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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1947)
TT ME EPLATTTM(D)lUTriH JdDGJAQ- No. 26 VOLUME 62 PLATTSMOUTH.NEBRASKA MONDAY, MARCH 3, 1947 Casscades Because of the weather there was some doubt as to the success of the Sunday wolf hunt. Those doubts were dispelled with final ity by 12:30 yesterday when it seemed as though at least 75 per cent of all the nimrods in the com munity were congreating at the corner of Fourth and Main streets. From the number of gun enthus iasts in the community I'd ven ture a guess that the sheriff would have little trouble organizing a posse. But what I can't understand is "wolf hunts" when all the hunt ers seem to bag is coyotes. There are plenty of wolves around here, found in drug stores and on street corners.) You've probably heard it before ! but I think it's worth repeating. The setting' is purely local. TJCapwell visited her brother at a speak of it respectfully. The story concerns a young man who was above reproach as to character, relations with his fellow man and all his acts. His father was as wicked as the young man was good. The son was stricken with an incurable ailment and died. -About the time of his funeral his erring father sought out the min ister. He could not understand why the son who was good should be taken while he. a sinner, was spared. The clergyman answer ed, in so many words, that the Lord took the bov because he was ready to die. "He is giving you more time so you can see the error of your ways," the preach er philosophized. This column for weeks has been pieced together from scraps cf in formation anyone else hears about town. It can be done by anyone who tries to remember what he hears and takes time to make it appear on paper. Casscades is never begun with j a definite conclusion in view.That works itself out. The Veterans of Foreign Wars have an excellent opportunity to contribute a bit to community spir it in their recently formed organ ization. They have many things in their favor including enthusiasm. youth and the bond formed by a common wartime service. Joe Samek has been at the Meth odist hospital in Omaha for the past week where he underwent a major operation Saturday. He will remain for the removal or :i cat-, aract. Patterson Murder Tagged Baffling Crime Epic By Max Mandelko This is about the man who talk ed himself to death. It can not be construed as hu mor in any sense of the word. Murder is not funny. Mrs. Annette Shera was in last ing sleep in the historic Rock Bluff fry. The man who murder for profit had not ben caught. But disintegrating Rock Bluff was not the most pleasant little village in the midwest. Murder had been stamped on the little community in scarlet letters. People who had long lived there became suspicious of one another. Whenever the Shera mur der was mentioned there were in sinuations and suggestions. - 'i So manv autumns came and went in Rock Bluff. Occassionally the oldtimers would hear the rust ling leavs eho "who." -killed Mrs. Shera? Who Amon? the many who wer un willing to forget the unsolved Shera rrime was Frederick Patterson, hardv pioneer who rivalled one of Brett Hart's western characters. There was more distinguished a bout him than just his white flow in'" mustache. fhe Patterson family played an imrortant part in the development of Cass corn v. Way back' in 1R27. Thomas Patterson came to the Missouri rivr vallev as a youn? purveyor. After settling in Rock Bluff, the Pattersons raised two 50ns who were to be remember ed. This is not a history of the Patterson family so it is incom plete. Anvway. one Patterson be came a famous educator. Fred Patterson followed in the footstep3 of his father became a surveyor. Fred Patterson was elected Cass county surveyor every time he ran for office. Once he did not run becaus he didn't think the job was worth the $5 filing fee. J Memory Lcne Farm Sold For Cass County Only Ten Years Ago Ten years ago this week the Oak Hill Cemetery Association dis xussed with lot owners the pos sibility of perpetual care of grav es Safe burglars struck the gro cery store of A. O. Ault at Cedar Creek. They took a small amount of money The L. R. Hickenbot- toms moved to Elknsburg, Wash. . ..Musicians of PHS, directed by Miss Helene Perry, provided en tertainment at the Rotary club meeting. .. .An epidemic of scarlet fever raged in the Alvo com min ify. Atty. A. L. Tidd was using a cane after a fall on an icy walk near hs home. .. .William Rakes sold his 0 acre tract east of Un ion to W. A. Ost for $4.000 $50 fin acre. .. .Priests from Sutton and Rowland were the guests of Fr. George Agius. . .Mrs. J. A. Wahoo hospital. .. .Mrs. Carl Kail attended funeral services for her grandmother at Reaver City. The Community Building club ended its firs, year of existence. Leo Boynton was cub secretary. . ..County Treasurer John E. Tur ner attended a tmeeting at Grand Island. .. .Miss Margaret A. Kid der and J. I,. Eley were mar ried at Glemvood. .The farm home of William Dcttman near Elmwood was burglarized. Wolf hunts are not new in Cass county. Back in 1916 one was held to bag six of the animals. .. .The Eagles held a social evening. In charge of the program were Joss Warga. Will Mason and Clifford Eurbridge. ... A play. "The Birth of a Nation." was at the theatre. The company came here in two j special railroad cars and included I a 25-piece orchest ra ... .The C. O. j C. C. club met at the home of its i president. Miss Eleanor Schulof. ! The Plattsmouth Red Sox base ball team gained another member when L - Roy Jams arrivd hr to ork in the railroad shops Pot., nrarl.-:,r, c.Uh, ,,,,11,- 68, celebrated his 17th birthday. He had been born on Feb. 23.... Louis Puis and family moved into their new home in Murray.... Charles Boedeker farm west of 'Murrav I The "cafe owned bv Chief of Po- iiivniiTn Pa!0,". rnoro.i j lice William Barclay reopened.... ! The hirh school tasketball team lost to Elmwood, 16-14 The SS Club met at the Sattler home on High Scftool hill The Elmwood stale bank was bought by J. M. Stone and sons of Nehawka.... George McDaniel. who had been engaged i?i the blacksmith bus iness at Riverton. Ia., returned here and set up a shop. The 77-year life span of the pioneer surveyor, abruptly termin ated bv a blazing revolver, was colorful. He was married twice and at the ime of his death was believed to bp corresponding with a Pennsylvania woman. In the years preceding Mrs. Shera's slaying, Patterson lived in a hut along the river high up in j the bluffs a mile south of the ghost citv. Tiie shack was in a small clearing. To this early day pion eer dwelling Patterson took two brides and here his children, some by each -of the women, saw the light of day. There whs a relationship be tween, the Patterson and Shera families. Mrs. Shera's grandson married Patterson's daughter. Th Rork Bluff decline contin ued without acceleration a f ter the deah of the elderly woman storekeeper. There was no general store in the village for about 13 years. It was in the twenties that Pat terson ouit the court houce and reestablished a store in Rock Bluff. He took private surveying jobs and continued to talk. There are many local oldtimers who recall the veteran surveyor. He was abrupt in speech often hu merous. He had admirable traits, traits. One thing Patterson could not rid from his mind was the unsol ved murder of Mrs. Shera. He often revived the subject to intim ate friends, and in so many words, indicated he. knew the identity of the slaver. A story made the rounds that Patterson had evidence that would pin the Shera murder on someone stored away in a vault at the court house. The theory of that wno something like life insurance. But discussing murder in Rock Bluff makes one unpopular li,ke $50 An Acre In . . .at the Court House Two marriages were performed i by County Judge Paul E. Fauquet during the weekend. Married on Sunday were Vcrn Anderson, 21, commercial artist, and Jennie Pauline Makey, 27, sec letary, both of Lincoln. The Saturday marriage was that of Everett Stroup, 49. foundry fore man, and Dorothy Jones. 38, both of Omaha. Burke Robertson, 20, Murdock, was fined $30 and costs when he pleaded guilty to speeding today in county court. Sheriff Tom Solo mon testified that Robertson drove 80 miles an hour on Highway 1 and went through Elmwood 60 miles an hour. . All county offices were open Sat urday afternoon in conformance with a recent resolution of the county commissioners. 39 Bills Passed At Rapid Pace; Unicameral Acts By Senator William A. Metzger The legislature this week moved along at a rather rapid pace. We have acted either in committee or in the legislature as a whole upon 225 bills of a total of 515. We have passed 39 bills and killed 2S. The Governor has vetoes one bill. an attempt was made to override j this action but this action did not prevail. None of the "new tax" proposals iave been acted upon in anv man- ; T. . . t ,K. ' ner. It is the thought behind this i hat it u-niH hP hf ttPr to wait un- til m.-o ran tplt u?ht. the needs of i thp state will he. 1 An interesting discussion was brought out before the Education Officers for 1947 have been se- Committee in a hearing this week, j lected bV the 4"H county com The majority of the school dis- ' mittee. They include Mrs. John tricts in the state will be unable to continue having a 9 month schedule school term unless the i representative (mill lew ceilintr of 22 mills i3'VvolPh- Nehaw mill levy ceiling ot 22 mills is years, some nguics weie that in certain areas a levy of 40 mills will be necessary. When ! one stops to realize that the state j budget will need a mill levy of only 4 mills for all state functions it is easy to see that the main portion of our taxes today are of a local nature-for our county. Continued to No. 1 Page 4 a violent case of measles. No one wanted to talk about it 20 years ago. They still don't. For sentimental reasons, Pat terson built his store at the inter section of Waterloo and Main St., on the original homestead of his father. It was an "L" shaped one story frame building just a short distance from the store- home where Mrs. Shera breathed her last. The long arm of the "L" faced the street. There was a gasoline pump out in front. The first sec tion, which had an open porch, was for merchandise. To the rear of that was sort of a kitchen and storage shed. At the rear and left were a bedroom and garage. There are so many alikes in the Shera and Patterson murders that repeating them seem repititious. They were both elderly. The sim- iliarities never end. Only in the probable causes of their deaths does the observer find a divorcement of ways. Everyone in Rock Bluff for many years hal known about the things Patterson said. News tra- vels rapidly in small communities. There were many who could quote his exact words without error. It may have been only coinci dence but the Plattsmouth Jour nal in 1931 revived a ghost and momentarily the footsteps of Mrs. Shera were once again heard as she made that final walk from the home of relatives to her store home. An enterprising reporter reviv ed the Shera murder on its 21st anniversary'- Tongues began to war in Rock Bluff and a lot of talking was done in Patterson's store. No one today knows what Pat- terson knew. Perhaps, he was only guessing. Somewhere along the line, Pat- 1" mail . mt i t AfMw mil ' wMm IKX viriA HfTtJ till -i -X js . 4$ w; j p 'i"J It J-- fritf - Vj ?7KY minor Pannl r . Ui Loimty Active In Four-H Clubs Four H club week is being ob served by hundreds of Cass Coun I ty rural young people, j There are now 50 active clubs t in the count' with a membership j of 278. Ninety four are boys and 184 are girls. ) Clarence Schmadeke, County agent is urging that the club ob tain 100 new mebers. He sug gests that each 4-H member at tempts to interest one person in the work. The week of March 1 to 8 is i being observed on a nation wide ! basis. I Four H livestock leaders from j Cass, Otoe, and Lancaster coun ' (ties will mee Tuesday, Mar. 11, ( . . ing Water. Judging and exhibition H,. . .... .... of livestock will be explained by C. Fouts, cattle expert from -i..it.,M ot lu.'.rtwy neia at tne ..Mctnodist lr"" agntuuie ,11 11 . Kr- m'"S ",J" Al u T t i Plattsmouth. boys and Miss Evelyn Wolph. Nehawka. girls repreri nt- ative. Other officers are James Schafer. Nehawka, cahirman, and Mrs. Throvald Hansen, Weeping Water, vice chairman. John Bissing, who was taken by Caldwell ambulance to St. Cather ine's hospital in Omaha, will re main for a few days longer for treatment. terson made the correct guess. The knowledge was his death war rant. The newspaper article about the Shera murder was published in August. That was the 30-day not ice of death for Mr. Patterson. Once again whispers a"nd rum ors floated like the. leaves that were drifting from the riverbank trees. People eyed the Shera home furitively perhaps with wide-eyed fear. And so it was in September of 1931 when death came to visit Frederick Patterson. The ever-changing banks of the Missouri was only a few hundred "Farmers Cash store." Death, the cashier. Jean Hull, 10, peered in and saw Mr. Paterson's prostrate form on the floor near the far end of j the merchandise room. As had been her habit for three years, the girlTiad come to the store to prepare the old man's Sunday din ner. She did not realize she was looking at a corpse. After walking leisurely to the home of Joe Shera, a quarter of a mile east of the store, she met Mrs. Shera in her yard. "Your father must have been awfully tired last night," Jean told Mrs. Shera, "because he laid down on the floor of the store and went to sleep." As if sensing the full signifi cance of what had happened. Mrs. Shera summoned her huband from the farm vard, repeated what the little girl had said and sent him huTying to the store. Shera did not need to enter to 1 learn what had taken place. He j prevented his wife from seeing the 1 horrible sight and summoned other ' their relatives. Sheriff Bert Reed j of Plattsmouth was notified, ' Patterson's body was lying in a i pool of blood near the rear f the Many Attend Rites For G. L- Meismger Many persons attended the last ritts for George L. Meisinger held Saturday at the Frst Presbyter ian church with The Rev. Dr. H. G. McClusky officiating. Two vocal numbers, "Las-t Mile of the Way ar.d Wonderful j Ptace," were sung by Frank Cloidt. accompanied by Mrs. Rich ard Schade. Pallbearers were John M. Meis ir.ger. J. E. Meisinger, L. A. Meis inger, Earl W. Meisinger, John Meisinger and L. G. Meisinger. Burial was in the German Luther an cemeterv at Louisville. Last Rites For County Native Held At Brush Last rites for Albert R. Eiken- ,r . . . f . church in Brush. He had lived in that Nebraska town 45 years. Mr. Eikenbary succumbed after I a five montns illness. He was born in Cass county on July 7, 18C5. Surviving are two daughters, a son and one sister, Mrs. Myrtle Swan, Union. She went to Brush for the funeral. WEEPING WATER John Morris, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. E Morris, has been elected president of the Kampus Veterans club at North Texas Agricultural college where he is one of 1400 World War II veterans enrolled.' streo compartment. The slain man was lying face downard and the v., . 1 1 1 i 1 11 bullet wound at the base of the skull was plainly visible. His arms one leg was bent back at he knee, as if he were taking a step at the time his. assailant fired the fatal shot from a 32-20 gun, prob ably an automatic. His head was resting against the baseboard. He fell so heavily, the postmortem later revealed, that he fractured his nose. There was forty dollars in the cash till that had not been touch ed. Patterson's personal effects were in his pockets. The store had not been ransacked and there was no evidence of a struggle. Not ev en a chair was overturned. The murderer, before leaving the store, had switched off the lights and set the night lock on the front door. In the kitchen authorities found the unwashed supper dishes of the ased surveyor. A dying fire was in the kitchen range. Mr. Patterson's bed had not been slent in and under his pillow his. 38 cal iber revolver was found. Nothing in the bedroom had been distur bed. It was an afterthought that Sher iff Reed pronounced Patterson dead and approved the removal of his body' to a Plattsmouth mor tuary. Fingerprints? There were a lot of them. Before Sheriff Red arrived nearly everyone in the Rock Bluff community had crow ded into the store for a last look at their famib'ar neighbor. Did the killer join the throng that was assembled? That is not unlikely. ' r-very ciue jenecieu udCK iu me bhera murder. The theory that Patterson did ' 5t have returned from an ex know the identity of Mrs. Shera's j tensive vacation trip through the assassin was given a setback when i south. They also went to Cuba. Paul Roberts, 62 Dies At Lincoln; Rites To Be Here The body of Paul Holland Rob- erts. 62. former local man who I coin Saturday, has been ertuv lei ! died at Lincoln Saturday, has been J returned here for funeral services and burial. Mr. Roberts, the son of Joseph M. and Alice Donelan Roberts, was born here on Oct. 1, 184. Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Tuesday at the Caldwell funeral home with the Rev. H. G. McClusky officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Anna Tarns Roberts, Lincaln one sister, Mrs. Wallace Hunter. Omaha, two nephews and a niece in Omaha, and Mrs. J. M. Rob- erts. his stepmother,-of Platts mouth. ' - Visiting hours at the funeral home will be from 7 to 9 p. m. tonight. WEEPING WATER Mrs. Os car Johnson has sold the house east of the school grounds to Mrs. Dill, who has moved back here from Kansas. Mr. .nd Mrs. Lester Parson, who rented the Johnson house, are moving to the I. C. Reed property west of the park. WEEPING WATER Members of the Cass County Farmers Un ion and their families are meeting at the community building here tonight to hear reports on the state convention. 1 officers failed to find in Pater- son's vault in the- court house the ' x . .... coat he had claimed belnntreri t i her assailant. There was nothing . in the vault to throw light on the I mystery. In a deposit box at a local box the sleuths dug up a copy of a letter presumably written by Pat terson to a Pennsylvania woman in which he proposed marriage. There was a reply that indicated she had no such intentions. Overall, however, was one fact , no one could ignore. The motive of the Patterson mur der was NOT robbery. Therefore: The aged surveyor ) was slain for one of two reasons. 1. e. 1. To silence forever his talk. 2. As revenge for some act, either real or imaginary. In another artiicle the Patter son murder will be resurrected with additional details. Many of the facts given at the inquest will be recalled. (Author's note: It was fully in tended that this series of stories about Rock Bluff mysteries would 1 be limited to three. There have been, nowever. some repercussions since the first appeared. It is also impossible to fully tell of the Pat terson slaying within the limita tions of space in this edition. Be cause of these factors, a fourth chapter will appear Thursday.) NEHAWKA The Maple Grove Extension Club recently gave a household shower for Mrs. Sam Martin, whose home was recently destroyed by fire. NEHAWKA Mr. and Mrs. Will 1 . . . HUNDREDS OF HUNTERS j part in the wolf hunt held near here Sunday under the auspices of the Plattsmouth fire department. Only trouble was the lack of wolves and coyotes. The nimro.ls, more than 400 of them, manai-j to bag but one coyote. The abno picture was taken at Fourth and j Main streets when the hunters as- at ri I j uicu. x lie V-f s v . : 111 1.11c: iui c- began. Clergy Of County Praises Sheriff For His Efforts Clergymen of Cass County have passed a resolution praising Sher iff Thomas S. Solomon of his law enforcement work. The resolution ' ,t o Dt ,v,t;r, of the Cass County' Christian Fel- lowshinf i' association in Weeoin? Water. In part, the motion states: "We commend highly the vigor ous efforts of Sheriff Thomas S. Solomon to enforce the law; espec ially those concerning gambling, and the selling or giving of ci garetts and intoxicants to minors." The churchmen will hold their next meeting Sunday, April 13. at the Louisville Methodist church. Three Countians Presented With Poultry Awards Three Cass countians were a mong outstanding poultry raisers honored at a luncheon given in Omaha by the Agricultural Com mittee of the Omaha Chamber of j Commerce. j Awarded one of the five master i prizes in the senior division was Irs- 01iver Meisinger. Louisville. t-ii tt:i j i . - Ralph Hud, lJlattsmouth. was one of the first five winners in the junior division. W. E. Nolte, Plattsmouth. was given a master raisers certificate. Mrs. Meisinger and Mr. Hild received certificates excahange able for 3,000 baby chicks. By ron P. Demorest, editor of the Journal Stockman, presented the awards. Sandin Listed In College Who's Who James Sandin, PMUtsmouth, Ne braska has bean chosen as one of the 10 students from Peru State Teachers College for "the Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. Sandin is a senior maioring in Music and English. He is editor of the Peruvian, director of the pep band, a member of Sigma Tau Delta, Peru dramatic club, student council, and Pedagogian Staff. j XoUmeV Title iTilt Is Thriller The finale of the Class D basket ball tournev at Elmwood was a rousing thriller as Palmyra nipped Avoca, 37-35. The decisian came in the third overtime. WEEPING WATER Senator John Callam, chairman of the unicameral appropriation com- mittee, addressed the Cass Countv taxpayers League here Friday. ELMWOOD The Rev. and Mrs. Andrew Janssen and daugh ter have left for San Juan, Capi strano, California where they will make their future home. September Dates Are Selected For King Korn Event Make way for the King Kom Karnival. The oustanding annual event this year will be on Sept. 17, 18, 19 and 20. Sponsors of the. gala festival are announcing the dates early so conflicting affairs will not be arranged. The executive board has elect ed Ordell Hennings, Hinky Dinky store manager, as vice president to succeed Richard Peck who re signed. Leslie Niel was appointed concessions chairman. The King Korn Karnival Klub is headed by Ed Egenberger. He succeeded Walter H. Smith who had charge of last year's suc cessful celebration. Lumber Concerns Of County Bought Bv Omaha Firm Purchase of the Cash Lumber company, 648 First Avenue, and the Cloidt Lumber company, Lou isville, by the Chicago Lumber company of Omaha was announc ed today. The two institutions were form erly owned by A. W. Cloidt, John Cloidt and Albert Funk. Name of the local business will be changed to the Plattsmouth i lumber company, ine louiswiit? firm will be known as the. Chicago ! lumber company. New member of the Plattsmouth firm will be Lester Dalton, who was born and raised in the local community. He has been with the Chicago company at Edgar. A. W. Cloidt has been connected with the lumber and coal business in Cass county for more than 40 years. Chartered Bus To Cage Tourney Leaving At Five Many Plattsmouth high schoo' basketball enthusiasts are expect ed to accompany the team for its appearence in the district tourna ment at Auburn Wednesday nigiu. A special Cotner bus will leave the Plattsmouth hotel at 5 p. m. Some reservations are still avail able, according to Harold Alkire, Chamber of Commerce committee chairman. The locals, ninth in state rat ings, open against Crete, third- in the state list of Class B club at 6:30. Crete has had a good sea son and the clubs are pretty even ly matched. Blue J3evil hopes were lifted when Coach Merle Stewart today said- that Jim Alkire, who's been out with a sprained ankle, probab- Many Moves Are Being Made Here Many residential changes are being made in the local commun ity. Clifford Hankins is moving into the property at 623 North Sixth street which he purchased from George McGraw. The Hankins family formerly resided at Mur ray.' The McGraw family is mov ing into the property adjoining Sixth street. their former home -a. 621 North George Mayabb has moved from the George Hennings place near Louisville to the A. B. Rogers farm at Mynard. Louis Starek will occupy the A. B. Rogers farm three miles west of here on the Louisville road. The Stareks formerly resided at Oma ha. Arthur Rogers have moved from the Myron Wiles place to the Ar thur Troop farm. Mr. and Mrs. ReueKSack will occupy the Pearl Albin farm near Murray. Town Team Opens In Bellevue Meet Town team cagers tonight play Cedar Rapids at 8 p. m. in the Bellevue tournament. Paced by Sterling Cole who scored 16 points and Stewart wno goi u, me locais I Thursday night trimmed Nebcity. 46-17. AVOCA Mrs. John Berner was severely burned when her clothes caught fire while she was canning meat in her home here last week.