Mr. Brennan sent them a personal donation the Christmas of 1898 and it was in ap preciation of that gift the spray was sent. Cole's Jewelry and Music Store had as their ad in this week's is sue of The Frontier, Elgin factory watches, $5.00.....P. C. Kelley has been doing work on the Indepen dent the past two weeks in the absence of editor. P. J. Donoue traveling freight agent of the Short Line, w'as looking after the interests of his line in the city March 15....Judge Westover, who came down from Rushville to try The Frontier case, returned home. He was accompanied by Court re porter Maher, who came up from Lincoln and reported the case. During these past two weeks in 1898. the following persons were granted marriage lieenses by the county judge: Leonard Heins and Dollie Reed of Page, Samuel in Paul Ststrbowf Correspondent The \rbn»U Press Association LINCOLN There has ix*en a ma tter shift in policy on road hud dling in the State Highway Depart I ment. This was evident when the de j t«rtpient, with the approval of j Gov. Ralph G. BiTxiks. announced ! ihe 1K>9-61 highway construction and improvement program. It was apparent that the depart ment had made an administrative decisio. ,o dump more funds in to converting gravel roads to hard j surfacing. State Engineer Roy Cochran, a former Democratic governor, ex I plained that the department had not changed or tampered with the sufficiency rating system for de termining priority of road con struction. This consists of different en gineering principles that are gi ven ratings. When a road should he improved it is determined from the score resulting from the application of the system to a particular stretch of highway. The sufficiency system com pares gravel roads with gravel roads, concrete with concrete, and blacktop with blacktop. But it does not rate the roads as against categories. The admini strative decision. Cochran said, was to put a larger share of high way funds into improving gravel roads by deferring for two years improvements on hard-surfaced routes. This does not mean, the engineer explained, that the department has altered its idea of improving hard surfaced highways. But, it does mean, he added, that the admini strative decision was to defer work on roads that could hold up for tu'o years and improve gravel routes which always have a high maintenance cost attached to them. I Cochran said, however, that 'whether this decision was entirely wise cannot be determined until two years from now when the con dition of hard-surfaced roads up on which improvement was de ferred, is ascertained. Mansion Shakes Gov. Halph G. Brooks says it will take $5,000 to fix irp a case of the "shakes'' in Nebraska’s new governor's mansion. That amount of cash, the gover nor's mansion. That amount of cash, the gover nor commented, will not correct the shaking of floors evident in the mansion, but will reduce the severity of the quivering. An independent engineering re port submitted by an Omaha ar chitectural firm, the chief execu tive said, indicated that the archi tect had complied with specifica tions and work met the require ments of the Lincoln building code. However, the report said that shaking can he expected from the “bar joist" type of construction employed in the mansion, sion. Suggested as a partial solution was laying of sheet lead on the mansion floor and a half-inch thick foam rubber cushion, to give more weight to the floor. Educational Director Fur flew over the hoard of Con trol. which governs state institu tions, hiring a full-time education al director. The board announced it was em ploying Dr. Vernon Hungate, di rector of special education for the State Education Department, to head up the educational program at 10 of its 17 institutions. Sen, George Syas of Omaha branded the maneuver as a "cheap political trick." Syas said the hiring was de I signed to defeat two hills in the LcfttUturp to transfer the State schools for the Blind at Nebras ka ('tty amt the Deaf at Omaha to jurisdiction of the State Hoard | of Education. Charles Leeman. \ tee-chairman [of the board said there was no i thing involved in the hiring that ' had anything to do with any hills offered in the Legislature by Syas. Syas has been trying to abolish the Hoard of Control system ot governing state institutions and has a measure in the hop(>er thts time to do away with the ii-mem l*er appointive board. Education Interest in education lulls tsefon I the Legislature continues to he high. The Education Committee killed a proposal which would have ta ken away from the State Educa tion Commissioner the authority to decide disputed points of school law. Now. the commissioner can re solve such matters and his deci sion is final unless overturned by the courts. Guard Reorganization The Nebraska National Quart! has been re-organized along con cepts of the Pentomic approach to warfare. Key to the change is reorgani zation of the division from throe regiments to one made up of five highly mobile and self-sustaining battle groups. Maj. Gen. Guy N. Henninger. state adjutant general, and head of the guard, approved the plan, as did Maj. Gen. Warren C. Wood, of Goring, division commander. Target date for completion of the reorganization is May 1. Hastings Farm A farm at the Hastings State Hospital will not he ope rap'd with trusties from the State lVniten tl»r> under U) circumstance*. That's the report from State Sen, Richard Marvel of Hastings, who conferred with the Board of Control about the matter Marvel said he would ask Gov. ■ Ralph G Brooks for a fact-finding study and economic feasibility re I sort on the farm Under consideration hy the | Hoard had N't n turning over the property to the State Penitentiary 'for an honor farm The Board, Marvel said, agreed to operate the location as economi cally as possible tinder su|>ervision of the Hospital superintendent, lH’ar Editor: Although I no longer live in the state of Nebraska. I still follow with much interest it's activities, especially those concerning Holt county and O'Neill. Congratulations on your purchase of an excellent newspaper. It was just 30 years ago this year that 1 was one of the 32 grad uating students, of the O'Neill public school. Sincerely, F. M. Felts tltoseler) 24 East Bowery St. Newport., R I Apt. 2, _ INCOME TAX For assistance In filing your self employment and tax reports, call on — Geo. C. Robertson AGENCY We work for your Interest and appreciate your business. Downey Building, O’Neill, Nebr Ph.* 534 — Res. Ph. 161W POSTPONED SALE Executor’s Sale Of Real And Personal Property To settle the estate of the late W. R. Tenborg, the following property will be sold at the Tenborg Res idence, in Emmet, Nebraska, on MARCH 25th 1959, at 1 p.m. REAL ESTATE The Southeast Quarter of Section 15, Township 29, North, Range 13, West of the 6th P.M., Holt Coun ty, Nebraska, located 14 mile West of Emmet, on U.S. Highway 20. A partially improved Quarter Section, containing 65 acres of cultivated land, 10 acres of alfalfa, 30 acres of hay land, the balance in pasture, lots and corral. Possession will be given on execution of contract and the making of down payment. Residence property located in Emmet, legally described as Lots 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 1, Block 8, Original Town of Emmet. A 7 room, 2 story dwelling house, modern except for bath. * PERSONAL PROPERTY 1956 Plymouth 4-door sedan, 18,000 Barn, 24x24 actual miles, good condition. 12 Brood Sows, due to farrow in April 1 Double Granary 16x26. 40 Bushels of Oats 1 Hampshire Boar Bee Hives and Equipment 350 Bushels of Ear Corn Stove Wood; Oil Drums 2—Stacks Alfalfa Hay and some Chicken Wire; Hog Wire Prairie Hay Bed, Springs & Mattress Canvas Tarp, 10x14 Dresser; Sideboard; Studio Couch NUMEROUS OTHER ARTICLES 1 ..—1 The following property belonging to Ruth Wagnon WILL BE SOLD AT THIS SALE: 2 Dressers; Commode with Mirror; Comer Cupboard; Round Dining Table with Chairs; Double Burner Oil Heater; China Cabinet; Desk and Chair; Metal Bookcase; Plastic Covered Spring Rocker; Overstuffed Club Chair; 4 Occasional Chairs; Combination Radio-Phonograph and Records; Extension Chrome Dinette with 6 Chairs; 2 Metal Supply Cupboards; Refrigerator; Combination Gas & Coal Range; 3 Mattresses; Maytag Washing Machine; Coffee Table; 2 Foot Stools; Dishes, pots, pans, canned fruit & vegetables; Fruit jars, stone jars; Step Ladder; Floor Lamp; Cream Can;Gladlron Mangle; J Hive of Bees; Lawn Mower; Garden Tools; Pic- j tures and Picture Frames; Kitchen Table. TERMS: Personal Property—Cash. Real Estate—20% down, Balance upon delivery of deed and abstract show ing merchantable title. 1958 taxes will be paid. W. P. Daily, Executor Norman Gonderinger, Attorney O'Neill, Nebraska WALLACE O'CONNELL, Auctioneer ED MURPHY, Clerk