The Colfax County Press publishes a weekly column entitled Peeking into the Past, which is comprised of articles taken from earlier Colfax County Press files, written by Helen C. Evans. A special thank you to the Colfax County Press for allowing me to reprint those articles and Claudia Schuster for transcribing them! The following are selections from that column:
August 3, 1909 - reprinted December 28, 1988George Hagen of the Clover Leaf livery returned from Wyoming bringing with him a car of mares and colts that he has now on sale.
John Petr, who, in the company with J.D. Wolf, has for some time been the owner of the old Frank Koza farm, southwest of town, has sold his interest in the place to Mr. Wolf.
Joseph Krikac has sold the Jos. Maticka farm of 80 acres, four miles north of town, to Joseph R. Molacek for $96 per acre. Mr. Molacek purchased the place for one of his sons.
Will Noh went to Omaha yesterday morning and will return this evening in the company of his wife, who is rapidly gaining strength following an operation for appendicitis. It is deemed perfectly safe for her to return home.
Dr. Frank Petr, who, for the past year, has been taking post graduate work in surgery at Prague, Bohemia, and other hospitals in Europe, sailed from London on the 28th of July for home and is expected to reach Clarkson the latter part of this or the fore part of next week.
Kopac Bros. have awarded the contract to A.C. Chamberlain of Stanton to move the store building occupied by them onto their lots north of the Clarkson livery barn. Mr. Chamberlain is to begin work on the job within a few days. As our readers know, a fine, large, brick structure is to occupy the present site.
John W. Bobisud, a former Clarkson resident, has re-engaged in the drug business in Dodge, having purchased the business formerly conducted by Frank Ritzdor.
J.M Mundil reports the sale of the Rudolph Hamsa farm of 160 acres near Stanton to Dr. S.G. Allen for $80 per acre. The doctor purchased the place as an investment and no doubt it will prove a paying one.
Jos. G.Vosacek has purchased of Jos. Krikac two lots in the southwest part of town for which he paid $600. Later he intends to build a home on the property.
Albert Lodl and wife have a little son since last Thursday at their home in Midland precinct.
August Menn, a resident of Clarkson in the early days of the town, but engaged in the livestock business at Dodge for a number of years, died of cancer of the stomach Saturday morning in Omaha, where he went the day before to enter a hospital in the hope of getting relief. The funeral was held at Dodge this morning.
A few years ago, Dr. F.B. Schultz, Emil Slama and Phil Roether of this place and R.G. McKibben , a former Clarkson citizen now engaged in the grain business at Holyoke, Colorado, purchased a section and a half of land in the neighborhood of that town, paying $5.00 an acre for it. At that time it looked to them like a paying investment, and it has so proven. Last week they sold 320 acres of the tract for $14.50 per acre. Nine dollars and fifty cents an acre profit on a $5.00 per acre investment is going some.
Clarkson markets were: Good milling wheat 88 cents, good milling rye 65 cents, corn 55 cents, oats 29 cents, eggs 18 cents, butter 18 cents and hogs $7.00.
Cruel, wanton brutality, inexcusable and indefensible, is a fitting way to speak of the acts of two men who on Friday last drove a noble team of horses to death. The finger of public scorn, public content and general condemnation points to them as disgraces to modern manhood.
Even the savage displays more love for the brutes that serve him than was manifested by the two men referred to. We lack words to express our contempt for their fiendish cruelty.
Here are the facts; read them and then wonder with us that two such brutes in human form are permitted to associate with men of heart and feeling:
Last Friday afternoon Leo Grotte of Omaha, a traveling salesman for a wholesale liquor house, went to the Clover Leaf livery barn at this place and engaged a team to take him to Stanton. George Murray, one of the young men left in charge of the barn during the absence of the owner, was to drive him over and we understand agreed to get him there in two hours and a half if possible. He took the best team in the barn, a splendid pair of blacks, leaving here at about 4:10 or 4:15 for a 22 mile drive over rough roads, on the hottest day of the season. It was a few minutes after 6 o’clock, less than two hours after they started, that one of the animals dropped dead in the outskirts of Stanton and the other died an hour or two later.
Sheriff Stucker on hearing the facts, placed the men under arrest, having to take Grotte off an out-going train. Threats on the part of the fellow did not deter Jim Stucker for doing his duty in this case, as he has always done in every case as other law defiers can testify. The men are to have their hearing before Judge Cowan on Sept. 13. It is stated that on the latter end of the journey the team was kept on the run, one of the men driving and the other lashing them with the whip. It is a pity that we do not have a whipping post in Nebraska for the punishment of such offenders. There are many lovers of the horse who enjoy the opportunity of applying the lash to these two heartless wretches who murdered a defenseless team of horses. We hope the most severe penalty the law provides will be meted out to them.
August 10, 1909 - reprinted January 18, 1989George Anderson took the contract for putting up a full set of buildings for Frank Barta on his farm 9 miles northeast of Clarkson.
J.M. Mundil reports the sale of the old John Lopour farm near the Zion church to Jos. J. Fillipi for $100 per acre.
Anton Faiman, a former Clarkson businessman, has disposed of his hotel at Dodge, selling the same to John J. Koliha of Schuyler, who is well known here. We understand that Mr. Faiman and his family will soon move to a farm in Stanton county.
On August 9 at 8 o’clock in the morning at the Roman Catholic church at this place, the solemn words were spoken that united Miss Emily Pospichal and Frank Suchan in the holy bonds of wedlock. The happy pair were attended by Frank J. Kucera, a cousin of the groom, Miss Frances Pospichal and Joseph Pospichal, sister and brother of the bride, and Miss Anna Bos.
Mr. and Mrs. John Callelly celebrated their silver wedding, having reached the 25th milestone on their journey through life together.
Their home, a few miles northwest of this place, was the scene of a large gathering of relatives and friends who came to shower congratulations and best wishes upon this worthy couple.Dr. F.J. Petr arrived in Clarkson on his return from 15 month’s stay in Europe, where he visited, received instruction, practiced and did special work in some of the leading hospitals, giving him the best possible preparation needful for the successful practice of his chosen profession.
He comes back looking hale and hearty and says that he much enjoyed his stay in the old world. While in Bohemia he met Dr. Capek, who formerly practiced at this place and in Howells, and had a pleasant visit with him. He says the doctor is staying in his native village and devotes much of his time to caring for his aged mother. He expects to return to America in some future time. Dr. Petr has yet not decided where he will locate.
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