Aug. 5, 1897 —
On the 17th, 18th and 19th occurs the semi-annual meeting of the district conference at this place. We advise our friends to procure new locks for the poultry yards as upwards of 40 ministers will be in attendance.
R. W Pritchard of Spirit Lake, IA, representing the Nebraska and Iowa Telephone Co., was in the village soliciting subscriptions with a view of putting in a line for Osmond. It would be a source of great convenience to our people.
100 Years Ago. . .
Playing at the Osmond auditorium on Saturday night, “The Spirit of The U.S.A.,” a big seven-reel special full of comedy and thrills, a great big action picture with Johnny Walker and Mary Carr. The Victory Theatre in Rossiter, PA, said of this picture, “The best picture I ever ran. Story and play wonderful.”
While coming up from Norfolk to attend the family reunion at the Gerhardt Gregersen home in Foster, Bert Thomsen and wife and Albert Gregersen Sr. and wife of Norfolk were in an auto wreck, their Buick going into the ditch, when it skidded on the loose gravel. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the car was not injured.
Chas. Rohrberg said that corn would make a good crop around Osmond, judging from the yields on his farms around Osmond, which he said ought to be a good indication. The previous year, he had but half as many hogs as in 1925, and did not raise enough corn for feed, while this year with twice the hogs, he expected to raise enough corn for all of them.
James Cizek, while stacking hay on the Cizek ranch south of Plainview, was hit on the back of the neck by a load of hay from the stacker, and knocked from the top of the stack, lighting on his hands, and injuring the right forearm severely. An x-ray examination showed that it was not a break, but that the bones in the forearm were spread and it was really worse and more painful than a break.
Carl Kiichler was busy cutting the cockleburs out on his home farm, having a crew of nine at work with the hoes, and was making a cleaning of the pests.
75 Years Ago. . .
“Close the door, keep the mosquitos out,” said the household boss. “I can’t,” said little Johnny, “the door won’t shut.” Sticking doors and mosquitos were common problems around Osmond and many other parts of the Midwest that summer (1950). Both, of course, were the result of unprecedented July and August rains with resultant high humidity and numerous hatching places for the mosquito pests. What to do? For the mosquitos, swat ’em, spray ’em, oil the water holes. For the doors: Don’t plane ’em; they’ll shrink again.
Gerald and Jerry Koehler, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Koehler, and Jackie Edwards, son of Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Edwards, wandered away from home about 2 o’clock one Friday afternoon. After an unsuccessful hunt by parents and close friends, the Osmond Volunteer Fire Department was called to the search about 7 p.m. The trio was found “camping” in a ditch on Highway 20 just east of Breslau, about 4 miles west of Osmond at 8:30 p.m.
Ed Brummond, who lived in Osmond and farmed land belonging to Walter Abler east of town, reported the theft of harvester parts from the field. Latest to be taken was a motor costing in the neighborhood of $150 to replace.
Advertisement in the Aug. 16, 1950, Osmond Republican: One Grand Big Night of Fun! Donkey Baseball under the lights at Osmond Thursday, Aug. 17. A circus of fun and laughter as home town players and businessmen ride the donkeys! Admission 60¢ and 30¢.
65 Years Ago. . .
Osmond’s streets, virtually all of them, said Mayor Casper Theisen, would receive a coating of petroleum asphalt, more commonly known as a top coat, in a major street improvement program being carried out. The job would be the most thorough since the original oil coating of a number of years before. Two tank cars of the oil material, 1,700 gallons, arrived here by rail.
Many residents of the Osmond area had seen a satellite with the naked eye for the first time since the launching of Echo 1, a sky inflated, 10-story high balloon orbiting approximately 1,000 miles above the earth.
Ever go to a football game and found that you didn’t understand all the plays, the penalties, the formations, the rules, or the counting system? Many people said they would like to know more about these things, so the local football coaches did something about it. On Aug. 26, 1960, in the auditorium, the coaches explained various aspects of the game. To top off the evening, the high school squad went to the scrimmage field immediately after the indoor explanation to demonstrate on the
field. The Community Club served free coffee and doughnuts at the field.
The 1960 reunion of the Fuelberth clan was held at the city park in Page. The 128 relatives and two guests came from Hartington, Stuart, O’Neill, Inman, Osmond, Plainview, Crofton, Corning, IA, Omaha, Tekamah, Wayne and Scotia, NY. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Hansen and two children came the greatest distance, They live in Scotia. A four generation group was also present with George Fuelberth of Hartington the oldest member present and his great-granddaughter Janice Johnson, the youngest.
50 Years Ago. . .
Lowell Wiese was seriously injured in a car-pickup crash. The collision occurred at the intersection of Highway 121 and the county road about one-third mile south of Highway 20. Wiese was traveling north when his car collided with a pickup driven by Russ Bahr, who was driving east. The Wiese car left the roadway and came to rest on its top with Wiese inside. Bahr and Tom Arehart, his brotherin- law, were reportedly thrown out of the pickup. All three were taken to Osmond General Hospital. Wiese was transferred to St. Luke’s Hospital in Sioux City and underwent surgery for removal of a ruptured spleen. Other injuries included a broken leg, dislocated shoulder, facial lacerations and severe bruises. The manner in which the driver’s side of the car was crushed left many wondering how a fatality had not occurred. A post between the windshield and the door appeared to be a factor in keeping the top from flattening completely.
The Eastern Nebraska Telephone Company was inundated by reports of non-working phones in the Osmond area one morning. When Marion Geneski and Ken Mowery began checking, they found a large cable, which services the east side of the city and the southeast portion of the rural exchange, badly damaged. The cable, which ran east of the hospital, was almost severed. Only two pair of the 100 cables remained intact. The cable was apparently nearly blown in two by a shotgun blast. The two believed that someone was out to scare away the starlings which plagued that area.
25 Years Ago. . .
Hank and Carolyn Schmit were named Osmond Outstanding Citizens during the 2000 Summerfest celebration. The Schmits were honored during the barbecue at Poolside Park.
Throughout the day on Summerfest 2000, a “goat master” with a black goat in tow on a rope made their way through the crowd. Those not wearing a Summerfest T-shirt had the option of buying one or tending the goat. Among the goat masters were Debbie Taylor, Luella Hodson and Deb Schmit.
10 Years Ago. . .
The final event of the 2015 Q125 observance took place when the large time capsule of memories of the celebration was buried. Those who had prepared envelopes for the time capsule were guests of a potluck supper at Poolside Park. The location was the same spot the 1990 centennial time capsule had been buried. The 1990 mayor, Dennis Hoffman, and the 2015 mayor, James Bessmer, took turns adding shovels of dirt to cover the time capsule..
