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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 1950)
0 CASS COUNTY'S GREATEST NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED SEMI-WEEKLY Monday-Thursday Largest Paid Circulation of All Cass County Newspapers Sve FIVE CENTS PER COPY VOLUME 65 SIX PAGES PLATTSMOUTH, CASS COUNTY, NEBRASKA, MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 1950 NUMBER 14 t ',1 f 'j 1 ifr CM Three Given Reformatory Sentences tn the district court Monday '(today) three Plattsmouth youths were arraigned on the i harge of breaking and enter - ;ng, Wililam H. Burk, 19. Ken neth Leroy Sshroeder, 20, and Gordon Hopkins, 19. The three young men had been arrested on December 12th by Sheriff Tom Solomon and c-omplaints for breaking and entering the Nu-Way Cafe in this city, owned by Harry Albin, ai d the tavern at Murray, were filed against the tlipt-e and also Gene Lewis, 20, vias taken in charge by the sheriff. In the county court Lewis made a plea of guilty and was reyanded to the district court where Judge Thomas Dunbar gave him a sentence of from one to three years in the state reformatory. Burk, Schroeder and Hopkins each plead not guilty in the county court and waived their preliminary hear ing and were released under bond for appearance in the district court. The three defendants at their appearance before Judge Dun bar, this morning, made a plea of guilty to the charges pre ferred, and were given then sentences. Schroeder was given two to five years in the state reformatory at Lincoln., Hop kins was given a sentence of one to three years in the re formatory, and Burk also was given a one to three year term. Judge Dunbar stated from the bench that the fact that Burk was married and had a child Lad caused the court to give him the lighter sentence. In the hearing today, Judge Dunbar made the appointment Df Attorney James F. Begley to appear in the case for the State of Nebraska, as County Attorney Water H. Smith, was at Lind say, Nebraska, to attend the funeral services of Mrs. Lena Lebens. Attorney Francis M. Casey appeared for the defend ants. . The young men were remand edto the custody of Sheriff Tom Solomon to carry out the sen tnce of the court. Death of Mrs. Lena Lebens At Hospital The many friends of Attorney Harold Lebens over Cass coun ty, will regret to learn of the death of his mother, Mrs. Lena Lebens, 61, that occurred on Friday afternoon at the St. Jos-j eph hospital at Omaha, where s"he had been for several weeks in very critical condition. Mrs. Lebens has been a resi dent of Platte county a great many years, the family residing at Lindsay, where the husband, M. J. Lebens, has been engaged in business for years. There is surviving her passing: the husband, at Lindsay; four sons, Harold of Plattsmouth; John E .,of Lindsay; George A., ofOmaha; Paul D., Rock Is land, Illinois; one daughter, Mrs. G. M. Palmer, of Apple ton, Wisconsin. One daughter Genevieve, preceded her in death. The funeral services were held this (Monday) morning at the Holy Family Catholic church at Lindsav. Interment was at the cemetery at Dodge, Nebras-! ka, the old family home. j Harold Lebens accompanied I the funeral party to Lindsay and ; was joined there Saturday by j Mrs. Lebens and the children j to remain until after the funer- t al services. Suffers Broken Wrist Saturday Saturday, Julius Stofuss, old resident of the city, had the mfcfortune to fall on the streets here, due to hte icy condition of the paving and as the result of the fall, sustained a fractured right wrist. The patient was treated by Dr. R. F. Brendel and later was taken to the ethodist hospital at Omaha by the Caldwell am bulance to have the injured member set and will be cared for at the hospital. STILL QUITE ILL PJ. M. Meisinger, one of the long time residents of this part of Cass county, is still quite ill at the family home on the farm west of Plattsmouth. r. Meis inger is able to be a part of the time in his wheel chair, but is confined to his home. f V -..-if SUCCESS STORY . . . Miss Eliia- beth Taylor, who joined the com pany as a stenographer, has been appointed assistant secretary of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. March of Dimes Jan. 16th to 31st A record number of civic and social organizations have unit ed to carry the 1950 March of Dimes campaign through its most crucial test, Mrs. Don War ga, county director of the March of Dimes committee, disclosed today. The annual fund-raising drive of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis opens to day and continues through Jan uary 31. Epidemic aid funds of the Na tional Foundation. Mrs. Warga said, were depleted by 1949's rec ord high infantile paralysis epi demics in which more than 40, 000 children and adults were stricken with the crippling di sease. These funds were ex pended not only in caring for new cases, but in continuing treatment for thousands of pa tients stricken during the serious outbreaks of 1948. 'We are faced with the cer tainty that about 17,000 victims of 1949 must be cared for dur ing most of 1950, the greatest carry-over case load in the 12 year history of the National Foundation," the March of Dimes county director stated. "That alone calls for a record breaking March of Dimes cam paign. But, further, we must stand ready to help new vic tims of outbreaks we know will hit many areas next summer. "When we add to all this the cost of continuing vital research (Continued on Page 6 Death of John Gruber at Avoca John W. Gruber, 63, of Avoca, died Sunday afternoon, January 15th at his home. He was born February 16, 1887. at Nehawka, where he lived until 1904 when he moved to Avoca, where he has since resided on a farm. He was unmarried, and is sur vived by brothers Fred and Jess, of Avoca; and Charlie of Ne braska City; three sisters, Mrs. Effie Carey, of Columbus Junc tion, Iowa; Mrs. Daisy Pummel, of Avoca; Mrs. Nellie Zech of Douglas, Nebraska. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 1:00 o'clock from j the Congregational church at Avoca, with the Rev. Berger of ficiating. Interment will be in Avoca cemetery. The Caldwell funeral home of this city is in charge. At The Cass County Court House In the county court on Friday the complaint charging Sherrill White with disturbing the peace, was dismissed by County Attor ned Walter H. Smith on the re quest of the complaining wit ness. Final hearing was had Friday in the county court in the es tate of Henry Oehelerking, de ceased. Herbert Oehlerking is the executor of the estate and Guy Clements the attorney. Order was entered by Judge Richard Peck in the estate of Henry Irons d.eceased, barring claims. In the office of the dis trict court Friday, a suit was filed entitled Delores Adkins vs. Raymond HarcJld Litle. The petition sets forth that the parties were married in Platts mouth, Cass County, on July 29, 1949. The plaintiff asks a decree of absolute divorce, tem porary attorney fees and spit money. .Attorney Paul E. Fau quet appears in the suit as at torney for the plaintiff. Death of Mrs. C. C. Wescott On Saturday Mrs. Edna E. Wescott, 76, wife of C. C. Wescott, was called to the last rest on Saturday, Jan uary 14th at the Doctors hospital at Omaha, where she had be.m taken a few days previously. Mrs. Wescott has not been in the best of health for the past sev eral years. The news of the death of Mrs. Wescott came as a profound shock to the many friends who have known her down through the years, quietly living her life filled with the love of- home and family, friends, flowers and birds. Mrs. Wescott was a member of Chapter F, P. E. O. of Home Chapter No. 189, Order of the Eastern Star, and the W. C. T. U. of this city. She had been very active in the local First Metho dist church and Sunday School, of which she was a member for a great many years. Edna E. Eaton was born at Crete, Nebraska, October 31, 1873, a daughter of Theodore and Alice M. Eaton. When six years of age she was brought to Plattsmouth by the parents and has since made this city her home. She received her educa tion in the Plattsmouth schools and later was engaged as cashier and bookkeeper at the store of E. G. Dovey & Son. She was married in Plattsmouth on Oc tober 9, 1901, to Charles Clifford Wescott, the oldest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Wescott, pioneer residents of Plattsmouth. Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wescott have made their home here in the residence at 7th and Main street. There is surviving her passing, the husband; one son. Mason Eaton Wescott, of Wilmette, Illi nois; one daughter, Alice Louise Wescott of Towson, Maryland; two sisters, Mrs. Maude Frieze and Mrs. Mable Cummirts of Plattsmouth. The body was taken to the Caldwell funeral home, 7th street and Avenue B., where vis iting hours will be from 4 to G and 7 to 9 this (Monday) eve ning. Private funeral services will be held on Tuesday morning at 10:30 at the family home. Rev. E. C. Williams, pastor of the First Methodist church, will have charge of the services. "John Deere" Day Friday, January 20 Stander Implement Company cf this city have set the date of Friday, January 20th as that of "John Deere" day for the people of Cass county, a day that will be filled with the greatest inter est for all of the residents of the county. The "day" will have many fea tures offered in addition to giv ing the public an opportunity of seeing and appreciating this great line of agricultural imple ment that the John Deere com pany has made famous. The Stander company are hosts at lunch from 11 a. m. to 1 p. m. at the store and display rooms on South 6th street, where the public will find a cordial welcome from the firm and its employes. The entertainment features will be held at the Ritz theatre across the street from the store, here will be presented "Roots in the Soil."a wonderfully inter esting picture of American life on the farms of the nation. The cast of the play is headed by Rochelle Hudson and Richard Travis. It has a great story, plenty of comedy and good mu sic to make a real attraction. Prizes will be offered for the callers at the show and store. Those who have not received tickets can get them by calling at the Stander Implement. Would Aid in Housing Needs People interested in remodel ing or rebuilding a new home in the year 1950 have been in vited to a meeting to be held at the Cass countv extension office in Weeping Water, Tues day, January 17th. Agricultural Extension Engin eer E. A. Olson of the University of Nebraska will be on hand to discuss nroblems. The meeting is slated for 10 a. m., and all those interested are invited to call and explain their desires and needs. County Commissioner Parr Younsr of . ehawka, was in the city Friday to look after some matters at the court house. Plattsmouth L & B. Holds Its Election The annual meeting of the Plattsmouth Loan 6z Building association was held on Wed nesday evening at the offices of the company in the Chriswis ser building. The stockholders at their meeting re-elected the retiring members of the board of direct ors, E. H. Bernhardt and E. J. Weyrich. The board of directors at their meetnig later elected the officers for the ensuing year, as follows: President C. A. Johnson. Vice-President E. J. Wey rich. Secretary-Treasurer Albert E. Olson. The report of the officers for the past year revealed that this long time local financial insti tution was in most excellent shape, and had a very success ful year in 1949, the reports showing an increase in the vol ume of business of $100,000 over that of 1948. The Plattsmouth Loan and Building Association was or ganized in February 1881, and has been in continuous business since that time. The associa tion in the early days served as the means for residents of the city to secure themselves homes and helping build a city of home owners down through the years. In the years the association has served as a great invest ment for those seeking savings and many hundreds of the lo cal people have found this a most profitable investment and one that could be depended up on. It has afforded many the opportunity of improving and extending their business places and has proven a great com munity asset. In good times and periods of depression over the country the Plattsmouth Loan & Build ing has proven its worth to Plattsmouth and its people. Blood Bank Day Brings 61 Donors The visit of the mobile blood donor unit of the Omaha chap ter of the American Red Cross to this city on Thursday, brought out 61 of the volunteers of this city who responded to the call to give much needed blood for the use of the hospitals and those who were in need of blood. The number was very good considering the fact that the coming of the unit had not been thoroughly publicized. T w o Plattsmouth groups, the Norfolk Packing Company and the Plattsmouth Motors, each had ten members of their force to volunteer for the blood donation. The basement of the First Methodist church had been ar ranged for the use of the Red Cross for the day and here the workers were present from noon until 6 p. m. Dr. B. F. Brendel and Dr. R. J. Dietz of this city very considerately volunteered their services for the good cause and were on the job all of the ! time the unit was here. Dr. L. A. Amato was the gen eral chairman of the blood don or drive while Miss Helen Eiting was in charge of the securing of the volunteer workers. The general registration chair man was Miss Naomi Owens and the ladies taking charge of the registration at the church were Mrs. James F. Begley and Mrs. Adrain Newens. The nurses for the day were Mrs. Amelia Heldt, Mrs. N. W. McKee and Mrs. Shrader Rhc den. all trained and experienced nurses and whose services were greatly appreciated. (Continued on Page Five) Will Continue Feed Delivery Routes Charles E. Walden, owner and operator of the Plattsmouth Feed Store, is announcing to the patrons through the medium of the Journal, his intentions of continuing his policy of free de livery of the products of the store along the lines of the reg ular routes that has been main tained in the recent years. The store specializes in the Nutrena and Gooch feeds which are well known over Cass coun ty and Mr. Walden is very hap py to be able to give his patrons the opportunity of securing the feeds at their noraes. Use Journal Want Ads. IS t fossil jmIP1'"!!" I if i wJ i fit . W..: ....:J A WEE (BABY) GROWS IV BROOKLYN" ... As locale for the unusual, Brooklyn holds its own with the birth of a one pound, 11 ounce baby, born 2'i months premature, to Mrs. Theresa McKenna, 20. The little one is fed with an eye dropper on a special formula of evaporated milk. He gets a dram every hour. His name is Dennis. McDaniel Fund Closed Saturday; $293 Contributed Contributions to the McDan iel fund surpassed this newspa per's highest expectations with a total of $203.00 donated by friends in Plattsmouth and throughout Cass county when the books were closed Saturday evening. Cash contributions reached the Journal from every quarter. Small and large, money was brought in and mailed from school children, organizations and individuals to help this family carry the financial bur den in the sled coasting acci dent that cost the life of nine-year-old Beverly Jean. In addition to the funds rais tributions were sent directly to jth? family totaling nearly an I additional $100. Dozens of neigh Ibovsand friends came to their i Cv-v-'V'th donations of groceries and wearables that will help Mr. and Mrs. Lee McDaniel to carry on in spite of their heart breaking loss. The Journal extends its ap preciation to the fine people of this community for the excellen' response to a worthy cause. All money collected will be given the family to relieve the finan cial burden incurred. Previously reported . . . $209.75 Hotel Platsmouth 5.00 Mr. and Mrs. Fred Haffke 1.00 Plattsmouth State Bank (additional) 15.00 Mary Propst 5.00 Josephine Rys 1.00 Mrs. James Yelick 1.00 rs. Howard Burcham 1.00 Herbert Meisinger 1.00 Mr. and Mrs. Don C. York 5.00 Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Baum- gartner, Murdock 1.00 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Jahrig 1.00 V. F. W. Auxiliary 5.00 A Friend 1.00 Mr. and Mrs. F. L. Sween 1.03 John Alwin 1.00 Jean and Joe Lockin 1.50 Msgr. George Agius 5.00 Mrs. Guy C. White 2.00 Pupils of Columbian School 1.50 Lincofh Telephone and Telegraph Co. employes 7.25 Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Lan caster 2.00 Mr. and Mrs. Chester Wall 3.00 Earl Harris 1.00 A Friend 1.00 Mrs. Ella Berns 1.00 Fred Marquardt and fam ily Avoca 10.00 Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Gru ber, Louisville 1.00 Geo. L. Farley 2.00 Total . . .' $293.00 Aged Resident At Hospital J. C. Bridgewater, old resident of the north part of the city, was operated on Wednesday for a hernia from which he has suffered for some time. The operation was quite successful and the patient is doing fine and it is hoped will be home in the next few days. SMALL FIRE SUNDAY The fire department was call ed Sunday to the residence of Joseph Sikora in the south part of the city. An overheated chimney had caught fire and caused some fear of catching the house, but the danger was quickly eliminated by the fire department on their arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cramer of Waverly, were in Plattsmouth Thursday, to look after some business for the day and while in the city were callers at the Journal office to renew their subscription to the paper. DISPLACED CHOCOLATE . . . One of a group of displaced per sons arriving in New York re-, cently was Wolf Fisch, who couldn't wait to sample some American chocolate. His dad came with him. Award Made To New Year Baby of 1950 The award of prizes offered for the frist baby of 1950 in Cass county that was officially reported in person by the par ents to the Journal has been that of Gary Wayne McKenna. son of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Mc Kenna, of RFD No. 1, in the Mynard community, with the official certificate. The babe was born at the Clarkson hospital at Omaha on Saturday, January 7th. The attending physician was Dr. Roland W. Tyson of Murray, and the babe with the mother are now home from the hos pital. The mother of the child is the former Mary Catherine Wetenkamhp, and Gary Wayne is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Wetenkamp of this city. The prizes offered the baby by the Plattsmouth business houses comprise the following: Bates Book Store, Babykin con tainer; Warga Hardware, Baby trailer ;Style Shop, $5 in trade; Chriswiser Studio, photograph; Hinky-Dinky, $5 in trade; Far ley's Furniture, $3 in trade; Grove Jewelry, Silver fork and spoon; Plattsmouth State Bank, $5 savings account; White Flow er Shop, Baby flower arrange ment; Stander Implement, Elec tric heat pad; Soenniclisen Is, Baby blanket; Journal. 25 print ed announcements; Wee Ward robe, Snappididi; Feldhousen Drug, $5 in trade; Woster Shoe Store, first step shoes; Alami to, 29 quarts of milk. Attends Insurance Meet at Omaha M'ss Loris Long has returned from Omaha, where she attend ed a two day meeting of the Nebraska Agency of the Equit able Life Assurance Society of the United States. This was a special Educational Conference on important changes and re visions of the life insurance bus -iness. Emil Schmidt Now Back Home Emil Schmidt, one of the well known young farmers of the Cullom vicinity, has returned home from the Immanuel hos pital, at Omaha .where he spent a few days having an oper eration for a cyst. The oper ation was quite successful and Mr. Schmidt will be able to re- I sume his usual activities in . a few days. Subscribe for The Journal. Blue Devils at Auburn Tuesday The Plattsmouth Blue Devils basketball team are to travel to Auburn on Tuesday, where they will meet the Auburn Bulldogs, ancient foes, in what should be a good fast game. The Blue Devils were cheated out of their game on Friday with Pawnee City at that place owing to the bad weather and will be on their toes to win this one from the Bulldogs. The locals will be without the services of Bill McCormick, the star forward and basket shoot er, who will probably have to be out of the games for the rest of the season, a very serious loss. The rest of the team has shown well in their games so far this season and gives hopes of a real successful season on the hardwood court, for the Blue Devils. Assessments Discussed by County Assessors j Business property and live- stock is assessed at less than 50 per cent of its value, State ! Tax Commissioner Philip John- ! son, said in an address before the meeting of the C :.Vy As sessors association. . W. H. Puis. Ca-s : . -sessor and secretary of i; 1 association, was in at.t'.i: : at the meeting. Mr. Johnson said tha: s:;r 1916, county assessors have maJ.' some progress in assessmsn. oi personal property out that theiv is still roam for improvement. Johnson reported that in 1946 the assessed valuation of per sonal property was $679,642,051 while in 1949 it was SI. 080,157, 589, an increase of 59 per cent. He went on to say there has been improvement in the fieid of equalization as between class es of property. In 1946, he said, real estate was bearing 69 per -cent of the tax load and personal property, 31 per cent. In 1949 real prop erty carried 59 per cent and per sonal property, 41 per cent. A state wide check on last year's assessment schedules oi several thousand business firms tevealed, Johnson said, that 31 per cent were assessed at 75 per cent of actual value. Twenty three per cent were assessed at from 50 to 75 per cent of actual (Continued on Page Four Frank Scott Farm Sold for $25,000 One of the large farm sales of the past few weeks was that completed Friday, whereby Mrs. Helen Peterson, of Nebraska City, became the owner of the Frank Scott farm, south of Plattsmouth 'on highway No. 75. This farm of eighty acres is well located and was sold for $225 an acre or a total of $18. 000. Mr. Scott has just recently purchased a new residence at Ashland and moved t o that place to reside, and offered the Cass county home for sale. The Scott farm is one most pleasing to the new owner and will give them a nice home and a well laid out farm. The transaction was handled through Rex Young, the well known auctioneer, and was a deal that was most pleasing to all parties interested. The farm purchased by Mrs. Peterson will be operated by an 18-year-old son of Mrs. Peter son, who will have a hearty welcome from the residents of the community. SHE DOESN'T LOOK RE LEASED . . . Valcntina Gardner. White Russian war bride, 're ceives kiss from husband, Henry Gardner, in San Francisco after her release by immigration authorities. I y I,, .. 'j. liri imiiiiiti i i Sleet and Rain Bring Ice to Cass County This city and the surrounding territory was visited by the heaviest storm of the winter sea son on Thursday night. On Fri day. January 13th the residents of Plattsmouth awoke in a world of icy and slick streets that held the usual activities up for the greater part of the diy. The storm opened with ran1 that toward midnight ThurscHv developed a strong and biting wind that soon was freezing the wet streets and walks and in the early morning hours there was nothing but a glare of ice. only the walks sheltered by the near by buildings and houses escap ing being icy rinks. The storm was felt most se verely by the workers that were hurrying to their activities from 6 a. m. on, they finding the f;o ing very hard and in ma-.iy cases were unable to reach th.oir destinations owing to the dang.'r of travel on the dark streets and walks. The early morning scene in tlv. business section, while very an noying to the public trying to "slip around" in the "dark, had its lighter moments as the trav elers strove to aid each otht-r in trying to get somewhere i.n the ice. It wa.s not unusual some wayfarer crawling o:i h-nds and knees up onto th. .a.ii from the slick and icy i.rl:, it being ir.ipossivl? t : : .'..rr get onto the curbs or off il.era, owin to the icr and v'n our of the curbs, j Yik' : rucks that were brought I out rariy in the morning served j to roughi n up the ice on the 'streets oo thai, the foot passen gers were able to get through as long u.i i iii-y remained on the streets bai vei .ni ; on the waiks was another s .rv. j The large n.u.;b?r of people i employed in OiiiHi.it were unable I to get out to wor.. as the' cars land buses that they were using j for transportation, wt re unable to get going until iale in the morning and seme were not abi-' to travel all day. especially those (Continued on Page 6 W. R Puis Given Re-Election by Assessors Meet W. H. Puis, who for the past twenty-six years has served as the assessor of Cass county, was honored on Friday of the pasl week by being re-elected as the secretary-treasurer of the state association of county assessor.?, a post that he has so ably filled for the past fourteen years. The convention was one that was attended by representatives of seventy-four of the ninety three counties of the state, a very fine representation. The meeting selected as the other officers of the group. i George C. Novotny of Colfax county as the president: Willarcl H. Foster, Fillmore county, vice president. The meeting was very interest ing and many very able speaker.; were at the meeting to discus.; ! the methods of assessing and the tax problems occasioned by the new laws that were in effect th" past year. District Court Of Honor to Be February 19 A court of honor of the Cass county district court of In, Boy Scouts of America will be held in Plattsmouth on Sunday. February 19th at 3 p. m.. at the First Methodist church, is the announcement made by th' Cass county leaders of scouting and Judge Paul E. Fauquet, the district chairman. This will be one of the big events in the Scout year, und will bring many of the Scouts and Scouters here for ths pro gram that will confer the ad vancement and honors of the members of the various troop? over the county. Notices of the plans for the court of honor will be given later for the benefit of the var ious troops over the county that are expected here for the hon ors. nrrl Ipl- D i r W ,-! KT,1-.1 r. F Omaha, were here for the week end visiting at the home cf Mr. and Mrs. Don Siever, parents of Mrs. Noble.