TIIE FRONTIER, O’Neill, Nebraska, Thursday, August 24, 1961
Prairieland Talk
"Under the Old Shade Tree''
By ROMAINE SAUNDERS, 4110 South 51st St., Lincoln 6, Nebr
By the walk in front of the John Smoot barber
shop on the west side of south 4th street stood a
tree. There they gathered summer afternoons in
the shade the town's philosophers, statesmen and
loafers making up what became
known as the Green Tree club.
John Smoot, Tom Coyne, Odie
Biglin. John Horiskey, Pat Big
lin, Jess Mellor, Roscoe of the
Commercial Hotel just across
the street to the south, Sliver
Triggs. George Triggs. A wise
if unsaintly group that talked it
all over together. A feature of
life and neighborly fellowship in
O'Neill in the days now gone
with not one of that Green Tree Romalne
club seen on the streets of Saunders
O'Neill today.
* * *
It is always a pleasure for a former O’Neill
resident now holing up elsewhere to have one of
them come along and take me by the hand. That
sturdy pioneer couple of the O’Neill community,
Mi. and Mrs. Neil Brennan, has a son living here
in the Capital City. I should not say has a son, but
rather a son of that good father and mother now
long dead, the son living now here in Lincoln and
Prairieland Talker had a visit recently, Tom coming
to see me one afternoon. Yes, two former O’Neill
patriots enjoy a visit together talking it over. And
we both expressed regrets that we get nothing over
the air these days from up there.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. It. II. Fickling and their two boys
of the Atlanta, Ga., community spent a week in
Lincoln visiting Mrs. Fickling’s father, Prairieland
Talker, and the households of her sister, Mrs. Amy
Eno. and her brother. Ned Saunders. Mrs. Fickling
whose husband is a minister was born in O’Neill
and enjoys coming to her home prairieland state
from time to time. This trip we did not get up to
Holt county as her preaching husband had to be
home to fill appointments.
* * *
Down there is southwest Nebraska we call it
Ihe Pan Handle. Near me I see a tin pan. It has no
handle . . . Iron curtain another play upon words.
No curtain hanging up, iron or silk or otherwise.
But they say they know about it when they get
behind the Iron Curtain.
* * *
Flo Bently in their little store on east Douglas
street for one thin dime handed you a whole fresh
haked pie. The other day I paid 25 cents for a little
piece of pie at a lunch counter.
* * *
An unsigned letter comes to me inquiring about
what appeared herein recently atxiut our district
judges, four of them making their homes in O’
Neill. Occasionally a judge from another district
would come here and preside at court trails in Holt
county. One of the long time district court judges,
M. P. Kinkaid, was elected to congress and gave
us the one section homestead law.
County and state fairs now on hot summer
days. Formerly we gathered at the fair grounds on
mild autumn days. The first Holt county fair was
held in the year 1884 or 85. Fair grounds a mile or
more east of the town of O’Neill. A race track
with a capacity crowd taking in the races and per
formances there on the race track, maybe startled
with fright when A1 Heilman flashed out his six
shooter and shot a dog. An attractive feature one
fair was the wedding on the fair grounds of Elmer
Merriman and the charming lady of his choice
from the Page community. And the first bunch of
black cattle to come to the prairies of Holt county
were exhibited by Rancher Elwood. One year the
fair was held south of town, then for a few years
to the northeast, now taken over by homes of
citizens. What formerly was the South Fork Fair
down at Chambers is now the Holt County Fair,
and a good one at that. Formerly we printers and
newspaper workers were given free passes to the
fair grounds with “freedom of the grounds”
stamped on the pass. How is it today?
August 14 some attention was given to the event
>n that date 16 years ago, which ended our war with
Japan. The bombing of Pearl Harbor started that
war. At that time wife and I were at our home in
Swan precinct five miles west of Amelia. Our son,
Romaine, was in Coast Guard service in Hawaiian
waters at the Pearl Harbor bas&. That evening the
news came over the air of the bombing of Pearl
Harbor our good neighbor, Tom Baker, came to get
us to hear the story over the telehone, the Bakers
being on the telephone line. We of course were con
cerned for our son and we were made to rejoice
some days later that he was still on the go un
harmed. And the Japs were brought to their knees
when their great city was bombed and thousands
of their pe ople killed. Such is war, death and de
struction.
* * *
It was said to the Shepherd, “Thou hast here
thy ninety and nine. Are they not enough for thee?
But the Shepherd gave answer, One of mine has
wandered away from Me, so I go to the desert to
find my sheep.” Am I a lost sheep out in the
desert of sin? Our spiritual Shepherd is looking for
such and calls, Come home!
The precinct assessor has a tough job and even
his next door neighbor may thumb a nose at him.
The job has to be done and to have your assess
ment about as you want it be friendly with the
assessor. He does what the law requires him to do.
* * *
Our Capital City being an educational center
they come here from distant lands to study. I met
>ne recently, a little short brown skinned gent from
far away Manilla. The day this is written he was
to leave for home after some weeks study at Union
college. He was to go by train to San Francisco,
there board a ship and sail across the great Pacific
ocean, the trip home to cost him $400. He told me
the weather in the Philippines is the same each
year, never gets above 80 in midsummer nor below
00 above zero at other seasons.
Editorial
Trans-Curtain Skyway
Christian Science Monitor
At the moment the dark hues in the world pic
ture intensified by the storm at Berlin—cloud over
what would be small hut bright rifts in a less
troubled sky. For example, an agreement between
the United States and the Soviet Union has been
reached to provide nonstop plane service between
New York and Moscow beginning next spring.
There may l)e, to be sure, an ironical contrast
in any Russian agreement to advance the move
ment of people across such distance at a time when
Communist guards are preventing them from
traveling by subway from East to West Berlin. The
same point might be made about cultural exchanges
which somehow do not provide, in the Communist
!>ook, that Germans should know Germans better.
Neverthless the New York-Moscow air link is
a useful reminder that some zephyrs are blowing
against the hurricane, and may still be blowing
when the stronger wind has subsided.
It is also a reminder that so-called “disengage
ment'’—the withdrawal of Western military' power
on one side, and Soviet military power on the other
from the storm center in Eastern Europe—will be
largely meaningless so long as missile pads in
North America and the Soviet Union remain mutual
ly engaged. The New York-Moscow air service
would be a desirable substitute for the. theoretical
trajectories of nuclear rockets.
BEAVER FALLS, PA., NEWS-TRIBUNE: “In
a recent address in Chicago, John G. Tower, his
tory's first popularly elected Republican senator
from Texas or any other former confederate state,
has something to say that should be repeated often.
“Said Tower: ‘Capitalism is not a dirty word
. . . The men who build the railroads and banks
and insurance companies and industries that have
made the American people the most productive, the
most comfortable, the most resourceful and most
reliable in the world were not do-gooders. They
were capitalists.’ ”
FRANKLIN, N. C., PRESS: "If federal aid to
education is not necessary, and if it is not the most
economical way to finance the schools, why take a
chance—even a remote chance— on federal control?
The truth is, the whole concept of federal aid to
education betrays a lack of faith in democratic
processes. It is a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the
intelligence and integrity of the average citizen.”
HILLSBOROUGH, N. H. MESSENGER: “Free
enterprise, someone once said, has nothing to do
with politics, or wealth, or business, or class. It is a
way of life in which the indivdual, you and I, are
important.
"Free enterprise is the right to open a gas station,
or a grocery store, or to buy a farm—if you want to
be your own boss—nr to change your job if you don’t
like the many you’re working for.”
Chambers News
By Mrs. E. R. Carpenter
Mrs. Ralph Blair returnei
home Sunday evening from Oma
ha where she had spent a wee]
with her sons and daughters am
attended the wedding of he
granddaughter, Nola Sascek. He
son-in-law and daughter, Mr. am
Mrs. Orville Selders and family
Royal Oak, Mich., and Mr. Seld
ers’ father, Clarence Selders
Red Oak, la., brought her homi
and are visiting here for a fev
days.
Mr. and Mrs. Vern Wilkinsoi
and his brother-in-law and sister
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Robison, Phil
iipsburg, Kan., who were visitinj
the Wilkinsons, left Monday o
last week for the Black Hills. An
other sister, Mrs. Hazel Boat
man, O’Neill, accompanied them
They returned Wednesday.
iroxei ureen, Amelia, deliv
ered the message at the Metho
dist churches in Chambers and
.Amelia Sunday morning due to
the absence of the pastor, the
Rev. Charles Cox.
Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Burch and
Mrs. Carl Schmeil, O’Neill, called
at the R. K. Platt home Wednes
day.
Mr. and Mrs. Vern Bishop.
Mead, spent Saturday night and
Sunday with her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Leon Hertel. The Bishops'
two sons, Randy and Robin, who
had spent a couple of weeks with
their grandparents, returned
home with them.
Mr. and Mrs. Evert Jarman re
turned Saturday night from a va
cation spent at Estes Park, Colo.
Their son, Douglas, accompanied
them as far as Denver and from
there returned by train to Omaha
and is spending a while with His
brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and
Mrs. Jim Ringle and Karrie.
Mr. and Mrs. John Dankert
were Sunday callers in the R. K.
Platt home.
Chester Jungbluth, Beatrice, is
visiting friends at Chambers this
week and also doing some work
at his place west of town.
Several families from the
Chambers and Amelia commun
ities attended a picnic dinner
anti program as a farewell to
Mr. and Mrs. Neil Dawes and
family who are leaving this
week for their new location at
Fairbury.
Mrs. Tim Read was a Wednes
day visitor in the Leon Hertel
home.
Dean Wilkinson and Francis
Root, Mead, spent the weekend
with the former’s parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Vem Wilkinson.
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Griffis and
her mother, Mrs. Althea Snod
grass, Lincoln, came Tuesday
and visited until Wednesday with
Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Platt. Mrs.
Snodgrass is a sister of Mr. Platt.
Mrs. Wayne Smith and son,
Dean, drove to Kearney Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Richards,
Bhadron, spent from Monday un
til Wednesday of last week with
their son-in-law and daughter, Mr.
and Mrs. Duane K. Miller and
family.
Mrs. Don Medcalf and sons,
Ainsworth, came Wednesday ac
companied by several boys of
the Ainsworth ball team. The
group attended the Fair and vis
ited the E. H. Medcalfs. One son,
Bruce, remained until his father
came Thursday and the two re
turned to Ainsworth Friday morn
ing.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Thorin,
Duncan, came for the Fair Wed
nesday bringing their grand
laughters, Norma and Janet Win
termote home after having spent
nearly a week with their grand
parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Forest Sam
mons and son, Duane, Kimber
ly, Idaho, spent last week with
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. A.
D. Miller, and her brother and
sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Roy
Miller and family, and other
relatives and friends. The Sam
mons family is formerly of the
Chambers and Amelia commun
ities.
Bob Gibson, Papillion, visited
Wednesday evening with his
grandmother, Mrs. Jennie Gib
son, and in the Darrell Gillette
home.
Mrs. Hattie Tibbetts, accompa
nied by her guests, Mr. and Mrs.
Everette Powell, Stromsburg, left
Thursday for Ft. Collins, Colo.
The former visited her sister,
Mrs. Genevieve Bell, and nephew
and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Donald
Grimes, also her niece, Mrs.
Charles Gustafson and family at
Eaton. The Powells were guests
of their son-in-law and daughter,
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Olson and
family at Ft. Collins. The group
, returned to Chambers Monday
and the Powells left soon after
1 for their home at Stromsburg.
t The Rev. and Mrs. Charles Cox
i went to Oakdale Sunday where
■ he performed a marriage cere
mony for Dale McCain, Ericson,
1 and Lila Mae Pitzer, Oakdale.
, They called at the home of their
son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and
, Mrs. Charles Cox, Tuesday eve
; ning.
f
Guests in the Clarence Damme
home Sunday included Mr. and
Mrs. William Griffith, Mr. and
’ Mrs. Les Damme and family and
Terry Peterson, all of Clearwa
ter, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Fisher
and Dorthy, Amelia.
Connie Werner returned to her
work in Denver, Colo, after
spending several days with her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
Werner.
Judy Thomson, who is attend
ing school in Lincoln, spent the
weekend with her parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Willard Thomson.
Mr. and Mrs. Emerson Loeske
spent the weekend at Schuyler
where they attended the Loeske
Bowman wedding and visited rel
atives.
Judy, Joan and Burton Grimes,
the children of Mr. and Mrs. Ed
ward Grimes, West Covina, Calif,
who have spent several weeks
with their grandparents, Mr. and
Mrs. James Grimes, left Thurs
day for Milwaukee, Wis., to join
Mrs. Grimes. She is visiting her
relatives while Mr. Grimes is in
school at Bemidji, Minn.
Mr. and Mrs. Glen Burge and
family drove to Clearwater Sun
day to visit her cousin, Mrs. Win
ford Weeder, of Chula Vista,
Calif., who is a guest at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Walt Finley.
Mrs. James Grimes and grand
son, Steve Conley, left Wednes
day for the latter’s home at Mont
rose, Colo., after Steve had spent
the summer with his grandpar
ents. Mrs. Grimes plans to re
main for a short visit.
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O'Neill Locals
Mrs. McKinley Simonson en
tered St. Joseph's hospital, Oma
ha, August 14. She will be there
two weeks or more for a check
up.
Jim Harty and family, Denver,
arrived Saturday to spend the
week visiting with Mrs. Simon
Bosn and Mrs. VV- H. Harty.
They visited Thursday in Creigh
ton with relatives.
Walter Donohoe and family re
turned a week ago from a vaca
tion to the Black Hills.
Mr. and Mrs. Pat E. Hickey,
Omaha, arrived Friday to spend
a few days visiting relatives.
The women of the O’Neill
Bowling teams held their annual
meeting Thursday night at the
Legion club room. Mrs. Norbert
Clark, president, presided.
Minutes were read and the
treasurer’s report given by Mrs.
Deraid Graham. After an open
discussion, meeting adjourned,
followed by meetings of indivi
dual leagues.
Starting dates of leagues for
61 and 62 season were decided
upon. The president appointed
necessary committees for the
season.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Weber
and family, Omaha, arrived Sat
urday to spend the weekend visit
ing Mrs. Weber’s parents and
brother, Mr. and Mrs. Don En
right and Jim. They returned
home Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gaskill,
Denver, and Mr. and Mrs. A1
Gaskill returned Thursday from
St. Paul, Minn., where they had
been visiting the Russel Borgs.
The Richard Gaskills returned
to Denver Saturday.
Sgt. and Mrs. Rex Homer and
family, Fort Richie, Md., ar
rived Wednesday to visit a few
days with Mr. and Mrs. Pat
Hickey, Mr. and Mrs. Sam
Fuhrer, Mr. and Mrs. Delbert
Rol>ertson, and other family and
friends, enroute to Arizona
where they will make their
home. Sgt. Homer will be sta
tioned at Fort Matucka.
Edna Coyne returned Thurs
day from Trenton, N. J., after
spending three weeks with her
daughter and family, Captain
and Mrs. H. M. Christonsen. She
also spent several days sight
seeing in Washington. D. C., and
several days in Omaha with
friends.
Convention Date Set
Altar society met Thursday eve
ning at St. Mary’s Academy. Mrs.
William Kelly announced that na
tional council of Catholic Women
convention would be held in Col
umbus September 26. She urged
as many women as possible to
attend. Mrs. Joe l>ufek gave a
report on the coupon drive for
silverware which the Altar so
ciety is handling. The meeting
was in charge of St. Catherine’s
guild with Mrs. John Laska as
chairman.
Bowling Party Held
The Ten Pin Lanes team held
a bowling party and steak fry
Monday evening at Slats Supper
club. Six couples attended.
Mrs. Mary Clauson and grand
daughter, Sharel Doose, Denver,
Colo., returned home Friday after
visiting the J. R. Gallagher fam
ily. John Gallagher ir. and his
grandmother, Mrs. Mildred Hon
ke, accompanied them to Denver,
where they will visit about three
weeks.
Mr. and Mrs. Billie Marcellus
and family returned home Friday |
from a week’s vacation at Estes i
Park. They also visited Mr. and j
Mrs. Glen Gettert, Crawford,
formerly of O’Neill.
Mrs. Harold Williamson and
Bonnie, Columbus and Mrs. Jas
per Hitchcock, Lincoln, were Sun- i
day and Monday visitors at the ]
Billie Marcellus home.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Humrich re
turned Wednesday from Minne- j
apolis, Minn., where they ha**
been visiting Mrs. Hum rich’s sis
ter, Mrs. William Lyders and
family.
Theresa Bosn returned Satur
day after visiting her sister in
Delaware. She will work at the
hospital here until January, and
then plans to attend school.
Visiting at the home of Mr. and
Mrs. John Donohoe and family
over the weekend, were Mr. and
Mrs. Vurl Cloyd, Sidney, la.
Mrs. iBud Cloyd and boys, Oma
ha, are visiting this week at the
home of Mrs. Cloyd’s parents,
Mr. and Mrs. John Donohoe and
family.
Ed McCarthy, Cokimibus, spent
the weekend with his parents, Mr
and Mrs. George McCarthy and
family.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hetheruig
ton and family, Lincoln, were
Sunday guests at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. George McCarthy
and family.
Mr. and Mrs. James Earley
and family returned Wednesday
from vacationing in the Black
Hills. ’
Mrs. Emmet Carr, Karen and
Charles, Santa Monica, Calif., are
here visiting friends and rela
tions.
Mi-s. Pauline Walston and Mias
Castle Crain, Red Field, S. D., ar
rived Sunday to spend a few days
visiting Mrs. Winnie Barger.
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O'Neill Public Schools
WELCOME YOU
Open Wednesday August 30
High School and Grade Registration 9 a.m,, August 30
® COLLEGE PREPARATORY
For those students who expect to attend college or a university, we offer a full
curriculum which is accepted in any college or university in the United States.
French will be included in the curriculum and advanced math including a new
trigonometry course. ^
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NORTHWESTERN BELL
Service First • 24 hours a day
Full commercial course including one year of typing, one year of shorthand,
bookkeeping and office practice.
• HOME ECONOMICS
Three-year program in one of the best equipped home economics departments
in the state.
• GENERAL COURSE
Suited to students who are not enrolled in college prep or commercial.
• ATHLETICS
Three well-trained, experienced coaches handle intra-mural and inter-school
athletic program, including football, basketball and track. Also volleyball for
girls and a junior high athletic program. A physical education course is offerer]
both boys and girls.
• FINE ARTS
We offer a full course in dramatics. Remedial speech training is available in
both the high school and the lower grades. Both instrumental and vocal musir
is offered throughout the school.
• LIBRARY
Our library facilities will accommodate 60 students at a time.