TIichc O’Neill FFA boy* attended the DeKulb banquet held at Nor
folk liiMt w«“ek. The boy*, from left to right, Donald Akopec, Harvey
('-olfark, John Strong and Fred K»*onkran*, received award* for their
out*landing FFA work.
Carl Nelson's Honored Sunday
At 50th Wedding Open House
Mr. and Mrs. Ctrl A Nelson en
tertained friends and relatives Sun
day at the Creighton Municipal
Hall ns they observed their 50th
wedding anniversary.
Following a dinner for 60 friends
and relatives the Nelsons were
honored during the afternoon at an
open house with about 100 guests.
Rev. Walter Siefeldt gave a short
talk at the dinner. The table was
centered with a large bouquet of
yellow and bronze crysanthemums.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were marri
ed on March 23 in 1910 at the home
of the bride’s parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Bloomquist, near
Wausa. They lived for eight years
on a farm near Wausa and in 1918
moved to their present farm home
in the Walnut community.
The couple has two sons, Alton of
Clear Lake, la., and Clayton of
O’Neill. They have five grandchild
ren and two great grandchildren.
Mrs. Edward Sukup cut the three
tier anniversary cake at the re
ception. The cake was baked and
decorated in gold and white by Mrs.
Dick Kool, a sister of Mrs. Nelson.
Mrs. George yeggemeyer poured.
Elouise Nelson was in charge of
the gift table and Sherrye Dee Nel
son attended the guest book.
Out-of-town guests included the
couple's sons and their families,
Mrs. Carl Kmkow, Teresa, Kay and
Dwight, North wood, la., Mr. and
Mrs. Elmer Haberman, Wakefield,
and others from Wausa, Bloomfield.
O'Neill, Orchard, Lynch, Verdigre
and Creighton.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Nelson on the 50th wedding anniversary cele
brated Sunday at Creighton.
Naper Men and Women
Play Game for Drive
Men and women of the Naper
community put their hearts in the
Heart Fund Drive. A basketball
game, sponsored by the Lion’s
club, pitted the men of the com
munity against the women in a
thriller that went into overtime
and netted $66.50 for the drive.
The men, playing in oversized
overalls and husking ittens, fin
ally won the game, 21 to 19. The
ladies were given a free throw at
the end of regulation play when
the score was tied 19-19, but they
missed and the two teams again
took the court.
Participating in the game were
Mrs. Russell Whitley, Vivian Al
exander, Velda Stahlecker, Lor
raine Hermasen, Lea Bennett, Sar
ah Schmitz and Joan Stoltenberg.
The men were Dean Broekemaier,
Leonard Schmitz, Harley Nicalous,
Harold Fischer, Chuck Hermasen,
S.ipt Carter and John Schonebaum.
The first game of the evening
saw the town team beat the high
school, 54-39.
Area Youth Elected
Wayne Class Officers
Fred Fetrow. O’Neill, and Larry
Kramer, Stuart, were elected to
class offices in campus elections
at Wayne State Teachers college
Monday.
Fetrow will serve as vice pres
ident of the junior class and Kram
er was voted secretary of the sen
ior class.
Accident Reported
An accident involving a 1950
Chevrolet pick-up driven by Char
les G. Kalina, 36, of Inman and
a 4 door 1959 Chevrolet driven by
Dorothy Graves of O’Neill occurred
at noon Monday at Madison and
Douglas west of the' Nu-way cafe.
The right side of the Graves car
was damaged some.
Page Teacher Wins
Science Scholarship
Page—Thomas Goodart, mathe
matics-science instructor at the
Page high school, has won a
scholarship for graduate work in
mathematics at the University of
Nebraska this summer.
The scholarship, sponsored by the
National Science Foundation to en
courage math and science teachers,
pays tuition, materials and living
allowance for the term of & weeks
at the University.
Cars Collide on
Flooded Road
Deputy sheriff James Mullen re
ported an accident Sunday after
noon about 3:45 between Inman
and O’Neill when the water ran
across highway 20-275.
Involved were a 1955 Cadillac
driven by Robert Nohavic of Ne
ligh and Wayne Sanders of Ew
ing, driving a 1954 Chevrolet.
A string of cars traveling east
sent a shower of water and mud
over the Sanders windshield and
he could not see that the Nohavic
car had stopped to take a look at
the water in flood stage.
The Sanders car hit the Cadillac
with enough force to send it in
to the ditch where it filled with
two feet of water. The occupants
took refuge on the back of the
seats until a wrecker came to put
it back on the highway. Both cars
were damaged extensively.
Three From Here
On Capital Tour
Mrs. Guy Cole, Mrs. D. C.
Schaffer and Mrs. C. E. Lundgren
were among the Nebraska women
leaving today on chartered busses
for the Nebraska Republican Wo
men’s Tour to Washington, D C.
The group of women will stop in
Chicago and Philadelphia before
their four days tour of the capital
city. A highlight on the schedule ’
of activities will be a tea with
vice-president and Mrs. Richard
Nixon. The women also hope to
arrange a reception with the Pre
sident and his wife.
Mrs. Cole attended the Republi-1
can Founders Day earlier this
week in Lincoln where Mr. Nixon
was a special guest. She is the
Holt county Republican chairman.
The three O’Neill women plan to
be gone for 10 or more days on
their trip as they will return home
by a southern route.
Chamber Meeting Set
The O’Neill chamber of com
merce will meet Monday night at
6:30 p.m. at the L&R cafe for
their regular meeting. The board
of directors meeting is to be Fri
day (tomorrow) at 2 p.m. at the
M & M cafe.
Ball Team To Organize
A town team baseball meeting1
has been scheduled Sunday at 2
p.m. at the Legion Hall to organ
ise for the coming season. Any
one interested is invited to attend.
THE WEATHER
KSS*’*" S n T.n P.ga,
Saturday 36 45 at
m£, S « S In Thi. U»ua
Tuesday 39 47 35
Wednesday 30 54 29
On Tuesday there was 45 prec.
Volume 79—Number 49 O'Neill, Holt County, Nebraska, Thursday, March 31, 1960 Seven Cents
Census Count
Begins Friday
During the next two weeks, the
"nose count" will he taken as the
18th decennial census of the popu
lations gets underway tomorrow
Mrs. Frank Cronk, crew chief
from Page, concluded today her
census enumerator training school
for the 13 enumerators working
under her in this area.
The enumeration will begin Fri
day and should be concluded in two
weeks. Forms have been sent to
all residents and should be filled out
to avoid delay. Additional questions
will be asked at every fourth home.
To count transients, the census
this year is holding a ‘ T-night”
at hotels and motels where transi
ent guests will be asked to fill out
forms on Thursday night. The
Golden Hotel is planning their T
night tonight w-ith the enumera
tors in charge of the arrangements.
Amelia Girl Wins
College Scholarship
AMELIA Miss Marcia Widman, j
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde
Widman has been awarded an $800
scholarship to study music at
Momingside college, Sioux City, la.
Miss Widman received the scho- i
larship as a result of her perfor
mance in competitive auditions
held at the college. She is a pianist.
Announcement of the award was
made by Dr. James H. Wood, head
of the Momingside music depart
ment.
Andrew Jackson
Funeral Tuesday
Funeral services were held Tues
day, at the Ashburn chapel at
Plainview for Andrew Jackson with
Rev. Clarence Hanscom, pastor of
the Congregational church, officiat
ing. Burial was made in the En
terprise cemetery near Venus.
Pallbearers were Leo Yount, Lar
ry Bonge and Albert Clemens, all
of Plainview, and Jay LeMasters,
Arthur Von Seggern and Earl Wood
worth, all of Orchard.
Andrew Edward, son of James J
and Mary Jackson, was born at
Villisca la. and died at Plain
view, March 26, I960, of a sudden
heart attack, at the age of 66.
Mr. Jackson served in World War
[ in France. Following his dis-,
charge he was united In marriage j
with Miss Millie Butterfield at
Walnut. To this union seven child
ren were born.
Survivors are: Four daughters
Mrs. Archie (Oral) Cleveland, Ew-1
ing- Mrs. Clarence (Velda) Atkin
son’ of Winner, S. D. and Mrs^
Donald (Irene) Walton and Ardith
Jackson of O’Neill. Three sons-De
lane and Elvin of Long Pine and
Dale of Rose. ....
He was preceded in death by his
wife, Millie, Aug. 26, 1943 and three
brothers, Jess, Clifford and Ray
mond.
The Jackson family formerly
lived in the Middlebranch-Walnut
community.
Carmen Meusch Capped
Carmen Meusch. daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. William J. Meusch,
Stuart, was one of 25 students re
ceving their caps Sunday in a
ceremonv held at the St. Elizabeth
Hospital School of Nursing in Lin
coln.
Receiving the Cap signifies suc
cessful completion of the pre-clini
cal period, and their official accep
tance into the School of Nursing.
Those student nurses will com
plete their Nursing education in
August 1962.
Senior Play Scheduled
O’Neill high school seniors will
present their senior class play “No
More Homework,” next Thursday
and Friday nights April 7 and 8.
The play is under the direction of
Mrs. Harvey Tompkins, co-spon
sor of the senior class. The play
ivill be at the high school auditori
um at 8 p.m.
School Dates Changed |
Page school officials announced
some changes in dates of school
events as follows; the track meet
in O'Neill, set for April 7, will now
be held on April 27 and the Spring
Band Concert has been rescheduled
from April 14 to Tuesday April 5.
Also coming up for Page students
is the high school athletic banquet
to be April 13 at the Methodist
church. Featured speaker will be a
former Page superintendent and
coach Ralph Brostrom, Grand
Island.
. , , — —-— '
Grace Bible Band
At Chambers Friday
CHAMBERS—The Grace Bible
Institute of Omaha will present its !
25-piece band Friday night at the
Chambers high school gymnasium
Under the direction of Marlene
Langosch various instrumental
numbers will be given by the band
including a brass quartet and
trumpet trio.
There will also be a vocal quar
tet and testimonies from members
of the group. The public is invited.
4-H Club Has Sale
Members of the Eagle Hustler’s
4-H club will sponsor a food sale
at the Cork cafe Saturday, April
2. Each 4-H family is requested
to bring two or three items for
sale. Contributions will be welcome.
Former Resident's Child
Drowns At Lincoln
Donald Austin (Sammy) Green,
four year old son of Mr. and Mrs
John Donald Green, former O'Neill
residents, now of Lincoln, lost his
life Sunday afternoon when he fell
into an unprotected sewer at 73rd
and Avon in Lincoln.
The body was found about 6:45
Monday a m. near where the stream
chaneil joins Dead Man’s Ran.
A posse of eight state game com
mission employes and two neigh
bors made the search. The body
was lodged in debris and water
which was about 3M> feet deep.
The Green family moved from
O'Neill to Hartington and later to
Lincoln. Mr. Green was an em
ployee of the State Game Com
mission and served as game war
den for this area.
Survivors are: Parents; sister,
Deborah; brother John; grandpar
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Austin Ander
son, Inglewood, Fla. and John
Green of Sargent. Burial was at
Sargent.
Ira L. Watson's
Leave for Europe
Mr. and Mrs. Ira L. Watson. In
man flew from Omaha Tuesday for
New York City as they began their
trip to Frankfurt, Germany. They
were driven to Omaha Monday by
their son from O'Neill, Mr. and
Mrs. John Watson.
The Watson’s will fly from New
York to Frankfurt where they will
meet their daughter and son-in-law,
Col. and Mrs. Clifford Opper. Col.
Opper’s headquarters in Air Intelli
gence are in Rheinmain which is
near Frankfurt.
The Opper's live in Weisbaden
where the Watson’s expect to stay.
From there they will visit Italy,
Switzerland. Holland. France, Bel
guim and other European countries.
They expect to be gone for a month
or more.
John Gallagher Heads
Holt Kennedy Forces
John R. Gallagher has been nam
ed chairman of the Holt County
Nebraskan’s for Kennedy Commit
te, the Nebraska Kennedy state
headquarters announced this week.
This is one of 70 county Chair
manships in the organization for
Senator John F. Kennedy.
Gallagher will meet in the near
future with Ted Kennedy, the
youngest brother of the Senator.
This is the first time in the state's
history that Nebraska has been or
ganized at the county level to sup
port a primary presidential can
didate.
Floods Destroy Many Holt Bridges;
Quick Thaw Melts Snow in Two Days
O’Neill Legionalres lead the oaravan of North ami South Dakota
and Nebraska legion member* In O’Neill Monday night to help dedi
cate the American Legion Memorial Highway—highway 281.
Legionaires Stop Here Monday;
Three from Area Join Caravan
A three car delegation of Holt
County legionaires met the North
and South Dakota delegates Monday
as their 20 car caravan came
through O’Neill enroute to Great
Bend, Kans. for the dedication of
U.S. Highway 281 as the ‘Ameri
can Legion Memorial Highway.”
A color guard of four men from
each post in the county met the |
cavalcade at the west edge of
O’Neill about 6 p.m. and escorted
them to the Legion Hall for a!
banquet in their honor.
The dedication ceremony was
Wednesday in Great Bend, where
a caravSn that began in Mexico
met the northern states delegates.
Joining the caravan in O’Neill to
attend the dedication ceremonies
were Senator Frank Nelson, Dr.
J.M. Pucelik and John Krotter, both
of Spencer. The caravan was al
so scheduled to stop in Hastings.
Over 100 guests attended the
Legion Hall Monday night. Le
gion commander Jim Early gave
the welcome address and intro
duced the district commander,
George Wettlaufer, and visiting
state officers from Nebraska,
South and North Dakota.
Welcoming the visiting dignitaries
and the assembly in behalf of the
city of O’Neill was Chamber of I
Commerce president Joe Stutz,
State commander Frank Landis
gave a short talk in which he
praised the Legion for their choice
of memorial, a national travel
route stretching from the Candian
border to the Gulf of Mexico.
The caravan, left O’Neill about
9 a.m. to continue their travel
schedule. Butte and Spencer had
also welcomed the group that day.
On Sunday Bob Eppenbach, Bill
Jansen and Bob White erected a
4 by 8 foot sign at the entrance to
Holt county from Boyd county.
The sign was purchased by the
Legion posts of Atkinson, Cham
bers, Ewing, O'Neill, Page and
Stuart. The sign is scotch lighted
and features the names of the
six Holt County posts.
Fisher Services Held
Amos Fisher of Greenville, 111.,
who was reared in the Amelia com
munity died Saturday. He has been
very ill for some time. His sister,
Mrs. William Thompson visited her
brother recently.
23,000 cubic feet of water was pouring over the Spencer dam Sunday as officials feared that the
dam might collapse. All the gates were open and the flooding Niobrara river raced to Its Missouri river
mouth.
Hattie Smith
Funeral Monday
Funeral services for Mrs. Hattie
Smith, 77, of Clearwater were held
Monday at 2 pm. at the Christian
church in Clearwater with Elder
Joseph Coon of Beemer officiating.
Burial was in the Clearwater ceme
tery.
Mrs. Smith died Thursday in Our
Lady of Lourdes hospital in Nor
folk where she was taken following
a heart attack.
The late Hattie Smith was born
December 21, 1882 at Mondamin,
la. Her parents homesteaded near
Clearwater where she grew to wo
manhood and spent her entire life.
She was preceded in death by
her husband and a son, Ralph.
Survivors are: Daughters—Mrs
Glenn (Juanita) Elsberry of Nor
folk and Mrs. Esther Nissen ot
Dewey; Okla; Sons—Mervin Craig
of Ontario, Ore. and Ray Craig
of Grand Island.
Pallbearers were Buss Yaryan.
Lawrence Schnabel, Ted Alemang,
Earl Flowers, George Mummert and
Bennie Prater.
Cancer Drive In April
The Cancer Crusade for I960 will
be held in Holt county during Ap
ril according to Mrs. Otto Herre,
county Cancer society chairman.
Community chairmen are Mrs.
Ralph Rees, Amelia; Mrs. Inez
Hayes, Atkinson; Mrs. Ken Wer
ner, Chambers; Mrs. John Conrad,
Emmet; Mrs. Thomas Hutton, Ew
ing; Mrs. James McMahan, Inman ;
Mrs. Mike Landreth, Page; Mrs.
Dana Bigelow, Stuart; and Mrs.
William Claussen, O’Neill.
—
Five From Area Attend
Education Conference
Five Antelope and Holt County1
Farm Bureau representatives at
tended the first Nebraska Farm
Bureau Rjral Education conference
in Lincoln last week. The conference
featured discussion of rural edu
cational problems in workshop ses
sions.
Attending from this area were
Mrs. Dilver Hauptman, Neligh.
Lawrence Schnabel, Clearwater,
Mrs. Max Schroor, Tilden, Mrs.
Ralph Shrader, Orchard, and Mrs.
Marvin Stauffer, Page.
In addition to the workshop, four
nationally recongnized speakers dis
cussed their views on education.
The weather in North-Central Ne
braska during the past week can
easily tie described in one woril,
WEI! Temperatures which soared
as high as t>3 degrees melted the
near-record snowfall in just two
days causing major flooding in
all parts of the state.
North-Central Nebraska and es
pecially the Holt county area, was j
first hit and more than 71) fam
ilies in the area have been forced
to leave their homes in the face of J
raging creeks and fast-rushing j
run-off waters.
Flooding began Saturday night
on Ponca creek located just over
the Holt county line to the north.
Bristow and Lynch were hard hit
and by Sunday afternoon as many
us (0 families in that area hud
been foreeel to evacuate.
Officials watching the Niobrara
river at the Spencer dam feared
that the dam would not hold Sat
urday night. More than 23,000 cu
bic feet of water per second poured
over the top of the dam putting
the structure in danger as late as
Sunday night.
The 23,00 cubic ft. per second
flow at the Spencer dam can be
contrasted with the normal 9,000
cubic flow at Gavins Point dam
on the mighty Missouri river. Dur
ing the flooding Randall dam flow
was almost halted and the Gavin's
Point gates were opened to accom
odate a flow of 47,000 cubic feet
per second.
Ice break-up caused the only ser
ious flooding on the Niobrara when
the river backed up and spewed
out over the Niobrara Park at
Niobrara. The bridge over highway
12 there finally gave way early
Monday morning dropping two
100-ft. spans and one center sup
port into the river.
No area casualties have been
attributed to the flooding and of
ficials have not yet been able to
determine the amount of damage
the raging waters have caused.
Countless numbers of bridges
in tlolt county have been des
troyed adding to the already high
eosts of the snow removal dur
ing the winter. Roads in the low
er areas which had dried some
Thursday and Friday were again
inundated by the water whieh
turned many areas into giant
lakes.
one basement wall moving it out
from its position
North of Page the situation be
came serious Sunday. Many in that
area had attended the golden wed
ding observance of Mr. and Mrs.
Carl Nelson at Creighton and when
they returned found themselves
shut out from their homes. Mr.
and Mrs. Leonard Juracek and
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Nelson were
turned back at the Fred Timmer
man line and had to return to O’
Neill where they spent the night.
Farther northeast in the Albert
and Willlaf Derickson area dams
were destroyed. One on the William
Derickson ranch left a foot
gorge in the pasture. Bridges were
out in every direction and the Tom
Slattery. Rollie Miller ami Kyle
Johnson children were not able
to reach school The new road past
Bon Vonaseks lost a section of
grade.
ATKINSON—
There was no serious damage
reported from the Atkinson area.
The usual lowland flooding was
reported and water poured over
the dam on the Klkhorn west of
town.
BRISTOW—
A number of families in Bris
tow were forced to flee to higher
ground and water ran into many
basements located along the banks
of the Ponca. Roads leading into
town were all under water but
cars were able to navigate into
and out of the main section of
town.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Anson, liv
ing halfway between Lynch and
Bristow, had to drive their stock
to higher ground and all motors
on machinery were stripped to
keep them from being damaged
by water. The four Anson child
ren and their grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. William Anson, went to
the Roy Cole home in O’Neill to
stay until the flood threat was
past. Their basement was filled to
within a few inches of the flooring.
Inman was tne most naru-nu
of Holt county towns when run
off water from south and west of
town descended late Saturday and
early Sunday. As much as three
feet of water rushed through the
streets washing big holes in the
roads. Forty feet of railroad track
was washed out east of town.
The Elkhorn river was over its
banks Sunday and Monday and wat
er flowed over 275-20 just two mi
les east of O’Neill. Highway crews
threw up a sand dike along the
highway and traffic was reduced j
to one lane by Sunday night.
A town-by-town report of the
flooding follows.
INMAN—
Snow and ice south and west of
town melted Saturday and by Sun
day morning the run-off inundated
Inman with in a few hours. At the
highest point of the flood, the hou
ses on the south edge of town were
surrounded by two or more feet
of water and the Bert Kopetjka
family had to evacuate. Water ran
into the home of Joe Peters, a
shop by the school and Pete’s Bar.
Travel in town was reduced
to tractor, horseback, boat <>r
waders as water covered every
street. All the bridges were
washed out.
Residents in Inman say that it
was the worst flood in 35 years
and many could not remember
when the water had run so fast
in the streets.
PAGE
The greatest damage at Page
was done at the Glen Stewart home
when a culvert became ice-logged
and the overflow crossed the road
into the Stewart yard. The water
filled the basement and cracked
LYNCH
Lynch received the worst flooding
along Ponca Creek and it was re
ported that water was backed up
as far as the Mulhair Garage and
Courtney Cafe in the business dis
trict.
The south and east parts of
town were all under water and
as many as .‘<0 families were
evacuated Sunday. Sacred Heart
Hospital was eut off from Ihe
highway and l>r. Joseph David
used a boat to get to the hospital
Monday morning.
The park swimming pool was
encircled by water and water
rushed through the Lynch park.
Only one road into Lynch was
open during the height of the
flood and the railroad tracks were
also washed out.
EWING—
The highway north of town was
closed to traffic due to washouts
in the road and damage was done
to the Elkhorn river bridge. Several
bridges downstream have been re
ported badly damaged and much
of the low ground was covered with
flood water.
The South Fork and Cache
Creek south of Ewing ran hank
full and overflow occured In low
spots. Bridges across these
streams are out in places.
The crest was reached about 4
p.m. Monday and began dropping
that same night. Residents say
that it has been several years since
those two streams had so much
water flowing in them.
About 10 p.m. Monday a severe
thunder storm hit Ewing and the
John Boody home in the south part
of town was struck by lighting.
Other homes in the neighborhood
felt the shock. Rainfall was light
however.
A gigantic Ice jam blocks a road on Redbird Creek Sunday. The Ice jammed up at the bridge and
flowed over the road depositing the big ice cubes.
t *