N.-l Stn
plattemoutb
cram
VOL. XXXIII.
PL ATTSM O UT II, NEBRASKA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1914.
No.
PUTTSMODTH AGAIN
DISASTROUS FIRE ON CHRISTMAS DAY
L.
B. Egenberger's Store and Home Overhead Entirely
Ruined and the Adjoining Buildings Receive
Very Serious Injury.
MRS
J. F. STULL. AGED
The Fire Boys Respond Nobly and Work Bravely and Were
Greatly Assisted by Numerous Volunteer Citizens
Late Before Flames Were Extinguished.
Frrm Saturdays Pallv.
Ore of the most destructive fires
that has occurred in this city in re
cent years curr.e yesterday afternoon
at about 1 :"0 o'clock, and as a result
two of the business buildings of the
city are completely in ruins and the
life of Mis. Frederick Stull. one of
the pioneer residents of the county,
was claimed by the ruthless fire
demon. The fire, as far as can be
learned from the many conflicting1
stories circulated, originated in the
apartments of Mrs. O. P. Monroe,
situated on the second floor of the
building thnt was occupied by her
store, and was caused from an over
heated stove that soon had the room
whre it was located in a blaze, and
the f;re rapidly spread through the
different rooms, the light partitions
affording1 but little protection against
the racing flames that lapped every
thing in their pathway.
The extreme cold of the day made
the work of fighting the fire one of
the greatest difficulty and the firemen
deserve much credit, as well as the
citizens who assisted in attempting to
subdue the blaze, as almost all of the
men on the scene who were fighting to
save the building were coated with
sheets of ice, and the streams from
the five lines of hose froze almost as
soon as the water fell on the building
and soon a coating of ice was formed
over the front of the building, making
the work of fighting doubly danger
ous. The rapidity with which the;
blaze spread made the work of sav
ing anything almost impossible and
there were few who were aware that
?drs. Stull was in the building until
the whole second story was a roaring i
furnace, with the blaze bursting J
through the roof and spreading into j
the adjoining building on the west, j
which was occupied by the grocery
store of L. B. Egenberger, with his
living apartments on the second floor,
and so rapidly was the fire in tear
ing its path through the buildings
that the family had difficulty in
escaping from the blazing structure,
and were unable to save a thing from j
their beautiful home, which was soon i
in the grasp of the fire demon.
The fire had been going1 on for
some time when the firemen and
workers were startled by the an
nouncement that Mrs. Stull was still
in the building, which by this time
was literally one continuous sheet of
flames, with great clouds of blinding
smoke rolling out and blinding all
those who attempted to gain entrance.
The son of the lady, Lawrence Stull,
arrived from his home after the fire
was in full headway, and being in
formed that the body of his aged
mother, who was quite ill and feeble,
lay somewhere in the midst of the
blaze and smoke, mounted the ladder
stationed in the front of the building
and dashed in to try and search out
the body of his mother. He was com
pelled to creep along the floor for
some ten minutes before he came
across the body of the aged lady
lying on the floor in the front room
with her clothing entirely burned off
and the flesh cooked to a crisp, which
fell from the body as it was lifted
from the floor and carried by Mr.
Stull to the window, from where it
was carried down the ladder to the
street and taken to the tailor shop of j
James Sochor, where it remained un
til taken to the Hild undertaking
rooms. The deed of Mr. Stull was
one that required great courage in
entering what seemed certain to be a :
VISITED BK A-
80, BURNED TO DEATH
death trap, as the whole structure
was ablaze from one end to the
other at the time the body was re
moved. The Egenberger building was liter
ally gutted and there was nothing
saved from the living apartments, as
the roof falling in completed the
wreck made by the fire and nothing
was left to tell where The once beauti
ful home had been. The loss to Mr.
Egenberger on his home will amount
to close to $3,000. while the grocery
stock is a total loss, amounting to
some $7,000, and this, with the loss
on the building, will put the total loss
of Mr. Egenberger at between $13,000
and 15,000. regardless of the many
priceless tokens and family keep
sakes that were swept away in the on
rushing flames.
The store of Mrs. Monroe is also a
complete loss and there is nothing
left there to tell the story of the fire.
The loss here will amount to several
thousand dollars, outside of the build
ing, which will amount to about
?.".000.
The firemen and volunteer citizens
assisted in carrying the hose over the
roofs in the rear of the burning build
ing, where streams of water were
poured into the blazing buildings, both
from the rear and through the win
dows on the north facing Main
street.
As the fire spread into the Egen
berger building it seemed that the
section of the block occupied by the
M. E. Smith shirt factory would also
be claimed by the angry flames, but
this was soon protected. The build
ings burned are a portion of what is
known as the Drew block, built in the
early eighties, and while cut into dif
ferent stores, did not have fire walls
between them and made the work of
the firemen one of great difficulty, as
the partitions afforded little or no
protection from the flames, as they
came rushing through the building.
The suddenness of the fire found most
of the citizens and members of the fire
department home with their families,
but they soon rallied in fine shape to
the work of trying to save something
from the building, but the force of
th? flames and the freezing weather
combined made the work one of the
greatest difficulty, and while after
wards it might be seen where there
could have been some other methods
used, still, in the excitement and the
difficulty attending the fire the de
partment and citizens who served
faithfully all afternoon from 1:30 to
5 o'clock in fighting the flames, de
serve a great deal of credit.
Despite the freezing weather the
fire attracted a great deal of atten
tion and a large number of citizens
soon assembled to try and assist in
the work of fire fighting, and as sev
eral of the firemen were overcome
by the cold and compelled to retire
from the work, their places were
taken by volunteers from the citizens,
who certainly acquitted themselves in
great shape and deserve a world of
praise. There was much excitement
created during the fire by the report
that Mrs. Monroe could not be found
and had met death in the building,
but later it was learned that she was
at the home of Adam Wolfe and wife,
where she had been taken during the
fire.
The family of Mr. Gibson, the fire
man at the steam laundry, who oc
cupied apartments in the rear of the
Monroe building, were among the
heaviest losers in the fire, as every
thing they had was swept away in
the wreck cf the building.
The M. E. Smith building, to the
west of that occupied by L. B. Egen
berger, was damaged greatly by
smoke and this mroning the officials
of the company came down to esti
mate the loss to their firm, which,
however, will not amount to a great
deal.
The loss to the property of J. C.
Peterson on the east of the Monroe
building was considerable from the
water used in putting out the fire, the
hall of their home and the meat mar
ket below receiving the largest share
of the water. The fire wall saved
them from the flames, as had it been
lighter the blaze from the burning
building would certainly have pene
trated into their apartments. The
household goods of Mr. Peterson
were removed during the fire to a
point of safety.
The Plattsmouth Water company
was right on the job during the fire,
as with five lines of hose in use the
pressure, which averaged ninety
pounds at the start, was gradually in
creased and there was plenty of pres
sure at all times for the work of
fighting the fire. As soon as the
alarm was sounded the plant was
placed in readiness for work and at
the close of the fire, with all the
water used, the standpipe on North
Seventh street was as full as when
the hydrants were first turned on.
L. B. Egenberger, whose stock of
groceries was destroyed by the fire.
will reopen Monday morning in the
Gorder building, across the street
from the burnt structure, and he will
look after his trade as usual, as goods
will be shipped at once from Omaha
to supply the needs of his customers.
Mr. Egenberger is showing the true
spirit of pluck in starting in to carry
on his business after the heavy loss
he has just sustained.
BALL ROLLING IN DIRECTION
OF AID FOR THE FIRE ROYS
From Saturday's Paily.
A number of the business men of
the city have expressed the opinion
that some recognition should be given
the members of the fire department
for their gallant services yesterday at
the fire, and Mont Robb, the pro
prietor of the Hotel Riley, is the first
to step forward in this excellent
movement and states that he will join
in the movement to raise a fund by
contributing $5 to the same, and Mr.
Kinslow, the owner of the Riley build
ing will also contribute a like sum,
and if all the business houses of the
city will do likewise a neat sum can
be realized for the fire boys that
would be a neat appreciation of the
feeling held by the citizens for their
good work.
Taken to Omaha Today.
From Saturday's Daily.
Dr. G. II. Gilmore of Murray came
up this afternoon from his home, ac
companying Mrs. Mark Eurlong, who
was taken to Omaha on the 1:58 Bur
lington train, where she will undergo
an operation at St. Joseph's hospital
in that city. Mrs. Furlong has been
in very poor health for some time, and
while she has been operated on once
before it was found that another
operation would be necessary, and she
was taken to the "hospital ato nee.
FAREWELL RECEPTION BY
MRS. RICE TO FAMILIES OF
MESSRS. SMITH AND DAILY
A farewell party was given by Mrs.
James Rice Friday evening, December
18, for Jacob Smith and R. C.
Bailey's families, as they will soon
leave for their new homes in Min
nesota. The family of Mr. Bailey
were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs.
Sutton and daughter and Mr. and Mrs.
Modlin and two children from Omaha.
The evening was spent in music and
taffy-pulling. About 10 o'clock a de
licious luncheon was ierved, consist
ing of oysters, pickles, cake and fruit.
At a late hour the guests departed,
thinking that the evening had been
well spent and thanking Mrs. Rice for
the pleasant time she had shown
them. The families of Mr. Bailey and
Mr. Smith have been neighbors of
Mrs. Rice for a number of years.
THE GOOD OLD
IN PLATTSMOUTH
The Day Was Most Appropriately
Observed by All the Churches
and the People in General.
Christmas day in Plattsmouth was
one filled both with ioy and sorrow,
and the happiness of the many homes
was overcome by the terrible fire that
devastated two of the business houses
of the city and resulted in the loss of
the life of Mrs. Frederick Stull in the
burning of her daughtor's home.
The celebration of the dav in the
churches began at 11:15 Thursday
night, when the observation of the
Holy Communion was celebrated at
the St. Luke's church with a choral
observation of the communion, which
added greatly to the impressiveness
cf the service conducted by the Rev.
Wilbur S. Leete, pastor of the church,
who gave a short sermon in keeping
with the spirit of the great event of
the birth of the Savior, and gave to
the large number of the parishioners
present the communion of the church.
The music of the choir was beautiful
in the extreme and made the solemn
service of this church even more im
pressive. The services at the St. John's
Roman Catholic church at ":30 in the
morning were attende by a large num
ber of the members of the congrega
tion of the church, and the impres
sive high mass was celebrated by the
Rev. Father M. A. Shine, rector of
the parish. The beautiful music of
the mass was rendered in a most able
manner by the choir and aided in
making the service one of exceptional
beauty. The altar was a sight cf
beauty, with the flowers and candles,
and a great many of the congregation
took the Christmas, communion at this
service.
The Christmas program given by
the children of the Sunday school cf
the Presbyterian church in the audit
orium of the church Thursday even
ing, was very largely attended and
the entertainment provided by them
was most pleasing to all. The pupit
had been made larger and was very
appropriately decorated. The pro
gram consisted of the Christmas
songs, recitations and dialogues, and
two playlets entitled "Santa Claus in
the Southland," and "Little Eo Peep's
Christmas Party," which were given
in a very happy manner. At the
close of the program Santa Claus
made his appearance with his sacks of
sweets, which were handed to the lit
tle folks as they passed the platform.
Thursday morning and afternoon
various members of each class of the
Sunday school distributed baskets
filled with a Christmas dinner to
those who perhaps would not other
wise have a Christmas dinner. This
custom has been observed by the
members of the Sunday school of the
Presbyterian church for the past ten
years.
The Sunday school and choir of St.
Paul's Evangelical church furnished
an excellent Christmas program to a
large and appreciative audience on
Christmas eve. Rev. Steger, the pas
tor, gave in choice language the
beautiful Christmas story; he spoke
of the German custom of celebrat
ing Christmas and asking considera
tion at this holiday season of friends
and relatives of many present, who
are in disturbed Germany. The
greater part of the program consist
ed of reading, songs and dialogues by
the boys and girls of the Sunday
school. As they appeared before the
decorated Christmas tree so happy
and each doing his part so well, every
one in the audience responded to the
spirit and was filled with the true
Christmas enthusiasm of the child.
The church choir contributed three
appropriate anthems and everyone
present enjoyed taking part in sev
eral of the most loved German Christ
mas hymns. The evening was com
pleted for the little folks by the Sun
day school teachers distribtuing well
filled bags among them.
The exercises in the Methodist
church were most pleasing and the big
Christmas exercises of the Sunday
school at the church Christmas eve
were attende by a large number of
the parents and friends of the little
i folks to witness the pleasing little
j prof; ram prepared, and the little ones
were delighted when at a suitable
jhour Santa made his appearance
and distributed among them gifts
suitable to the occasion, and which
proved a very pleasing feature of
the evening.
The Christian church enjoyed a
very pleasant time at the Christmas
eve exercises when the young folks of
the Sunday school were given a treat,
and here Santa Claus was very liber
al, lemembering everyone with some
token of the evening and their little
hearts were greatly pleased with the
pleasant time prepared for them.
Throughout the city there were
numerous home gatherings that
brought into th? home a sense of
peace and joy, as families gathered
around the parental board to pass the
day in the enjoyment of the Christ
mas dinner, as well as in visiting with
each other.
SHERIFF QUINTON OVER
TAKES LAOY DESIRED IN
OMAHA AT UNION, NEB.
From Saturday's Pnily.
Sheriff Quinton Thursday received
a message from Omaha asking him
to go to the Missouri Pacific station
;:nd apprehend a lady who was a pas
senger on the 2:41 flyer for Kansas
City and who was wanted in the me
tropolis in connection with the loss of
omo furs from the Adams Express
company's office in that citv. The
sheriff boarded the train, but was un
able ot locate the party desired until
the train was r.ear Union, and alight
ed there with his charge, bringing her
back on the 4:03 train to Omaha,
where she was handed over to the
authorities. The lady stated her name
was Helen Pendleton and that her
home was at Taooma, Washington,
and accounted for her possession of
the furs by stating that she had pur
chased them in Omaha of some man
who had offered them for sale. This
is what the Omaha authorities con
tend and they desired the presence of
the woman to try and locate the man
who had been responsible for the tak
ing of the furs, which disappeared
about a month ago from the office of
the company, where they were await
ing shipment, and are quite valuable.
Mi-s Pendleton is a lady of fine ap
pearance and great personal beauty,
and while it is not thought that she
is the party taking the furs, although
through her it is hoped to get in
touch with the real culprits and bring
them to justice.
PETER C. PETERSDN, FOR
MER PLATTSMOUTH CITI
ZEN, DIES AT EUGENE, ORE.
frrm Saturday's Pally.
Yesterday morning J. C. Peterson
icceived a message announcing the
sad news of the death, at his home in
Eugene, Oregon, of his brother, Peter
C. Peterson, who for a number of
years was a resident of this city. Mr.
Peterson passed away at 7:30 Thurs
day evening after an illness of some
six months, and the body will be in
terred at Eugene. Mr. Peterson, when
a resident of this city, was employed
by the Burlington in the freight car
repair department as an assistant to
the foreman, Mr. Steimker, who was
then in charge of this department.
lie removed from this city to Oregon
some six years ago and has since
made his home at Eugene. Mr. Peter
son was married twice and leaves, be
sides the widow, three children to
mourn his loss as follows: George
Peterson, John Peterson and Miss
Cena Peterson, who reside in Oregon.
Three brothers, L. H. and J. C. Peter
son of this city and Charles Peterson
of Anacortes, Washington, are also
left to mourn the passing of this good
man. The old friends will be greatly
grieved to learn of the death of Mr.
Peterson, who during his lifetime here
made many warm friends, and the
family will receive the deepest sym
pathy of the entire community in
their loss.
Mrs. John Gorder and children and
Mrs. J. V. Hatt and children were
among the passengers this afternoon
for Omaha, where they go to visit for
the day looking after1 some business
matters.
"THAT PRINTER
DF UDELL'S" NEXT
TUESDAY NIGHT
That the dramatization of popular
novels is a wise move on the part of
the theatrical producers is exemplified
by the tremendous financial returns
reaped by the enterprising managers
that were fortunate enough to receive
the dramatic rights of any well known
novel. Every book of any prominence
has passed through the "read the
book and see the play" stage, and the
theater-goers eagerly await the stage
session of their favorite novel. The
popularity of the Harold Bell Wright
stories brought forth an overwhelm
ing demand for the dramatization of
the same. 'That Printer of Udell's"
conceded to be Mr. Wright's master
piece and the "best seller" in years,
was one the public demanded. The
author was besieged with offers from
theatrical managers of every degree
and the competition became so keen
and the public demand so strong for
the play that Mr. Wright, with the
assistance of Elsbery W. Reynolds,
the publisher, finally submitted a
dramatization of his great story.
Messrs. Gaskill & McVitty, a well
known firm, after a spirited competi
tion, secured the dramatic rights. The
play will make its initial appearance
at the Parmele theater on Tuesday
night, December 20.
CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES AT
MASONIC HOME ONE CON
TINUED ROUND OF PLEASURE
The Christmas of 1914 was observed
at the Nebraska Masonic Home in a
manner that will cause the event to
long be remembered most pleasantly
by the aged people residing at the
Home, and nothing was omitted from
the arrangements to make it most
ocmplete in every way.
Christmas eve there was a great
big Christmas tree placed in the
large and spacious dining room of the
Home, and this was laden with gifts
for every members of the Home, be
ing sent down by the members of the
Omaha lodges of the Masons, and
there was no one overlooked in the
distribution of the handsome and
choice gifts. This feature of the
Christmas program was one that de
lighted the old folks, who felt keenly
the spirit of remembrance shown by
the great Masonic fraternity and the
efforts of Superintendent and Mrs. W.
S. Askwith in looking after their wel
fare and enjoyment.
At the noon hour a most sumptuous
dinner was served in the dining room
and the table spread the length of the
room was fairly laiden with the many
good things that contribute to the
wants of the inner man. The menu
for the diner was as follows:
Roast Turkey. Dressing.
Giblet Gravy.
Roast Sweet Potatoes.
Mashed Potatoes.
Stewed Tomatoes.
Coldslaw. Celery. Spiced Pickles
Crajiberry Sauce.
Nuts. Mince Pie. Candy.
Bread. Butter.
Coffee. Tea. Milk.
The day was closed with a very fine
oyster supper, served at 6 o'clock, and
the old folks retired cheered and en
thused by the enjoyment that the day
had brought to them. Hon. Francis
E. White, grand secretary of the Ne
braska grand lodge, was a guest in
the evening at the Home.
John G. Wunderlich of Nehawka
came up yesterday from his home and
visited here today with his many
friends and looked after some busi
ness matters at the court house for
the day. John is looking fine and
his friends are mighty well pleased
to meet him.
George Albert of Sidney, Montana,
is here for a short viit at the home
of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Al
bert, during the holidays and he is
greatly enjoying the visit with them
and his old friends. He is engaged
in ranching in Montana.
Snbscribe for The Journal.
Pleasant Home Gathering.
The beautiful home of Mrs. Eva
Reese in the north part of the city
was the scene of a very pleasant
gathering yesterday, when a n umber
of the members of the family gather
ed to spend Christmas in a most de
lightful manner beneath the hospita
ble roof. The out-of-town gue.-ts
present to participate in the good
time were: Karl P. Reese :;r.d wife,
Omaha; Walter Scott, wife arid .n.
Glenn, and Mr. Ired Ar.u.t of
Omaha.
MR. AND MRS. C. C. DES
PAIN CELEBRATE GOLDEN
WEDDING CHRISTMAS DAY
From Saturday's Patty.
Yesterday was the golden wedding
anniversary of two of the wrt:iv
residents of this city, Mr. an ! Mr. '.
C. Despain, who fifty years ago were
made as one on Christmas day. ImI-1,
in Mills county, Iowa, r.ear the site of
St. Mary's, one of the poii.ts of in
terest in the county then, but which
has since been almost forgotten.
Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs.
Despain have lived in this city an I
county almost continuously and here
they have a host of the warmest
fric-r.ds that rejoice with them in h tv
ing passed so many happy hours of
married life together, and who will
trust that the years to come may be
filled with only the most choice gifts
to both of these highly esteemed resi
dents of Plattsmouth and that the in
closing years rr.av be cheered and
made happy with the memory of th
many warm friends and happy as
sociations here in Platt-mou'h. There
is nothing too good to wlr-h for Mr.
and Mrs. Despain, and the community
will join in wishing them the privilege
of celebrating their diamond wedding
together at the home in this city.
REMAINS OF THE LATE MRS.
AULT TAKEN TO GLEHWOOD
YESTERDAY FOR INTERMENT
From Saturday's Pallv.
The funeral services of the late
Mrs. Loretta Ault were conducted at
her late home yesterday morning at
8:30 by Rev. A. C. Hollowell. pastor
of the Church of Christ. The serv
ices were attended by a large number
of relatives and friends desiring to
how their last respects to this Ie J
tnd respected lady. To these at: 1
others who knew her intimately her
ighteous deeds should be "footprint-
n the sands of time" to beckon them
to so live that they may join the
hoir invisable of the immortal dea 1
vho have gone to live in peace in the
land of glory and song. The music
for the service was furnished by a
number from the church choir, ;tid
the selections were from tlio.e best
ovrd bv the deceased. After the fun
eral service the body was conveyed t
Glenwood on No. 4, where it wa in
terred in the family burying lot.
Miss Loretta Lemm was bom ri
Kalamazoo, Michigan, January 'Jl.
855, and departed this life December
3. 1914, at the age cf .. years. 11
months and 2 days. In her early youth
she moved with her narents to Syra
cuse, Neb., where she was married t-
Charles B. Ault, and with her hus
band later removed to Plattsmouth,
here she had resided almost con-
ti
nuouslv since that time. She ac-
pted Christ many years ago and at
ce
th
e time of her dath was a member
the Church of Christ of Platts-
1 , A 1 I ,
o
m
outn. tne leave to moji.i nei i.."
t
wo sons and four daughters. The
h
usband and two daughters preceded
her to the better world.
Still Have Calendars.
You will still find a large number
of those handsome sample calendars
and wall pockets at the Journal office.
While we have sold a large number
the line is almost unbroken, all of
which is being sold at about one-half
what the original cost would be in
quaintity lots. Ca:i and see tnem.
Joseph Tighe, wife and son, Fran
vis, of Havelock, who were in thi
city as over Christmas guests at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fitz
gerald, departed yesterday for their
home, going over the Burlington.
