TIIK KKONTIKIt, O’Neill, Nebraska, Tliiirnday, January 26, 1961
Prairieland Talk
"Memories of '88 Blizzard"
By ROMAINE SAUNDERS. 4110 South 5ist St., Lincoln 6, Nebr
Who walks the streets of O’Neill today or lolls
at home in an easy chair who can recall the scene
73 years ago the morning this is written, the morn
ing of January 13, 1888? Yes, that morning after the
great blizzard, the morning
throe fellows from out Dorsey
way pulled into town with loads
of hogs, having survived the
blizzard that had raged until
midnight and then let up. And
who now remembers seeing
Con Keys come along Douglas
street from the east limits of
town where he had found refuge
in a vacant house from the
storm and spent the night there, _
r . • U . ... Romaine
one of his horses having died
and he hitched himself beside Saunders
the other horse and headed for home. Doc Mathews
and Clyde King, frost bitten and half starved, pulled
into town a little before noon, caught in the bliz
zard down Chambers way and found refuge in a
cattle shed. Stories of those who had perished by
freezing were reported as time passed and the af
ter blizzard scene across Holt county disclosed here
and there a leg of a cow or steer sticking up out of
a snowbank. This year no snow, no blizzard for, a
modem Hates to write about, but bright sunshine
that gives us shirt sleeve weather in midwinter
here on Prairieland.
* « •
Maud Muller on a summer day raked the mea
dow hay. Maud Wisegraver gave me a slap on the
jaw as I asked her for a date.
* * *
The cowboys of grass robed north Nebraska
will swing into their saddles and head for Bassett
May 23, then and there to rope and brand the
advacing problem of the cattle industry. But this
time it will not be the double cinch saddle on the
back of a cow pony but behind the steering wheel
of a highway traveler of today. But maybe the boys
will shake the dust of the streets of Rock county’s
capital town from their feet, go out to open prairie,
build a camp fire to sit around and roast chunks of
hoof, as their predecessors did in the days of the
Spade outfit up that way.
* * *
Seven in one automobile, five in another crash
together on the highway and twelve youthful Ameri
cans dead. Teenage kids out to get the thrill—100
miles an hour! We did it many years ago on horse
back and nobody wounded, crippled or killed. Boys
will have their fun and the funeral homes must have
dead to bury.
I lea n that Oran Bowen of Wayne recently fell
and sustained injuries that confine him to his home.
Oran is a son of the late Judge Bowen who served
as county judge of Holt county in the 1890’s. Oran
had taught school in Atkinson, attended university
in Lincoln and was an instructor in the teachers
college in Wayne until his retirement a few years
ago. As a youth Prof. Bowen and Prairieland Talker
showed the ladies of “our crowd” a merry time.
* * *
I have stood again a calm winter evening far
away from crowded human haunts and the streets
passing by the buildings tall, out there to look again
on the setting sun that paints the distant horizon in
golden glow and goes down to light the world below.
For about six thousand years day and night have
told the story of a Master Mind and Guiding Hand
that helps you and me as we travel life’s way that
leads to an endless day.
* * *
He comes over from Omaha to the Capitol City
from time to time. Before becoming a citizen of our
big town by the Missouri river he lived in Wheeler
county. So he gets the paper from the county seat
town of Wheeler and after reading brings it with
him to Lincoln and gives it to Prairieland Talker,
Talker having rode the cow trails down there many
years ago. I see by a recent issue of the Bartlett
paper that dec-r have taken over the Beaver Valley,
a stretch of country some 25 miles in length that
was in my day down there the AT cattle ranch out
fit. That outfit folded its tents like the Arabs and
silently stole away many years ago; as did the set
tlers in northern Wheeler county due south from
O’Neill. I count on three hands families that had
homesteads and lived there, now all gone. Guy M.
Green, a printer in O’Neill more than 60 years ago,
was one of those homesteaders, as was his mother,
sister and three brothers. Guy later went to Washing
ton state, died there about 1940. His brother John
and family settled in O’Neill, John getting into
business here and died in O'Neill some years ago.
Some of his family may be here now. And if
Beaver Valley has been taken over by deer, herds
of cattle have taken over where the homesteaders
had been in northern Wheeler county. And Rich
Burtwistle still rides along the cow trails down there,
Nigger Dixons having disappeared from the scene.
* * *
The day by day newspapers tell the story of
public officials and the crimes and tragedies of the
whole world. The home town weekly newspaper tells
us of the friendly relations neighbor with neighbor,
the stories of life at its best, friend greeting friend
and the stranger given the glad hand.
Editorial
How Neat is Your Desk?
In a recent magazine article a psychiatrist
made a comparison of owners of clean, neat desks
vs owners of cluttered messy desks.
The owner of the clean desk, he said, ac
complished more work with less effort because he
did no time-consuming searching for items, his mind
was orderly and concise, his work of high quality.
Mr. Cluttered Desk, while he made much fuss
and furor about the amount of work he did, was
actually inefficient, a poor workman and an in
veterate time-waster.
We take issue with the good doctor. First of all
we maintain that Mr. Neat Desk has not enough
work to do, spends more time being orderly than he
does at work, makes such a fetish of a clean desk
that he actually accomplishes little of the work he
is hired to do.
Meanwhile, back in his office, Mr. Cluttered
Desk is so busy grinding out work that he has no
time for details such as filing, dusting and
straightening papers. He is the man upon whom the
weight of the world rests, the man who must get
the next piece of work done before he goes home,
even though he does leave a messy desk.
And, thank goodness, there are many more
men in the Cluttered Desk clan than in the Neat
Desk family. These cluttered men, too, will drop
their work at an instant's notice and head for the
golf course or lakeside, leaving in their wake a
pile of jumbled papers on an almost obscured desk.
These poor, overworked men know they must
relax so they will remain in condition to do another
tremendous day’s work tomorrow.
We're just ready to leave now, but we can’t find
the key to the office under this pile of papers on
the desk. In fact we can't even find the desk.
Amos 'N Andy Bookkeeping
Expansion of the social security system to in
clude medical care for elderly persons, offers some
tough nuts to crack. Experience shows that in poli
tics things are advocated that are unworkable.
Richard Starnes, columnist for the Washington Daily
News, reveals some not very comforting statistics
on the entire social security set-up. “In its first
quarter century,” he says, “social security took in
$70 billion. It paid out $50 billion of that, and has
$20 billion of government bonds in the kitty. Against
that $20 billion there are obligations, at the pre
sent rate of benefits, of $360 billion.”
If you wonder how the social security system
has reached such a pass the answer is simple. Mr.
Starnes cites a not unusual case—a pensioner who
paid for three years, starting in 1937. Then he re
tired. Since then he and his late wife together have
drawn $13,490 in benefits while their total contribu
tion to the fund had been $40. But in the case of
young people starting to work circumstances are
reversed. They can never hope to take out as much
as they are forced to contribute.
There is little justification for further taxing, in
the name of social security, already overtaxed
younger workers to provide medical care for mil
lions of elderly persons who are both able and wall
ing to care for themselves. Senator Harry F. Byrd,
a distinguished democrat who has as great an under
standing of the fiscal problems of the federal govern
ment as any man, does not mince words, “I am op
posed to . . . compulsory medical service and hos
pitalization under the Social Security System. I am
convinced this would lead to socialized medicine with
the possibility that it would bankrupt the social
security trust fund.”
Ninth World Wonder
The Ancients listed seven wonders of the world
—the Pyramids, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,
Phidias’ Statue of Zeus, the Temple of Ephesus, the
Tomb of Mausolus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the
Pharos of Alexandria. Now the New Haven, Mis
souri, Leader, suggests that two additional wonders
be added—‘‘The American Economic System” and
the “Lack of Understanding About How It Operates.”
That economic system has brought us un
precedented material benefits—and, a degree of
personal freedom never before experienced in or
ganized society.
But the Leader says: “The ninth wonder of the
world might be described as an apparent willing
ness of the American people to give up this system
because of a lack of appreciation and understanding
of how the system works! . . . There is an increasing
dependency upon the very thing (Government) which
leads to socialism, restricts our freedom, and hin
ders the incentive which made this country success
ful.”
The history of our time has been a sorry record
of the destruction of freedom and of every human
right and privilege by all-powerful governments.
We have seen it the world around. Yet, step by step,
we have been beguiled down an ominously similar
path. It isn’t too late to turn back and to limit
government to powers which only government can
exercise. But that turning can’t be delayed too long.
Union Suit or Strait Jacket
William C. Doherty wants to put the United
States Government in a union suit—at least that
part of it made up of civilian government workers.
Doherty is president of the National Association
of Letter Carriers, numbering 138,000 members. His
union and some 22 others now include about 700,000
government employees. Starting this month, Doherty
says he will try to organize the remaining 1,700,000
government employees into “one big union.”
Last year Doherty pressured a federal pay raise
through both houses of Congress over President
Eisenhower’s veto. Success in his new organiza
tional drive would give him 10 times as much power
as he had then. This could prove very expensive to
U. S. taxpayers. It also could prove very dangerous.
Unions no longer limit their interests to pay
raises and fringe benefits. They actively push a full
program of government objectives in all fields from
education to foreign affairs. If all government em
ployees were lumped into a single union, elected
representatives and appointed officials would have
little chance of carrying through any policy that did
not meet the approval of the union leaders.
The dangers of such a situation are all too
obvious in these days of Soviet competition and sub
version. One has only to think of what might hap
pen if the wrong people won control of such a union.
According to Chain Store Age, more specific new
drugs have been released in the past 20 years than
in all previous medical history. About 80 per cent
of prescriptions written today are for drugs that did
not exist 10 years ago. The magazine credits heavy
investments by drug manufacturers in research—
which has totaled about $1 billion in the last decade
—as the main cause of this avalanche of medical
discoveries.
I
Frontiers
Ago
50 YEARS AGO
O’Neill population listed at
2,087. . .N. B. Harris will have a
sale 11 miles northwest of O’
Neill, preparatory to locating near
Burwell. . .County Atorney Whe
lan thinks he may find it neces
sary to take steps to reduce evil
of small school boys smoking
pipes. . .Wedding license issued
to William J. Foxworthy and Nor
ma Tuttle both of Stuart, and
Win Wallace of Fairbury and Jes
sie Thoman of O’Neill.
25 YEARS AGO
Plans for new courthouse ac
cepted by county board. . .Thirty
bison skulls found below power
dam on Niobrara river 30 miles
north of here. . .Justis Butterfield,
79, dies January 15 after illness
of several months. . .Billy Wat
son of Inman cuts fingers sever
ly while operating meat slicer in
father’s store. . .Nine and one
half pound daughter born Jan
uary 9 to Mr. and Mrs. Clyde
Allen of Emmet.
10 YEARS AGO
Mrs. Glen Stewart is installed
as noble grand of Friendship Re
bekah lodge. . .O’Neill Eagles
lose first game of season to
Ainsworth Bulldogs. . .Some steer
calves sell as high as 41 cents per
pound at O’Neill Livestock Mark
et. Cletus Durr of Glenwood, la.,
arrives here as manager of Lee
store. . .Melvin Ruzicka, local
businessman named Boy Scout
chairman.
5 YEARS AGO
Five-year plan to make Holt
county brucellosis free launched
here. . .Anton E. Kalkowski,
Lynch farmer, files for Boyd
county supervisor. . .Ewing post
office advanced from third class
rating to second class. . ,Roy Wor
den, 67, Amelia rancher, dies
January 15 in Burwell hospital. . .
Inman Tigers take 1956 Holt
county basketball tourney—St.
Mary’s academy Cardinals are
runners-up.
The Long Ago
At Chambers
50 YEARS AGO
A Visible Loading Repeating
Rifle is advertised at $8 by the
Stevens Arms company in Mas
sachusetts. . .P. Reifers has offer
ed for sale or rent his place of
760 acres, 60 acres in cultivation.
. .Mr. and Mrs. James Smith
came in on the stage Tuesday for
a visit with relatives. . 3om to
Mr. and Mrs. George Anderson
of Amelia February 7, a 12-pound
boy. . . .wedding bells rang for
Fona Clauson and Florence Sea
man January 11 at Rapid City,
S. D.
25 YEARS AGO
Ex-service men can obtain
blanks for cashing bonus checks
from H. C. Cooper or Elmer Far
rier. . .Town board agrees to
sponsor library in north part of
H. L. Smith’s store. . .Roads and
highways had to be shoveled out
in some places but it was im
possible to keep 281 open. . .Etta
and E. Everett Cooke held a pub
lic sale February 10 at their
place one mile east of Chambers.
A Poem
From Mrs. Eby ...
—A Boy and His Dog—
A 'boy and his dog make a glori
ous pair;
No 'better friendship is found
anywhere,
For they talk and they walk and
they run and they play,
And they have their deep secrets
for many a day,
And that boy has a comrade who
thinks and who feels,
Who walks down the road with
a dog at his heels.
He may go where he will and
his dog will be there,
May revel in mud and his dog
will not care;
Faithful he’ll stay for the sligh
test command
And bark with delight at the
touch of his hand;
Oh, he owns a treasure which
nobody steals,
Who walks down the road with
a dog at his heels.
No other can lure him away from
his side;
He’s proof against riches, and
station and pride;
Fine dress does not charm him,
and flattery’s breath
Is lost on the dog, for he’s faith
ful to death;
He sees the great soul which the
body conceals,
And it’s great to be young with
a dog at your heels.
(Edgar A. Guest)
Meek News
By Mrs. Fred Lindberg
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Eiler, Har
vey and Bobby of Palmer surpris
ed Mrs. Eiler’s mother, Mrs.
Elsie Eppenbach, by calling on
her Sunday morning. In the after
noon they visited at the home of
Clara Conway. Mrs. Eiler is the
former Lucille Eppenbach and
used to reside near Scottville.
The occasion was the Eilers 22nd
wedding anniversary.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kaczor
were Sunday visitors at Grand
man Hulls and Bill. Grandma is
spending most of her time in bed.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Nelson, Mr.
and Mrs. Ed Kaczor and Mr.
and Mrs. Virgil Hubby were sup
per guests Tuesday evening of
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Walters.
Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Rouse
and boys, Lloyd Rouse and Mr.
and Mrs. Herman Meyer and
Vickie of Atkinson were Tuesday
evening guests of Mr. and Mrs.
Metrlin Anderson.
Mr. and Mrs. Dewayne Devall
were weekend visitors at the
homes of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer
Devall and Mr. and Mrs. D. E.
Seger.
Mrs. Jim McNulty was a Wed
nesday visitor at the Emmet
Slaight home.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Johring
and Craig and Mr. and Mrs. Mer
lin Anderson and Nancy were
dinner guests Friday at the Hen
ry Walters home.
Warren and Nate Conard help
ed Vern Harding Thursday work
on a well.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Femau
spent Thursday at the Carl Krogb
home.
Leon Odenbach accompanied
Fred Wells home from a trip to
Montana. He is a brother-in-law
of Mrs. Fred Wells. His wife is
the former Laura Wetzler.
Mr. and Mrs. Dewayne An
son, Sharon and Carla and Mr. ,
and Mrs. George Nelson, Larry
and Sue were Sunday dinner
guests of Mrs. Christine John
son. The occasion marked Mrs.
Nelson’s birthday anniversary.
WHAT QUALITY!
WHAT BEAUTY!
WHAT A PRICE!
WHAT A SAVING!
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FREE LIVE DEMONSTRATION
IN OUR STORE
DANKERT'S SERVICE
610 East Douglas Chambers
Phone 410-W
O’Neill_ Phone IV 2-2101
Mr. and Mrs. Don Strickrath,
Mary Lynn, Kelly and Joan were
Wednesday visitors at the home
of Elmer and Walter Devall.
Mrs. Strickrath is the former Eve
lyn Devall and a sister to Walter
and Elmer. They now live at
Bloomfield.
Mr. and Mrs. Swede Sedivy of
Bristow and Mr. and Mrs. Bill
Miller of Spencer were Tuesday
evening visitors at the Vern Hard
ing home.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lindberg,
Mr. and Mrs. Vern Harding and
Bill Remleitner were Monday eve
ning guests at a duck supper at
the Carl Krogh home.
Mrs. Lawrence Dobrovolny went
to Omaha Tuesday and returned
home Saturday, bringing her
grandson, Lee Wrede.
Marty Drueke .vas an overnight
guest of Larry Nelson Friday
night. He accompanied Mr. and
Mrs. George Nelson, Larry and
Sue to Dale Roberts for supper
The occasion was Douglas Ro
berts’ birthday.
Mr. and Mrs. Vern Harding
left Saturday for Chadron. They
plan to spend the weekend with
their daughter, Mrs. Bernard
Deans and family. Mr. and Mrs.
Dick Fernau accompanied them
as far as Valentine, where they
stopped over to visit their son
and daughter-in-law, Mr. and
Mrs. Dick Fernau jr.
George Mellor, Oswald Drueke,
Lawrence Johnson, George Nel
son and Dwayne Anson attended
a supper at Spencer sponsored
by the Spencer Feed store Thurs
day evening.
John Schmitz and daughter.
Mildred, spent the weekend in
Omaha visiting at the home of
ins soil, ivir. ana Mrs. Jim
Schmitz.
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Rosen
krans and Lynn were Friday vis
itors at the Fred Lindberg home.
They came to watch the inaugu
ration ceremony and parade.
Mary Peterson and Emmet
Slaight attended the funeral of
Charles Cavanaugh Saturday.
Mr. and Mrs. Garold Risor were
Saturday visitors of Virgil Hub
by.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wells, Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Wells and fam
ily and Mr. and Mrs. Merlin An
derson and girls were Sunday
dinner gjests of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Walters.
Mrs. Elsie Eppenbach was an
O’Neill visitor Wednesday.
Mrs. Wilma Anson and Mrs.
George Nelson attended a party
at Christine Johnson’s home
Wednesday evening.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Devall
and family visited relatives in
North Platte over the weekend.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Walters
and boys and Mr. and Mrs. Del
bert Rouse and boys were Sun
day dinner guests of Mr. and
Mrs. Ivan Wayman.
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Devall
and family were supper guests
Sunday evening of Mr. and Mrs.
Oswald Drueke.
The Cactus Project Club met
at Dorothy Sanders home Jan
uary 17. Program and year
books for 1961 were made out.
It is hoped to be able to inter
est some new members for ano
ther year. The next meeting
will be at the home of Grace
Borg February 21. Lunch was
served at the close of the meet
ing.
There were 12 women and 3
children present at the mission
ary meeting Friday. The mem
bers worked over Christmas
cards to be sent to India. Next
meeting will be with Mrs. Elmer
Devall.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Walters
I
Do You Know Your Neighbor?
“Know Your Neighbor” is not a contest. There arc no prizes given
for correctly identifying the person pictured. The only reward is the
satisfaction of knowing your neighbor.
Last week’s Guess Who was Jack Bailey of O’Neill.
Here’s an O’Neill businessman you’ve met.
and Norma, Marsha Slattery and
Mrs. Christine Johnson attended
a fellowship meeting at Bassett
Thursday.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Woeppel
and Paula of Ewing were supper
guests Friday evening of Mr. and
Mrs. Delbert Rouse.
The Rev. Turner plans to be
at Paddock Union church Sunday
morning, weather permitting.
Mrs. George Nelson, Larry and
Sue were Thursday evening vis
itors at the Dwayne Anson home.
Alice’s Beauty Shop
3 Operators
Open 8:30 am. to 9:00 p.na.
125 East Douglas
Phone 263 — O’Neill
Mr. and Mrs. Don McClellan
returned from Minnesota where
they had gone to visit Mrs. Mc
Clellan’s father, John Krogh.
They report his condition re
mains serious.
DANCE
SATURDAY, JAN. 28
Summerland Ballroom
Ewing, Nebraska
ROCK
with the
ROCKITS!
Admission: 75c
^tr ___ Pwwti Ow»d»f! Q H50 urntd Imtmt UK.
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