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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1960)
Prairieland Talk "One of The First" By ROMAINE SAUNDtKS. 4110 South Sixt St, Lincoln 6, Nebr, His father had it built and was the first to op erate the Checkered livery Barn that stood where a filling station now stands at fifth and Douglas streets As a youth John Weeks was in school in O'Neill's first school house that stood where now the public school buildings rear their clas sic halls across the street north of the courthouse, and young John listened attentively, when not occupied with a more at tractive girl student, to the wis dom and learning Prof. John Bland poured out for the kids In his school. After school days wore over for Young Weeks _ . , , KomAin* John had jobs in the court house and from there to the Saandee* United States land office. John had a brother who went to Lincoln to spend his days, and John took off for the distant state of Washington where others from O'Neill have gone. Not long out there, now the capable and full grown Mr. Weeks returned to O’ Neill and was soon in the banking business. I needed money. Banker Weeks let me have it when I gave him a mortgage on a half section of land. John lived out his days in O'Neill, now his remains lie in the a 1 side of the dead. * • • A brief but cheerful note comes again from Flor ence M. Felts of Newport, R. I., a friend and Fron tier reader. She encloses a printed story perjxirting to give the history of my family name. From this I learn my distant ancesters were among the I^ords and Dukes and notables in both England and Ireland. Now, as you meet Old Man Prairieland Talker, tip your hat and salute! • * * Not even Nebraska editors manifesting any con cern over the coming presidential election. At one time they told us all about it, now not a word. But the two candidates are busy telling us what they will do if elected president. About all we old timers can do is vote our party ticket. • • • He told me he had been going from door to door in a southern Nebraska town. At one home a broken hearted, sorrowing woman met him at the door; said she had recently seen her husband laid away in the abode of the dead. At another home another one was in tears, her little son had died. And forever from the cradle to the grave the sad refrain of sorrow. Two sisters in a distant land centuries ago wept over the death of their brother. A Friend came to comfort them, Thy brother shall live again! And that brother was restored again to Mary and Mar tha. Today that Friend says to us thy dead one shall live again. Death and the grave, and on the morn ing of the first resurrection life for ever more. National and state election next month. But little interest so far in the coming election. But another event a day next month in which all are interested— Thanksgiving dinner! That pioneer woman of the In man community is not here now to tell us again of her’* and John’s first Thanksgiving dinner on the prairies of Holt county, a dish of dried cherries they had brought with them from Iowa. But I am still here to tell again that she and John had a cup board full in after days, fed us five times a day the summer I worked on their ranch . • • • Harry and I in our saddles headed our mounts northwest, seeking adventure. Some miles out I halt ed my horse, turned back from adventure to take up common pursuits of town life, so missed the fun. Harry went on. The next I saw of him he was in court being tried for cattle rustling. • • • A large number of new members of our state Historical Society for the month of September. Citi zens and former citizens of Nebraska are keeping in touch with past and present day developments in our prairieland state. * • • An industrous worker, the father of a daughter that must be kept in a state institution and the mother of that daughter long since walked out on him. Now after many years of loneliness battling life’s difficulties he tries it again. He and a widow with similar life struggles are married and happy together traveling life’s highway. The young blue eyed beauty sat beside me in the back seat of a two seated rig drawn by our two horses, Prince and Doc; automobiles not at that time dreamed of. In the front seat and driving Prince and Doc sat William, beside him a lovely young lady. It was a calm bright day in late sum mer. We were on our way to the charming Eagle creek country of beautiful northern Holt county. Two young squirts out to give the girls a touch of ro mantic pleasure. And out there along the Eagle tree and bush adorned in velvet green, the flowers, birds awing and a shy antelope seeking exclusion, the landscape robed in green, a charming scene where romance and nature had the irresistable appeal. Yes, the lovely things of nature and a still more love ly one at my side, that a few years later became my bride and we traveled life’s highway happily together for many years. She now lies under the sod in the abode of the dead on Prospect Hill. William’s companion of that day became the bride of another, and where she may be I know not. But Billy has a life’s mate still with him and I have word from them from time to time. Young fellow, take your little lady for a day out to the flowing Eagle where you are enthralled by romance and nature’s charm ing picture. Editorial Always Dissenters The following editorial appeared in the last edi tion of the Dakota County Star. We found it interest ing so we take the liberty of reprinting it again. Did you ever notice that any time there is pro gress, there are individuals who oppose it? Take, for instance, several happenings in South Sioux City’s past. The South Sioux school superintendent, back in 1924, nearly lost his job because he insisted upon a spacious gymnasium when a high school was built. South Sioux has long had the best gym in the Sioux land area, and only in the present time is the audi torium becoming relatively outmoded. The South Sioux City council “caught the devil,” as one veteran councilman put it, when they pur chased the present city park ground about 25 years ago. The purchase price for the 14-acre site was *1400. There were dissenting voices when the school board, about 10 years ago, purchased the present athletic field site and installed new, modem foot ball lights. Few doubt its worth today. Fourteen years ago, folks here didn’t want paving so black-top was installed on local streets. Now people are asking for paving. This type of near-sighted thinking, as indicated by the examples, is not confined to South Sioux. Hack in history we seem to remember there was op position to the Louisiana Purchase and a slogan "Seward's Folly" was bom about the time the ter ritory of Alaska was purchased. Thank heaven that, despite objectors, we have far-sighted individuals in communities who will fight for what they believe to bo in the best public interest. Without such individuals this nation nor com munities would be as strong as they are today. U. S. Voters Choose a 'Climate' At one time the most remarkable thing about our federal government was its respect for the free dom of the individual and its noninterference with people's business affairs. Times change. In recent years the federal government has been playing an increasing role in our private lives and in our econo mic lives. Some governmental interference has been justi fiable. Antitrust laws, for example, and labor- man agement legislation. Other actions are hard to de fend. Such as the decrease in the value of the dollar, by government's inflationary policies. And the mounting taxes on individuals and business—taxes which curb growth and the making of new jobs. Despite the rapid growth of big government, the basic mechanics of our representative system is un changed. We who vote can, if we choose, elect the executives and legislators who want to run govern ment economically, reduce taxes, and provide the climate for saving and investment in which jobs are created and sound economic growth can take place. On the other hand the voters can -under the spell of easy promises-put into office the so-called ‘liberals’ who claim that all problems can be solved by making big government bigger, by spending more taxpayer money, and putting more strains on our business system. They can—but let's hope they don t. If anybody can make a move that will insure peace for the world, the people of the world will thank him Living Costs and Luxuries "Cost of living" quotations are based on the Consumer Price Index compiled by the U S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What this index actually measures is not the cost of living, but the cost of living well. The index reflects what the average city fami ly spends to live. It includes such things as recrea tion beauty shop services and television sets. These are luxury items which few people consider part of basic costs. The tendency to think of the price index as measuring the cost of living has done a great deal of economic mischief. Many collective bargaining contracts are based on this erroneous assumption. So are welfare benefits in many instances, and even the awards made by juries in damage suits. The percentage of family income available for luxury items and leisure activities has increased considerably. Since the index is being revised to take this into consideration, it will be even less of a cost of living index in the future than it has been in the past. In short, the index will measure how well Ameri cans are doing in improving their living standards. It indicates only remotely what it actually costs them to live on a scale which, while minimum by our standards, would be envied by the people of virtually any other country. ADDISON, N. Y., ADVERTISER: "What pro bably gripes most Americans most is the fact the Russians capture one of our men spying over the Soviet Union, and they make a world spectacle out of his trial. We capture scores of Soviet agents operating in the U. S. A., and most of them are simply sent back to Russia without fanfare. Cer tainly we cannot afford to lose the propaganda value □f letting the rest of the world know America has been preyed upon by a whole swarm of spies for many years. "It is high time our State Department stopped hushing up the activities of these red agents, and began telling the facts abroad so other countries in the world will know the the United States has to practice counter-espionage, if the free world is to stay free." SS?_FRONt® BILL RICHARDSON, Publisher BRUCE J. REHBERG, Editor Terms of Subscription: In Nebraska, $2.50 per year; elsewhere in the United States, $3 per year, rate abroad provided upon request. All subscrip tions payable in advance. 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 news paper is a member of the Nebraska Press Asso ciation, National Editorial Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulations. NATIONAL EDITORIAL ■ |AS§><0T _r " l Frontiers Ago 50 YEARS AGO Frank Holt of Orchard has beer selected as the new manager of the Holt County Telephone Com pany to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of J Frank Kiernan . Last week Fred B Wood of Wildon, Iowa, pirchased the old Chris Kennel place north west of town, paying $55.00 per acre for it. One year ago Mr Kennel sold this farm for $40.00 per acre. . Rueben Butler, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Butler of this city, and Miss Myrtle Nash of Neligh, formerly of this city were married at Neligh last Tues day morning. . .Arthur F. Mullen has commenced suit in the dis trict court against the Chicago & Northweste-n railway company to collect $1,833 00 for damages alleged to have been sustained by a prairie fire started by an en gine upon the defendent com pany's road on October 5, 1909 Arthur Hammond returned last Monday evening from an extend ed trip to the Pacific coast. . . The O'Neill sewerage system will be completed this week. 25 YEARS AGO K. A. Wehl is carrying his arm in a sling, the result of the kick bark of a gasoline engine he was trying to start at the Power dam on the Nioorara river Wednesday morning. He suffered a broken wrist of his right hand. . .J. P Mann left last Sunday night for New York City where he will be joined by his daughter and her husband, Mr and Mrs. Gordon Murray of New York, and they will sail Saturday for Bermuda . Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Stout and Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Froelich re turned Sunday afternoon trom Chicago,' where the former had been visiting and attending the world series baseball games. Mrs. Harold Lindberg is in York this week attending the state con vention of the Rebekah Assembly. . .The South Side Improvement club met at the home of Mrs. Dewey Schaffer on Thursday, Oct All. 10 YEARS AGO The state Republican caravan caine to town Friday afternoon 45 minutes late. The tardiness cost the services of the municipal band, which turned out en masse to greet Gov. Val Peterson, U. S Sen. Kenneth S. Wherry, Rep. A. L. Miller and other members of the touring GOP group. . . Dr. L. J. DeBacker, Hastings physician and surgeon and bro ther of G. C. DeBacker of O’ Neill, has received one of the highest honors the Roman Cath olic church can bestow on a lay man, the Knight of St. Gregory the Great. . .Street and house marking preparatory to inaugura tion of door-to-door muil delivery service has begun. . .Miss Karen Garwood, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Blaine Garwood, won the grand championship with an An gus steer calf which sold for $50 per ewt to Mrs. Rafert of Gres ham. Her calf weighed 390 pounds . . .Death: Paul D. Cunningham, 20 of Naper died Monday of injuries suffered Sunday in a collision near Omaha. 5 YEARS AGO The O’Neill high school student council has scheduled a home coming celebration on Friday. October 21. The Neligh Warriors a traditional gridiron foe, will face the Eagles in an evening football game in Carney park. . O’Neill and Burwell had the dis tinction of being the hottest towns in the nation Sunday when the mercury registered 90 degrees at both points. . .Carroll W. Stewart editor-publisher of The Frontier Friday was elected president of the Interstate Editorial Associa tion at the organization’s 34th an nual convention in Sioux City. . . Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Sisson will celebrate their 60th wedding an niversary at their home on Sun day, October 16. . .Deaths: Frank Bitney, 81 of Atkinson, first-born white child in county, Thursday; Mrs. Isabella Summers, 95, Sun day, O'Neill’s oldest resident; James Frederick, 16, of Lynch drowned Monday; Simon Bosn, 68 retired section foreman for Chi cago Northwestern railroad, Wed nesday. r r. 1 DR. D. E. DAVID OPTOMETRIST Complete Visual Care Contact Lenses By Appointment Phone 2lot Spencer, Nebraska Paul Shierk INSURANCE AGENCY O'NEILL, NEBR Insurance of AO Kinds The Long Ago At Chambers 50 YEARS AGO E. V Sageser has sold his Harness business to Louis Linder Mr. and Mrs. Dawe of Swan were in town yesterday oil their way home from O'Neill where they hail been on busuiess. . F. D Smith left today on the stage on a business trip to Sioux City and Omaha and will attend IOOF Grand Lodge at Lincoln next week .Cora Potter of O'Neill is visiting her brother. M. S Potter of this place . . Mrs. John Sageser s two brothers and her brother-in-law are visiting at the Sageser home this week. . Mr Wry is having a cement walk put in front of the post office and harness shop. 25 YEARS AGO The St. Paul's Evangelical Lu theran church last Sunday oh served its 30th anniversary with a double thanksgiving service at the townhall. Pastor L. C. Groth eer, founder of the Chambers congregation was the speaker in the morning service. Pastors A Grasse and H. C. Fricke also for mer pastors of the congregation were the afternoon speakers. . . Mr. A. E. Hutchinson has been transferred to O’Neill and will be stationed there to look after thi work of. the shelterbelt in Holt county. . Elmer Coolidge of Amelia had the misfortune to be kicked in the face by a colt Mon day. The upper plate of his ar tificial teeth was broken and he is suffering from cuts and bruises on the lower part of his face. . . Chns. Watson has driven 648 head r f cattle from the Gordon Watson ranch to Plainview this fall. . The Holt County Corn Husking contest will be held Tuesday, Oc tober 29. Smoke from "Brandin' Iron" Crick By J. C. Flidd Everything’s mighty pretty ali ng the Crick this week but the weather is as Undecided as the political issue. Debatable, as they say on T.V. About the time a guy thinks things are warming up (like for his pet political can didate) it cools off leaving you sure of only one thing, you wish Nikita Krushchev would take his foot in his hand and take for home. Willie Kells have sure made the headlines this week. Nobody can make up their mind if Willie is our A-No. 1 public minded safety first citizen or just a sucker for slick salesmen. Of course every one knows Willie would buy Ran dall Dam if the right guy come along and he could get it on time but the things he’s done the past week has got folks guessing. They don't know if he is or ain’t. First off it’s National Fire Pre vention Week. Willie claims that’s the reason he done what he did. Well anyhow, last Tuesday this lightning rod salesman came around. He met with a kind of Krushchev along the Crick till he got to Kells. It must have seemed like Lightning Rod Heaven. When Willie found he’d have a year to pay, every building including the pig house got the treatment. Thursday the fire extinguisher collot* rrnt in hie linlrc Willin Tint only got a portable machine that you roll around on a cart but a barrel of juice to go with it “Put out anything excepting the cat at night,’’ he says real proud (Everybody knew he got it on time too; the salesman used the .erne line on everyone.) Friday Willie sold his heifers to that guy from Illinois that buys them every year. Don’t know if that had any bearing on the case or not but on Saturday there was three fire insurance salesmen called at the Kells. The first one was the only one that got any good done. Willie was a sitting du k. Bet the agent is dizzy yet from the size of the policy cov erage. Willie just goes around patting himself on the back and hoping for a big electric storm to come along so he can see how safe he feels. “Covered from every angle 100 per cent,” he says. Widow Barker claims that since words got out about her diet she’s been swamped with salesmen too trying to sell all kinds of foods pills and gadgets. Claims Holly wood even sent a representative to see her. (We kinda took this with a grain of salt but again, them agents will tell a guy any thing to seel a bill of goods.) With all the sellers around, the only one Lena and Yours Truly patronized was Junior Bundy. He was selling Cloverine Salve. See you next week. "Irea ure ^U|K ICE CREAM 1111 hma—wa^U-MbltmiavOMIccam, mmm& *artUi* *Uh Denote ol cend; ood looted iritk | hariooo choalu of choooloto Vmi dost oood o loop •» tad ifak tnomo-Ui it jrour lon<Uo MOB w ICE CREAM WITH CANDY NUGGETS 22-26c i I A Poem From Mrs. Eby ... —The Man In The (ibe«— I have to live with myself and so I want to be fit for myself to know. I want to be able as days go by always to look myself straight in the eye, I dont want to stand in the set ting sun. ami hate myself for the things I have done. And fool myself, as 1 come and go, into thinking that nobody else will know the kind of man I really am. I never can hide myself from me I see what others may never set', I know what others may never know, I never can fool my self; And so whatever happens 1 want to be self-respecting and eon cience free. When one gets what they want in the struggle for self and the world makes you King for a day. Just go to the mirror and look at yourself and see what that man has to say, For it isn’t your father or mo ther or wife whose judgement upon you must pass The fellow whose verdict counts most in year life, is the one starring back from the glass You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum and think you're a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum if you can’t look him straight in the eye, He’s the fellow to please—never mind all the rest for lie's with you clear to the end, And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test if the man in the glass is your friend You may fool the whole world down the pathwaytof years and get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears if you’ve cheated the man in the glass. (Selected) "The I EDITOR"| After attending tlie O'Neill High homecoming game Friday evening we've come up with a sure-fire idea on how to improve the O’Neill high team to a level where they would be one of, if not the top team in the state. If every person who has stop ped yours truly on the street to tell us that they saw the play where the Editor and his camera were tackled on the sidelines and thrown for a loss would make a special effort to congratulate a member of the team on the fine way that they played, the team would be so filled with self con fidence that they couldn't lose. —Iff K— Just when we ve finally got all the political candidates and their party affiliations straightened cut we’re confused again. The race for Governor of Nebraska should ourely toe an easy one to keep straight. Morrison is the Demo cratic candidate and Cooper is the Republican. Or at least that’s what we thought. Now the"e's a “Republicans for Morrison Do You Knsw Your Neighbor? “Know Your Neighbor" is not a contest There are no prizes given for correctly identifying the person pictured. The only reward is the satisfaction of knowing your neighbor Here’s a man who is a friend indeed. Committee” so it looks as though whoever wins the next guberna torial race, the Republicans have it in the bag. —BJR— It seems that we heard once that if you can convince one of the enemy into coming over to your • ide he’s a convert. How eve" if one of your men goes over to the enemy lie’s a traitor. Which only proves that there are two sides to every question and some times they’re both right. —BJR— Since the report was released that cigarettes cause lung can cer In mice the best advice we’ve heard on the subject is, “So let the m :? quit smoking." —BJR— I wi h I had said it, “What the women of this country need is a l>ermanent wave half as perma nent as a temporary tax." 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