Echoes July 7, 2004: Sheridan Co. NE GenWeb

Sheridan County Newspapers & Publications

Echoes of the Past
July 07, 2004
columns by Helen Selee

Echoes Pages July 7 2004

100 Years Ago - 1904
John Jordan arrived in Gordon Sunday morning from Adel, Iowa. He will be remembered as the son of J.R. Jordan and a resident of Sheridan county until about eight years ago. He has accepted a position with the Jordan Hardware Company and will make Gordon his home henceforth.

A large crowd from Gordon and vicinity celebrated at Barto’s grove on the Fourth. The roasts are reported to have been very delicious. The only unpleasantness connected with this affair was the rain in the evening which soaked a number that were unable to obtain shelter on their way home.

Rev. J.A. Scamahorn went to Merriman on the Fourth. He was on the program as orator of the day.

C.C. Murphy and C.M. Darling of Jackson, Mich., stopped in Gordon Friday morning having traveled 2207 miles on bicycles during the past two months touching also ten states. They are traveling for a wager of $5,000, starting without a cent, agreeing to touch every state and territory in the Union in 18 months. They make their expenses by selling souvenirs collected on their journey. From Rushville they plan to go to Cheyenne by way of Alliance, thence southward to the coast.

Mr. S.T. Wallace returned from Hot Springs Sunday. He intended to spend a day or two at Bordeaux, but when he found out that a saloon supplied with a car load of beer was on the grounds, he came home directly. He, like many others, thinks this is insulting the veterans.
Del Wilson has finished building a fence at his residence that he constructed of nights and mornings before and after going to his regular labors.

W.W. Parsons and wife, who left last March for Hastings, returned to Gordon Friday morning. Mr. Parsons will make this his headquarters while he looks after the interests of the New York Life Insurance Co.

On March 4, 1906 a total of 88,000 red men in the Indian Territory will give up tribal rule and become American citizens.

John Gealy has commenced to harvest his crop of gooseberries and expects to have about 50 bushels of them.

N.T. Niles was granted leave of absence for thirty days. He, with Mrs. Niles, left for Omaha Friday morning. They will visit relatives and friends in Kansas before returning.
Frank Worley, who worked in Powell’s Tonsorial parlors during Mr. Powell’s absence, relinquished his job Saturday night, taking the east-bound train. John Wilson now assists during the rush.

According to the Chicago Tribune a partial list of the number dead are reported at midnight, caused by fireworks on July Fourth, is 25 dead, 1,381 injured and $277,800 worth of property destroyed. This shows a decided decrease as compared with last year’s list.

The Danish steamer Norge struck a rock off Rockthall reef Sunday night, sinking within a few hours. 774 persons were on board at the time of the accident, and out of this number only 128 succeeded in escaping a watery grave.

Miss Ethyl Ireland left Tuesday morning for Rushville to attend the Norman Institute for the next four weeks. Miss Ireland graduated from the Gordon High School and expects to enter the list of Sheridan county teachers.

A great game of baseball was pulled off on the afternoon of the Fourth, resulting in the score of 8 to 18 in favor of the Jordan-Parsons team. The lineup was as follows:
John Wilson catcher John Jordan
Rupert Bard pitcher W. Parsons
Chas. Neno 1st base J.S. Saults
E.Woodruff 2nd b. J.E. Owen
G.Cremeens 3rd b Carson Parker
F.P. Mills S.S. C. Beckwith
Gene Brown R F Ed Hutt
Loren Mills C F Roy Crowder
Chas.Selbig L F F.J. Gatley

This game was interesting to both players and spectators. Mr. Bard pitched a fast game up to the 8th inning when hew was relieved by Dr. Cremeens who professionally sent them out to bases in the one, two, three order. It was in this inning that the Jordan-Parsons team bunched its hits effectively. Had it not been that this team had the imported battery, the outcome might have been different. Mr. Griswold umpired the game in plain spoken decisive manner, which met with universal approval.

The Potato Growers Assoc. is now fairly launched and it remains now for the potato growers to come in and take their part in augmenting the success of this organization. Every producer should be interested enough to want the best market and prices for his products. This is the objective of the Potato Growers Association. Stand by and help yourself and the county at the same time.

Grandpa Owen took the Tuesday morning passenger bound for Moor, Mont., where he will reside in the future. We regret his departure and hope he may return before long.
Mrs. Margaret Eaton left Monday morning for a several weeks’ visit to relatives in Indiana. She was accompanied by her little nephew, Walter Borders.

Roy Beckwith and family moved overland to Alliance Thursday. Roy will embark again in the clothing business, having purchased Mr. Fleming’s stock to take possession Aug. 1. We very much regret his removal and hope to find him numbered with us in the future. Clyde Beckwith will move into the residence vacated by his brother, having bought the same.

Parts of the wreck of the Sirius, the first steam vessel to cross the Atlantic, which was lost off Ballycotton, County Cork in Ireland, in 1847, have just been recovered.

An exhaustive report on the General Slocum disaster in New York makes it certain that the death list from the burned steamer will reach 1,000. The report is the follow up of the disaster that took place in New York on June 15th, when the excursion steamer burst into flames and ran full speed down the river while burning. The first estimate of dead was 700, but the number confirmed dead keeps growing. The investigation is on-going.

OBITUARY
Horace B. Smith: Horace B. Smith was born in Vermont, Aug. 24, 1828, and died near Gordon, Nebr. June 10, 1904. He came to New York state with his parents when a small boy, having lived there until 1853, when he went west and settled at Rochelle, Ogle Co., Ill. On Sept. 20, 1854 he was married to Emily Griswold. To this union were born seven sons and two daughters; two boys having died in childhood. All the rest are living. They are: Chas. W. at Gordon; Frank J. at Los Angels, Cal.; Harry C. at Seattle, Wash.; Horace B. at Minneapolis, Minn.; Emma F. at Glidden, Iowa; Bert at Ida Grove, Iowa; and Grace G. at Independence, Colo. In 1879 he moved with his family from Illinois to Glidden, Carroll county, Iowa. In 1896 he came with his wife to live at his son Charles’ home near Gordon. His wife died in March 1898. Since then he has spent a part of the summer in Iowa and the rest of the time here with his son Charles. He also leaves two brothers and one sister, who reside in New York state, besides a host of relatives and friends to mourn his loss.

75 Years Ago - 1929

The City Council Monday night authorized special engineers for the city to proceed with the numbering of each lot and property in the city in order that the city delivery of mail may start very soon. This was required by the post office department before city mail delivery can start. A number of gravel street crossings will also be installed.

On Sunday, July 7th the picnic of the Sheridan county bands will be held at the Tulloss Grove six miles north of Hay Springs. After dinner a concert will be given by the massed bands of all the towns in the county.

At the court house this week, three men were charged with possession of intoxicating liquor; Charles Cronan, Gene Sutton and John Copic, and each man was fined $100. The same fine ($100) was assessed on four men (Jess Cronin, William Finkey, Floyd Veach and Levern Yates) who were charged with the unlawful selling of intoxicating liquor. One man, George Coffey, was sentenced by County Judge Hutton to pay a fine of $500 and serve 30 days in jail for the possession of intoxicating mash for use in the making of intoxicating liquor. And a complaint was filed in county court against Jess Cronan and one Dodge automobile, the charge being unlawful transportation of liquor. On a plea of guilty the defendant was sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and serve 60 days in county jail, and the automobile was confiscated and sold as a common nuisance. The Dodge coupe will be sold by Sheriff Bruce Wednesday, July 10, at 2 p.m.

Homan Bros. in Denby had a valuable saddle horse killed by lightning during the storm last week.

Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Lee of Denby are the parents of a baby girl born June 23rd.
The freighter from the Saults ranch had the misfortune to break a wheel on his wagon on his way home from Gordon to the south hills on Friday. John Haslow, Walter and Harold helped him put on another wheel.

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Auker are the parents of a baby boy born Wednesday, July 3. They are at the Bevie Hummel home.

Many Gordon children have been having a siege of the whooping cough recently. Among those reported are Jane Cloe Massey, Betty Trueblood, George Sweeney, Dorothy and Dwight Griswold and Eugene Heeftle.

Dwight Griswold and Joe Leedom leave the last of this week, the former going to Fort Riley, Kansas and the latter to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, to attend Reserve Officers camps. Both hold commissions as Lieutenant Colonel in the Field Artillery branch.

Paul Johnson returned home Wednesday after taking Mrs. Johnson to Hot Springs to a hospital. The accident which occurred in the Black Hills last week broke her shoulder, rather than her collarbone, as reported, and the doctors now believe that the work done there was not right and the break will have to be re-set. She expects to undergo the operation on Friday of this week.

Mrs. Bessie Kriby and daughter, Evelyn, of Chicago, Ill. are making an indefinite visit at the August Lowe home. They are on their way to Seattle, Washington.

Miss Irene Lowe, a 1929 graduate of Gordon high school, will teach at the Guy Rash school this coming year. Miss Amy Lowe has been quite ill the past week.

50 Years Ago - 1954

Dick Hall, seriously injured at the Merrill ranch rodeo on June 20th, was dismissed from the Rushville hospital last Thursday and taken by ambulance to his Wounded Knee, S.D. home. His injuries included fractured ribs, a punctured lung and multiple facial bruises and abrasions suffered when he was thrown from a saddle bronc, dragged and possibly kicked in the face by the animal before being rescued. Mrs. Hall, who says her husband’s condition is "as good as can be expected", comments that he has made remarkable progress. He will return to the hospital later for further x-rays and examinations. A Dick Hall benefit rodeo is being staged at the C.H. Merrill ranch near Pine Ridge.

Mrs. Leo "Pete McDaniels was rushed to the hospital Wednesday afternoon, suffering from burns which occurred when the gas heater in the basement of her home exploded. According to reports, Mrs. McDaniels had gone to the heater and struck a match and the accumulated gas caused the explosion. Firemen were called to the scene, arriving immediately, and brought the fire under control. Mrs. Nettie Ziegler of Rushville, one of the spectators attracted by the fire alarm, collapsed momentarily and was taken to the hospital also.

Jay Springman arrived last Thursday to spend a two-weeks furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jess Springman. Jay will return to Walters Air Base (situated near Mineral Wells, Tex.) next Wednesday.

A 17-year old youth found electrocuted at Pine Ridge Saturday morning has been identified as Taylor "Buster" Palmer Jr., according to Warfield Richard, special tribal police officer. Palmer was found lying face down in the Dan Clifford yard with a radio aerial across the back of his neck about 9:30 a.m.. There had been a number of severe thunder storms in the vicinity Friday night, Clifford said. Palmer lived at the boarding school where his father is employed as a shoemaker. No one knew why he was in the Clifford yard. Clifford told the investigating officers that he heard someone shouting in his yard about 9 p.m. Friday but did not go out to investigate for fear of being beaten up.

Smith - Slater
Patricia L. Slater, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nelson of Gordon became the bride of Lt. James E. Smith Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Earl Smith Sr., of Gordon on June 23 at Our Savior’s Lutheran church. Following the ceremony a reception for 25 guests was held at the Smith home, after which Lt. and Mrs. Smith left for the west coast. Lt. Smith, who is a member of the Air Force, is stationed at Mather AFB, Calif.
Mr. and Mrs. Joel Waddill of Grovetown, Ga., announce the birth of a daughter, Julie Carol, on July 6.

Major and Mrs. Renalto Bruce and family of Santa Ana, Calif. visited at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Winters over the weekend. They were en route to Washington, D.C., where Major Bruce will be stationed.

Mrs. Lyle Nelson was hostess at a Monday afternoon party June 28, honoring the third birthday of her daughter, Lyla June. Her guests included Cindy Reddy, Stevie and Terri Sanders, Dennis, Randy and Gary Johnson and Sharon Zillinger.

Mr. and Mrs. Don Wilson were hosts at a lawn picnic Monday, June 28, honoring the birthday of Frank Boyles. Other guests included Mrs. Frank Boyles, Mrs. Evan Rounds, Rapid City, and A.F. Boyles, Baltimore, Md.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank DeFrance celebrated their forty-fifth wedding anniversary on Sunday, June 27 with an open house at their home in Gordon. One hundred fifty-four signed the guest book. Mr. DeFrance came to Gordon with his parents when he was 15. They located on Pole Creek, now Lavaca, and he owns a small ranch and farm about two miles from that place. Mrs. DeFrance, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jay Barnett, was born and raised in Gordon. She was married to Frank DeFrance on June 23, 1909 and went to live at the Hord ranch south of Lakeside. One son, Donald, and two daughters, Thelma (Mrs. Ed Herman) and Helen, who died at the age of 14, made up the family circle.

The Higgs family annual reunion was held this year June 20-26 at the Gene Higgs ranch six miles northwest of Hot Springs, S.D. Forty-nine persons were registered from these states: South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oregon and California. The youngest member of the clan to be registered was 11-months old Karen King, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David King of Oregon. The oldest was W.T.M. Higgs, 77, of Omaha. Youngest married couple was Mr. and Mrs. David King, while Mr. and Mrs. W.T.M. Higgs, who were wed 51 years ago, July 2, took seniority honors.

*Mr. and Mrs. Richard Running Bear are the parents of a son, born Jul 2, 1954.
*Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Coon are the parents of a daughter, Christy Arlene, born July 4, 1954.
*Mr. and Mrs. Robert Barth are the parents of a daughter, Carmen Kay, born July 5, 1954.

25 Years Ago - 1979

Saturday, June 2 was the date of the wedding of Miss Cynthia Louise Scheer and Marlan Morris Burki. Parents of the couple are Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Scheer, Papillion and Ms. Ardene Sees of Gordon. Immediately following the ceremony, a reception and dinner were held in the school hall of St. Columbkille’s Catholic church. A dance was held in the hall in the evening. The couple are residing in Gordon until September, when they will move to Chadron for their senior year.

The United Methodist church in Alliance was the setting for the wedding of Miss Vonna Lee Morgan and Tracy Kistler. Parents of the couple are Mr. and Mrs. Veldon Morgan of Ellsworth and Mrs. Ruth Kistler and the late Leo Kistler of Alliance. After a trip to Denver, Colo. and points around Denver, the couple are at home in Ellsworth.

The Kingdom Hall of Gordon was the scene of the recent wedding of Miss Susan Jean Holsinger and T. Jay Foreman. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Derwin Holsinger of Clinton and the groom is the son of Lynn Foreman of McKinnleyville, Calif. and Mrs. Beverly Brooks of Reno, Nev. The couple enjoyed a honeymoon in the Black Hills and are now making their home in Gordon.

June 16th was the date of the wedding of Miss Charlene L. Bakley, daughter of Russell Bakley of Tuthill, S.D. and the late Mrs. Bakley, and Devin Salisbury, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Salisbury, Gordon, which took place in Martin, S.D. The newlyweds are living at 4509 Lafayette Ave, # 10, Omaha.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Coats of Kyle, S.D. announce the engagement of their daughter, Patti to Rex N. Nelson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Archie Nelson of Gordon. The bride-elect is a legal secretary for the Oglala Sioux tribe and her fiance is engaged in farming and ranching. Plans are being made for a July 28th wedding.

The Rev. and Mrs. Jerry Ward and sons, Mrs. Kaye Green and Kimberly, Mr. and Mrs. Morey Bruce and Mr. and Mrs. Jim Wheeler gathered in Chadron for the dedication service of Zachary Wheeler, infant son of the Rev. and Mrs. Harlan Wheeler. A family picnic was held at noon.

Julie Buckles, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Buck Buckles, left Denver June 29 for Mossingen-Belsen, West Germany. She will be making her home for the next year with Mr. and Mrs. Ulrich Sommer and family. Mr. Sommer is the brother of Mrs. Bill Arnot of Merriman.
An open house honoring Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Billeter on their 40th wedding anniversary was an event of June 24th at their home. Boyd Billeter and Gladys Young were married June 24, 1939 at Hot Springs, S.D.

Dr. and Mrs. M.J. Kacere were honored by their children with a surprise 25th wedding anniversary reception and dinner held at the Hacienda Restaurant June 27th.

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