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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1959)
THE FRONTIER, O’Nrtll. Nrfcraaka. Thursday, July 9. 1959 Prairieland Talk Drumbeat of Eternity By ROMAINE SAUNDERS, 4110 South 51st St., Lincoln 6. Nebr. The morning of the day this is written the drum beat of eternity rumbled through the death chamber of our state prison down at Lincoln. Another con demned killer led to the death chair, strapped in and die current turned on. Death reached an inex orable hand and snuffed out the life of Charles Stark wr'ffer Now after many months of appeals and pr- T ts the verdict of the jury of twelve citiz en; f. iet its fulfillment. When the long last roll w r . and the reverberations of a wrecked and ru in** .arid sound forth that young killer might stand fa jo face with the eleven victims of his youthful rar? and hear the final sentence pronounced the w /ps of sin is eternal death. • • • She and her young daughter take off for Chicago via railway. Will return driving a highway vehicle. She and her leige-lord will then each have an auto mobile and the daughter, two saddle ponies. No, they are not in the million-dollar class of prairie Imders he s a preacher! Memories of our pioneer preachers who traveled the prairies astride a horse or an foot. • • • All passenger train service has been abandoned to the state of Maine, the first state to come to that. It appears others are headed bat nay and maybe the whole gauntr> My respected grandsire Ml me once that he was a pas senger on what he said was toe first railway train in Am erica Who will be the grand are today to ride the last train? • • • Sixty miles up the trail from O'Neill where gold seekers trav eled to the Black Hills in the ■agaalae fang ago is the quiet village of Saunders Uan*Gpn<- From there we hear toe looting of horns and see printed appeals calling •Mention to Nebraska’s Hidden Paradise, the Long pine canyon with its seven springs of clear water gotoung from a rock wall. Nebraskans trot the con tinent over to visit the beauty spots while ignoring aur own state's Hidden Paradise. Seventy years ago a national and notea hie setup known as a Chau tauqua came from far places to the Longpine canyon ■ad for days entertained and inspired the crowds artffi vocal and instrumental music, interesting apeak lts and a bit of comedy. For those occasions •nr lading out railroad of today conveyed the cit kaens to Longpine round-trip for a one-way fare. I ta’t know now how we scraped up the car fare and sandwich money, but Clint Lowrie and I never missed the Chatauqua at Longpine * * • As the one, over whose furrowed brow' and grey ing locks the years wrote the record of a lifetime, senses the importance of the present there lingers the cherished memories of the past. Life has woven a web of smiles and tears and we would not have it otherwise. Joy inspires a song and a sorrow humbles the soul. So the onward march through smiles and tears makes life what it is. a step on the way to the bliss of eternity. * * * After days of scorching heat the door closed on the month of June wet and cold It was in the late 30's down west of Amelia. The boys backed the car out to head for Atkinson to celebrate the Fourth of July. Boys, Dad said, you better take your over coats. They did, and were back from Atkinson be fore the shades of night settled across the prairie. Cold and wet this last day of June as one of those boys, now living in Indiana plans to take off with his life’s companion and their three-year-old daugh ter for a trip to the Pacific coast. Son, take your overcoat; daughter, w’eur your furs and wrap a blanket about Dorris! I have turned on the furnace. • • • Gov. Brooks refers to one of our state senators as an "egomaniac”. That is printable, but wha that egomaniac says of our chief executive is not fit to appear in this refined family paper going as it does into the best homes throughout this and ad joining counties. • • • She hrad ministered that afternoon in a home where dwelt an aging invalid. I sat alone. Then as the low descending sun would soon glow a good night across prairieland I walked out and saw her coming along the road. My anxious heart layed down its load as down the dirt road I went to meet her. Then hand in hand back again to our own door What is it that throbs in these human breasts of ours that binds two beings together us one. A short word of four letters tells it all—Love! * * • The St. Lawrence waterway conveying ocean going streamers into ports of our Great Lakes has been dedicated, with the queen of England and our national chief executive present to make the dedica tion addresses, and other free-world notables and mobs of Canadian and Yankee commoners taking it in. Now you can board a ship in London and paddle by water all the way to Chicago. COME ON TO PRAIRIELAND ON WHEELS! Editorial It's a Tunny' Law “Good for the state patrol!” The words were spnirn with feeling by a mother of three sons all akf enough to drive and all old enough to recognize responsibility. The O'Neill mother was referring to the appre hension of seven Holt eounty minors charged with possession of alcohol by a state patrolman last .She knew, as she was saying it the slaughter of hundreds was about to begin. The mingling of blood, aleohol and gasoline on the Fourth of July week-end was expected and what is worse, would be taken for granted But it s a "funny” law, the one that charges a minor with possession of alcohol not necessarily a had one. mind you, but one which admits a failure -of enforcing another law. This newspaper would like to see another group at names on the front page. How about the adults who do the selling? What about them? And how about the adults that buy from the beer sellers and then sell to the youths? Rriicemen the world over work hard to get a con fession or a statement out of a person who is charged with such crimes as murder. (a it so difficult for the same policemen to get • statement out of a 17 or 18-year old youth, to find aot who sells the alcohol to the minors? Killing of a Afferent type could be stopped an our public roads. Would it not be far better tor police everywhere to question and to continue to question the youths want they find out who the adults are? We do not waft to imply that the minors are not to blame or tost they should be shielded- We do think, however, Amt if a few beer licenses in the “right” places were tost the youths wouldn’t have the opportunity to go •crang He Wouldn't Say Senator Frank Nelson walked into the newspaper office the other day, and although he didn't appear Arad, and ready for a rest, he had good reason to The session was the longest and one of the most Afhcuft on record. More than the average amount of hickering—and •or laws are hammered out on anvils of steel per sonalities—was seen. He wouldn’t tell us whether he intended to run agsm. and you can’t much Marne him for that, newspapermen, however, will always ask immed iately after a session. Senator Nelson, like most •anators right about now, do have some sort of an like Senator Nelson, they smile a relaxed smile and say, "no comment at tMa time." The Wahae Newspaper Those Fund Drives A battle has been raging in the last few years between those who would combine the massive num ber at disjointed and unooordiaafeed fund-raising cam paigns, in behalf of various diseases, etc-, and those mho want their individual organizations to carry on ■pirate drives each year. We are solidly on the side at the United Fund, or Oammunity Chest, or Ttorch Drive, or whatever it maty be in the various oommamaities. Several recent mmfii have shown that too amah money is going Me New York headquarters of certain of these or ganizations, and that local United Funds, for exam ple, can divide she money more evenly and, with one drive a year, create less work and trouble for everyone concerned. Moreover, there should be some check on all the various drives and crusades today, and a United Fund, or similar group can decide what is legitimate and what is a racket. There are rackets among the various fund drives. One interesting thing, pointed out recently in Harper's Magazine, is the fact that some of the fund drives today collect far more money than they ever did, even though the purpose for which they were formed has long been accomplished, or mostly accomplished. For example, the annual T.B. Seal sale is gross ing more money than it ever has, even though T.B. mortality has been cut from 200 per 100,000 persons to 8 per 100,000 persons. The case is similar with polio, and the famed “Mother’s March” is the greatest fund-raising gim mick ever invented. Yet the incidence of polio is down to 47 cases per 100,000 as compared with, for example, 5,848 cases of cardiovascular disease, for which no such huge sum of money is collected. In summary, we contribute about the same amount of money on behalf of 150,000 victims of muscular dystrophy as we do for the 9,000,000 Americans who are mentally ill. Arthritis and rheumatism, of which there are 10,000,000 cases, get even less. No Shortage Here (From the Stuart Advocate) Noticed in the county seat papers that a water shortage has been created in their town due to the excessive usage of water, and inadequacy of pres ent pumps. It is ironic, indeed, to note that on an other page of this issue, the local village dads are encouraging the use of more water by cutting the rates in half during the summer. Come to think of it, we can point with pride to our local plant for its efficiency enabling the abund ance of water for gardens and yards. A THOUGHT FOR THE EVENING—There is no darkness in the night that cannot be lighted with faith. Watch the mother comfort the small child that wakes in the night. While we fools strike matches, she smiles. JAMBS CHAMPION. Ce-Publisher JERRY PETSCHE, Editor Entered at the postoCCce 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, 32.50 per year; elsewhere in the United States, 33 per year; rates abroad provided upon request. All subscriptions payable in advance. NATIONAL Frontiers Ago ,'Ht YEARS AGO Supervisor Roberts of Shields had considerable damage done to in his vicinity due to a heavy hail storm. The rye was literally pound ed into the earth and his oats was : cut so badly that he is now plow i ing it up.The northwestern , railroad sold 203 tickets to people going to Atkinson for the Fourth of July celebration. . . .Father i Cassidy went to Chicago to see , about the windows for the new church.John Sullivan re signed his position as janitor of the K. C. hall and Pat Donohoe ! was appointed.T. B. Har rison was in from the north coun try and he says they are having ’ so much rain in his section that ! he is afraid it will rust their oats .John Busharj nad sixty three hogs on the market here in 1909 and received $1,159.95. The hogs brought $7.30 a hundred 1 which was the highest price paid [ here for several years. They were sold to Jim Muller. . .Miss Etta Morgan of Sioux Falls, S. D., vis ited her sister Mrs. William Froe lich for a month. . . .Married: William DeVall of Meek and Miss Mary Storjohn of Phoenix. 20 YEARS AGO The Fourth of July was cele brated by the various citizens of O'Neill in many ways, but the best thing to be said, is that there wrere no serious accidents. . . .A. E. Bowen planned to start remodeling I his stnrn hnilHintr At thn r‘rAnr'lii sion he was to have the largest store room in the city under one roof.Mrs. Helen Simar had a force of men at work remodeling the old Bentley building on east Douglas street purchased by her . . . .John Melvin moved his gro cery stock to the P. J. McManus building, just north of his store .William W. Griffin, At kinson was one of the 122 appli cants to the Bar by the Nebraska Bar Commission. . . A large dele gation of O’Neill people attended the Fourth of July celebration at Inman. . ,4-H Judging Day in At kinson was made a huge success by the attendance of over 400 4-H Club members from Holt, Rock and Boyd counties. . . .The O'Neil! baseball team trimmed Verdigre at the City Park here with a score of 10-7. O’Neill played eight games so far and have won seven, losing only to Redbird. . . .Mrs. Charles Reka sold her interest in the Ar buthnot & Reka filling station to R. L. Arbuthnot andl son, Jack, who took possession on July 1, 1939 under the name of Arbuthnot Oil Company. . .Deaths: Bernard Augusta Grass, 29, of Page, due to complications from a previous attack of influenza, John Lappan, early nineties, of Craydon, Pa., former homesteader of dry creek south of this city. 10 YEARS AGO Installation of $600. worth of playground equipment was started at Ford’s Park by the members of the Parent-Tt'achers association. . . The J. P. Gallagher store, one of the oldest firms in the O’Neill bus iness directory has sold its stock in preparation of terminating bus iness. It has operated from its present site on the Northeast cor ner of South Fourth and Everett streets since 1901.Lee Kjel sen, bandmaster at Valentine, con ducted the O’Neill municipal band at regular Saturday night concert . . . .The Holt county assessed val uation is up $1,351,260. over 1948 according to L. G. Gillespie, coun ty assessor.O’Neill volunteer firemen were called twice this i week to put out minor fires at the i William Krotter Co and the Frank Dalton home. . . Married: Gilbert Fox and Miss Doris Tomlinson; !. . .Miss Marilyn Fritton was ac cepted as a student nurse by St. Catherines hospital in Omaha, . , Births: Veldon Wayne, son of Mr and Mrs Merle Spangler, Dor sey; Beth Eileen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Kramer, O'Neill .The Women's association of the Presbyterian church held their annual ranch picnic at the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs J. Henry j Patterson, near Emmet. FIVE YEARS AGO The city council authorized a pay increase of $25. per month to the newly appointed police chief, Joe Wert The new pay figure is . $250 increased from $225. . . Miss Marjorie (Marge* Weichman was crowned queen of the seventh annual American Legion sponsored rodeo at Stuart. . . .A record crowd gathered at the O'Neill Country Club and parked automo biles choked nearby side roads for the annual fireworks exhibition. . . Married: Miss Betty Jane Johnson and Cec Bishop . . . .Mr. and Mrs. Kurpgeweit built a new home | on their farm South of Ewing. . . Mrs. Chet Fees, O'Neill, grabbed first place honors in the powder puff derby, the feature of the Fourth of July stock car race show at the Airport speedway. . . . .A night rodeo was staged under the arc lights at the Holt county fair ai Chambers. . Harry Stoke ly, 1954 graduate of the University of Nebraska college of Agriculture arrived to begin his duties as assistant Holt county agent, work ing under county agent, A. Neil Dawes. . . .R. A. Cahill has re signed as mathematics teacher in the Page public school. . . .Deaths: Mrs. Della Walker, about 80, of Stuart; Rhonda Sue Borg. 3 months, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Borg, O’Neill. Taxes To Be Told CAPITOL NEWS Statchou.se Correspondent The Nebraska Press Association LINCOLN—It will be a month before Nebraskans know how much they will have to pay in property taxes to support state government this year. The decision will be made by the State Board of Equalization, headed by Gov. Ralph G. Brooks. For 1958, the levy was $7.97 for each $1,000 worth of taxable value. The budget bill passed by the Legislature indicated a hike in the levy to $8.62. This was based on an assessed valuation of $3.1 bill ion. o*:v. "ii- r.ifiniwnrwi m i m i ban ; State Tax Commissioner Fred I Herrington reckons the txx'st in | tangible property value against which the levy is applied may run j close to $150 million, based on the I trend in early reporting from eoun i ties. The tax commissioner guesses the hik* in intangible A property —cash and accounts recievable —may be in the neighborhood of $130 million. That's a 35 |*er cent increase. In the case of intangihle B pro perty mainly stocks and txwds .the txxist is expected to be $288.9 | million up 75 per cent July 1 was the deadline for coun j ties to report to the State Board on values this year. The hoard then goes over the figures • and decides whether to summon any counties to explain changes at a public hearing. Then, the levy is set. Although there is much interest yearly in the state property tax levy, it is only a small percentage of the overall tax bill. Eby Stays Gov. Ralph G. Brooks, under pressure from veterans’ groups, reversed himself and retained State Veterans Affairs Director Louis R Eby. The governor made it plain he wasn’t happy about keeping Eby, but said he wanted to acknowledge the wishes of "rank-and-file" ve terans who tielong to both Republi can and Democratic parties. Brooks said he wanted to re place Eby because he has per I mitted a state employee in his office, later identified as Janies Smith, State American legion Commander, to serve as head of the veterans group. This, Brooks said, involves a great deal of time, travel and expense. The chief executive also charged that Eby had .permitted himself to lie associated with “partisan organizations and candidates." Further, the governor stated, if his objections were not taken care of he would still remove Eby. Bank Deposits The word has gone out to 192 banks in Nebraska: The state wants its idle funds for investment in government bonds. State Treasurer Richard Larsen, a Democrat, Issued the call for some $4.5 million in dormant funds in the banks. TTiis money, plus $4 million already invested in bonds by reducing the size of de posits in 11 clearing banks, would make $8.5 million available for investment. It was estimated that amount would produce $35,000 monthly In interest which would go Into the property-tax supported gener al fund. Gov. Ralph G. Brooks said Lar sen is carrying out a campaign pledge. Larsen has announced he will seek re-election and it is apparent the investment will be part of his campaign statements. The action was taken after the Legislature declined to pass a bill requiring banks holding the funds to pay interest to the state on them. Appointment Confirmed The Legislature confirmed the appointment of Jack Obbink as ***»-* •' ----- • I o .State Aeronautics Director, but | not without dissent. Obbink wag appointed by Gov. Ralph G. Brooks to succeed Hol land Harr. The appointment is subject to [legislative confirmation Shortly before adjourning the 1959 session, the lawmakers approved the se lection of Obbink. But there were five opposing votes, cast by Sens. John Cooper of Humboldt. John Donner of Kl | gin, George Fulton of Beattici. Kai l Hollenlkvk of Look |’mo M P. Russillo of Omaha \u Republicans. Obhink is a 5 crat. Electric Motor* Rewinding — Rebulldln* Gall Ui W — M ha 8*rvi<* Northweit Electric O’Neill Out of Old Nebraska Nebraska's Passes: Roubidoux, Mitcheii In a prairie state such as Ne braska, there are few passes I through hills or mountains digni fied by that title. The state does ! have two passes that are well known to history and to travellers. |It is not surprising that they are within a few miles of each other and are passes through the same obstruction, Scotts Bluff and the Wildcat hills to the south. They are Mitchell Pass, the one now used by highway Hti past the National Monument, and Roubidoux Pass which is several miles southwest or Mitchell Pass. Roubldoux's years of use and fame were before 1850. The Mit chell Pass route was first tra versed, or made passable, by ar my troops hauling goods to Fort Laramie. The army, like other travelers, wanted the trail to stay as close to the river as possible, and the' Roubidoux route away from the ri ver from near present Melbeta to Horse Creek seemed liko a thirty mile detour. The way through Mit chell Pass never left the river far, and seemed much more direct and less circuitous. The army made a passable road and from about 1851 on the Roubidoux Pass route was less and less travelled. This first famous pass is now almost forgot ten. In its heyday, Roubidoux Pass was a noteworthy place on the Oregon trail, described in the en tries in the journals that haw sur vived. Hie trading post ami H i, k smith shop of Roubidoux elicited comment as they provided most welcome service along the trail Also, the beauty of the Goring \ al ley, the gmxi quality of the mad, and the view showing I at ramie peak in the distance from the top of the Pass , impressed the ha veners, they thought they were seeing the Rocky mountains tor the first time ns they saw I-ara mie Peak. This pass had a more favorable aspect and was a ix-iter and easier trail to follow than the one that became more popular thn>ugh Mitchell Pass. Merrill Mattes, historian of the area, has pointed oat an iro ay In the desertion of Koutddoux for the Mitchell Pass route. Tl\r Imx'elers xvho made the change realized they had picked a oiore difficult route, but took it be cause it xvas more direct shorter. Actually, the mileage of the two routes from the time the trails parted till they came back together was almost ideutioal. As this xvas true, the travellers who foresook the Roubidoux Pass route for the new one saved noth ing and lost considerable in quali ty of the trail. If they had stayed with Roubi doux Pass it is at least possible that towns such as Goring would have been located differently thir ty or forty years later. SQIt CONSERVATION I The new stamp commemorating soil conservation will be marie available In many post offices on August 27. The Frontier Engrav ing. Four C’s Determine Diamond Value There are only four factors which establish the value of any diamond sold anywhere. These provide rules by which the worth of your diamond can be accurately measured by trained jewelers, aided by specially designed scientific Instruments. These factors are commonly known as the FOUR C’s. These are color, clarity, cutting and carat weight. McIntosh jewelry 40? E. Douglas Phone 1M A Trusted Jeweler Is Your Best Advisor NEBRASKA’S HIDDEN PARADISE Long Pine, Nebraska Band: Jess Gayer Date: July 12 STEAKS, SEA FOOD AND CHICKEN 5-9 p.m. Daily Sundays 11:30-2 and 5-9 Closed Mondays World-famed for the Best | Dependability The Cadillac motor car has long been famous for its extraor dinary capacity for trouble-free operation. The credit should go to its fine engineering . . . high quality of materials . . . and skillful, painstaking craftsmanship. Naturally, these factors also result in great economy of operation and give the Cadillac a unique ability to maintain its value over an unusually long period of time. If these are things you’ve been seeking in a motor car, visit your Cadillac dealer soon! VISIT YOUR LOCAL AUTHORIZED CADILLAC DEALER A. MARCELLUS CHEVROLET CO.. 127 No. 4th St., O’Neill, Ncbr. . . o
