Nebraska Newspapers

    Prairieland Talk
"Prairieland Nellie"
By ROMA IN'E SAUNDtrtS, 4110 S-juth bi*t 51, Lincoln 6, Nebr.
Nellie Marne was a child of three years of age
that day in April 1SSU and in her mother's arms as
the two got tin the tram to leave for ever their
Chicago tome They got off that train at Niobrara.
Nebraska, some two days later. And there they
were met by Nellie's father who
pressed a kiss on Nellie's child
ish cheek as he took them both,
mother and daughter in his
arms. He had come to Nebras
ka ome time to fore and had
i n iited on land near the Keya
Paha river some 30 miles north
and west of the then pioneer
village of Atkinson. After four
<lays travel in a wagon the lit
tle family reached their pioneer _
home near the Keya Paha. That
region is the scene of a recently Haandorw
published story in book form, “Nellie's Prairie ", It
is the story of her life on the open prairie in pioneer
times, and stories of pioneer experiences never fail
to interest readers. O'Neill, Atkinson, Stuart are
some of the Holt county communities mentioned in
tiie iiook. At the little town of Cedaredge on the
western slope of the Colorado Rockies lives a little
old lady where she can look out upon the nearby
death this year, some precious pearl of new bom
human life will come into a troubled world. And
so the earthly scene moves on. Holiday greetings
from my esteemed friend Walt O'Mally in which
I see a tear drop in Wall's eye at the memory of
the passing of Montana Jack, that warm hearted
son of a Sullivan household of this community who
traveled his last mile on life's journey the past
year. And then I catch a gleam of childish delight
as 1 look upon the greetings from Trudy out there
on the Eagle. Life is before her; Jack is gone.
Another year for the living, cherished memories
for the dead.
• * •
A block away from where I am is a desolated
home, die man of that household straightened for
the grave. I see a neighliorhood housewife bundle
up to step out into the cold and snow to take to
that desolated home a quantity of food, a clergy
man visits that bereaved wife in her saddened home,
others come to see and console her and steps are
taken to serve dinner to those who will be at that
desolated home the day of burial. Human hearts
are touched by the sorrow of others and human
hands are reached out to help. There are other
desolated homes today in this great city, in other
cities and rural communities. The sorrows of others
cast a shadow over you and I and may we ever
be inspired to extend a helping hand, a consoling
word.
* * •
Indian reservation and dream again of her years
of childhood and young womanhood back here near
the Keyn Paha and the Sioux Indians. That old lady
is Nellie Morse Wright, the Nellie of our prairieland.
• • •
Rockefeller walked into the ring, picked up his
hat and turned away. The man of millions will not
seek the presidency. Maybe lie would lie the right
one to head our nation at this time, knowing the
financial game as he does, who could better direct
the nation's financial problems to the end of econ
omic results. Our vice president may be the GOP
choice in this 19t!0 presidential race. He has dem
onstrated his executive ability, is a western man
and thus may Ik* the choice of western voters.
• • •
O’Neill and other Holt County friends touched
the tender cords of memory in reaching a hand
across the prairie Ihis holiday season to greet
Prairieland Talker by extending cheering words and
friendly greetings that do so much to give one a lift
along life's journey. I have not greeted them with
tiu* personal word by mail, but assure them all I
treasure their friendship and wish for them health
and peace of mind as the days of the new year
come and go.
• • •
A night of lightning, thunder and rain, and then
the old year folded its wings like the Arab* and
silently passed out under a blanket of snow. The
New Year just another day, stretch of weeks and
months to come, a year one day longer than the
last. Candidates for office to appear on the scene,
nationally, state and locally. Another year as other
years have been. Time rolls on leaving a toll of dead
and new lx>rn habes along the way. Some friend,
some dear one will close their eyes in the sleep of
Two patriots of the grass robed regions of Holt
county have their hats in the ring as candidates
for the state legislature. We hope to see Senator
Frank Nelson in the classic halls at the State House
at the next legislative session but voters in the four
counties may conclude that Frank has been at it
long enough and should have a rest. I do not recall
having met the gentleman from the cow country
north of Stuart, but should he win out we will wel
come him to a seat in our Unicam.
• • •
There they stood — editor, cashier, proof reader,
printers, pressmen. The force that turns out The
Frontier from week to week pictured for us in the
Christmas week edition of this 80-year-old news
paper. Gracious of them to stand there and smile
and thus give many readers their first opportunity
to see the cultured group that produces this house
hold journal.
• • •
It is cloudy, gloomy and stormy. Above the
clouds the sun still shines. We can not step up
above the clouds, but we may go and lay down
until the clouds are no more. So it is as we travel
life's highway.
* • •
Recently it was noted in this department of
The Frontier that only in O'Neill could be found
such notables as the four or five listed. Maybe some
Old Timer may ask where but in O'Neill could be
found a Net Mitchel, a Clara Wrede, a Sliver Triggs
and a Tracy Gwin!
Editorial
"Age of The Shoddy"
W'ahoo Newspaper — Darrel Ludl, editor
‘‘This was the era, domestically, when every
thing was half done; the era, in foreign affairs,
when nothing was done right tiecause nobody seem
ed to care enough to exercise the foresight and
take the pains to see that it was done right. This
was tin1 time when the job on the car was always
half finished, the yardwork was overpriced and
underdone, the bright new gadget broke down a
week after you got it home, the prices climbed
higher and higher as the quality got less and less,
and the old-fashioned rule of a fair bargain for a
fair price was indeed old-fashioned, for it never
applied to anything. The great Age of the Shoddy
came upon America ufter the war, and Everybody
Wants His became the guiding principle for far
too many."
Thus Allen Drury describes this postwar era,
in his novel "Advise and Consent" — a work in
which he uses fiction to present an extraordinarily
revealing picture of Washington's political, diplo
matic and social worlds.
The accuracy of his indictment is undeniable.
Yet, in the immediate postwar years, it was pos
sible to find seemingly valid excuses. The relaxa
tion of war tensions resulted, naturally enough, in
emotional and financial excesses. An attitude of
"live for today and never mind tomorrow'" be
came general. On the purely material side, the
lifting of wartime restrictions on industrial produc
tion created an eager and apparently insatiable
_...,t. .4 f ... nnutKinrr nn mnftnr h/UU tVVir
of the declining standards of moral behavior in the
United States, that twinge in the national belly that
warns of deep-seated malignancy in the body po
litic.” And those declining standards, it goes on,
can be found in some form and in some degree
virtually everywhere—in schools, professions, the
labor unions, business and the government.
So much for the indictments. There is a bright
side. It is found in the fact that more and more
people, in public and private discussion, are talking
about the problem, thinking about it, worrying
about it. An English observer of the American
scene observed that the television mess may prove
to be of enormous benefit—by awakening the Amer
ican people to the extent and character of moral
decay, and removing the blinders from their eyes.
The American people have been awakened to many
kinds of dangers in the past, and have met them
with wrath, with courage and with understanding.
And that is the hope -that there will be a moral
revival in this country, a cleaning of dirty houses.
Failing that, everything else is doomed to fail.
Fewer Use More . . .
Blair Enterprise
It’s an odd fact of the revolution in agriculture
that while the numl>cr of families on farms de
clines, purchases of farm equipment, automobiles
and trucks reached new highs. This is revealed in
studying the Balance Sheet of Agriculture, 1959,
a publication of the USDA, treating the assets and
liabilities of the nation's agriculture as one huge
quality or exorbitant the price.
Had this sorry situation spent itself in a reason
able time there would have been small cause for
worry. But who can honestly deny that the dark
picture Mr. Drury paints is still — in the funda
mentals. if not all the details — the picture that
remains in this country?
The problem, of course, is a normal problem.
The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Michigan, the
Rt. Reverend Richard Emrich, speaks for church
men of all the denominations when he says: "Every
where I travel I hear arguments, but I never hear
a moral argument, with someone saying, ‘this is
wrong, or unjust, or dishonest, and I will have
nothing to do with it.’ I think we are floundering
as a people.’’
And there lies the tragedy. For the basic
strength of any nation is its moral strength. All
the weapons, all the productive capacity, all the
money on earth, cannot save a people from ulti
mate destruction if their moral fiber decays, their
national character rots, and they sink into an abyss
of material indifferences, selfishness, avarice, greed.
A short time ago tbe television scandals, center
ing around rigged quiz shows, captured the nation
al headlines and were publicized the world around.
The Saturday Evening Post has devoted a full-page
editorial to the matter in which it makes a big
and often overlooked point. It offers no excuses
for the deceit—"those who have l>een damned by
the revelations deserved to be damned." But. the
Post also says . . we believe that the importance
of their guilt has been wildly exaggerated, the sig
nificance of their guilt almost wholly overlooked
. . . What is important is that we recognize the
television scandal* for what they ur -a symptom
Purchases of machinery and motor vehicles in
creased 23 percent in 1958 over 1957, with farmers
spending $3.6 billion. This figure is exceeded only
by buying in 1949, 1950 and 1951.
On January 1, 1959, farm machinery and motor
vehicles were valued at $18.4 billion—six percent
more than a year earlier. Farmers are estimated
to have bought 188 thousand tractors, 45 thousand
combines, 60 thousand pickup balers and 22 thou
sand field forage harvesters in 1958.
Depreciation of farm machinery, and motor ve
hicles is now a major farm expense — figured
at $3.5 billion of the $20.6 billion ‘farm production
costs in 1958, exclusive of wages, rent and interest
on mortgages.
A million and a half tractors were on farms
in 1940. This jumped to 3.4 million in 1950; and
4.75 million in 1959. Farm trucks totalled a million
plus in 1940; 2.2 million in 1950; and three million
in 1959.
Farmers owned 190 thousand combines in 1940;
714 thousand in 1950; and just over a million by
1959. There were 110 thousand corn pickers in 1940;
slightly less than half a million in 1950; and 750
thousand by 1959.
Pickup bald's and forage harvesters were not
listed in 1940, but by 1950 there were 196 thousand
pickup balers and 81 thousand forage harvesters
on farms; and by 1959, 610 thousand and 264 thou
sand, respectively.
Fewer farmers on fewer farms of larger acre
age per farm (and fewer acres in field crops) have
produced more food and fiber than the nation is
able to use.
Farm trucks, automobiles and equipment use
aa amount of steel annually equal to all passenger
car production; and enough rubber to equal a set
of four tires tin all passenger cars produced.
Farming overall is still the most important in
dustry to uus nation. No other single industry ap
proaches it for value of its production; or buying
power.
JAMES CHAMPION, Editor and Co-Publisher
Terra* of sol^ription: In Nebraska, $2 50 per
year; elsewhere in the United States, $3 per year,
rates abroad providtxl upon request Ail subscrip
tion* payable in advance.
Entered at the postoffice In O'Neill, Holt coun
ty, Nebraska, as second-claas mail matter under
tive Act of Congress at March 3, 1879 This news
paper is a member of the Nebraska Pres* Asso
ciation. NaMonai Editorial Association and die Audit
Bureau of Circulation*.
not know anyone who «i>pea.rs ui
the news. Only iituT m awhile do
1 see a familiar name.
1 realize that forty-two years is
lie king, much loo ka-g, to stay
away trom your old home town.
Changes incur gradually to those
then* and new friends an* made
wuo an* total si range is to those
of us who. through one reason or
another, have failed to keep m
touch.
However, I've no\er forgotten
the people I used to know In fact,
1 have continued to keep a special
l>.ace for them in my memory
garden "among the roses"
I would givatly appreciate it if
you will when time and opportuni
ty permits, to say "Hello*' for me
to the following. Martina Dishner,
iVte Morgan. Jack McManus, Leo
am nominated ami elected " On
agriculture: "Because of my
background in farming and feed
ing, I know tl>e problems first
band 1 want Nebraska to stand
tor premium quality" On public
[mwer: "Because 1 know the
power problems of Nebraska 1
j know that counsel ami direction I
will lead it from the present tcm-,
porarj problem. a governor |
should speak softly but carry a
lug stick.'
"If I become Governor it will
lie as a man of modest means
who will live on the salary 1 am
.laid. As a fourth generation Ne
braskan, with grandchildren in the
-late, 1 will serve with humble
ness and i Igor, but with honesty
and integrity in a way that will,
to the best of im ability, reflect
honor on the generations that
have preceded, and that have fol
lowed me," Cooper concluded.
O'Neill Locals
the last few days.
Mi and Mi's Ueyd Johnsor
were Sunday guests trf Mr. aiu*
Mrs Fred Roth of Atkinson
Mr amt Mi's 1 V>n Anderson and
family of Vinton, la., left Friday
after spending the Christmas holi
days with her mother. Mi's. C K
J ten's.
l\an Kaiser returned Sunday to
Wayne State Teachers CWIeue af
ter spending the holidays wish ha
parents. Mr amt Mrs. Herbert
Kaiser.
Mr ami Mrs. Melvin Khngl>t
plan to leave today for Oalifonu
Mr. ami Mrs. Ed Kingman and
Mr and Mrs, August Kumm et
Norfolk visited at the Edwin Km
man ht'mo Sunday, December - »
Mr. and Mrs. Owen Parkinson
Mr and Mrs Harold Mhnar and
girls anti LaMontc Miller anti
Tommy surprised Mrs. Edwin
Krugman on her birthday Files
day evening. December
Mr. and Mrs. William IaiU'ii
Mr ami Mrs. Ionic Huhon and son
of Atkinson and Mr. ami Mi's
Dave Bowen of Page were On ist
nias dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs
Roger Bowen of Page.
r- i
Mullen. Homer Mullen, Tom No
lan, John Quig, Mi's. John Mel
vin, Florence MeCafferty, the
Mendith family, M iggie K;uie,
Frank and Bill Froelieh, Mr. and
Mrs, Fd Campbell, Ed Gallagher,
Johnny Gallagher, Paddy tShave
nun > Sullivan, Hugh Bununghain,
Julius Cumin, Mr. and Mrs. Ben
Harty, Hugh. Billy and Marty
Coyne, Mr. and Mrs. Pat Harty,
Neil Brennan, Pete "the baker"
and Herb Hammond,
Thank you very much.
Ferd M. Ward,
328 Bellevue. No. 2,
Seattle 1, Wash.
Pfc. Merle Jones called his par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Preston Jones,
Sunday from Bamberg. Germany
Pd Gatz and Jeanne Gumett,
botfi of Omaha visited last week
with Mr. and Mrs C. J Gatz.
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gatz and
Jaeque of Omaha spent Christ
mas with his parents, Mr and
Mrs. C. J Gatz.
Mr. and Mrs. Weston Whitwer,
Mr. and Mrs. Roy llumrieh, Mr.
and Mrs. Vermin Wortman and
Mr. ;tnd Mrs. Raymon Schueh
inann were guests of Rev and Mrs
John Hart on New Years eve.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Calkins and
daughter of Lincoln visited their
parents. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce John
son and Mrs. Hazel Calkins over
the Christmas holidays.
Guy Johnson has lieen visiting
with Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Johnson i
Money To Loan!
Property, Qftra, Truck*.
Farm Equipment
llmiwrholil Good*. Personal
HARRINGTON
Loan and Investment
Company
iXW' RATES
Frontiers
Ago
no YEARS AGO
The most disastrous fire that'
Stuart has had since the great fire
of 1887, occured Monday afternoon.
The fire of 1887 swept out a block.
This fire left a half block just
across the street a mass of
smouldering ruins. The buildings!
burned constituted the south half J
of block 5, which is bounded on
the south by First street and on
the east by Main street. . . . Mar
riages licenses: Myrlen Bader of
Mineola and Lulu Pilien of Mineo
la; Edward L. Smith of Sterling and
Elizalieth Edwards of Green Val
ley; Edwin Ross of Blackbird and
Rena E. Allen of Redbird; Ed-|
ward L. Brush of Atkinson and
Bertha Stillson of Atkinson; Amor
L. Shannon of Ewing and Mrs. Ma
ble Jenkins of Ewing; Frank Rat
cliff of Atkinson and Francis En-j
body of Atkinson; Frank P. Dun
can of Atkinson and Edith B.
Burke of Atkinson. . .Death: John
McGreevy, 83, one of the pioneer
settlers of this county.
25 YEARS AGO
Wednesday night at 11:55 a call
was received here for assistance
of Chamfers, recently appeared
as a hostess on the Coffee Coun
ter television program over WOW
TV in Omaha. . . .Around 75
friends and neighbors of Mr. and
Mrs. Hans Lauridsen, who were
married recently, gathered at the
Harm Damero home, Friday eve
ning where the Lauridsen's were
supper guests. . . .Five of the
small fry feeling spring in the
air, Sunday went down the Elk
hoim river to cixik their supper.
The young adventurers were: |
George Fuller, Betty and Frank
Fetrow, John O’Sullivan and Clter
ri Ann Knepper. . . .Snow, borne
by a stning Northwest wind, whij>
pid across the O’Neill region Mon
day and Tuesday and sent the
mercury tumbled to a ne wlow
for the winter. Lowest tempera
ture- '22 degrees below zero was
recorded early Wednesday morn
ing.
5 YEARS AGO
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett A.
("Doc") Sorey of At kin so* on
Sunday, December 26, celebrated
their 61st wedding anniversary
. . . .Mr. and Mrs. Alex CcCon
nell of Emmet, on Tuesday, Dec
ember 28, marked their golden
wedding anniversary. . . .Five
generations were represented Sun
day at a dinner at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Skiers at the j
south edge of Inman. Mrs. Anna j
Taylor, 86, of Chandler, Ariz..,
heads the five-generation group.
She is the mother of 11 children—
nine of whom are living. She
counts 56 grandchildren and 96
great-grandchildren and one great
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John R. Cooper
Cooper Files for Governor
State Senator Jolin R. Cooper,
18, of Humboldt recently filed for
Governor of Nebraska. He is a
Republican. The filing was done
it the Richardson County clerk's
office in Falls City. Cooper later
made his filing at the Secretary
if state's office in Lincoln.
Cooper is presently serving in
lie Nebraska Unicameral from the
First District. Humboldt is his
lome town. Cooper’s filing confi
rms speculation of several months
lhat he would be a candidate for j
Governor.
The Humboldt native has long
icen prominent in Republican
circles and is currently chairman
»f its Finance and Budget Com
mittee. A veteran of World War
[I, he has been active in Ameri
an Legion circles and served his
lome town post as commander in
1952-53 and was commander of
he Nebraska Department Ln
1956-57.
Senator Cooper lives on the
arm he owns and operates near
Humboldt, and is an officer in
[he flour and feed mill concern
hat has been in the Cooper fami
ly for 80 years. Married, he and
\frs. Cooper have two children, i
i married daughter 29, and a
.on 27. The family belongs to the
Episcopal church.
He has been a town councilman
if Humboldt, president of the
lumboldt Cham tier of Commerce,
^resident of the Humboldt Rotary
Hub, active in Richardson County
Led Cross, Selective Service, and
Vlarch of Dimes.
In making his announcement,
Hooper stated "The first answer
o our tax problems is efficiency
n government." On more indus
ry for Nebraska: "The cham
>ors of commerce, councils, may
>rs, development corporations will
•eceive a type of cooperation they
lad never before dreamed of if 1
l ai" u, i iuiuv i mu. me \»uu i a uiv
Mrs. Siders, Mrs. Charles Russell,
Mrs. Duane Sukup, and Lynda Jo
Sukup. . . Mr. and Mrs. Jolin
Kenny observed open-house Sun- j
day, January 2, in honor of their
54 th wedding anniversary. ... I
2nd Lt. Robert Berigan, son of |
Mr. and Mrs. James Berigan of
Atkinson and a former St Joseph's
hall basketball great, is serving
as squardron communications of
ficer with the air force at a base
in Japan.
December 1959
Editor
The Frontier
□'Neill, Nebr,
Dear Sir:
Please discontinue my subscrip
tion to your excellent paper, whirl],
t have been receiving for the past 1
years.
I was raised there but have
been away for forty-two years.
Practically ail of those years I've 1
lived in Seattle, Wash. <
The only reason I want the
paper discontinued is that I do I
in naming names uiat uroKe out
in the two story frame public
school building in Inman. One of
the most violent winds started
blowing from the north an hour
or more before, and when the call
came the storm was at its zenith.
The building was completely de
stroyed. . . .Marilyn, one year old
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph
Ernst, on Friday mounted an
overturned bucket and desperate
ly tried to insert one of her feet
in a paper bag. She tumbled off
the bucket and was taken to a
doctor. He found his young patient
suffered a broken shoulder bone
. . . .Several people drove to Pad
dock to charivari Mr. and Mrs.
Ray Prouty. Upon reaching the
place they discovered the newly
weds were not there, so they pro
ceeded on to Spencer, where they
found the young couple at the
home of Ray's father, Harry
Prouty. . . .Marriage licenses: Gor
don Harper, Page and Marie Bee
leart, Orchard; Rolx'rt Freed, At
kinson and Irene Zahradnicek, At
kinson; George Stanek, Amelia,
and Mary Malloy, Atkinson, Thel
ma Riley, O'Neill and James
Cronk, Page.
10 YEARS AGO
Miss Janice Jarman, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Jarman.
inMwaw.wmnfonow>a6aa'«w.w»w«wrwv.v-,..v.vAv.v;v.-.-^ wwHwmwwwjtjgaM*«"<x MAWWWMWWftvwrivw.v/^aww/. ^
Never has a motor car been endowed with as many
facets of elegance as the Cadillac for 1960. You
immediately see it in the fluent symmetry of its
styling ... in the distinction and excellence of its
Fleetwood interiors ... in the technical perfection
.. - -..—..... • .. "rm«\mmmmnwmMijMMmmM
of its coach-crafting . . . and you quickly sense it in
the case and rhythm of the car in motion. Stop in at
your authorized Cadillac dealership for a personal
inspection and demonstration. You’ll discover
that now is a wonderful time to order your Cadillac.
VISIT YOUR LOCAL AUTHORIZED ( yw////y//y DEALER 1
A. MARCELLUS CHEVROLET CO.. 127 No. 4th St, CTN«ai, Ndbr. 1