Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 1954)
CASS COUNTY'S GREATEST NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED SEMI-WEEKLY Monday - Thursday Consolidated With the Nehawka Enterprise and Elmwood Leader-Echo- Delivered Twice Weekly to More Than 3000 Cass County Families VOLUME 73 SIX PACES PLATTS MOUTH, CASS COUNTY, NEBRASKA, MONDAY, OCTOBER ! 8, 1954 FIVE CENTS FER COPY NUMBER 94 Asks S rnmiit osl 7 The controversy in school district No. 70 continued to boil as a mandamus action was filed in district court last week trying to get school teacher Ruth Beck paid for her services there. In "State of Nebraska, ex rel Frank E. Stander and Leo E. Erhart, vs. Clyde Smith," the court is asked to direct Smith to sign an order allowing Erhart to pay the teacher $285 for one month of teaching. Smith, as secre tary, must execute the order before Erhart, the treasurer, can pay Miss Beck. Stander is school board president. The petition states that at One Youth Hurt In Car Accident Sunday Night JIigh school student Mike I Shellenbarger, son of Mr. and Clair Shellenbarger, suffered i skull injuries and friends es caped injury in a one - car accident Sunday night south- Terry Ernst was driver of the car in which the three boys and girls were returning from a hayride party at the farm home of Roger Hild. Ernst said the country road was so dusty that he got off the side of the road, hit a mail box and turned over. The accident happened about 9:30 p.m., three miles west and one-half mile south of Mynard: Shellenbarger was taken to an Omaha hospital where it was found he had suffered a near scalping when lie passed through the windshield of the car, a Journal reporter was told. Some three hours on the operating table and hundreds of stitches were necessary. Lat est reports are that he is un dergoing x-ray explorations to day in a search for possible skull fractures. Also in the car were Donna Ernst, Stanley Seybold, Gail Peterson and Rosemary Nelson. The car, a 1950 Ford, was prac tically demolished. Toman Services In Holy Rosary This Thursday Funeral services for John J. Toman Sr.. who died this morn ing in St. Joseph's hospital, Om aha, will be at 9 a. m. Thursday in Holy Rosary church, Rev. Joseph Tupy officiating. Burial will be in Holy Sepulcher cem etery. Mr. Toman. 76, was born in Plattsmouth Oct. 10, 1878, and lived here all his life, farming west of Mynard. He was married May 10, 1903 to Mary T. Severin, who sur vives. Other survivors and five sons, George J. of Omaha. Mil ton M, of Murray, and Arthur H. John S. and David M. of Platts mouth. a daughter, Mrs. Doro thea Reeves of Omaha; a bro ther Julius of California and 12 grandchildren. He was a mem ber of the Holy Rosary church. Rosary will be Wednesday at 7 p. m. in Caldwell-Linder cha pel, and visiting hours Wednes day from 4-6 and 7-9 p. m. in the chapel. Narcotics Hearing Set in Lancaster Cora Lea Nolte. 30, of Platts mouth has pleaded not guilty to a charge of obtaining nar cotic drugs by fraud, and pre liminary hearing is set for Oct. 30 in Lancaster county court. Bond was set at $3,500 for Mrs. Nolte, arrested last week by Cass county Sheriff Tom Solomon on charges of obtaining drugs Oct. 8. In his complaint chief deputv county attorney Elmer M. Scheele of Lancaster county says Mrs. Nolte has been con victed twice previouslv of violat ing state and federal narcotics acts. Penalty for third offense is a fine up to $5,000 and prison term of 10 to 20 years. PUNCTURE TIRES BALTIMORE, Md. Three young boys, two of whom are 11 and one 10, confessed to carry ing on an orgv of tire- punctur ing, slashing 69 tires on 35 motor vehicles on September 7th. The boys were sent to a State train ing school pending psychological and sociological reports on them. THE WEATHER Compiled for the Journal at the Masonic Home Weather Station, Plattsmouth. Nebr. Date: Oct. 14 - 17 Hish Low Prec. Thursday 72 38 Friday 58 42 ' Saturday 64 28 Sunday 66 38 Firecast: Little temperature change High in the 60's. si h U I cSheir Tea ; the annual district meeting last June 14 it was voted to have nine months of school and that Stander and Erhart, as a major ity of the board, June 14 con tracted with Miss Beck to teach in the school. Since then, they state, Smith has failed and refused to exe- cute the proper order which would allow the teacher to be In Monday's Journal the following statement was made: "At a public hearing, residents (of district 70) again voted to send their children to Murdock, but a newly-elected school board decided to hire a teacher and re-open the school." The fact is, patrons at the annual meeting voted to open school, by a vote of 26 16, but later a petition signed by an alleged two thirds of parents in the dis trict having children of school age asked that pupils be sent to Murdock. Two members of the school board then contracted with Mur dock, but later two members of the newly-elected board acted on the original deci sion and ordered the Grand Prairie School to re-open. We regret having made this mis - statement. The. Journal is trying to print only the facts in this con troversial matter. But the main "fact of the story re mains, that F, B. Decker, state superintendent of pub lic Instruction, has called for an early end to the con troversy in district No. 70. paid. They said the matter has been referred to the county superintendent (L. A. Behrends) who has "failed to apply to the courts for a writ of mandamus to compel Smith to issue said order." It was explained that Behrends was unable to deter mine if Smith is refusing through "contumancy" or for insufficient grounds to execute the order. The district has been in a tur moil since the beginning of school when the board found it self with two contracts one to send school children to Mur dock schools and one with a teacher to hold school in the district's schoolhouse. Four chil dren have been attending the school, seven going to Murdock. Last week F. B. Decker, state superintendent of public in struction, sent a strongly worded letter to Stander asking that the controversy be settled quickly. He pointed out the lack of suitable companionship for the one little girl attending the rural school, and for the three brothers who also go there. GAME DATE CHANGED The Plattsmouth football game at Blair, scheduled for next Fri day, will be 7:30 p. m. Wednes day, according to William Floyd of the Plattsmouth high school. Three Die in Crash of B-25 Near Plattsmouth 1 tr ' .f- . . . . . . : r. - - 1 .4 L , , t1l- r. I, ,, ,-,,-n-- TBtMinrr n'"iii T-nnm ' v i i n i r r " 1 " -" f" Crash and rescue workers from . Offutt air base were on hand soon after the crash of this ,B-25 bomber Friday, and covered the scene with CO-2 foam to lessen fire danger. Workers struggled in the gasoline-soakened wreck to re Two - Car Wreck No Drivers In It There were no drivers or pas sengers involved, but two cars were badly damaged in Platts mouth Thursday afternoon. A 1949 auto owned bv Clement Woster, being repaired by Bry- I ant Motors, was parked by the ! mechanic on Third avenue. The car somehow started rolling from its parking spot and crashed into a car owned by Leonard Born. The Born car then hit a tree. No one was hurt, but several school children on the street got a scare. Three Airmen Die in Crash of B-25 Bomber Air Force investigators are searching the wreckage of a B-25 bomber from Offutt base which crashed into a hillside about 25 miles south of Platts mouth at 2:45 p. m. Friday, kill ing instantly the crew of three. The dead are: Pilot Major Joseph H. Tichenor, 32, who lived at Bellevue, survived by his widow and five children. His home town is Louisville, Ky. Captain Truman G. Kolls, 36, of Omaha, survived by his widow and son. His home town is Rock Island. 111. He was co-pilot. Airman second class John E. Mindman, crew chief, from But ler, Penn. A crowd of crash-rescue ve hicles, ambulances, investiga tive personnel, police and spec tators immediately rushed to the accident scene, which is on the Wiiber Fey farm only a short distance from the Missouri river. Police and air force guards kept the spectators back while rescue workers covered the gasoline drenched plane with CO-2 foam and cut one body from the wreckage. There was no immediate in dication as to what caused the rrash, but the airplane evident ly came into the ground at a very steep angle. Branches were broken from the top of a tree which was less than a hundred feet from the wreckage. The plane was on a routine training mission. A World War II bomber, the B-25 is used mainly for training pilots in multi-engine flying, according to Offutt air base officials. The plane came into view of the Fev farm trom the north, went directly over the farm house at a very low altitude and crashed in the view of the Feys, ; who had rushed outside at the sound of the bomber's motors. Fey and his son. Wilbur Jr., rushed to the sene, but could do nothing for the men. Services Wednesday For Ferdinand Duda Funeral services for Ferdinand Duda, 77, of Omaha, former res ident of Plattsmouth, will be at 9 a. m. Wednesday in the Holy Rosary church. Rev. Joseph Tu py officiating. Visitrj hous will be Tuesday afternoon 4-6 p. m. and evening 7-8 p. m. in Caldwell-Linder chapel. Burial will be in Holy Seoulcher cemetery. Mr. Duda was born Jan. 19, 1877. He was married in 1901 to Anna Sedlak, in Cerma, Bohem ia and they came to Platts mouth. He worked in the B. R. E. X. shops before moving to Omaha 10 years ago after his retirement. He was a member of the Holy Rosary church and the Z. C. B. J. lodge. Journal Want Ads Pay! Willie Simons Eye Fund Grows WM , - " "h A "-11 MS w - ?.; f & if , - - The drive to raise money for Willie Simons' eyesight has gained considerable headway since its beginning and the total stands at $400 now. Pictured above are Simons, his wife, who holds Patty Ann, David and Willie, Jr. Collections from the boxes put out in business houses by today totaled $237.62, and the following addi tional donations have been recorded: V. F. W. Auxiliary, $10; Mr. and Mrs. Glen Vallery, $2; D. M. Hiatt, $3; Bob Hirz, $1; Merl Mc cormick, $1; Dr. L. A. Amato, $10; Mrs. Bill Ryan, $1; American Legion, $10; Mr. and Mrs. Ed Gradoville, $2; ..Mrs. Gaylen Leach, $1; Mr. and Mrs, M. M. Muncie, $10; Rex Young, $5; Harry Shif fer, $1; Mrs. Henry Jacobs, $1; Mrs. Fred Haffke, $1, andE. W. Schultz, $100. Journal photo. i Oilmen Pick Welshirner As Co. Chairman C. E. Welshirner was elected I chairman of the Cass county Oilmen's association at that group's meeting Thursday in Plattsmouth. Other members of the committee are Ray Story and Clarence Sjogen. Members from throughout the the county met to take part in a program designed to obtain public policies which are not only fair to oilmen, but to their customers and the public. Primary targets for 1954-55, outlined at the meeting, include fair gasoline tax; protection of highway funds; repeal of federal gasoline tax; matching of road funds locally and promotion of highway safety.' ' "The question of highway de velopment can be solved satis factorily when road require ments are carefully balanced against the ability of the peop le to pay for them," C. Russell Lockwood, executive secretary of the Nebraska Petroleum In- vdustries committee declared. "We want good roads but we want customers too, and we can't let an excessive gasoline tax price our customers right (Continued on Page 6.) move the body of one airman, the other two hav ing been thrown clear. The plane clipped the tops of trees in the right background, then plunged almost straight into the side of a bank. Journal photos. ML, - r School Merger Compromise Is Submitted A compromise solution to the Nehawka school district merger plan has been submitted to the state school reorganization com mittee. The plan would allow for splitting of district 3 in Otoe county .taking the north half into the Nehawka district. Original plans had called for including of all district 3. and the petitions were circulated and signed to that effect. However, several residents in the south half of the district objected, and a court suit was threatened. An attorney representing the plan said the new plan would bring sufficient valuation ($2, 713,810) into Nehawka to pro ceed with new construction. However. Robert and Stuart Schlictemeier of Cass county district 15 obiected that there won't be sufficient enrollment for college preparation courses to be offered. Funeral in Idaho for Former Resident Funeral services for Mrs. Armanda Crabtree, 88, who died Oct. 13, were held Saturday aft ernoon at Couer D'Alene, Idaho. She was born July 6, 1856, at Mendotta. Illinois, daughter of ! Samuel and Orilla Fleming. They came to Plattsmouth m 1875 and she was married to Silas Crabtree, who with two children preceded her in death. They have resided in Idaho for a number of years. Surviving are her daughters, Mrs. Grace Zorns of Edmundton, Canada; Mrs. Fred Bailey, Couer D'Alene, Idaho; sons, Harold of Spokane Washington; Ira of Pullman, Washington, and Jim of Couer D'Alene, Idaho. A sister, Mrs. Jessie Porter of Plattsmouth, Nebr., and a num ber of grandchildren, nieces and nephews as well as other rela tives and friends. Pallbearers were grandsons of the deceased." Seoul- Fund Drive Set This Thursday The annual Boy Scout fund drive in Plattsmouth has been set for Oct. 21, according to Chairman Paul Fauquet. Drive officials will meet in the Consumers public power office at 8 p. m. today to draw up some of the final plans for the drive. The annual cleaning of Platts mouth's fire hydrants will be this Thursday and Friday, ac cording to Bob Cappell, man ager of the board of public works. . George Reitter, Pioneer Banker, Dies in Eagle EAGLE (Special) George Reitter, Sr., 95, early banker in Eagle, died Thursday. Born in Ottenheim, Baden, Germany, he came to Nebraska Gity at the age of 10. He moved to Eagle in 1875. In 1892, he was married to Lena Reid, who died 15 years ago. He retired as a farmer in 1905 and was president of the Eagle bank until 1915. He was secre tary of the Eagle telephone com pany 20 years ago and a mem ber of the board of education 22 years. He was a member of the Trinity Lutheran church. Surviving are his sons, George, : Jr., of Yuba City, Calif., Arthur i of Rangoon, Burma; daughters, Mary Adams of Colusa, Calif., Matilda Lee of Los Angeles, Eliz- ! abeth Plymale of Millard, Freda and Caroline Reitter. both of Eagle; a sister, Mrs. Anna Roch enback of Alva, Okla., and 12 grandchildren and. 14 great grandchildren. Mrs. Lee was here for her fa ther's funeral. Other relatives from out of town were his sister, Mrs. Rochenback and Mrs. John Weebener, also - of Alva, Okla., Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Rochenback of Wichita, Kansas, Julius Haeffner and Mrs. Adolph Ya wart of Kensington, Kansas, H. C. Johnson, Mrs. Wm. Street and Mrs. Don Dox of Brule, Nebr., Mrs. John Jacobson of Broken Bow, Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Reed of Unadilla, C. W. Reed, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Reed of Omaha, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Ostrander of Syracuse. Announce Payment Of Dividends to Farm Loan Owners A 6 per cent dividend payment was announced by the Cass-Otoe National Farm Loan association of Weeping Water this week. The cooperative credit organi zation's stockholders, nearly 250 farmers in Cass and Otoe coun ties, will receive checks totaling $5253, Harold C. Elliott, secretary-treasurer, reported. The payment was made pos sible, he said, by a dividend which the association received from the Federal Land bank of Omaha. The Cass-Otoe associa tion, owned entirely by local farmers, is one of the 173 Na tional Farm Loan associations which own the capital stock of the Omaha Federal Land bank. Directors of the association are Herman C. Kupke, Murdock, president; Clifford C. Cooper, Weeping Water, vice president; Nolan W. Hottle, Elmwood, Ivan G. Althouse, Waverly, and Mar ion R. Sisco, Otoe. Betty Todd and Jim Graves Are H. S. Royalty Betty Todd and Jim Graves were chosen queen and king of Plattsmouth hign school home coming Friday night, and reigned over the homecoming dance at the school. Joann Egenuerger was maid of honor and Don Conyers the co captain for the Pep club-sponsored celebration. The 1953 king and queen, Charles Kerns and -JoNon Al bion, crowned the 1954 king and queen. 'Caroline Robinson read a commentary on the royalty and attendants as they marched into the colorfully-decorated gymnasium. Attendants and their escorts were: Nola Weiss and Havely Sayers; Shirley Story and J. D. Drueker; Sally Quinnett and Grover Cundall, and Sharon Fleischman and Bob Carr. Druliner Resigns As W. W. Mayor Roger Druliner, successful write-in candidate for mayor of Weeping Water last April, has announced his resignation and said he and his family are mov ing to the West Coast early next month. He' will be replaced by Neil Munkres, president of the city council. Or an ip r mm u u At its iirst meeting .Friday, tne rseurasKa watersneu and flood control advisory committee unanimously re commended toN Governor Robert Crosby that he approve Plattsmouth's application for watershed survey work and flood preventative measures. Plattsmouth was the first Nebraska community to apply for aid under the new Hope-Aiken flood control act, and the first to have a field survey completed and a report made. The 11-man state committee, only recently appointed by Gov. Crosby, elected Senator Otto Liebers of Lincoln as chairman during the meeting, which was its organiza tional get-together. Band Parents Choose Heads For Next Year Dr. A. L. Amato, long active in high school band affairs in Plattsmouth, was chosen to head the Band Parents Club as president for the year 1955 at their regular meeting last week. Dr. Amato will succeed Dean uunnam, wno nas seryea me v ear- Dr. A. L. Amato .Other officers elected included Vern Hendricks, vice-president, Mrs. J. Howard Davis, secretary and Mrs. Wm. Floyd, treasurer. Directors for 1954 elected were Paul Fauquet and Tom Gros shans. For the first time since the erection of the new school building, members of the or ganization met in the new band room. A good represen tation of membership was pre sent to discuss problems facing this club that is greatly respon sible for high school band ac tivities and finance. With Pres. Dunham presiding, reports were given of recent band, activities including the Ak-Sar-Ben this year. One big problem facing the band is the matter of transportation, but no definite solution was reach ed. A vote of members ordered the placing of orders for new uniforms with style and color to remain as at present. Plans for a new band stand in City Park for the year 1955 was earmarked for the one big project for the new year. Pre sent facilities are inadequate and the stand in a deplorable and unsafe condition. It is hoped- better facilities can be pro vided. Claycomb Ready To Sail To Far East r" 1 1 " ' r -nm nr init'im n m nnw-wtr"" JSrine P?,GeralAF- ?iay; the County Agricultural Stabil-?rCms.?nlMr;ndrs-?oy:ization and Conservation com- , "To Easi i after raendtae four weeks fn t!f cfoPfJldmliLt at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The staging regiment han dles the last miur.te details in getting men ready for foreign duty. A Marine's few weeks in staging'are filled' with clothing and equipment inspections, re fresher courses on weapons and physical conditioning. Court House Watson Bros., for overweight on capacity platest was fined $25 and costs. James O'Donnell of Omaha, improper registration, was fined $10 and costs. In the matter of guardian ship of Clara Helen Bailey, li cense was granted to sell real estate. . - An appeal from appraisers report was filed by Charles R. and Edith Dyer et al vs. the City of Lincoln. The appraisers had allowed $1,542 damages in condemnation proceedings in connection with a water pipeline. c 1 The group was set up by Gov. Crosby to process applications for watershed aid. It will act in an advisory capacity until a permanent agency can be set up next year after legislature convenes. Next stop for Plattsmouth's application, after its approval by Gov. Crosby, will be action by the secretary of agriculture. The Hope - Aiksn act author izes him to provide federal participation in planning for approval of application by a watershed development upon governor or authorized agency. Committee members said ap proval of Plattsmouth's appli cation does not set up a priority on which watershed would be developed first. They said the watershed here happens to be the first on which a field report has been complete-!. In Plattsmouth meanwhile, Paul Fauquet, long - time work er for a flood control program in the Plattsmouth watershed, Thursday afternoon was named t '. chairman of a committee dedi cated to push a survey and im provement of the watershed. Howard Hirz was appointed chairman of the group. Fauquet said after, the meet ing that the committee will act as a liaison between the city ! and the Soil Conservation ser- vice, giving the community's I ideas on the type of program needed here. The group will j decide what type of flood the city wishes to guard against one that may occur once in 10 years; or once in 50 or 100 years. The committee, appointed by Mayor Leo Meisinger, also will be available to dig out informa tion needed in connection with the city's application. Part of the local committee last week met with a group of state officials who were here for a "windshield survey" of the Plattsmouth watershed. They discussed some of the his tory of past floods and prelim inary ideas on work that should be done. Two more names were added to the committee last week George Jaeger and Gene Holmes, bringing the total to 13. Other members are Fau quet, Hirz, B. H. G. Eiting, Ray Story, Fred Lugsch, William Evers, Waldemar Soennichsen, C. E. Welshirner, William Swa tek, Ron Furse and T. M. Pol lock. Price Support I For Cass Corn $1.58 a Bushel i Price support for the 1954 I corn crop in Cass county is $1.58 per bushel, the same as was or I iginally announced in March. niittee, explains that the sup- j port. figure is based on the na- ! tional parity pri' e of corn as of Sept. 15 which was $1.80 per bu- shel. In Cass county, a commer cial corn county, farmers may put their corn in approved stor age and secure a Joan on the stored corn at 90 percent of par ity. In commercial corn areas, farmers, to be eligible for corn price support, must be in com pliance with the farm's corn acreage allotment. To be eligible for price sup port, ear or shelled corn must grade No. 3 or better except that corn grading No. 4 because of test weight is also eligible for price support. The corn must be in adequate storage and must meet certain moisture require ments. In Cass county, corn with a moisture content of 20.5 percent or more is not eligible for a loan. Price support is carried out through Commodity Credit Cor poration loans and purchase agreements. These will be avail able to eligible growers through May 31, 1955 in most areas and will mature July 31, 1955. A Classified Ad in The Journal costs us little as 35 cents