STATE HIST SOC LINCOLN. N£3R. Bureau Men Explain Irrigation Project to O'Neill Chamber Bureau of Reclamation men, Gordon Wendler, R. E. Johnson and J M. Barrett of Ainsworth talked for more than two hours to the O’Neill Chamber of Commerce Monday night. The men explained the proposed irrigation project for O'Noill and Atkinson at the regular meeting held at the Town House. J. M. Barrett, area engineer for the reclamation people, opened the discussion with a short history ol the bureau. He then told the Cham ber that the O Neill-Atkmson study was started in 1955 and that the study is just now being completed, Barrett stated that two things are necessary tie fore any recom mendations can be made by the group. First, the project must be physically leasable. That is, il must he possible from an engi neering standpoint, there must be enough water and the soils con sidered must be able to support irrigation. Secondly, the project must be economically possible. The tienefits derived from such ir rigation must exceed or be equal to the cost of the project and there must be enough money to complete the plan. Barrett pointed out that an irri gation plan such as this is much different than that of a flood con trol plan in that any money spent by the federal government in this I irrigation project must be repaid to the treasury. The area engineer then said that four steps are necessary before the government will allocate any money to begin the project. First the report on the area must be completed. This has now been done and the report states that it would be possible to irrigate approxi mately 71,000 acres of land here in Holt county. The report is then reviewed by the Nebraska department of agri culture and must be approved. The report is then transmitted to Cong" ss thiough the Secretary of Interior According to Barrett, at this point the report must be supported by local interests. It is not nec essary that any of the ranchers or l.tnd owners sign up to have their land irrigated, but they, and other interested persons, must give some indication as to wheth er they would like to see the pro ject started. The fourth step is a new one to these projects and stipulates that signed statements from local parties must be given showing an interest in the irrigation project. At this point R. E. Johnson took over the discussion and showed the O'Neill businessmen and farmers | and ranchers invited to the meet ing just what benefits could be derived from such a project as that proposed for this area. Johnson stated that at no time in history has Holt county averag 'd more than $20 [>er acre income. 'Using the figure that the bureau has found necessary for any ran cher to have a sufficient living, $2,775 net. he then showed that Holt county ranchers have aver aged. over the past 50 years or so. only $1,794 net. He then showed figures which demonstrated that with irrigation, farmers and ranchers effected could net better than $4,000 with $830 going to repay the cost of the irrigation. The cost of the irrigation has tentatively been set at from $6 to $11, depending upon the class of soil being irrigated. Since 72% of the soil involved in this project is class II soil, the cost would probably run in the neighborhood of less than $10 per acre for the majority of farmers. Tins figure, however, is not definite. This $6 to $11 per acre figure compares now with sprinkler irri gation systems already in use at the rate of about one fourth to one half as much. Sprinkler system irrigation, averaged out over the state, costs $24.56 per acre. Pipe irrigation costs $9.75 per acre and the state figure for gravity irri gatu n such as that proposed here is $6.56 per acre. Johnson then went on to say that it will take 200.000 acre feet of water per year to raise the pre cipitation in the area the desired 13 inches. This means that it will take 35 inches, of water diverted at the Norden dam to deliver 13 inches of water to the crop roots here in Holt county. The 60- mile canal needed to hring water to the land would consist of 89-miles of sub-canals and 169 miles of laterals. Approx imately 140 miles of drainage , ditches would have to he construct ed to help check erosion from any excess moisture. Farmers using the water would have access to the irrigation can als when ever they wished, but they would have to request the wafer before they could take water from the ditches. The water can Ire used for any purpose. The engineers have planned that the canal from the Norden dam will pass under 7 creeks and some 50 bridges will lie constructed over the canal for roads and high ways. The estimates on the cost of such a project have tx-cn set at from $800 to $815 [ter acre. This is re paid to the government over a 40 year period and is the $ti to $11 per acre water usage fee. This project, and O'Neill and At kinson land owners, Is fortunate in that as we are a part of the Mis souri River Basin a good share of tiie projects cost will be picked up from revenues derived from the sale of electrical power at the big Missouri dams. If the farmer can not pay completely for the water usage, he pays what he can and the rest of the money is made up from these funds. The bureau men feel that if the project were completed it wcaM add about 174 new families be Holt county. Net farm income is estimated to jump from the ■(*■» cut $435,000 in Holt county tos $2,276,800. Many of the 00ft arye farms in the area would be ftv duced to 200 acre farms fur she simple reason that one farmer would not be able to handle th* load on a 600 acre irrigated ' arm The men who talked to the chamber of commerce Mciadjy night said that they would he wrj happy to meet any of the farmer* anywhere to discuss the pn^ect and to acquaint them better mlb what is heing planned here. Willingness to participate m the prime factor at this stage ci the project and interest must l>e shmm favoring the irrigation. _ * * B Twelve Pages * In This Issue "The Voice of the Beef Empire" • » Volume 79—Number 28 O'Neill, Holt County, Nebraska, Thursday, November 5, 1959 _^_ Seven Cents Romaine Rohde, Holt Farmer, Dies Saturday F u n e r a l services were con ducted Wednesday for Romaine John Rhode at 10 a.m. with Msgr. Timothy O’Sullivan officiating. Burial was in Calvary cemetery. Pallbearers were Francis Wabs, Carl Damcro, Ed G a 11 a g h e r. George Janousek, John Donlin and E. M. Stewart. Mr. Rhode died Saturday fol lowing a heart attack at flic age of 70. He had farmed most of his lire near O'Neill and had moved to town two years ago to retire. Romaine John Rhode was tarn February 22. 1889, at Turner, Nchr., the son of John T. Rhode and Bridget Hoff, both natives of Germany. When he completed his school ing he worked for 7 years in Omaha for Armour and Co. On Oct. 5, 1915. he married Agnes Mary Stanton at St. Patrick's Church in O'Neill. To this union three sons were tarn In 1921, Mr. and Mrs. Rhode moved to the home place in the Phoenix Community north west of O'Neill where he farmed until his retirement two years ago. Survivors besides his wife, in clude three sons, Bernard, O - Neill, Anthony, Burbank, Calif., and Francis, O’Neill; six sisters, Mary London, O'Neill, Loretta Egen. Omaha, Ann Boukal. Oma ha, Margaret Goebhcls, Omaha, Beatrice Rhode, Chicago, 111. Clara Moler, Hastings; and three brothers, 'Ambrose, Kennewich, Wash.. Joseph, Dallas. S. D., and John, Cheyene, Wyo. Spencer Native, Emma Boettcher, Dies Thursday Funeral services for Emma. G Boettcher, 76, were conducted Monday at Immanual lAitheran church in Spencer with Rev. John Rath officiating. Mrs. Boettcher died last Thurs clay at the home of her daughter north of Spencer. E m m a Boettcher was horn January 1, 1883. at Green Bay. Wise., and moved to Spencer at an early age. She lived in the community 61 years. On Dec. 16, 1903, she was mar ried to Gustave Boettcher-' at Spencer. They resided on a farm north of Spencer until Mr Boet tcher's death in 1938 when she moved into towrr. Survivors include five s n.. O-car Herman, Bruno, Arthur and Herbert, till of Spencer; two daughters, Mrs. Reinhold, tlda Kaczor, Spencer and Mrs. Karl tEsther) Kuhnel, Crawford; three sisters, three brothers and li | grandchildren. I $1,500 Collected For Stoffer Fund Approximately $1,500 has al ready been collected icy the thr?c O'Neill news media for the Al bert Stoffer family. At last report, Albert was re ported to be in fair condition in the Veterans hospital in Omaha. It has lieen a week and a half since the hunting accident oc curred The Frontier is still accepting donations to help the needy Stof fer family. If you feel that you would like to help these people, just put your donation in an en velope addressed to "The Stoffer Fund," C/O The Frontier, O'Neill, Nebraska. Local Lion's Club Will Finish Broom Sales Monday and Tuesday The O'Neill Lion's club will finish their broom sale Monday and Tuesday nights of next week, according to Howard Manson. The house-to-house sales will be conducted by Lion’s club mem bers with the money raised from the sale going to help the blind. Hulls Celebrate 60th; Mother Attends Party Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Hull cele brated their 60th wedding anniver sary Sunday at the Lynch ball room with an open house that saw almost 200 persons sign the guest book. The occasion was one of added importance in that Mr. Hull's mother, Mrs. Sara Hull. 104, was able to attend. Grandma Hull asked the blessing 1 adore the turkey dinner was served and also .gave a recitation entitled "When I Was Young”. Axel Borg. O'Neill, was master of ceremonies for a program which was patterned after a "This Is Your Life” show. Old friends and relatives the Hulls hadn't seen for years appeared as the story unfolded. A free dance was held in the evening and a large crowd at tended Mr. and Mrs. Hull’s grandchildren planned and ex ecuted the days activities. By coincidence both Mr. and Mrs. Hull were born in Boone county, la , though the former had come to the O'Neill area with his parents several years before his wife-to-be was born. It was in 1882. three months after her birth, that Mrs. Hull, who was then Mary Osier, was brought to the O'Neill area by her parents. She and Mr. Hull were child hood sweethearts, growing up to gether in the old Meek neighbor hood where "Grandma” Hull still lives. They lived there intermit tently for 42 years following their marriage on Nov. 2, 1899 at Scott ville. For three years—from 1932 to 1935, they lived at Knoxville. Since 1944 they have resided at their present home near Nio brara. Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Hull celebrated their 60th wedding anni versary Sunday at the Lynch Ballroom. Mrs. Sara Hull. 104. Elmer’s mother is shown in the center. The anniversary cake is In the back ground.—Lynch Herald photo—The Frontier engraving Here's a bird we don’t see much in these parts. It’s a golden eagle captured by a farmer north west of O’Neill. The big bird had Injured a wing and was c aught in a chicken house where he evi dently figured to get a free meal- The bird was being sflipped to the zoo in Lincoln.—Frontier photo and engraving C. E. Everharts Are Honored on Anniversary More than 235 guests were on hand Sunday to help Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Everheart, Orchard, celebrate their 50th wedding an niversary. The party was held at the Evangelical United Brethren church in Orchard. Mrs. George Voorhies, Elgin, daughter of the couple, and Mrs. Harold Everhart, daughter-in-law of the couple were receptionists. Mrs. Everhart also had charge of the guest book. Granddaughters Marlene Voor hies and Mary Jo Everhart, Sar gent, cut and served the four tier anniversary cake baked by Mrs. Waldo Rodgers. Mrs. William Cox of Pierce and Mrs Carl Ray of South Whitley, Ind., presided at the table. Mesdames Gordon Drayton. Wil ber Mahood, Wayne Lautensch lager, Wendell Wilson and H. H. Drayton served. The' couple was married in 1909 at the home of the bride's par ents. She is the former Miss Olive Meruet. The couple made their home at Neligh where Mr. Ever hart was employed by the Neligh Sale Dates Claimed Monday, November 9th—Post poned sale of Mr and Mrs Roy Fullerton at the place located J mile south and 1 mile east of Amelia. 90 head of cattle and good line of machinery. Col Ed Thorin auctioneer. SATURDAY. Nov. 7—Holt Coun ty Hereford Breeders Association sale of 49 registered Herefords Show at 10 a m Sale at 1:30 p.m. TUESDAY, Nov. 17th—Mr. and Mrs. John Jeffrey. 3 miles west 4 miles north and Vi west of Chambers. Selling livestock. Ma chinery, hay, grain and furniture. Col. Wally O'Connell and Merlin Grossnicklous, auctioneers, Ed Murphy, clerk. Leader. Everhart became owner and editor of the Orchard News in 1917. He sold the paper in 1956. Mr. Everhart has been very active in Orchard organizations He has held every local office in the IOOF lodge, is a member of the Orchard commercial club and the Orchard Rod and Gun club. Mrs. Everhart is a long-time member of the Woman s Society of World Service of the Evangeli cal United Brethren church and was its president for 13 years. She was a Sunday school teacher for 23 years. Mrs. Everhart also help or ganize the Orchard Public library and was its treasurer for 33 years. She is now president of the garden club and was chairman of the Red Cross for 12 years. The Everharts had three child ren, a daughter dying at 6 months. Mrs. Voorhies of Elgin and Har old Everhart of Sargent are the other two children. There are four grandchildren. • ' ■ - . Mrs. Herzog, 82, Dies; Services Held Monday CHAMBERS — Funeral services for Lillian M. Herzog, 82, were conducted on Monday at 10 a.m. at the Memorial Baptist church. Rev. Earl F. Schwenk, pastor of ficiated Burial was in the Cham bers cemetery. Lillian M. Schreier was bom December 5, 1876 in Iowa the daughter of August and Henrietta Schreier who were German im migrants. The family came to Holt county in 1883. She was united in marriage to George Herzog on March 1, 1899 and one son who died as a child was bom of this union. Her hus band preceded her in death in 1941. Mrs. Herzog died Friday, October 30 at St. Anthony’s hospi tal in O’Neill. She had been ill only two days.. The only survivors are nieces and nephews Pallbearers were Emil Lees- j wald. Anton Zuehlke, Wade Davis, A1 Liedtke. Dellie Fauquier and John Harkins. J Rev. & Mrs. Hart Witness Sioux City Shooting An O'Neill couple, Rev. and Mrs John Hart, had a harrowing experience Monday when they went to Sioux City to redeem some trading stamps. While in the store a man came !n, shot and killed the woman at tendant and then turned the gun on himself. The woman, Delsie Johnston, was killed by Roland Bathurst, her brother-in-law, over a family squabble. According to Rev. Hart, the woman had gone to the back of the store to see if an item the Harts wanted was on stock. Bathurst came in and asked the Harts where the woman was. When Mrs. Johnson returned to the front of the store, Bathurst began arguing with her. Then he pulled out a 32 caliber automatic and fired twice at Mrs. Johnston striking her in the chest. Bathurst then shot himself in the head. He died latei in a Sioux City hospital. Rev. Hart said that it happened so fast that they didn’t have time to be scared. After the first shots were fired though, the Harts were afraid that the crazed man might start shooting everything and everyone in sight. The O’Neill Presbyterian mini ster stated that the experience has strengthed his faith in God and the life he leads. It also exempli fies that most of us are too com placent with the life we lead and that we ought to do more with this gift of life. The Harts didn’t stay around long after the shooting. They got j away from there as fast as they ! could. Little Paul Funk Returns Home Paul Funk, 3-year-old twin son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Funk of the Deloit community, returned home last week from the Children's Memorial hospital in Omaha. Paul was burned about the legs in a trash fire last May and has been hospitalized in Norfolk and Omaha hospitals ever since. Boy's Town Choir Here Tonight Edwin Porter, Longtime Holt Resident, Dies CHAMBERS Funeral ser-' .aces for Edwin Porter, 94 a Chambers resident who had been 'e.iding at the Rest Home in ituart were conducted at 2 pm. Monday at the Methodist church iere with the pastor, Rev. Charles 'ox, officiating. Burial was in the Chambers •emetery under the direction of .liglins. Mr. Porter died October 31. He had been ill about a year. Music was furnished by Stanley nd Thomas Lambert with Mrs. J. V. Robertson as pianist. Songs ung were "He Leadeth Me”., “In Tiie Garden" and "God's Way is Best Way." Pallbearers were William Tur ner. Mark- Gribble, E* H. Med calf, Omar CcClenahan. Leon Her cl and Lyman Covey. Mrs. Louis Nelson and Mrs. Genevieve Bell were in charge of the flowers. Edwin Porter was born Decem ber 24, 1864 at Clinton, la., the son of William Miller Porter and Iary S. Polly Porter. He came to .Nebraska with his parents at the age of five and settled in Butler sunty. The family came to Holt ounty in 1884. On I)ecemlx>r 25, 1887 he mar i d Susan Henrietta Fleek at l .ainard. They Iwcamc the par ents of two children Mr. Porter taught school in Butler county and in 1898 moved his family to Holt county. He tarmed tor a iew years ami m 1918 was elected as county clerk. He held this office for 12 years. He moved from O'Neill to Cham bers in 1932. Mr. Porter built and operated the station five miles east of Chambers before moving into town. He helped to incorporate the village of Chambers and also helped with the organization of the IOOF lodge. He was the last surviving charter member. He also originated a city band and aided in the building of the band hall, later known as the Town Hall. Mr. Porter was also active in organizing the fair and was a continuous fair booster. He was preceded in death by his wife, who died August 22, 1949. A sister also preceded him in death. Survivors include: son— Chaun cey of O'Neill; daughter— Mrs. H. B. (Loa) Hubbard of Cham bers; 5 grandsons; one grand daughter and 9 great-grandchild ren. Snow, Ice Make Roads Dangerous Old Man Winter put his first icy grip on the O’Neill area yes terday, but he made it an im pressive one. Four to five inches of snow, ac companied by high winds, whip ped through the area, making road conditions very hazardous and slowing traffic to a minimum. John Osenbaugh, state road engineer, stated that he had trucks out in all directions last night, but didn’t think that they could stay out long. The high winds whipped the snow around and made it difficult for the drivers to see the roads or keep their trucks operating. Osenbaugh said that the high ways were very slick, hut there had been no serious accidents as the Frontier went to press. The wind was blowing a good share of the snow off the roads, but the icy surface beneath the snow was the big danger. Chamber of Commerce Organizes City-wide Sale A Pre-Holiday sale is being planned by the O’Neill Chamber of Commerce for Thursday, Fri day and Saturday of next week. O’Neill merchants will be offer ing great savings on many items. The sale will be city-wide Watch next week's issue of the Frontier for ads on the many bargains. EDITOK1AI/— Spend 4 Cents; Write Eisenhower President Eisenhower has re quest. i that all citizens who an concerned about our economy, and that should be everyone, should write to him personally telling of their interest. \ It’s a good idea. I-et’s nil write to him right now, today. Nothing elaborate or typewritten, .lust let him know how you feel. Your letter might not lie read, hut if everyone writes, the bulk will as tound our legislators and might just be impressive enough to make them worry some about us j taxpayers. The most it will cost you is 5 minutes of time and a four-cent stamp. It could save you many dollars in taxes. It's worth a try anyway, isn’t it? O'Neill Eagles Entertain Balers For Homecoming O'Neill high school will cele brate their homecoming this Fri day with a parade in the after noon and the Atkinson football game followed by a dance in the evening. A bonfire pep rally will be held tonight at 7 on the northeast cor ner of the school grounds. The pat ado will begin at 3 pm. Fri day with nine floats entered. The parade will begin at the corner of 6th street and Douglas and will continue west on Douglas to first street, then south one block and east on Everett to Fourth street. From Fourth street, the parade will continue north to O'Neill high school. A parade of the winning float will be presented at halftime dur ing the game. The king and queen will also be crowned at this tim.'. The Boy’s Town Concert Chen wiU perform in O'Neill as file first of the O’Neill Community Concert 1959-60 series Thursday it the O'Neill high auditorium at 8:15 p.m. The 40 voice choir is composed of formerly homeless hoys who are now citizens of Father Flana gan's lioy’s home near Omaha Ranging in age from 11 to 18, the choir lioys project their artistry under the baton of director Father Francis Schmitt. .ThQ program varies to include the polyphony of Palestrina, Strauss waltzes and loik tunes by Stephen Foster, to mention a lew This is the 12th national tour for the boys. The concert choir is one at three choirs ut Boy’s Town, where more than 200 of the 900 bays participate in the vocal music prugra m. According to Msgr Nicholas H. Wegner, Director Boys Town, the purpose of the choir tours is to give the boa's, the broadening effects of travel and first hand knowledge of their country. Tractor Upset Kills 14-year-old Venus Area Girl Betty N e w h a u s, 14 year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Newhaus was killed Tuesday night when the tractor she was driving overturned. The Newhauses live in Ih* Venus community. Betty was * freshman at the Orchard paWir school. She is survived by her parents and three brothers. Funeral services are pendinj' No Trial Date Set No trial date in the Sadie Dttt erson murder case has been act. Omaha doctors who examined the body of Frank Vamlertnde last week have not submitted a report on their study. Carl Holt waves goodbye to O’Neill after 8 years on Mo ta City to O’Neill run. Mr. Holt retired after 50 years of service ta the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad. After 50 Years Holt Steps Down From Cab Carl Holt waved good-bye to O’Neill for the last time Thursday night. He stepped down from his cab after 50-years duty. Mr. Holfrended a "long and var ied" career as engineer and em ployee of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad. He had been engineer on the O’Neill to Sioux City run for the last 8 years. Carl’s 50 years of service began when he hired on as a boiler maker helper in Sioux City in 1909. That same year he was transfer ; red to Fremont as an engine tend [ er on a work train. He was promoted to engium in 191? after a stint in Omaha aatt working virtually all freigM and passenger runs out of Sioux CMg. In suming up his career, tt. j Holt said that he “fired and ram everything from smaB wheelers to the largest type en gines we had’’. Mr. Holt made his hosne