8.31.22

1871Fairbury expected to get mail daily soon, as the new railroad had been built as far as Hanover, with which this village had stage connections.Judges and clerks of election were allowed $2 per day. On account of the new fad, baseball, which was becoming all the rage, an item in the Gazette said two factories in the East were using the hides of 2,000 horses making "envelopes" for baseballs.1881A decision of the Nebraska supreme court fixed the status of unenclosed prairie land, declaring it to be the property of the owner. Previously there was a settler's theory that it belonged to whomever got there first, so far as hay and pasture was concerned.The Otoe Indians in this county, on the reservation near where Diller now stands, were being removed to the Indian territory and the land was being offered for sale, the money to go to the Indians.Baptist Sunday school was organized at Endicott by Rev. Mark Noble.It was reported that 75 acres of corn on the Baker farm adjoining Fairbury would make 50 bushels to the acre in spite of hail and drought.Mr. Squires of Kearney bought the Alex Benedict farm on Rose Creek south of Fairbury for $3,000 and moved onto it.1891The opening of the Rock Island main line from Omaha through Lincoln to Fairbury made Fairbury an actual Nebraska town. Heretofore most of the outside business had been with St. Joe because of railway facilities in that direction.There was a complaint at Gladstone that there were no trains, only the passenger morning and evening and a few freights during the day.Rees, Ed and John Mendenhall shipped 201 head of fat steers to Chicago, which averaged 1,450 pounds each. No baby beef.Raising broom corn was something of an industry hereabouts. It was claimed that it would produce a third of a ton to the acre worth $75 to $100 a ton.J.D. Bower, a Jefferson County teacher, claimed it took more posts to fence an acre of rolling ground than an acre of level ground.Local Germans held a big picnic in Baker's grove west of Fairbury.1902The county jail was full.A three weeks' drought ending in a 102-degree day with south winds was broken by three weeks of rainfall.1912Mayor Frank Tincher appointed Robert Dodge chief of police in place of C. Cooper, who died unexpectedly. Professor Coates arrived from South Dakota to become Fairbury band director."Street crossings" were authorized by the city council. It is expected that they will be cement walks to be located at Third at A, Fourth at M, and at Charles, Ninth at H, Vine at Lindell, 10th at E and G, and 11th at E and H. Ray Hinsaw sold his interest in the Fairbury News to Mrs. McPeters. Good choice beef was worth $9.50 to $10.35 on Omaha market. Hogs went for $8.10 to $8.25.1922A bus was operating between Beatrice and Fairbury.Bottled milk price in Fairbury was 6 cents a quart.L.J. Nutzman sold his cigar factory, which he had owned for nearly 35 years. Since his election as county judge eight years earlier, it had been operated by his sons. Fairburians F. R. Orter, O.A. Otten and John Willard, the latter an employee of the Robinson Ice Cream Plant, had secured a patent for making brick ice cream with fancy designs.Fairbury School Board elected Walter E. Scott as the new superintendent. He had formerly been principal at the Fairbury Schools.1932The new race track was used for the first time at the Jefferson County Fair. Races were held last the previous year for the first time and proved to be really popular; based on this a new race track was built. The biggest planned feature for the fair was Miller's Famous Horse Show and Rodeo. He brought a company of 12 performers and 24 horses.Tests were in progress at the city light plant to determine advantages of burning natural gas versus fuel oil. A new lower cost oil was being tried which cost $1.08 a barrel. The normal cost of oil was $1.28. There was also a plan to test out Kansas coal.R.R., the pet alligator at the firehouse fountain, received its monthly feed of liver. R.R.'s owner said that he wouldn’t need to be fed for another month.The first Chamber of Commerce meeting was held with 37 businesses in attendance. Meeting was called to order by Pres. Char. R. Moon. Emphasis was put on the need to repair the PWF between Fairbury and Diller. It was pointed out that although it was built to be a gravel highway through an excellent cooperative effort. It however had not been properly maintained.The ordinance of dropping certain city employee wages was passed. Employees doing hazardous work were cut more than any other employees.Autumn athletics were in full swing. Coach A.L. Biehn had 25 players on the first squad with nine lettermen returning.1942A heavy rain visited this part of the region, dropping between two and half to three and three quarters inches of rain. The rain was slow enough to do little to no damage to the creeks. The late corn crops were thought to be helped.Peanut butter, fine spread is 35 cents for 2 lbs; Cheese, brick or American is 57 cents for a 2 lb box; watermelon is 1 and three quarters for a pound; Ice Cream is 16 cents a pint; apple butter is 17 cents for a 2 lb. jar; sugar for canning is 6 and half cents a lb; and straw brooms were 27 cents each. arm machinery and livestock sold unusually well at the Opal Zabel's sale. A 1939 tractor brought $600, hay loader sold for $180. Cattle sold as high as $110 and bucket calves for $75 each.Thirty WPA workmen began stripping sod from the surveyed ground for a runway at the new Beatrice airport. Most of work was expected to be completed by hand.1952The oldest resident of Jefferson County who registered at the county fair in 1952 was Oren F. Helvey, born 85 years earlier in a log cabin in Jefferson County.A new Fairbury ordinance annexed the swimming pool site and made it part of City Park.Retired Fairbury Circus Man, Virgil Campbell revisited some old memories and faces when he visited the movie theater to see "The Greatest Show on Earth." He told the paper that aerial acts in the movie were the best on the road and he felt that actor Charlton Heston's performance as a circus boss was very natural. Some of Campbell's old friends who appeared in the movie were Emmett Kelley, the hobo clown, Merle Evans the bandmaster (who was born in Kansas and later worked for Ringling), Otto Griebling a clown who used to work for the Cole circus and Felix Adler.A completely redecorated Youth Center will open this Friday for the youngsters after a short close-down for repairs. Kiwanians had the youth center painted professionally to avoid damaging the nearly new floor the Lions had already installed.1962The John Aasens and son-in-law and daughter Warren and Anna Margaret Sahs, returned from three weeks in Denmark and Norway, having visited Mr. Aasen's brother and family at the ancestral home in Roros, Norway. The Sahses were returning from a year at New Delhi, India.The first Pioneer Farm Award ever given in Jefferson County was presented to Glenn and Verda Powell. It was presented at the county fair by the Knights of the Ak-Sar-Ben. Clarence Henkel of Gladstone who presented the award on behalf of the Ak-Sar-Ben ambassador, Luther Bonham, honored the Powells for 100 years of continued ownership of their family farm near Powell.1972Records of Fairbury American Legion Junior baseball pitchers for the 1972 season: Kim Austen, 4-0, Steve Gasper 6-4, Randy Haskell 6-3, and Bob Parks 4-0. Top hitters were John Elgert, Tony Muller and Roger Stewart.1982Community development block grants for area towns included Alexandria, $33,690 for street improvements; Ohiowa, $261, 683-housing rehabilitation; Reynolds $150,621-housing rehabilitation, and a community center; and Steele City, $208,000-sanitary sewer system improvements.A check of the condition of K Street between Fourth and Fifth showed a concrete base thickness of only five inches; state officials called for eight inches.Work had begun on the interior of the new community building at Diller. Exterior facing of the front included bricks from the original city hall.Patrons of the Gladstone Post Office and Gladstone Rural Route met September 1 with post office officials to discuss the closing of the post office. There was discussion of the post office becoming an independent station.Ed H. Kujath of Fairbury was among the honorees at the ninth annual meeting of the National Kidney Foundation of Nebraska. He was named the recipient of an outstanding service award in recognition of his leadership and achievement in support of organ donation. Kujath was among those organizing the Foundation's Twin Rivers Chapter.1992Sen. George Coordsen of Gilead, speaking to Fairbury Rotarian on the condition of state economics said, "One barrel of the `double-barreled mess' that Nebraska state is in can be opened, but the other one is full of mud and if it isn't cleared, quite an explosion could result."Rod Schoenrock was named as Jefferson County's newest director for civil defense.Lewis D. Hollaway, retired chief of police in Fairbury, died at the age of 87.The Rev. Paul Reedy was the new minister at the Assembly of God Church, coming to Fairbury from Omaha after the church was left without a pastor when the Rev. Daryl Lewis was killed in a motorcycle-vehicle accident the previous summer.Claude and Eulalie Wiegers of Alexandria celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

8.31.22

Willard L. Engelman

Related Articles

Looking Back

Looking Back 3.6.24

Looking Back

Looking Back 12.27.23