One night a good team of horses was stolen from the barn of Carl Praeuner (later the George Praeuner farm). The theft was not discovered until morning by which time the thieves had a pretty good start. The Anti-Horse Thief Association officials were notified and a posse led by George Losey was immediately organized. The first bit of information obtained was that during the night Anna Lovelace heard horses crossing the bridge over Battle Creek west of the Lovelace home so that the posse headed westward. the men looked for tracks and made inquiries as they went. The trail was always westward and on into Wheeler County.

Evidently Mr. Losey with his son Ed at his side was getting close to the thieves as they finally came upon the team tied up in a brush thicket where the thieves had tried to hide them, near Bartlett, fifty miles from the Praeuner farm. The horses were covered with sweat indicating that the thieves had to hurriedly get them off their premises and make their own get away. The thief or thieves had escaped but Mr. Praeuner had his team.

For a long time thereafter most barn doors were locked at night. Slatted barn doors or plank bars, bolted and locked were used in the summer time to help ventilation.

The incident was the last of horse stealing in this area, but newspaper files indicate that this Anti-Horse Thief Association was still holding meetings as late as 1907.

In this rambling way of reminiscing it is easy to overlook people who at one time had a prominent part in our community life, especially is this true when sixty years have rolled down life's way since they moved away.

In writing the story of the Anti-Horse Thief Association and George Losey's part in it as one of the officials, we are reminded that in the late nineties Mr. Losey left his position as County Sheriff which he held for several terms to move to the farm two miles east of Battle Creek which he purchased from the Sutherland family. This is now the Freudenburg farm.

The family consisted of Bill, Ed and Nellie (who became Mrs. John Harding). Ed was of slight build and rode race horses in the racing circles of that day. He was an all around athlete and when he wasn't riding race horses for his dad, he was running foot races or in some other form of athletic contest. He learned typesetting under Frank Martin in the Battle Creek Enterprise, then went west to found a newspaper at Cody, Nebraska. In typical Ed Losey style, he named his paper:

(Printed Now and Then)

The younger Losey children were Willard (known as Pete), Ray and Mary. They attended the public school here at Battle Creek.

"Pete" went to New Mexico with his father about 1909 or

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