Remember When
Ten Years Ago, 2013 Jim Sidel of St. Paul, state commander of the American Legion, spoke at Wolbach’s Memorial Day services on Monday. Following the services in the auditorium, the crowd gathered at Hillside Cemetery for the twenty-onegun salute and the reading of the role of deceased veterans. The services are sponsored by the local American Legion Post and Auxiliary Unit.
Christina Reynoldson, twenty-six, of O’Neill, received minor injuries in a roll-over accident at the Highway 281-22 junction west of Wolbach on Tuesday, May 28th. Howard County Sheriff Harold Schenk said the accident occurred at around 10:30 a.m…Her vehicle rolled and ended up at the bottom of a steep embankment.
Twenty Years Ago, 2003 The West Hill Bridge was closed Monday afternoon and will be destroyed in preparation for the construction of a new bridge. The shoo-fly has been asphalted and highway lines painted on the 350 yards of detour of Highway 22. The detour is on the Howard County side of the highway and bridge.
Hastings College awarded 220 bachelor’s degrees and seventeen Master of Arts in Teaching degrees during the 117th Commencement on May 17th. Graduate honors, which are limited to the top twelve percent of the undergraduate class, were awarded to twenty-six seniors. They include Rhonda Louise Wrzenski, who graduated cum laude and with high distinction in political science/media production.
Wolbach kindergarten graduation was held Thursday, May 15th, in the school gym. Wolbach’s five kindergarteners are Emily Houtby, Jordan Clement, Robert Newsham, Colin Oakley, and Jacob Diesley.
Thirty Years Ago, 1993 The Wolbach PeeWees and Ponies played host to North Loup on May 25th, with the PeeWees winning 6-1 and the Ponies losing 7-0. The win brings the PeeWees’s record to 3-1; the loss leaves the Ponies now 2-2. Tyler Grossart of Wolbach pitched a one-hitter for the PeeWees, striking out nine and walking two...Grossart and Dusty Majerus led Wolbach at the plate, each having a triple and a single. Matt O’Gorman added a triple, catcher Richard Brown had a single, and Wolbach’s Craig Oakley and Ade Allen combined on the mound to allow nine hits and eight walks. Allen had Wolbach’s lone hit, a double in the first inning.
New Arrivals— GREEN: Born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott Green (Donita Stoffel) of Kingsley, Iowa, a 7 lb., 8 oz. daughter on May 21st. She has been named Taylor Jade... WEDOW: Born May 6th, 1993 to Paul and Tobi (Mueller) Wedow of Aurora, Colorado, a girl weighing 8 lb. and 3 oz. She has been named Madeline Kay.
Forty Years Ago, 1983 Early season signs or results point to another good season for the Wolbach Rainmakers behind the player-manager Steve Grossart. The Rainmaker squad white-washed Ravenna on Saturday night 6-0 on the road...Steve Grossart was the winning pitcher, working seven frames, allowing one hit and striking out sixteen. Larry Whalen worked the final two frames, allowed a single, and struck out six... Grossart also scored the winning run, walking in the second, advancing on a passed ball, and scoring on Dan Nealon’s single. The Mikes—Steenson and Rother—each had two hits, but honors went to Jim Allen, who belted a pair of triples and scored a pair of runs. The defensive play of the night went to sub Dan Smith, who saved the shutout in the ninth with a line drive throw from right field to erase a runner at third base.
Mrs. Kim Summers, Nathan, Nicole, and Elexis left Monday by plane for Sweibish Hall, Germany, where they will join Capt. Summers, who is a helicopter pilot stationed there. The Summers family will be spending three years in Germany. Mrs. Summers is the former Linda Wibbels. She and her children have spent the past several months with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Wibbels, in Grand Island.
Fifty Years Ago, 1973 Rich Moriarty, thirty- one, son of Mrs. Bertha Moriarty of Wolbach, was killed Thursday evening when his homemade helicopter crashed and burned. The scene of the crash was three miles west of U.S. 281 south of Grand Island, along the Platte River. The wreckage was found by searching aircraft on Friday morning. Reportedly, Moriarty had left the Grand Island airport about 6:30 Thursday evening to have supper with friends, a couple living at Doniphan. After having eaten and visited with them for a short while, he told them he wanted to get back to Grand Island before dark. A search was begun Friday morning at nine o’clock for the missing aircraft after personnel at the airport noticed his car was still parked at the hangar with his dog in it and the doors of the hangar open. The wreckage was found at about 10:30 a.m. The helicopter had come down in a meadow, crashed, and burned.
Married Saturday afternoon at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Wolbach were Mrs. Shirley Stoffel and Mr. Kenneth Inman, Sr. of Ord...Parents of the couple are Mr. and Mrs. Cy Greek of Wolbach and Mrs. Vivian Inman of Leonidas, Michigan, and the late Elgin Inman.
Sixty Years Ago, 1963 The Wolbach High School seniors left early Sunday morning on a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. They expect to be gone all week. Taking cars for the fourteen seniors were Coach W.G. Hendrickson, Mrs. Cy Greek, and Mrs. Everett Caudill.
Our Service Men: Airman Ronald J. Marco, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clayton S. Marco of Wolbach, is being reassigned to Amarillo AFB, Texas, for technical training as a United States Air Force administrative specialist.
Youths using BB guns, air rifles, etcetera, within the village limits were warned this week by Bob Stevens, village marshal, to stop the practice. Numerous complaints have prompted enforcement of the ordinance covering the use of the BB guns, air rifles, etc.
Seventy Years Ago, 1953 Tommy’s Corner—If your news items happened to get left out this week, give us a break. “Sonny” got married Wednesday, and we are kinda crossed up around here.
Our Service Men—Pfc. Donald Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ted S. Smith, received his discharge from the Army on April 30th at San Luis Obispo, California, after serving two years with the army. He and his wife arrived here Wednesday for a visit in the Smith home... Cpl. LeRoy Bucy returned home May 9th from serving with the Army in Korea. He is spending a thirty-day furlough with his wife and other relatives at Benton, Iowa, before returning to Camp Carson, Colorado for further orders...A2c Ronald Bryer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Bryer, arrived home May 13th from Chenault Field, Illinois for a visit with his wife and other relatives. He will report back to Offutt AFB near Omaha on May 29th.
Eighty Years Ago, 1943 Storms that struck this community over the weekend, while bringing valuable moisture that has long been needed, also did considerable damage. During Friday night’s storm, the barn on the Tim Silk farm east of where they live was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Some oats and feed were in the building, which was only partially covered by insurance. Neighbors helped by means of a tractor to pull a wooden fence from near the barn and saved it. That same night, lightning struck the Asa Watts home northeast of Wolbach, spurted out through the radio, and started a fire. Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Watts were awakened by the bolt and from their sleeping room could see the blaze and quickly extinguished it. Their small son, Leland, was badly shocked by the force of the bolt, and it was several minutes before he came to.
Leonard H. Wondercheck, AM3c, writes that he has graduated from the U.S. Naval air base at Jacksonville, Florida and had been promoted to petty officer third class and has been transferred to the U.S. Naval Air Training Corps at Corpus Christi, Texas... Cpl. Stanton Bussell is now stationed at 1502d Service Unit, Barrack No. 2, Valparaiso, Indiana, and is going to radio school. Mrs. Bussell and daughter have gone to join her husband and will be at home at 157 Greenwich... Leonard Wibbels has been promoted to sergeant and is still at Camp Barkley, Texas...Lt. Wayne Schomburg, son of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Schomburg, has been made a First Pilot of a bomber squadron and was transferred recently from Pyote, Texas to Dalhart, Texas.
Ninety Years Ago, 1933 Mr. J.F. Dowd was seriously injured at his farm northeast of town last Saturday afternoon while attempting to start up the farm tractor. A team hitched to the tractor gave a sudden pull, and Mr. Dowd was caught under one of the rear wheels. He received many bruises and cuts on his leg and side, and his hip was broken. He is getting along as well as could be expected, but will likely be laid up for several weeks. Some of his neighbors have been assisting with the plowing and other farm work at the Dowd farm since Mr. Dowd’s accident.
The Wolbach Farmers Creamery set a new high record during the year ending April 30, 1933 by making 570,000 pounds of butter. The previous year they churned 510,000 pounds, an increase of 60,000 pounds.
The Wolbach baseball team finished well in the lead in the game at Ord Sunday when they scored eight runs on twelve safe hits. The local boys were playing almost air-tight baseball, the one error in the first inning costing a score for their opponents. Ord made but one earned run—a home run by Wolfe in the second inning. Lake Marco, pitching for Wolbach, struck out twelve men and allowed only seven hits. Al Allen pitched for Ord during the first seven innings and held the Wolbach boys to eight hits and five runs, only one of which was earned. Mattern then went on the mound for Allen and Wolbach got four hits and three runs in the eighth inning.
100 Years Ago, 1923 Tomorrow (Friday) is the designated time for the arrival of the train bearing 100 or more Omaha boosters. The arrival of the train will be announced by means of a siren whistle, the same whistle that has been carried on the Omaha trade excursion trips for the past ten years. A twenty-five-piece band is accompanying the boosters and will dispense music at every stop. As we understand it, this band is made up of colored musicians, and they are in the habit of bearing down on the valves of their instruments all the way from the cornet to the bass drum. The officers of the Wolbach Community Club urgently requests all who possibly can to be present when this train arrives and make the crowd one to be proud of.
Greeley Citizen— Nine head of cattle belonging to Irving Johnson, a farmer living in Homestead precinct, were killed by a bolt of lightning last Friday night. The animals were huddled together along a wire fence when the bolt struck. The lightning played along the wires, killing the cattle touching them. Thirty head were in the group. The loss was not discovered until the following morning, when the animals failed to appear at a water tank. They were choice steers of a fattening herd of two-year-old black polled Angus cattle.
110 Years Ago, 1913 If a man had a fifty-dollar pup, he would look after it carefully and not let it have the run of the town day and night. But if he has a child, it is different. They are turned loose at a tender age, to go where they will and do what they please. People wonder where the great army of tramps, dead beats, gamblers and disreputable women come from. They are germinated from the seed gathered in countless homes and sown broadcast upon the streets of our cities and towns. There are thousands of children who are heading in that direction, who as far as care is concerned are not given equal showing with a valuable pup.
If you have one of the new nickles, you had better keep one as a souvenir, as it is understood no more are to be issued. Slot machine manufacturers are finding fault with the nickel, claiming that it cannot be used with facility in their devices. However, it has been found that the new coin can be slipped into a savings deposit without inconvenience, and using it in that way is a very commendable alternative.