From the Osmond Republican Files
Oct. 10, 1895. . .
C. W. Scott, who recently sold his valuable farm south of town, informs us that he thinks some of locating in Tennessee, where he can enjoy the society of the tarantula in his native simplicity and feast on hoe cake and possum to his heart’s content. We should regret to see this family leave our community, and trust that prosperity will smile on them wherever they may cast their lot.
Wanted: Several hundred bushels of good milling wheat for which we will pay the highest market price. — Osmond Roller Mills 100 Years Ago. . .
Anyone wishing to learn shorthand and typewriting and the usual business subjects now had a splendid opportunity, as Mrs. Hawksworth, who formerly taught these subjects in the Lincoln Business College, had started a class in Osmond. Mr. and Mrs. Hawksworth had rooms in the D. A. Senift house.
Mrs. Emil Broekemeier underwent an operation at her home for appendicitis, the same being performed by Dr. Sibley of Sioux City. The operation was a most serious one, as the appendix had burst, but Mrs. Broekemeier was recovering satisfactorily.
Andy Gregersen was nursing a sore finger as the result of getting it caught in the self-starter chain on his car.
The L. E. Eirenberg store was holding a flour-guessing contest. They had 11 prizes to be given away, and all were on display at the east window of the store. They had to take a look and guess how much the big sack of Omar flour weighed. It was later announced that, before a big crowd, the big sack of flour at the Eirinberg store was weighed and given to the one who guessed the closest. A pair of scales was placed in the window and it was found that the exact weight was 323 lbs. and 2 ounces. W. H. Robinson was the winner, his guess being 323¼ lbs.
75 Years Ago. . .
The eight high students of the senior class of the Osmond High School were announced by Superintendent L. E. Nelson. These students constituted the top fourth of the class and were eligible to take the regents examination for the scholarship to the University of Nebraska. The eight students were Phyllis Broekemeier, Shirley Fuelberth, Larry Galvin, Norman Lorenz, Leo Schmit, Charlotte Schuttler, Leonald Warneke and Dorothy Wegner.
Operation Snowbound was over but some roads were still blocked by snow. Nearly a dozen neighbors of the John Hoestje family four miles northeast of Osmond found that out as they fought snow with tractor and hand equipment for three hours to get Mrs. Hoestje to St. Joseph Hospital. Mrs. Hoestje underwent an appendectomy two weeks before and a case of pleurisy had developed. From the Hoestje place, the rescue crew went three fourths of a mile south. From that point both west and south, any vehicle would become hopelessly bogged down in mud, so the snow-clogged road to the east was chosen. After the mile of snow, the party was on highway No. 81 (at that time three miles east of town) and hard surface to Osmond.
Basketball fans for years had admired the record of the McLean High School basketball team. In 1949, that team came through to win the District Class D championship. The Wildcats defeated St. Frances of Randolph 39 to 26 in the finals played before a packed house at Hartington. Carl Johnson, 6-foot 3-inch McLean center, scored 22 points in the finals game. Wildcat regulars included Dangberg, Smith, C. Johnson, Korth and Koehler.
65 Years Ago. . .
The sophomores of OHS won the high school basketball tournament conducted here at the auditorium.
In the first round, the juniors defeated the freshmen 50 to 31. The seniors forfeited their game to the sophomores. The 10th graders won the finals 54-31. Charles Timmer and Junior Bowling were high scorers for the winners with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Jim Brummond and Dwaine Francis had eight points each for the juniors.
What did the women of this area think of school redistricting in the Osmond area? This newspaper asked some of them — those who made a special bus trip to inspect a redistricted school. Many of them responded, and their letters were printed in the Osmond Republican.
Golter ’s Store had Brach’s chocolate drops for 29¢ per lb.; 4-lb. pkg. Georgie Porgie popcorn, 45¢; 2-lb. pkg. Krispy crackers, 49¢; ladies’ nylons, seamless or with seam, 2 pair for $1.09; bleached, unhemmed, good quality tea towels, 4 for 89¢; men’s white handkerchiefs, 4 for 39¢.
Basketball letter winners announced by Coach Lowell Koehn in 1959 were Charles Timmer, Stanley Kumm, Junior Bowling, Jim Brummond, Darrel Steckelberg, Clifford Dredge, Dwaine Francis, David Clayton, Clarence Jensen, Jim Hoffman. The team elected Brummond and Francis honorary co-captains for the 1958-59 season.
50 Years Ago. . .
The response in filing for city councilmen for Osmond was less than overwhelming. There was a requirement to elect a councilman for both the east and west wards. The terms of Henry Schmit, councilman for the East Ward, and Merlyn Kuhl, councilman for the West Ward, expired at the end of the term in 1974. When contacted, Mr. Schmit stated he was still considering his decision to run for reelection, and Mr. Kuhl advised that he had no intentions of seeking reelection. As of two days before the filing deadline, there were no filings for the councilman positions. Three positions of the District 42R school board would expire that year and again, the response had not been great. Of the three incumbent board members whose terms expired, Jim Stratton had said he wouldn’t seek reelection.
25 Years Ago. . .
Osmond finished the regular season conference play with a perfect 7-0 mark and the conference championship. The Tigers completed their conference play with wins over Winside 64-53 and Wausa 64-56.
Schuettler’s Grocery was having a giveaway of a car load of groceries, including the car to haul it home in. They filled Kevan's '86 Mercury wagon with merchandise from Schuettler’s Grocery and were giving the whole thing away. “Now we admit, the car isn’t pretty, but it has a rebuilt engine, good tires, brakes, some gas and an awful lot of groceries.” Customers had to guess how many pieces of merchandise were in the car, total weight of the merchandise and car, total dollar value of the merchandise. Second and third prizes were $50 and $25 gift certificates, respectively. Winners of the car and groceries were Del and Tiffany Johnson, Bryce, Benjamin and Brock.
10 Years Ago. . .
Area residents were promised a return to “real” winter as Winter Storm Titan made its way across the country from the west coast. And they weren’t disappointed. Snow began falling and, when all settled, an estimated three to four inches accumulated with little wind to drift the snow. The mercury then plunged to the mid-teens below with wind chills of -30.
