HITCHCOCK COUNTY – HOMETOWN HISTORY – WEEK OF JUNE 25, 2026
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News of 1926
The Trenton Register
100 Years Ago
Gray-Walters
R.J. Walters rather surprised Trenton people this week when it was learned that he had been married on Saturday evening to Mrs. Sarah Gray of Lynch. Mr. Walters motored to Grand Island for her, and the ceremony was performed at his home by Rev. B.F. Hutchins. Judge and Mrs. A.T. McCoy were the witnesses. The Register extends best wishes to the newlyweds.
A White Way
The Village Board, at a meeting held last Monday afternoon, purchased a complete White Way system from the Graybar Electric Company of Omaha. The system complete will cost $2,006.34 and comprises 32 posts and 6,500 feet of cable. The white way will be on Main Street and extends from the county line south to the railroad right-of-way. There will be four lights in each of the four blocks, on both sides of the street, giving eight lights for each block. It is expected to have the lights in operation in about 60 days. When the system is completed, Palisade will have one of the best lighted Main Streets in the county – Palisade Times.
Trenton Local News
Anton Horvath has begun excavation for the new 30×44 frame dwelling, which he will erect on the lot just purchased from Mrs. N.T. Jones and located north of Julie Eastman’s property. The house will be a two story structure with full basement and will contain 13 rooms. Fred Williamson and wife are the parents of a daughter born Monday, June 21, 1926.
News of 1946
The Trenton Register
80 Years Ago
Another Light Shower
Moisture for this week came in the form of a light shower Monday night, with 0.28 of an inch being recorded by the State Bank guage. The weather has been very much on the summer order this week and farmers are making good use of their time, early and late, taking care of field work that was held up by the wet weather of recent weeks. Indications now are that harvest activities on any large scale will not get underway for at least three weeks, although some binding may be done sooner.
Receives Powder Burns
Norbert Hay was quite badly burned about the face Thursday morning, when some gun powder with which he was experimenting, exploded. After emergency treatment, he was taken to the Stratton hospital, where he was reported to be resting comfortably later in the morning. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Clark Hay, who live near Otis, Colorado and has been staying in Trenton at the Hay home, where the accident occurred.
Wars End in Europe Celebrated by Unit of Trenton Man in Italy
At an Air Depot of the AAF Service Command in Italy – “The War in Europe is over.” Cpl. Earl E. Underhill, Rt. No. 2, Trenton, accepted the news with a thoughtful thanks as a means of sharing the joy of other members of his unit, the 90th Depot Repair Squadron. For the last year he and his buddies had been doing technical work under trying conditions to “keep’em flying” – the mud, rain, and cold weather Italy hampered him with, proved only his determination. Officers and men of the 90th in an all-out victory celebration, played an afternoon ball game, featured an “official kibitzer” and many laughs – at three o’clock all huddled around the radio to hear the official tone announce its end, after which everyone cheered loudly and fully enjoyed a holiday game. But before the holiday was officially over – that “special letter” was on its way home, and the men were tackling their next big job – moving the Air Forces out of Italy and towards Japan.
Is Wed in California
Miss Isla Beryl Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Smith, who live northwest of Trenton, and S-Sgt. William Saterstad, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Saterstad, of Madera, California, were married at three o’clock on the afternoon of June 7th at the First Baptist Church in Fresno, California. Rev. Gilson performed the ceremony. The bride wore a Navy blue and white suit and her corsage was of pink roses. The couple were attended by Miss Esther Lundberg and Mr. Kenneth Crow. Following the ceremony, the bride and groom left for a week’s honeymoon at Santa Cruz. Mrs. Saterstad is a graduate of Palisade High School and received her nurse’s training at Clarkson Hospital, Omaha. She will continue on the nursing staff at the Dearborn Hospital in California for the duration. Sgt. Saterstad is stationed at Walla Walla, Washington, with the Army Air Force, and prior to entering the service three years ago, was employed by his father in construction work.
News of 1956
The Trenton Register
70 Years Ago
Alaskan Award to Trenton Man
Gaylord P. Hay, formerly of Trenton, received a certificate of achievement for outstanding performance on the job as estimator for the Alaska District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Co. L.L. Haseman, Acting District Engineer, presented the certificate as Hay returns to the States for a new position with the Bureau of Reclamation at Rupert, Idaho. Hay, his wife and two children are driving out over the Alaska Highway and planned a visit with his mother, Mrs. Ada Hay of Trenton. Hay is a graduate of Trenton High School, 1944, and the University of Nebraska, 1951.
County Bridges Lost in Floods
County Commissioners and their crews have been busy this week in digging out after the week end rains and storm. Hardest hit were the Frenchman and Driftwood Valleys, where an unprecedented amount of trash following the high waters endangered the bridges. The Beverly bridge, just south of the Hank Sitzman place was the county’s biggest loss. High water from the Wauneta “flash flood” combined with the overflowing Stinking Water Creek near Palisade sent the Frenchman even higher, pushing the trash in front of it. The trash began to back up on the west side of the bridge at about 6:00 p.m. Sunday and by nightfall the entire north half of the structure gave way. After the bridge was demolished it seemed evident that the trash behind it might move on down the river taking all of the bridges. Fortunately the water was not moving at too great a rate of speed and all other bridges held. T.W. Jones, Commissioner of the Second District, reported one bridge lost on the Driftwood and John Bobinmeyer of the First District reported the loss of two. Thistles carried by the high water caused roads to wash all over the county, and much of the gravel was washed on the main route roads. County crews have been working all week to remove the trash from under the remaining bridges in the event that more high water comes down the valleys. Farmers too, are getting a taste of the effects of the rains with thistles and other debris having taken a heavy toll in fences.
Open Cafe Near Jim’s Service
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Frick announce in this week’s Register that they are now operating the former Redmer Cafe owned by H.B. Chipman. They have been open since last Saturday. The cafe was operated by Mrs. Hank Redmer until about two weeks ago. Viola has worked in various restaurants around Trenton and states they will continue to offer the good food and service Trentonites are accustomed to. Martha Williams is cooking at the cafe and Virgie Smith is helping in the Table waiting department.
Injure Crops North of Town
Heavy crop damage was reported Northwest and North of Palisade after the heavy rains Saturday night. Water from Stinking Water was across the graveled highway to Hayes Center and completely covered the farmland of Hopkins and Lawless. West of town the Leo Spickelmeier family were forced to evacuate their home because of the high water. The bridge just west of town was washed away but was repaired and ready for traffic by Monday. Highway 6 from the junction was closed yet on Wednesday while workmen repaired the damage.
Weekend’s Rains Cover Wide Area
Although the storm of Saturday night brought strong winds, floods in some places and brought people out to watch the clouds, the moisture that accompanied the storm brought welcome relief from the drouth to farmers in the county. A follow-up rain on Sunday night helped even more and gave up amounts in the county ranging from 3-4 of an inch to 4.5 inches for the two nights. As has been common with all June rains, the amounts of rainfall were highly variable. On Saturday night the guage at the State Bank recorded 0.80 of an inch. Butch Horvath recorded over two inches at his place. Les Redmer reported three inches at his farm about four miles north of the state line. Vern Pennell who lives nearly on the line, reported four inches. North of town B.R. Baker reported about a half inch. On Sunday night reports from south of town ran from 30 hundredths to 0.75 of an inch and quarter was noted. In Trenton on Sunday night 0.50 was the reading at the State Bank. Wauneta seems to be the exact center of the rain and unofficial reports were from six to 8.5 inches. Basements and stores in Wauneta were flooded and damage in the Frenchman Valley was estimated at $250,000. Hamlet, Palisade and all the farms along the river were damaged, in some cases, damage was very severe. The worst of the heavy rainfall fell in Wauneta and west toward Enders Dam, and back of the dam. The waters above the dam were impounded in the Enders structure and kept losses from being even greater. Volunteer pump crews were called from the towns in the valley to help with the mopping up operations. Some fields which were most recently planted were muddied under in other parts of the county where previous rains had fallen. The rain was just what the doctor ordered. In general, the rain was too late to help the wheat crop but was a real boon to late spring, planting and the summer fallow. Pastures need more rain to furnish any amount of feed for cattle now.
News of 1966
The Hitchcock County News
60 Years Ago
Oil Field Fire
A spectacular fire Friday evening drew a large crowd of spectators who could do nothing but watch while it burned itself out. A treater at a tank battery on the Faimon lease of Amerada Petroleum Co. north of Trenton caught fire when a hole in the fire tube leading to the treater let oil into the huge tank. Charles Poindexter, pumper for the company estimated the damage to be around $6,000. There were three oil storage tanks in the battery, two of them were full of oil. There were no explosions but the flames and black smoke could be seen for miles. The tank next to the treater (the tallest tank) was entirely empty the next morning when the fire was out and things had cooled down enough to go near enough to inspect the damage. The oil had all ran out on the ground and burned. The second tank was scorched on one side while the third tank was hardly touched by the flames.
Trenton Girl Catches Trout at Lake
Joan Lorimer, seven year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Doran Lorimer of Trenton made a rare catch while the family was fishing Saturday morning at the dam. She caught a 1.25 pound trout while fishing in front of the dam.
News of 1976
The Hitchcock County News
50 Years Ago
Visit Massacre Canyon Area
Recent guests of Mr. and Mrs. Art Carmody of Trenton were Mr. and Mrs. Garland Blaine of Oklahoma City, Okla. Garland Blaine, a Pawnee Chief, came dressed with an authentic Pawnee costume and headdress and eagle feathers which belonged to his grandfather. This is the second time the Blaines have visited Hitchcock County. They were here in August when they were guests of the Trenton Rotary Club, toured Massacre Canyon and were luncheon guests at a potluck dinner sponsored by the Historical Society. Garland Blaine was the head chief of the Pawnee tribe from 1961 to 1973. He is the heredity chief of the Pitahauerat band of the Pawnee. His wife, Martha, is director of the Division of Indian Archives at the Oklahoma State Historical Society. Blaine’s great-great uncle, Resaritsariks, was a friend of William Stolley, an important figure in Hall County and the grandfather of Mrs. Art Carmody. There are four bands of Pawnees and Blaine is a member of the East Band or Downstream Band. He was born and raised in Pawnee, Okla. He was a student at the University of Oklahoma for a time and he now teaches his native language in Oklahoma City. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine and the Carmody’s guided by the Junior Sramek family, toured the area where the Massacre took place between the Sioux and the Pawnee in 1873. Blaine told Grace Carmody that he has taken her into his tribe and that as soon as he finds a suitable name for her, he will give it to her. During their visit in Nebraska last week, the Blaines visited historical sites around Grand Island. He told that the area around LeGrand Isle, the French name for the island in the Platte from which Grand Island got its name, is a Pawnee Holy Place.
News of 1986
The Hitchcock County News
40 Years Ago
Win at Junior Olympics
Four Culbertson girls, representing the Southwest Nebraska Track Club won first place in the Bantam Girls 4 by 100 Relay at the Junior Olympic Qualifying Meet held in Columbus Saturday, June 14. They are Tara Rippen, Michelle Bauer, 9, Tiffanie Schall, 8, and Krista Bay, 10. The girls received two gold medals. Their time of 0:65.7 won the track club division and also the overall. With the win, they earned the right to compete at the National Junior Olympic Track Meet to be held in Lincoln on Monday, July 28.
Have Camp at Lakeview
A total of 33 girls turned out Friday through Tuesday for Junior Cadet, Senior Resident Camp at Lakeview Lodge east of Stratton. The event was for entire Goldenrod Council with Marilyn Criger of Stratton as Camp Director. The girls represented such communities as Blue Hill, Ayr, Kearney, Grand Island, Hastings, Beaver City, Cambridge, McCook, Culbertson, Stratton, and Imperial. The girls range in age from 8 to 16 years of age. Most of the meals were prepared at the Lodge with Judy Schow of McCook, the Main Cook, and Jane-of-All-Trades. Those camping out with meal preparation did cook over campfire preparing their own meals. The Outdoor unit with Marilyn Criger as leader will also do tent pitching, knot tying, compass, wood gathering and all the things that go with having a good campout. One of the activities during camp was horsemanship class held at J.C.’s Rainbow Arabians and Pintos in Stratton with Judy Coe instructor. Subjects covered included evolution of the horse, types of horses, parts of the horse, parts of saddles, safety around horses, general horsemanship, riding. Assisting with this was Angel Walker of Stratton. Darlene Kehler of McCook with Christi Cox of Stratton had the crafts. Kala Criger had fishing. Nance Barkley of Blue Hill and Carrie Brockway and Maggie Sis helped as life guards for canoeing. Shane Criger had Bow and Arrow and Riflery and Darlene Taylor of McCook had Potpourri. Girls were taken into the Stratton Pool for their swimming. Older girls serving as Camp Aides were Charolotte Wehremeister of Blue Hill, Jennifer Egle, Tia Criger, Terra Gonzales, Christa Schow, Carelt Fritz, and Kala Criger.
Uninvited and Unwelcome
A bullsnake made himself a nuissance by trying to take up residence on the porch at the Frank Seybold home. When Mrs. Seybold almost stepped on him, it became a bit too much and hastened his early demise. The snake measured 54 inches long. Cecil Parker helped dispose of the snake.
Academy Graduate
Norman Cobb, a sergeant investigator for the York (Nebraska) Police Department, was among those who graduated Friday, June 13, from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Norman, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cobb of Stratton, was among 200 officers who completed the 11 week program of study. Norman graduated from Stratton High School and attended McCook Community College and Kearney State College. Norman and his wife, Glenna are the parents of two children, Kevin, 17, and Shawna, 15. The curriculum of the FBI National Academy includes 45 academic courses accredited by the University of Virginia. Among the areas of study are management science, police administration, law, physical training, education and communication arts and the behavioral and forensic sciences.