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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 1961)
4 TME PlLATTSfMlflDUTIHI JJflDlUC&IMIL Consolidated With the Nehawka Enterprise and Elmwood Leader-Echo Read Twice Weekly by More Than 3500 Cass County Families PUBLISHED SEMI-WEEKLY Monday-Thursday I.'ZCR. STATE !!I3T. COCISTY XX a s n VOLUME 80 SIXTEEN PACES PLATTSMOUTH, CASS COUNTY, NEBRASKA THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1961 TEN CENTS PER COPY NUMBER 73 Cass Countyan of the Week Rex Young, Auctioneer, Has Told, Lived Many Tall Tales By Ruth Miller Nehawka, Special Correspondent Somewhere between the cate gorles of fishing and shopping is tne Midwestern farm sale Some go to be sociable, and some go just to see what the stuff brings, but all go. To the farmer, it Is the best place to find a friendly neighbor, a good bargain, or some needed gad get. Presided over by masters of fast talk, these auctions become contests with all the fun com petetive spirit of Olympic games. Well known among Cass County farmers is Rex Young of Plattsmouth. His special brand of humor has permeated or perhaps created the auction atmosphere for a good many sales. He has on his books the name of every man he has sold for and the numbers run well into the thousands. Rex has cried many sales since his first In Beach, N.D. on Nov. 25, 1911. That first sale bill, now a framed momento, offered "free lunch and horse feed at noon." Mr. Young's parents came to Cass County In 1854 from Iowa. "Prairie Jake" Vallery, whose plow broke sod for a good many early settlers, owned the only house west of Highway 73-75 at that time. The log cabin Youngs built near Rock Bluff now stands on the Young Cemetery 6 miles south of Plattsmouth. The cabin listened stolidly to the shouts of seven children and again to the stories from McGuffy's Reader for It was also Cass County's first school. Mr. Young has cemented the " Jerry Eiting - B. H. G. Eiting Motor Vehicle Dept. Director B. H. O. (Jerry) Eiting of Lin coln, 56-year-old executive sec retary of the Nebraska Lime stone Producers Association, Tuesday was appointed state di rector of motor vehicles. Eiting succeds Alvin N. Scis sors, who died July 16. Eiting's appointment was an nounced by Gov. Frank Morri son's office. Born in Butler County, Eiting was graduated from David City High School in 1922 and attend ed Creighton University in O maha for two years before go ing to work as an automobile salesman in 1928. Since that time he has been a district dealers representative and later a sales training exe cutive for Ford Motor Co. From 1939 to 1947 he man aged the O'Shea-Rogers Tractor and Equipment Co., in Lincoln, then became the Ford dealer in Plattsmouth. He sold the Platts mouth agency in 1957 and mov ed back to Lincoln with his wife and 6 children last year to as sume the post with the lime stone producers association. He resides at 7600 Vine in Lin coln. Eiting Interviewed by news men at the governor's office, said he plans no Immediate change in operation of the Mo tor Vehicles Department. Eiting was a member of the Plattsmouth City Council from 1954 to 1956. Eiting said he got word of the appointment shortly before noon Tuesday after a friend in tercepted him on the street and toid him he was wanted in the governor's office. ( Eiting is past district deputy of the Knights of Columbus, is active in the Northeast Rotary Club and is a member of the public roads, committee of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. l;vWcWifc 'rfcJff' f I'll outside to halt deterioration but the inside remains the same. The Young Cemetery stands high on a hill just off the high way. To every side a view of green fields and hazy oak tim ber presents a peaceful panor ama. The responsibility of car ing for this cemetery has fallen ;o Rex Young. The cemetery is platted with the list of lots posted inside the cabin. Three Indian War veter ansSamuel Latte, Francis Marion Young, and Lewis Har vey Young are buried there ilong with seven Civil War vet erans. Rex has held a variety of jobs in his 74 years. Farmer, store keeper, mailman, and deputy j snenii are just a iew or tnem. As a mailman ' from Murray he had a team of mules which "you couldn't hardly whip past a mailbox." One day, just as the mules started to pull out to a mailbox a bird flew up. Rex was walking behind the wagon and couldn't j stop the spooked team. Just as he became reconciled to the fact that a long walk to town was in store for him he came to Mrs. Baxter's mailbox where the team had pulled out and placidly waited for the dis gruntled carrier, to dispatch the United States mail. The Youngs sold the old homestead in February, of 1920, and moved to Plattsmouth. Just across from their modern home stands "Little Jenny Wren" a cabin where the Youngs store Rex's pioneer relics and to house extra guests. Rex served under Bert Reed and again under Sheriff Stewart as deputy sheriff of Cass Coun ty. He served as acting sheriff for 1 years during Sheriff Reed's illness. But auctioneering had been his ambition since boyhood. His wife, Pearl Henton of Mynard, remembers him as a schoolboy with,, a wild imagination who would sell empty bottles to the highest bidder. - - A few years ago Rex had the thrill of a lifetime when he sold j a $1,200,000 feeder calf sale. He started selling at 9 a.m. 'and never quit till 4 p.m. The high est price was $92.50 a hundred pounds. Four thousand five hundred head sold with most in singles and small bunches. In 1957 Rex was named presi dent of the Nebraska Auc tioneers Association. He has been active in the association for many years, holding several of fices including the vice presi dency. Later in the fall Rex plans to celebrate 50 years as an auc tioneer. "Cass County has been good to me," he says. Now he hopes to entertain his Cass County friends. Rex has some special rules which have made him one of , the state's favorite auctioneers. Some of his precepts are: Never deceive a man in the ring. Talk rapidly but speak plain ly. Conduct a sale in such a way that you would be happy to have your own mother stand there and hear all you say. Although Rex lists as one of (Continued on Page 4) i On HOME IN 1850'S This log sanctuary at Young's Cemetery mouth, was the home Rex Young's IM I ! H - " 'I I I III I Ml n ! Illll Bill I r 'i.BSR W 11,1111 .mi i ii iiiiin.i u win u i i mini mm.' 1 1 "m mm ihiiwwpiiii' p ywf- re ' " r"VK; ' " J . J ft I ; I "X NOTARY DISCUSSION District Governor of Rotary Harry Voss. left rear, and officers and committee chairmen of the local Rotary club met Tuesday to discuss club activity. Among those attending the meeting which preceded the regular club session Museum Damage Worse Than First Assessed Mrs. Alice Perry, president of the Cass County Historical So ciety, said there was more dam age to the Museum from the June 23 fire, than was, thought at first. She said there was quite a bit of damage to the furnace and that the cold air ducts had collapsed "Fans are now being used to dry out the grounds under the Museum," she said. "Young & Jose are doing the repair work on a labor and ma terial basis," Mrs. Perry said. The Society hopes the building will be "good as new" by Sept. 1. The Korn Karnival Week has been set as the date for re-opening. There was no July meeting of the Society due to the hot weather. Curt Salberg, 5, Weeping Water, Dies Curt W. Salberg, 5, of Weep- ing Water died Tuesday eve- ning at Bryan Memorial Hos pital. Hj had been ill 10 days. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Salberg of Weeping Water, survive. Funeral services will be Fri day at 2 p.m. at the Weeping Water Methodist Church. Burial will be in Avoca Cemetery, Avo ca. Fusselman Funeral Home of Louisville is in charge of arrangements. Lit, Wk cabin, now a when they fame was near Rock first school. south of Platts parents built 'Minor Victories Important In World Scheme Rotary Told Coming face-to-face with so ciety's little problems, grappling with them and winning small victories may be the key to solv ing the world's big problems, Rotary District Governor Harry Voss of Council Bluffs said here Tuesday. He was speaker at the regu lar club meeting at the Lioi! Community Building during the governor's annual official visit to the club. Voss said "we need something close at hand to keep our eyes upon" in the face of the great Marion Stock Is Comptroller Of Solar Co. SAN DIEGO Marion J. Stock, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wil liam Stock, Murdock, Neb., has been elected comptroller of So lar Aircraft Co., a subsidiary of International Harvester Co. Prior to assuming his new position, Stock was an internal auditor for International Har vester. He was originally em ployed by Harvester in 1940. Stock was graduated with dis tinnt'cn from the University of Nebraska with a B.S. degree in 3usiness Administration. He was a member of Beta Gamma Sig ma, honorary business fratern ity. From 1943 to 1946, he served as a lieutenant, junior grade, in the U. S. Navy in the Pacific area. MSB. """.WL'F . -5 to Cass County in 1851. The cabin Bluff. It was also Cass County's were, clockwise from left: Walter Plattsmouth Rotary President Kocian, Clem Woster and Lyle social, political and economic problems which beset the world. "If world peace and the broth erhood of man seem elusive, we can look closer to home and do something about the little things, for instance, that make Communism possible," .he said. L., By breaking the big problem down into segments, we can do something about it; what hap pens in Plattsmouth is impor tant as it affects the whole area of human relatiorships, he said. Voss was introduced by Club President Bob Cappell. Cappell, other club officers and commit tee chairmen had met with the governor earlier in the day to report on club activities the past Rotary year. Semi-Truck Fire Wednesday Night The Plattsmouth Volunteer Fire Department was called out Wednesday night to put out a fire in a semi-trailer near the Ore apolis overpass north of here. Fire Chief Joe Kruntorad said a fuel tank used to supply a re frigeration unit had broken loose and was dragging on the pave ment on Highway 73-75. Before the Red Ball Lines driver no ticed it, sparks had ignited the tank. The truck had 32,000 pounds of dry ice aboard bound for Omaha. Rites for Mother Of Mrs. Tesch Funeral was Tuesday at New castle for Mrs. Harvey Rahn, 64. mother of Mrs. Fred Tesch of Plattsmouth. Mrs. Rahn died Saturday at Newcastle. Her husband, Mrs. Tesch, an other daughter, Mrs. Warren i Emery of Anthon, Iowa, and four. grandchildren survive. i Ridikulus Day Scheduled People who shop in Platts- mouth will find a number of , surprises in store for them next ; Friday, Aug. 4. The day is Ridiculm.s Doy and the merchants committee plan i.;r.g the event promisej a num ber of innovations thev teel sure will be appreciated by shoppers unu visitors. The day will start with a Ridiculous Parade at 9 a.m. in wnich every merchant is urged to join. Merchants and their sales people will parade in grotesque costumes. Gleason, Harold Edwards, Voss, Bob Cappell, Lester Dalton, I. L. Grove. Switch Blew Up To Cause Power Outage Wednesday The electric current outage here Wednesday afternoon was caused when a switch at the suh station south of town "blew up," Ernest Elliott, Consumers Public Power District manager here said today. . He said they had been "suspi cious" of the switch because of an apparent flaw in porcelain and had energized it with extra current to test it. When it went cut an arc was started and the only way to break it was to "kill" the town, Elliott said. Tne outage lasted about 10 minutes until the other side of the double transformer supply ing the town was put into use. A new switch, a $700 item, was ordered immediately and is on the way by rail from Chicago. It is to be installed late today or Friday. Louisville Mayor, Took ARADCOM 'Understanding Tour1 6TH MISSILE BATTALION, Omaha Air Force Station, Lo cal community representatives were to return tonight from an "Operation Understanding" trip sponsored by the 6th Missile Battalion (NIKE HERCULES), 43rd Artillery on behalf of the Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM), Colorado Springs, Colo. 4 Among eight persons attend ing from this area was Joseph F. Hon Mayor of Louisville. The party left Omaha and Lincoln, via military aircraft Tuesday morning for Fort Bliss, Tex. Tours included Fort Bliss Army Air Defense School, Mc Gregor Range-observe firings of Nike Ajax and Hercules by crews conducting their Annual Service Practice and White Sands Mis sile Range-Nike Zeus facilities. Briefings were concurrent with the various tours The purpose of the trip was to enhance communities' under standing of the Air Defense mis sion and specificially to realize the importance and necessity of the Nike Hercules Battalion in Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. Al.-.o in the parade will be var lous musical unite to add to the fun. Block captians are now con tacting every merchant to as certain the part pach will take in the events of the day. Th-e names of the merchants who plan to participate in the par ade, and other activiti is during the day will appear in a later issue of The Journal. Costumes worn in the parade will be judged by a committee of farm women headed by Mrs. Henry Vmduska. Resolution OKs Paving District The City Council Monday night passed a resolution declar ing an ordinance establishing a street improvement district for 3rd Avenue from 12th to 14th Streets in effect. Objections to the district, created by Council action, a mounted to 475 front feet, less than the more-than-50 per cent needed to block the improve ment. Total front footage of affected property is 1,157. The Council also passed a mo tion repealing an ordinance which had sought to establish a paving district for Lincoln Ave lue. Objections to the proposed improvement totaled 170 front feet more than the more-than-50 per cent needed to block the proposal. A motion was passed by the Council to purchase 20 more new parking meters to replace worn out mechanism. Money will come from the parking meter fund. The matter of the type of pav ing to be installed in Ideal Heights Addition was tabled un til next meeting. Council President L. W. Moore presided at the meeting in the absence of Mayor Grant Rob erts who is on vacation. The meeting was adjourned shortly after 9 o'clock and was one of the shorter ones in recent years. Bad News Time State's Property By Melvin Paul Statehouse Correspondent The Nebraska Press Association LINCOLN Nebraska property owners soon will learn what they will have to pay in state prop erty taxes for 1961. The State Boardjof Equaliza tion probably will 'set the state levy July 31. It must be certified out to tho 93 counties by August 2. State taxes actually make up only a small share of the indi vidual property owner's annual tax bill. Local, school and county taxes account for a much larger bite. This year the state tax levy is expected to increase slightly. One factor assuring this is a .17 mill increase voted by the Legis lature to the State Park levy boosting it from .13 to .30 a mill. Fixed state levies are known at this time. They will account for 2.25 mills or $2.25 in taxes for every $1,000 assessed valuation of property. These levies are set by the Legislature and include $1.10 per $1,000 for the state Institutional Building Fund; 25 cents per $1,000 for the University of Ne braska Medical levy; 50 cents per $1,000 for the Teachers Re tirement Fund; 30 cents per $1,000 ior State Parks and 10 cents per $1,000 for Agricultural Research. The remainder of the stale levy is the General Fund levy. In 1960, the total state levy was 8.43 mills or $8.43 per assessed valuation. Of this, the General Fund portion was $6.35. The General Fund levy pro vides about 60 per cent of the amount required to keep the General Fund solvent. The other 40 per cent is derived from mis cellaneous taxes and receipts such as motor vehicle fees, cig arette and liquor taxes, head tax, etc. Drivers Licenses Despite all the publicity during the closing days of the recent legislative session, much confu sion still exists over what type of driver's license Nebraskans need this year. The answer is simple. Motor- for Aug. 4 Mercharts will oaii-y interest ing advertisements In next Thursday's Jourrni, offering merchandise at "Ridiculous Prices." Some of the merchan dise may be just a little ridicu lous, too. Many merchants plan to move at least part of their merchan dise out on to the sidewalk for the one-day event. Watch for more information about this hilarious affair in next Monday's and Thursday's Journals. County Budget Hearing Draws No One, again Cass County residents once a gain gave tacit approval to the county budget as proposed for the 1961-62 fiscal year, by stay ing away from the official bud get hearing held Wednesday af ternoon. The Board of Commisloner.i met at its rooms to consider the proposal and to hear any ob jec lions or suggestions taxpayers mii4ht oiler. Nr one attended the hearing, except the Commissioners and County Clerk Clias. Land who prepared the budget estimated. The Board spent the remain der of the afternoon reviewing askings of the county's elected officials to run their offices for the fiscal year. The Board has until Aug. 10 to act on the budget und .set tho mill levy for the vni. Commission Chainnun Melvin Todd of Union rem;) ''ked after the hearing that never in his tenure of office had anyone at tended the official budget hear ing held annually. Troop 368 Court Of Honor Tonight St. John's Boy Scout Troop 368 will hold a Court of Honor at the Parish School Auditorium to night at 8. Parents are urged to attend the Court which is also open to the public. Lunch will be served following the awards. Nears for Owners ists will renew their operator permits beginning September J. for a 2-year period just as they have in the past. There is no change whatsoever in driver's li censes or how they can be re newed. The confusion is the result of actions within the Legislature. A bill was signed into law calling -for colored photos on the new licenses. Controversy e r u p t ed when charges were hurled that speci fications for the photo equipment were rigged. As a result, the last bill introduced, LB 737, was amended on the floor and passed repealing the colored photo bill. This restored the situation to where it has been in the past. Interstate Highway Some time in August, probably after the 11th, travel between Omaha and Lincoln will be far different than it has been in the past. The State Highway Depart ment plans a formal opening for the Interstate Highway connect ing Nebraska's largest cities. The formal ceremonies accept ing the highway and opening it all the way to public traffic, are tentatively scheduled for August 11. After that motorists will be able to zocm between the two cities on a divided 4-lane high way, at speeds up to 75 mph, the limit set by the Legislature this session. Short stretches of the highway are now open from Omaha to the Gretna Interchange and from the Lincoln Air Force Base In terchange to the Waverly Inter change. Rig Blue & Clkliorn Tentative approval has been given by the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Committee to a work plan which would shape a program for conserva tion in the Elkhorn and Blue River Basins. The Federal Bureau of Recla mation, Army Corps of Engi neers, Scil Conservation Service, State Department of Water Kc sources, University of Nebraska and the State Conservation Com mittee will shape the final pro gram. Among the things which will be considered in the study are erosion, flood control, ground water supplies and drainage. If the federal agencies in (Continued on Page 4) THE WKATHFR Juy 21, 25, 26, 1961 Date lliirh Low Irec. Monday 88 60 .00 Tuesday 80 70 tr. Wednesday 86 73 .00 Forecast High in upper 80's; low mid 60's. Scattered showers. Sun sets tonight at 7:47; rises Friday at 5:15 a.m.