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 many of them! The following are selections from that column:
August 3, 1909 - republished 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.
October 19, 1909 - reprinted January 24, 1990A half dozen cars of potatoes have been shipped fron this point. The crop was exceptionally large this year, and at forty cents per bushel is proving a paying one.
Jos. Suchy has bold the residence property in his addition to Clarkson, occupied by Frank Hejtmanek, jr., and family, to Mr. Hejtmanek for $1,300.
Chas. Knovalin of Howells sold a farm of 160 acres owned by him five miles northeast of this place to John Podany for $100 per acre.
After an illness of a few days, Willie, the beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Siebert, succumbed to the effects of tetanus, his death having occurred at the family home in Wilson precinct.
Willie was at school as usual apparently in his usual health, but was ailing the following day. He had run a sliver into the palm of his hand, and the wound developed lockjaw.
Every possible effort was made to save his life, but the inevitable occurred after several days of hoping against hope, for from the very first the chances for recovery were against him.V. L. Prazak has disposed of his saloon business to his brother, Anton, who is now in charge of the same.
Jos. Krikac sold a farm of 160 acres, a few miles south of Lindsay, to John Mlnarik. The purchase price was $70 per acre.
Mrs. Emil R. Dudek has returned from her extended stay at Omaha and seems to have entirely recovered from the effects of the operation for appendicitis which she underwent. Mr. Dudek expects to return home some time this week.
Sanders Bros. of Howells have purchased the Jos. J. Fajman residence property in the southwest part of town and are having some repairs made to the same, including the painting of all of the buildings.
Joseph Indra and family, who have been making their home at Falifax, S.D., have returned to Colfax county and will again take up their residence on a Stanton precinct farm.
Jos. Krahulik is circulating a petition, which is being largely signed by the patrons of the office, asking for his reappointment as postmaster of Clarkson. This is being done in view of the fact that at the commencement of the next quarter, Jan. 1, 1910, the office will be in the presidential class. Our town has always been very fortunate in having accommodating and efficient postmasters, and none have given more general satisfaction than the present encumbent. So far he has no opponent and it is safe to predict that he will be appointed with opposition.
Mrs. Will Noh and children left for Buhl, Ida., to join Mr. Noh who left for that point several weeks ago.
F. W. Noh has had the two barns that stood on his lots just north of the city power house moved onto his property in the north part of town. The moving was done by John Pospichal.
Jos. Severa went to Omaha Saturday morning and was accompanied home in the evening by his wife who has been receiving treatment at one of the hospitals there. It is thought that she comes home much improved in health.
October 26, 1909 - reprinted January 24, 1990Wedding bells this morning announced the marriage of Miss Mary Kucera and Joseph Roloubek, the solemn pledge, "to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and health, in joy and in sadness," having been taken in the presence of a gathering of the relatives and a few of the intimate friends of the young couple at the Roman Catholic church at this place. The ceremony took place at nine o’clock, Rev. C. L. Zak having officiated.
Geo. Hagen has sold his White Steamer to Louis Faltys who will use the machine in his real estate business.
Dr. F. B. Schultz and Anton Karel returned from a few days’ hunt in Wheeler county. They got out twenty-five miles from a railroad and found ducks and chickens plentiful, so brought home with them a goodly supply of game. While there they stopped with Joseph Urban and wife, former Clarkson people, whom they found pleasantly located on a section farm. Mr. Urban is postmaster of an inland town known as Newboro.
"Billy the Barber", correst title, Wm. Svoboda, is nursing two boils on the back of his neck and it is a hard job for him to look pleasant.
V. L. Prazak is the owner of a fine new five-passenger, forty-horse-power Oakland auto, which he purchased at Omaha.
Emil R. Dudek, who was at Omaha for some weeks receiving medical treatment, returned home. He brought back with him a fine auto, a five-passenger, seventy-horse-power Northern car.
A daughter born last Saturday to Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Ternes of Midland precinct.
Alois Chundelak went to Aberdeen, S.D., and filed for a claim in the land drawing.
A few weeks ago Frank Mundil quietly slipped away to Chicago and his friends have since surmised that when he returned it would not be alone, and sure enough he reached here accompanied by Mrs. Mundil, formerly Mary Tourek, to whom he was married in Chicago on Thursday last.
Anton Vais has disposed of his interest in the hardware and implement business conducted by the firm of Wolf & Vais to Jos. R. Vitek, and the change in the management of the business will take place as soon as an invoice of the stock can be made. Mr. Vais has made no definite plans for the future, but does not intend to leave Clarkson.
One day last week J. M. Mundil closed one of the largest land deals made in this locality for some time, having sold a section of the Wisherd ranch land—-the last of those lands now on the market. The consideration was $72.50 per acre, and the purchasers all got bargains. The following parties got 160 acres each: Anton Kunhart of Howells, Vaclav Severa of Heun, and Jon. Hajek and Jos. Brabec of this neighborhood.
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