On this date . . .
One hundred twenty two years ago, on March 9, 1904, occurred the greatest disaster in all of Osmond’s history [to that point]. The great fire which destroyed the whole west block of main street happened on that night. The exact cause of the fire has never been determined, but it is known to have started in a drug store in the middle of the block. The equipment of the fire department was small, consisting of an engine and several hoses which threw a very small stream of water. All the available men carried buckets of water and poured them on the east side buildings to keep the flames from spreading. The wind had reached blizzard proportions and sleet and rain was falling. All of the houses in the southeastern part of town were evacuated. Several Osmond pioneers reported that their first thought on seeing the flame-reddened sky was that the day of judgement had come. About 3 a.m. a blizzard set in and for the rest of the morning the air was filled with driving snow.
100 Years Ago. . .
Osmond and McLean artists held the floor at station WJAG in February. Harry Moats and the Volk orchestra of McLean gave some old time music from the Norfolk radio station one Thursday. Then on Sunday afternoon, the Cizek orchestra, composed of Edward Cizek, violinist; James Cizek, trombonist; Joseph Cizek, cornetist, and Emma Cizek, pianist, gave a musical program. Miss Leila Adams furnished a piano selection, and Rev. Dickson gave an address. While Mr. and Mrs. Jess Waddle [Waddell] were outside, their little 4-year-old daughter, Joy, threw about a pint of Kerosene into the stove, causing the stove to explode. Mr. Waddle [Waddell], hearing the explosion, ran in and found Joy badly burned. Many Osmond friends will be pleased to learn that she is recovering nicely.
The new street lights were turned on for the first time Feb. 19, 1926, and lit our town up in fine shape. Bulbs were not on hand for all the lights, but as soon as received, they would be placed in the remaining lights and Osmond would have a dandy street lighting system. The system was installed by the Tri-State Utilities company of Minneapolis, who furnished our electric service, and they had handled the job in fine shape, and were giving excellent service.
Rev. Max Braunersreuther of Immanuel Lutheran Church posted the following notice in the March 4, 1926, issue of the Osmond Republican: On account of impaired health and nervous trouble, I will lay down the office of the ministry and take a trip to Europe. I will sell all my furniture and household goods at a reasonable price. All goods in good condition and up to date. If you wish to buy any article, kindly come to the parsonage and look same over. It will pay you to do so.
It was announced that the Osmond high school basket shooters would go to the state basketball tournament to be held at Lincoln March 11, 12 and 13. Watch this column for the results of Osmond’s 1926 competition in the state tournament.
75 Years Ago. . .
Two separate news articles reported on farewell parties in honor of Mr. Emmett Garvin, a junior high teacher, who was called to the army and would soon be leaving. In "The Tiger's Roar," Mr. Garvin had printed the following: "I have greatly enjoyed teaching in Osmond. I have always found the students cooperative and willing to learn. There have been many ups and downs, but the ups have far outweighed the other. It is with a sense of regret and true loneliness that I leave Osmond. My only wish is that I have done some good." [Wondering what ever happened to the man, but not knowing where he was from, I had a hard time finding anything out. And then, while looking for information about someone else, I was surprised to find Emmett Garvin's name on the list of Osmond deceased veterans read on Memorial Day. I then did a different search and found that Emmett Garvin lived to the ripe old age of 84 and is buried at Dixon.] Vandals hammered to pieces the wood door on the local baseball concession building with the presumed intention to take anything of value inside. The break-in netted nothing. It was one of a very few such attempts in this community in recent months.
The winter bowling season ended at the American Legion Alleys with the Super Five team leading the men's division with 39 wins and 15 losses, while the Alley Cats led the women's division with 41 wins and 19 losses.
65 Years Ago. . .
Frank and Mary Beck, father and daughter, who operated the Beck farm a few miles northwest of Osmond, rated a picture and story on page one of the World-Herald. They were in Omaha where both were delegates to the state Farmers Union convention. Frank Beck had farmed at Osmond since 1915. He admitted that the farm partnership was a little one-sided now. He did the chores while his daughter ran the rest of the farm, alternating corn and oat crops and feeding livestock.
At the Osmond Woman’s Club meeting, Mary Beck gave an interesting and instructive talk on her trip to Austria which she and her father, William Beck, enjoyed in 1957 when they visited their many relatives there. Miss Beck told of the customs and the beliefs about the U.S. of those with whom she came in contact, as well as relating many funny experiences which she had during her stay. She also gave a vivid description of the Iron curtain, which she had photographed.
It was announced that Immanuel Lutheran parish would build a new church here. No details on location, size, cost, etc. were available for publication. The congregation had a church planning committee for several years and during that time both the congregation and the Ladies’ Aid had been gathering funds for the proposed new church. The building committee was composed of eight men besides the pastor: Robert Kumm, Amandus Gutz, Walter Koehler, Walter Lorenz, Elmer Schneckloth, Arthur Koehler, John Kumm and Ben Fuelberth. The frame church had served the parish since 1915.
50 Years Ago. . .
A break-in of the Osmond Drug Store was discovered by owner and pharmacist Robert Beedle. Beedle said he left the store about midnight the night before and found the front door had been pried open when he returned the next day. Tool marks on the front door and frame indicated that some type of pry bar was used to force the door lock. Once inside, the main object of the thief or thieves was apparently drugs. Beedle said that selected counter drugs were removed from the pharmacy counter and it appeared to be those containing some type of stimulant. The entire stock of controlled narcotics was removed from a safe in the office, along with cash, checks a pistol and old coins. The theft was not covered by insurance.
Persons in the area having donated one or more gallons of blood to the American Red Cross received awards from the Pierce County Red Cross blood program chairmen. Osmond individuals receiving pins and certificates were: 5 gallons, Clarence Jensen; 3 gallons, Effie Steckelberg; 2 gallons, Ronald Aschoff and Helen Gansebom; 1 gallon, Robert Beacom, Dwaine Hoffman, Margaret Broekemeier, Harry Petersen, Gerald Petersen, Kenneth Warneke, Leonard Frodyma and Marilyn Folkers. Alva Theisen attended the March city council meeting and asked the council what its intentions were concerning land owned by him and his son, Bob, in the west part of town. He told the council they were willing to do their part in developing the land for additional residential expansion of Osmond, but they wouldn’t expend any money until the city agreed to do its part. He told the council the land was no longer in the city limits as it was vacated in 1897. Mayor J. P. Theisen advised that a request for annexation and to provide sewer service should be submitted to the council and that action would be taken by the council.
25 Years Ago. . .
The John Steckelberg team won the ninth annual Osmond High School alumni basketball tournament. Taking second place was the Jason von Rentzell team. In third place was the Brad Schultze team; fourth, Brian Hoffman team; fifth, 1989; sixth, Jared Wingert; seventh, Matt Jochum, and eighth, Todd Schmuecker. Members of the winning team were John Steckelberg, Chris Johnson, Greg Kumm, Kyle Streich, B. J. Buchanan, Darin Gansebom Dave Gansebom, Jake Luhr and Mike Buchanan.
10 Years Ago. . .
During the past seven days, the statewide average price for unleaded fuel increased 16 cents, to $1.80, five cents higher than the national average. Processed unleaded fuel rose 30 cents a gallon, to $1.30 a gallon. Even with the increase, prices were 55 cents lower than the same time a year earlier and $1.60 a gallon lower than prices reported two years earlier, when unleaded averaged $3.40 a gallon in Nebraska.
