Sept. 9, 1897 —
Fire! Fire!! was the cry that reverberated on the air this morning, and all hands turned out to witness Osmond’s first conflagration. The fire proved to be in the barn on Otto Brugeman’s lots occupied by Mrs. S. E. Smith, in the southwest part of the village. The fire caught in the hay mow in some mysterious manner, supposed to have been set by tramps who slept in the barn. The building was worth about $250 and we are unable to say at this time whether or not there is any insurance.
100 Years Ago. . .
The little son of Mr. and Mrs. Hans Petersen [it would have been Byron Petersen, age 2 at the time] met with a severe accident, being badly burned when he threw a can containing some kerosene, on the fire. It was reported that he was getting along nicely.
Gus Blunck was badly burned on the face. The fire in the heater at his home was not burning properly and Gus dipped a cob in kerosene and threw it in the stove. He waited a few minutes and as the fire did not start, opened the stove at the top,
and looked in. The flames blazed up with terrific force and burned Gus very badly on the face, scorching the skin and burning his whiskers. He was laid up for a week, unable to do anything, but it was reported that he was getting along fine. When the fire blazed up, the force of the explosion was so great that it blew soot all over the room and knocked a stovepipe in the other room down.
Hans Petersen was laid up with a bad case of blood poison in the right hand, but the newspaper was glad to report that he was rapidly recovering.
Bustin’ through” was the name of the show at the Osmond auditorium, with Jack Hoxie the star. Coming attractions at the Osmond auditorium were: Nov. 20 and 21, Reginald Denny in "California Straight Ahead;” Nov. 26, “Norman Kerry and Patsy Ruth Miller in “Lorraine of the Lions;” Nov. 28, Hoot Gibson in “Spook Ranch.”
75 Years Ago. . .
The Village of Osmond, through its village board, approved the request of Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Company to grant that firm a 25-year non-exclusive natural gas distribution
franchise at Osmond.
Schmitz Hardware was having an Out of Business sale. The sales
included: Ashland box springs, full size, $26.95; Hupp hog waterers,
$45.95; milk or juice pitchers, 19¢;
husking gloves, 29¢; deep freeze, $199.75; Tappan Deluxe bottle gas range, $209.95; roller skates [the metal ones you strapped onto your shoes], $2.95; self-adjusting vacuum cleaners, $36.95.
A number of local people were in attendance on various day at the "Ice Skating Follies of 1950” presented at Ak-Sar-Ben coliseum at Omaha.
Tucked away under the sweat pad of a not-so-old “sailor” straw hat was the story of a changing era — a time when the things we must buy had skyrocketed. The hat came out of the Ervin Fuerhoff attic. It was one he bought and wore only 11 years before. He loaned it to his nephew, Dennis Clayton, for a masquerade on Halloween night. Under the sweat band was a double page of the Sioux City Journal, put there to afford a better fit to the wearer in the '39 days.
The grocery ads in the yellowing pages of the paper, if printed in 1950, were enough to send a horde of bargain seekers to the grocery and butcher shops.
Due to several other conflicting events, attendance at “ Musical Memories,” presented by the OHS music department at the city hall, was small. The program reflected music from three eras in the past — the Gay Nineties, the Twenties, and the Frimi and Romberg age. A novelty skit transformed the stage into an old-fashioned school room. Ronald Bowling served as teacher. During the skit, the group sang “School Days” and other songs.
65 Years Ago. . .
Frank Goeres suffered a shattered second finger on the left hand when his hand was struck by the blower shaft on a corn picker. Mr. Goeres was picking corn with John Borgmann and was brought to St. Joseph Hospital where he remained for two days. Doctors believed the finger could be saved and full use eventually restored.
Corn was beginning to spill over the ricks and cribs in northeast Nebraska. One didn’t have to travel far beyond the Osmond city limits to see a bumper corn crop being harvested. In spite of crop controls, the crop was forecast to be the largest in the state’s history — 368,628,000 bushels, said the Department of Agriculture. This figured something like 52 bushels per acre.
The Osmond youth canteen, which opened its doors for the second time in the 1960 school season, now had a full list of acting officials. Selected for the presidency of the group was Violet Reed. Vice president, secretary and treasurer were Jim Hoffman, Ric Adkins and Jerry Koehler, respectively. Other offices filled were those of youth canteen councilmen, Pat Squire, Dennis Fleming, Charles Timmer, Gloria Liewer, Cheryl von Rentzell and Dale Steckelberg.
The Osmond Community Club was the new sponsor of the Cub Scout Pack in Osmond. Arthur Koehler, the president of the club, assumed the responsibility as Institutional Representative of the pack for the club. Cubmaster was Lawrence Graham and Lowell Koehn was assistant Cubmaster.
50 Years Ago. . .
Osmond Tigerettes clinched the C-7 District championship by downing a very stubborn Battle Creek team by scores of 15-12, 6-15, 15-12.. High scorers for Osmond were Karen Armstrong, Rose Clayton, Anita Gloe, Julene Kumm and Kris Gutz. Madison, defending Class "C" state champions proved to be a handful for Osmond as Madison beat the Tigerettes by scores of 15-9 and 15-7. The Tigerettes closed the 1975 season with a fine 19-6 record.
The first accumulation of snow
was observed in the Osmond vicin- ity. Drizzle, sleet and snow, driven by strong northwest winds made for icy conditions on the streets and sidewalks. With the snow came much cooler temperatures, down in the 20s during the night and in the low 40s during the day.
Equipment and supplies valued at several hundred dollars were stolen from the Wesley Kumm farm. The property was stolen from a bin site and cattle feeding area located about one-quarter mile north of the Kumm farm. Some of the items taken included: about 400 pounds of mineral, insecticides, herbicides, extension cords, electric fencer, lawn mower and a 12-foot auger. Two electric motors were removed from drying bins and a hydraulic cylinder from a disc parked there.
25 Years Ago. . .
During the Veterans Day program in 2000, a special presentation took place. Three Osmond World War II veterans who elected to serve their country in time of need — foregoing a high school diploma in their youth — were presented diplomas. Those who received diplomas that day were Norbert Gubbels and LeRoy Poellot. Also awarded a diploma was Raymond Krohn, who was not on hand for the presentation.
10 Years Ago. . .
Winning the 2015 Voice of Democracy essay contest, which had the theme, “My Vision For America,” was Tyler von Rentzell. Second-place honors went to Hannah Gutz, and third
place went to Tyler Reikofski.
Caleb Krohn was awarded the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts offers, the Eagle Scout Award. For his Eagle Scout project, he planned, organized and supervised the repair and painting of the Poolside Park picnic tables and replacing landscaping wood chips at both parks.
