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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 1962)
NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Lincoln, Nebraska JUL ti 1962 PUBLISHED SEMI-WEEKLY Monday-Thursday J ME PlATTSiyfDU JJ(D)IUIRNM. Consolidated With the Nehawka Enterprise and Elm wood Leader-Echo Reod Twice Weekly by More Than 3500 Cass County Families XXX vOLUME 81 SIX I EEN PACES PLATTSMOUTH. CASS COUNTY, NEBRASKA THURSDAY, JULY 5. 1962 TEN CENTS PER COPY NUMBER 67 6 ' 1 f; Creed Harris, Virginian 0M vl Cass Countyan of the Week Creed Harris Tells about Early Days on By KI TH MILIEU Nehawka Special Correspondent In the fall of 1884, a 19-year-old Virginia boy came to Weep ing Water to spend his first, night on Nebraska soil. Today, Creed Fulton Harris, though nearly 97, can well recall those early days in Nebraska. Creed walked out to George Youngs after his night in Weep ing Water, and there Zach Shrader offered him a job dig ging for fence posts. Mr. Harris made fence for two days and at the end oi that time he received two shiny silver dollars. That was big money in those days! But Creed Harris was ready to work even for those small sums in order to build his dream. He worked for George Young for some time, painting fence, doing faun work, or even just riding for the mail. He recalls working in the blaz ing wheat field for fifty cents a day. The man who went ahead with the old wooden cradle was given $1.00 a day, and the man who bound up the wheat shocks was paid seventy-five cents. But when the harvest was done, Creed drew his pay in wheat. Money was scarce and trading produce was the plains man's most common way of pay ing for things. Mr. Harris chuckled as he called to mind an incident that happened on the way to Center Valley for the mail one day. He was riding- a blind mare ol George Young's when he passed a tree upon which was a giant swarm of bees. Creed stopped the horse and went into Philpot's house and asked if thev were going to dc anything with the swarm. When Mrs. Philpot said "No," Creed borrowed a knife and cut down the branch the bees were on. He stopped at creeks and springs all the way home keeping the bees good and wet. "I passed Charlie Philpot or the way and he gave me the whole road when he saw what I had," Creed laughs. Creed reached Young's gate with the swarm intact and Bill Young pave him $2.50 for it. Creed's next job was north of Weeping Water but the farmer he worked for couldn't pay him. Creed took a due bill and went back to town where he sold the hill to the man's bro'her-in-law and went to seek another job. The next job happened to be with Frank Sheldon. Potatoes were cheap on the plains but Mr. Harris was sent to Oklahoma on the train with a carload of them. There he sold the entire car load, worth 15 cents a bushel in Nebraska, for 33 cents a bushel. Mr. Harris returned to Cass County where in December of 1387 he married Josephine Eliza beth Magney, and where he bei . I i o if-" Became Nebraskan Co. Plains came an active memDcr oi me new Otterbein Church. When the church was started Creed do nated a certain amount and worked it out on the building oi the church. "' Later Mr. Harris was superin tendant of the Sunday School and was licensed by the church to preach. He once made use of that license to perform a fu neral. After the death of his wife Mr. Harris married a Marion Va., girl, Margie A. Hays. Mr Harris has 8 living children; Laurie Farris of Lincoln, Vance. Independence, Mo.; Verna Pol lard, Nehawka; Virginia Stone Lincoln; Robert Sterling, Union; Fulton, Plattsmouth, and Don Columbia, Mo. He has 27 grandchildren and over 50 great-grandchildren plus several great-great. "I never know how big my family is until the mail comes," he jokes. Mr. Harris recalls that when his daughter Laurie was borr Mrs. Troop was the midwife who waited on his wife. When he of fered to pay her she asked him to come over and stack prairie hay to pay for her help. Going on to chat about other old neighbors, Mr. Harris told a typical Johnny Gilmore story: Johnny was sitting on the porch one day when he noticed that the hired man was resting the horse at the end of the row an unusu ally long time. Johnny walked out to the field and found the man stretched out sound asleep Well, Johnny didn't say any thing, he just reached out and broke off a leafy branch from a small shrub nearby and wher the hired man awoke he looked up at Johnny Gilmore calmly shooing away the flies. "Johnny didn't have to tell him to leave," laughs Creed. Mr. Harris went on to tell about some of the entertainment in the neighborhood. One thing he recalls is the shooting matches where a beef would be quar ered and hung and the best marksmen got a quarter of beef Square dances to the tune of Pete Smith's fiddle were popu lar and-Mr. Harris can remem ber one oyster supper at Mur ray. Mr. Harris' first farm was bought from one of the Davis' boys. He paid $37.50 an acre for an 80. He moved on to the place near Union where the R. Sterling Harris' live now in 1904. He bought the farm from John Pope in February and moved In dur ing March. Mr. Harris recalled that was an especially cold winter and then went on to relate anecdotes of other winters. He recalls once when the snow was so deep tha' you could walk right over the tops of fences without evet knowing they were ther At an (Continued On Page Seven) Troop 399 Here Has 1st Court of Honor Sunday evening, Boy Scout Troop 399 h'ld its first Court of Honor at the VFW Club rooms. William Spradlin opened the Court for the Covered Wagon Council. The Invocation was given by Rev. Harold Onwiler of Mynard. Dale Bowman. Past VFW Com mander, presided a.s Mas'.er of Ceremonies. The Scouts conducted a can dlelighting opening for the troop. Tenderfoot awards were given by Scout,via;ter Harry Porter and Lne Scout Darrel Drape, SeconJ I cia.s awards were given by Mr. Al Lang of Omaha. Warrants and Merit badges were present ed by Scoutmaster Porter, and segments were awarded by as sistant Scoutmaster C a 1 w i n Barnes. A troop flag was presented to the troop by Charles Auit, insti tutional' representative for the VFW. Al Lang, .speaker of the eve ning, gave a message about Scouting all over the world. Refreshments were served by Sophia Wolver and Norma Wil son of the VFW Auxiliary. These awards were given: Tenderfoot William Ander son, Ronald Barnes, Jams Drennen, Darrei Cuirdan, Paul Felton, Phillip Fischer, Jac Fogelstrom, Robert Shafer, David Snyder, Rodney Tesch, Jchn Fischer, Ricky Payton, Will iam Willis, Robert Rupp, Daniel Nash. Second Class William Ander son, Ronald Barnes, Darrel Dun can, James Drennen, Phillip Fischer, Jac Fogelstrom, Paul Fellon, Donald Gray, Ronald Mattox, Robert Shafer, David Snyder, Rodney Tesch. Warrants Darrel Draper, senior patrol leader ; Ronald Mattox, Phihip Fischer, Henry Eggert. Merit Badge Darrel Draper, music. Segments for Camp Cedars Camping John Fischer, Phillip Fischer, Ronald Barnes, Ronald Mattox, Rodney Tesch, David Snyder, Paul Felton, James Drennen, Donald Gray, Jac Fog elstrom, William Anderson, Dar rel Draper and Assistant Scout maste Calvin Barnes. Bids Let for Lumber, Graders, Trucks for County The Cass County Board of Commissioners Tuesday opened bids for bridge lumber for the 12 months ending June 30, 1963, and for graders and trucks for the fiscal year's roads program. Wheeler Lumber, Norfolk, was low bidder On lumber. Construction Service Equip ment Co. of Lincoln was low with $34,502 for two graders and two snow plows, with trade-in of two used graders and two used snow plows. Rubin Auto Co., Plattsmouth, was low with a bid of $9,008 for three Ford trucks, two with dump boxes, one without. All the items will be paid for over the 12-month fiscal period. Ponies Won by 3 at Rodeo Shetland ponies were won by Clayton Cooper Jr. of Weeping Water, Gayle Rae Sullivan ol Plattsmouth and Tommy Joseph of South Omaha and Sterling Norvell was named the Ali Around Cowboy at last week end's rodeo here. Placings ir. the rodeo events: Saddle bronc riding 1. De Layne Long, 2. R. L. Scott. 3. Myron Lintner, 4. Jim Gross hans. Grosshans, of Plattsmou h won the first go-round in this event. Bareback 1. Stan Styskal, 2. Lee Wiley, 3. Dan Hess, 4. Rich ard Hargis, 5. Andy Andelt, My ron Lintner and Roger Ander son. Bulldogging 1. Sterling Nor vell, 2. Harold Davidson, 3. Wil ly Burnette, 4. Bob Crase. Calf roping 1. Sterling Nor vell, 2. Lee Allred, 3. Ken Board, head, 4. Bill Simmons, 5. Bill Campdidilli. Bull riding 1. John Garvin, 2. Sam Hackett, 3. Carl Chism. 4 DeLayne Long, 5. Frank Bittner, 6. Glen Sterling and Roycp Wright. Barrel racing 1. Lilia Laur ner, 2. Marty Sorensen, 3. Von Broadhead and Clara Johnson. i V w . , x j i - , ' (( ' ' tl lr v. : - Ak' K" r;V - - 4rT V i ' t " ' ,'--'5 I iW-' t r .As ;, a 1 ih i. .M'iw..ii.ikite'...-.y., i i,-wt.-.t-iiit vwtmnmi ...... . . ' ' , tti0immuutaMkMwmmmtmktm3 COl'UT OF HONOR The first Court of Honor of Scout Troop 399 was held Sunday evening at the VFW Club. Shown from left are: front Robert Kupp, Rodney Tesch, Daniel Nash, Donald Gray, Ricky Payton, William Anderson, David Snyder, Ronald Barnes and Taul Felton; second row Darrel Duncan, James Drennen, Darrel Draper, Thillip Fischer, John Fischer, July 13 Deadline For Voting in Sweet 16 Contest The dealine in voting for the Sweet 16 Contest being conduct ed here by the Mrs. Jaycees is July 13 at 1 p.m., those in charge said today. They announced this current vote standing: 1. Claudia Mar ler, 2. Marilyn Vinduska, 3 Kathy Lutes, 4. Sharlene Kah ler, 5. Marilyn Koubek, 6. Car men Pfeifer, 7. Valerie Lane. Voting containers are located now at these sites: Jochimsen's Market, Kathy Lutes; Hinky Dinky, Carmen Pfeifer; Soen nichsen's Grocery, Claudia Mar ler; Cass Drug, Marilyn Kou bek: Ruback's Supermarket, Marilyn Vinduska; Gas Com pany, Valerie Lane; The Beauty Box, Sharlene Kahler. Six of the seven contestants were pictured previously. Mis Kahler's introduction follows: Sharlene Kahler Sharlene is the daughter oi Mr. and Mrs. Orval Kahler. She will be a junior at Plattsmouth High School this fall. She is a memebr of St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformec Church and in the past has been a member of the church choir and its youth fellowship in which she held an office. Sharlene has been active ir 4-H for five years and was also a junior leader. She is a member of Job's Dau I phters and has held a junior of fice, also sang in the Bethel choir. Her hobbies are cocking, sew ing, baby sitting and sports. Sharlene has two younger bro thers, Steven and S anley. Sharlene Kahler Where's All The Rain? By P. J. DINGM AN This very common question has been spurred on by a scant 26 hundredths of an inch in the last 24 days. Although creating havoc with the farmers, this lack of precip itation was a blessing for fire works shooters. The (ugh!) chart: P.M. Day Mon. Tues. Wed. Av. . Time Pres. Hi Lo Precip. . . 5:35 88 94 73 .00 . . 5:20 87 93 71 .01 . . 6:26 83 89 73 .01 . . 5:45 U6 92 72 Total 02 A year ago U.S. high, 104 at Yuma. Ariz.; low, 39 at Traverse City, Mich.; most precip., 2.43 inches at Orlando. Fla. Two years ago U.S. high, 108 at Yuma, Ariz, and Needles, Cal.; low, 40 at Ely, Nev. and Philipsburg, Pa.; most precip., 1.84 inches at Midland, Texas. 45 years ago Mobile. Ala. had its worst modern storm, winds were 107 miles per hour, the barometer was down to 28.92 inches, and the tide was' 11.6 ft. 71 years ago Rapid City, So. Dak. had a hail storm that kill ed 16 horses and injured many others. 91 years ago De Soto, Nebr., had a tornado which blew rail road cars off the track and led to heavy haii. By the way Tomorrow is the 34th anniversary of the famous hail storm at Potter, Nebraska. One stone was officially 5'i inches in diameter, 17 inches in circumference and weiged 2 pounds! ! ! Training Council Officers of the Boy Scoutf South District of the Covered Wagon Council will be among those from throughout the coun cil attending a District Com mittee training Council to be j held in Fremont on July 22. Other officers include Al Han- sen of Plat smouth and vice chairman; William S p ra d 1 i n i Belk-vue i formerly of Platts j mouth i, finance chairman. i I BOl'ND.Rli:S INTERMIXED i For the purpose of the forth - coming Cass ASC Community ; Committee Election, the bound- ary of each community within j the county shall be determined to be the legally established I precincts in Ci..s county. Ronald Mattox and William Willis; back Assistant Seoutmas- ter Calvin Barnes, Covered Wagon Council Official Ed Lang of Omaha (speaker for the Court), Assistant Scoutmaster Fred Fischer and Scoutmaster Harry Porter. Scouts John Douglas, Jac Fogelstrom, Henry Fggert and Robert Shafer were not pres ent for the picture. ...... Board To Get Budget Proposal Here July 16 The Cass County Board of Commissioners will meet July 16 to consider the 1962-63 budget proposal, to be submitted then by County Clerk Chas. Land, of ficial budget-making authoity. A public hearing on the budget proposal will be held July 25, Land said. Don Kemper among 12 Top Freshmen Donald Kemper, Eagle Higit graduate, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Kemper of Walton, h among 12 top freshmen at the Universify of Nebraska, direct ors of the selective honors pro gram at the University's Col lege of Agriculture have an nounced. The 12 were chosen from ap proximately 200 freshmen in the college. ,Sv if $41 5-' tO.M ;vv".,S 7 -J -.. ' RODFO BKLI.ES Shown from left are Barbara Keigliter, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Reighter, Omaha, Friday night's (ueen; Center, Kathy Stapp, daughter of Mrs. Rotary Club Visits Masonic Home, Sees Plans for Expansion The Plattsmouth Rotary Club Tuesday noon had dinner as guests of the Nebraska Masonic Home and its residents and viewed plans for expansion of the Home. Host was Raymond Evers, Rotarian who is superintendent of the Home. Club President C. E. Shellen barger said the visit to the Home, like one a couple years ago, is a memorable one. Home residents and club members dined together and visited. There was no formal program. On Service Committee Cecil Karr of Plattsmouth Tuesday was re-appointed to the County Veterans Service Committee by the County Board of commissioners. One term on the five-man committee expires annually. Yi j i r il" Kathryn St.ipp, at right, Mary and Mrs. Elmer night's (fueen. .$f . aiBwitii twin Funeral Today At Murray for Chris Nelson, 8 Funeral services were today at 2 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church in Murray for Chris Nel son, eight-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Nelson of Tal lahassee, Fla. Rev. Joseph Burr, pastor of the church, officiat ed. Chris was killed Monday eve ning in a Lincoln Street by an auto. The family was living in Lin coln this summer while Pro fessor Nelson was teaching Edu cational Psychology at the Uni versity of Nebraska-. He is a Professor at the University of Florida. Mr. Nelson is a former Mur ray resident, having lived there in his boyhood days. The parents survive as well as two brothers, Ben and David. Burial was to be in Nehawka Cemetery. Call Your News And Social Items to 2-141 w ,4 ,vi f?3V Thursday night's (Jueen, am! Joan Sprifek, daughter of Mr. Sprieck of I.ouisviUe, Saturday f Ifa