Through the Years Benkelman Post and News Chronicle Week of Jan 15, 2025
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100 Years Ago
The Benkelman Post & News Chronicle
Vol. 9; January 19, 1924; No. 32
Kids Say It’s Great
The steep hill east of the school house is providing a suitable background for coasting parties these evenings and many Benkelman folks are taking advantage of its opportunity for speedy coasting. The kids are there in great numbers and some who are not so young, help swell the crowd. J.F. Haskin has been on the job and showed the younger generation how to do the thing “la bellie-buster” in a way that gave them a real thrill. He convinced the younger generation that some time during his life he had lived where there were steep hills, coaster sleds and snow aplenty. But there were others of the old school who demonstrated a knowledge of the coaster sport and furnished real thrills. The kids say it’s great.
Call Him Mr. “O”; He Says It’s Right
– Tuesday’s Lincoln Star
State Representative Dan L. Ough of Benkelman is a new member of the legislature who won a position of influence right at the start by being chosen as a member of the house committee on committees. Attention having thereby been attracted to him, his fellow members began to speculate on how to pronounce his name.
“I’d think from the spelling that the last two letters are silent and the first two are pronounced like “oo” ” ventured one of them.
“No, that can’t be right, said another. “I’ll bet it ‘uhff’, just the way a pig grunts.”
“Maybe it’s ‘ow’” contributed a third.
“None of those sound reasonable to me,” suggested still another. “What’s the matter with ‘off’?”
“They’re all wrong,” declared the representative from Dundy County, when somebody asked him about his name. “Just drop the last three letters and call it ‘o’ – the long sound.”
So it will be “Mr. O.” from this time on.
There is a town in Dundy County with the same name, indicating that the Benkelman solon, or some of his kin is well thought of at home.
Rabbit Hunt Is On
Despite the fact that snow was falling and the atmosphere was chilled following a night of zero temperature, hundreds of persons left town early Thursday morning in the direction of many corn fields in quest of Mr. Jackrabbit who has so prominently come into the lime light since the big snow and has apparently moved his domicile in the more productive cornfields where he is most conspicuous because of his numbers and the destruction he is bringing about through his consumption of good corn. Bombardment was discernable from many directions indicating that the hunt was on in real earnest. Reports from the county indicate that a very large percent of the men in the county are in the field. It should result in the elimination of many jack rabbits. It will probably be impossible to check up exactly on the number slaughtered, however, because of the fact that the original intention of shipping the animals has been abandoned due to the almost impossible task of getting them to shipping points because of the roads.
75 Years Ago
The Benkelman Post & News Chronicle
Vol. 56; January 13, 1950; No. 39
Takes Over Youngson Cafe
Harold Knoles is the new proprietor of the Youngson station cafe, which for the past ten years has been known as Pauline’s Cafe. The sale of the business to Knoles by Mrs. Pauline Meek was completed on Monday.
Mrs. Meek sold the business at Youngson’s to devote all her time to the management of the new Pauline’s Cafe on Chief Street. And while the sale puts Knoles in a different capacity, it didn’t change his location much for he has been associated in the management of the Youngson Oil Company for several years.
The cafe will be operated under the name Knoly’s Cafe, a contraction of the name Knoles, and is pronounced ‘Noleys’s’. It comes from a popular acceptance of Harold’s name which has been more his name than Harold among his hundreds of friends in this territory.
The cafe will continue on the 24-hour a day schedule with regular meals being served during the day. “I couldn’t throw away the key,” Knoly said, “because there wasn’t any key to the place.”
Suit Filed Against
Hester Foundations
Vinton P. Hester, the sole surviving heir of the late Elmer E. Hester, has filed a petition in the District Court of Dundy County, asking that the court award him title to all the real estate and personal property now held by the Sarah Ann Hester Foundation, the Elmer E. Hester Foundation and the Elmer E. Hester estate. The case was filed in District Court on Friday of last week.
The case is based on an alledged violation of an oral contract between the late Elmer E. Hester and Hector Piedalue, father of Vinton P. Hester, in which Mr. Hester is alleged to have agreed to leave his adopted son a child’s share in his estate.
The petition sets out that in 1917 Vinton P. Hester was born to Hector and Nellie Piedalue and two weeks thereafter, Mrs. Piedalue passed away. At that time the plaintiff, Vinton P. Hester, was taken into the home of Elmer E. Hester and Minnie B. Hester, the latter being a sister of Mrs. Nellie Piedalue. On April 29, 1929, an oral agreement was made between Mr. Piedalue and Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Hester, that in consideration of the relinquishment to them by Hector Piedalue, of his parental rights over said child in regular adoption proceedings in Dundy County, that upon the death of both or either Mr. or Mrs. Hester, that they would leave to the adopted child a child’s share in their respective estates. “And in reliance upon said promise Mr. Piedalue did formerly and in writing relinquish his parental rights and did consent to his adoption by the Hesters.”
It was further stated that on May 19, 1943, Minnie B. Hester passed away and that property in the value of $25,000 was held in her estate and that in the division of that property Vinton P. Hester received $2,000. The petition further states that on September 7, 1944, the Sarah Ann Hester Foundation was formed and on December 29, 1947 the Elmer E. Hester Foundation was formed. Mr. Hester passed away on September 8, 1949 and in his will he provided that Vinton P. Hester was to receive no consideration from his estate.
50 Years Ago
The Benkelman Post & News Chronicle
Vol. 80; January 16, 1975; No. 9
Suffers Severe Frostbite
Lonnie H. Davis, 78, narrowly escaped death by exposure near his home in the early hours of Friday morning. His rescue took place after he had been discovered by Mrs. Bob Sander, who observed him while en route to the hospital where she is employed. He was admitted into the hospital a short time later in an unconscious condition suffering from severe frostbite.
Mr. Davis had fallen while en route to his home, a half-block east of Highway 61 in northeast Benkelman. He was en route home from the Veterans Hospital in Denver and had asked the bus driver to let him out near his home. After his fall he was unable to regain his footing on the icy surface and had lain in the cold from about 5:30 o’clock until about eight o’clock. The wind chill at that time was estimated at 20 degrees below zero.
Mr. Davis has been a resident of this community for some 30 years and is highly regarded by several farmers for whom he has been employed for many years. He is a veteran of World War II. When he retired he constructed his home in northeast Benkelman which has been his place of residence for many years.
The frostbite damage was sever to his hands, ears, and feet and he is under intensive care at the Dundy County Hospital.
Wins Prize in Welding
The excellence of a welding project of Richard F. Parman, a Benkelman High School Industrial Arts student, merited a prize in the James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation competition. Richard’s entry in the national competition was a hydraulic press for which he was awarded a $25 regional prize. His instructor was Eldon Roesener.
Misses Blizzard
It may be a good weather year for Dundy County. It has started out that way – we missed the big blizzard of January 10th, the one that ranks with the biggies in eastern Nebraska.
The cold arctic front which swept through Dundy County on Thursday and Friday morning left enough winter in Dundy County to satisfy the natives – a little snow and a little ice. That’s all we need to make winter realistic.
But eastern Nebraska – they experienced the ultimate among winter storms – 11 to 16 inches of snow, wind speeds upward to 60 miles an hour and a temperature of four degrees which put the wind chill index away down to about 50 degrees below zero.
The weather factor that triggered the storm in eastern Nebraska was an exceedingly warm air mass in the area which began to move away from the arctic front into southeast Kansas into a low pressure area but suddenly the low began moving northeast and brought the warm moist air into collision with the cold arctic front. The result may be established as the worst blizzard in the history of eastern Nebraska.
25 Years Ago
The Benkelman Post & News Chronicles
Vol. 106: January 12, 2000: No. 48
First Baby of 2000
Making her appearance as the first baby to be born in the year 2000 at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman was Lydia Dianne Echols, daughter of Debra and Will Echols of Hayes Center, and sister to Elisabeth who is six years old.
The little miss arrived at 7:26 am on Monday, January 3, weighing in at seven pounds and 4.4. ounces. She measured 18.5 inches in length. Dr. Emmanuel Beyer was the attending physician.
Lydia was dressed in a special outfit donated by Dundy County Hospital which marked the occasion of being the first baby to arrive at the facility during the year 2000.
Chiropractic Clinic
Opening January 17th
Jason Mathews is returning to Dundy County in grand fashion. On Monday January 17, he plans to open Mathews Family Chiropractic at 503 Chief in Benkelman.
A 1992 graduate of Dundy County High School, Mathews studied extensively to earn his Doctor of Chiropractic license and to pass his national Board exam in order to establish the new business.
He began his post-secondary education at Doane College in Crete before transferring after a year to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he finished his prerequisites. From there he went to Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from Parker College of Chiropractic in August of 1999. Following his graduation and successfully passing his boards, he chose Benkelman and Dundy County to locate a clinic.
Although he will focus on family practice at this time, Dr. Mathews has not ruled out the possibility of expanding into specialty areas as time and the need present themselves.
He is interviewing applicants to fill the position of chiropractic assistant and will be filling the position later this week. With the office newly remodeled, he will be adding office equipment, exam and adjustment tables and other necessary items.
“I am excited to be able to come back to Benkelman and Dundy County to offer a service that has long been needed,” the doctor said. “I am looking forward to getting acquainted with friends and look forward to meeting the new residents of the area.”
“I am excited to be able to provide the convenience of chiropractic treatments here at home,” Dr. Mathews said.
Helping to make it possible for Mathews to open his new business was a low-interest loan through BWTelcom Community Development Program with the dollars to be loaned only to Dundy County businesses. The $37,750 loaned to Dr. Mathews was made possibile through the repayment by Dundy County Hospital which was the first benefactor of the loan program.
Said Doug Samp, administer of Benkelman Telephone Company’s Community Development Program, “We are pleased to be able to help in any way we can see that our community continues to thrive.”
