Nov. 4, 1897 —
Now that the election is past, what is the matter with us all joining hands and making a strong pull for the material advancement of the village.
Real estate continues to boom right along and almost daily the land men of this place have home seekers looking up farm lands in this great corn belt.
On and after Nov. 15, 1897, the general stores and post office will close at 8:30 p.m. Every night except Saturday. [signed] E. B. Hirschman, Mitchell & Saunders, B. S. Leedom.
100 Years Ago. . .
Dr. Becker had a fine Irish setter, which he purchased at Atchinson.
Written by the editor of the Osmond Republican: It is reported that one of the fastidious newly-married ladies of this town kneads bread with her gloves on. This incident may be somewhat peculiar, but there are others. The editor of this paper needs bread with his shoes on; he needs bread with his shirt on; he needs bread with his pants on, and unless some of the delinquent subscribers to this “Old Rag of Freedom” pony up before long, he will need bread without a d*#n thing on and Nebraska is no Garden of Eden in the wintertime.
Rev. Matthew Dickson, pastor of the Osmond M. E. church, wrote interesting bits of his early experiences among the Texas cowboys. Rev. Dickson’s life had been full of adventure, and during the world war he volunteered, and served on the front as a buck private in the infantry.
Monday morning, Dec. 28, 1925, the granary on the Henry Moeller farm caught on fire. Henry was thawing out his tractor, which he kept in the driveway of the double corn crib, and the gas tank exploded throwing gasoline all around and setting fire to the corn crib. They soon had the fire under control, and put it
out without serious damage.
75 Years Ago. . .
Every Friday evening was the night set aside for baton twirling practice at the high school for nearly 40 children of school age in this vicinity. The class was being conducted by Joan Rohrberg, OHS junior.
Under The Tiger’s Roar, the second graders were learning the poem, “The Night Before Christmas,” and Larry Hummel treated his classmates to candy bars on his birthday.
The picture of a mangled hand that was what was left of a human hand after its owner, summoning all the strength and courage at his command, pulled it from a mechanical picker, was printed in the paper after considerable reflection by the newspaper. The publisher stated that whose hand it was didn’t matter, what did was that there were hundreds of hands like it as the result of corn picking accidents. It was printed so readers would decide “This won’t happen to me.”
First television sets in Osmond were installed within a week. The first went into operation at Lundstrom Motor Co. It was a Crosley for which Lundstrom had the franchise. The other was at the Wilson Barber Shop and first programs were received that Tuesday. The Wilson set was a Philco, sold by Goeres Gas and Electric. Several sets were in operation on farms in this vicinity where reception was somewhat better due to the absence of frequently passing automobiles.
The Osmond Woman’s Club met in the Methodist church basement for their annual Christmas party. The room was prettily decorated with a tree and colorful table ornaments. The entertainment committee invited the high school pupils and teacher, Mrs. Glaze Reed, to come sing carols, which they did very beautifully. First the girls sang carols, then the boys, and then the girls again, followed by a jolly one by all of them, “Down Through The Chimney. After the songs, the boys and girls enjoyed cake and coffee. The sum of $10 was contributed by club members to the Omaha Good Fellows.
65 Years Ago. . .
Osmond druggist Bob Beedle was presented a plaque by Donald Suedmeier, district executive of the Diamond Dick District, for heading up and conducting the Boy Scout Finance Campaign in Osmond. Osmond raised $129.50 as its part in supporting the Covered Wagon Council in order to have the scouting program in our community.
The hopes for a real white Christmas were dashed several days before the holiday when a warm sun melted the light snow that covered this area previously. A very light snow blew into northeast Nebraska Christmas night, abated for a time, and then increased in intensity the next night. By the next morning, the ground was covered to a depth of about two inches.
St. Joseph Community Hospital announced the following donations: Rubber floor mats by Bob Dowling of Randolph and Lumex walker by a member of the hospital medical staff.
Two brothers, 14-year-old Jim and 8-year-old John Hahn, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Clem Hahn of this place, underwent tonsillectomies at the Norfolk Lutheran Community Hospital on Dec. 27.
Patrons of the rural mail route of McLean held a party at the McLean auditorium in honor of Harley Smith, who had retired after 35 years on the route. There were 93 patrons on the route. Over 100 attended the party.
Playing at the Osmond Theatre on Saturday and Sunday was “Ocean’s 11,” starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford; on Wednesday and Thursday, “Hercules Unchained,” starring Steve Reeves.
50 Years Ago. . .
Dean Kiichler, fishing at Gavins Point below the dam, landed an 87-pound spoonbill. With him at the time were Gary Pfanstiel and Leonard Gerdes. The three were snagging from a boat.
The Osmond concert band and choir were featured on the “Voices of Christmas” on WNAX radio on Dec. 23, 1970. The show was taped the Friday afternoon before, at the high school. Selections were chosen from the annual Christmas program.
Many animals were lost in the blizzard of Nov. 19 and 20, some of which were still missing. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Gutz reported one of their calves alive after having spent 24 days in the drift. The calf was found near the creek on the Cliff Huwaldt farm on Dec. 13 by Dallas Gansebom while he was hunting. The Gutzes reported that apparently what saved the calf was some brush it was able to get to from which it ate the bark.
American Legion Post 326 sponsored a New Year’s Eve party and dance on Dec. 31 at the city auditorium, featuring Nancy Timperley and Her Music. It included favors, noise makers and lunch by the Jaycees. Admission was by reservation only, with tickets on sale at Harold’s Bar and Thomsen’s Corner. Admission was $2.50 ($2.44 plus 6¢ tax).
25 Years Ago. . .
Winning first place in the Christmas lighting contest were: religious,Jim and Margaret Broekemeier; overall, Gary and Pam Schieffer; rural, Duane and Annette Gubbels family.
The Ladies’Auxiliary to VFW Post 7838 sponsored a Young American Patriotic Art Contest. Participating were students in grades nine through 12. Winners were seniors Ryan Friedrich, first place; Dan Gershon, second place, and Charles Sazama, third place.
10 Years Ago. . .
Law enforcement officials were busy searching for a man who robbed the Osmond Pharmacy. Osmond Police Chief Gary Umberger said a black male entered the pharmacy and demanded drugs. After obtaining them, the man left the pharmacy through the back door. The pharmacy remained closed after the incident.
