Sidney: A Look Back

145 Years Ago

December 22, 1877

The Sidney Telegraph

State Scraps

The Kenesaw Times has gone to the happy hunting ground.

Fifty thousand dollars worth of broom corn raised in Adams county this year.

Howard county has three flour mills and expects to soon have the fourth ready for operation.

Old Eli Perkins is begging for lecture engagements in Nebraska. “Perk” please skip us this season.

The first number of a new Democratic paper to be called the Nebraska State Register will be published at Lincoln, Jan. 5th, 1878.

The West Point paper mill commenced operations on Monday of the week. For the present they will manufacture only wrapping papers.

Mr. M.J. McKelligon, Omaha, and a well known liquor merchant, has given bonds in the sum of $3,500 for his appearance at court and show why his revenue transaction have not, as charged, been crooked.

Talk about civilization on the borders of Nebraska. One hundred pupils of the Council Bluffs high school were searched, the other day, and over twenty of them were discovered carrying revolvers. You couldn’t find such a showing in the Black Hills.

A prize fight is expected to take place before long on St. Mary’s Island above Nebraska City, the pugilists being C.E. Smith and Thomas Harper, the former backed by Canada parties, and the latter by Chicago, St. Louis and St. Joe parties.

120 Years Ago

December 20, 1902

The Sidney Telegraph

Local Gossip

Will Moore shipped a car of cattle to South Omaha Thursday.

The Post club has been rejuvenated and is now holding weekly meetings.

That Christmas is near is evidenced by the many fine window displays of our merchants.

The land contest case of Wellman vs. Moran has been decided in favor of the contestant and the entry cancelled.

The Missouri Girl will receive the same production in Sidney as in larger cities. The date here is Saturday, Jan. 3rd.

Mrs. Worthington, of Overton, and David O’Kane, of Woodriver, arrived in the city Thursday evening, called by the serious illness of James O’Kane.

The school board will take advantage of the holiday vacation and have steel ceilings put in the three upper school-rooms, re-arrange the seating facilities in some of the lower rooms and make other needed improvements.

The Sidney Dancing Club will give a prize Masquerade Ball at the opera house on New year’s Even. A handsome gold watch will be given to the lady having the finest costume. Klein’s orchestra will furnish the music and supper will be served by the Catholic ladies.

Mr. Bernard E. Reddy and Miss R. Alma Britton were united in marriage at the home of the bride’s parents, two miles west of Sidney, Tuesday evening. The ceremony was performed by Rev. R.E. Gilpin of the M.E. Church, at 7 o’clock, in the presence of relatives and a few friends. The ceremony was followed by a wedding supper, after which the bride and groom came to Sidney and took the train for Laramie, Wyo., their future home. The happy young couple have the best wishes of a host of friends.

100 Years

December 15, 1922

The Telegraph

A. J. Boling Meets Tragic Death

Falls From Running Board of Car While Trying to Alight and Receives Death Blow

Wednesday evening between four and five o’clock, A. J. Boling got into the car of George Beal in front of the Cash & Carry Grocery to catch a ride to his home in the southwest part of town. Mr. Beal’s son was also a passenger. When near the Boling home, Mr. Boling prepared to alight as the car slowed down, and with one foot on the running board and the other thrown over the front door of the car, the door gave way and he was precipitated backwards, falling heavily on the back of his head. A basket full of groceries in one hand and a package in another, he could not catch at anything. It was done so quickly that the car ran a few yards before Mr. Beal could reverse. The son ran back and found Mr. Boling lying stunned. Mr. Perso, Mr. Harr and Mr. Hink were attracted to the scene and Mr. Boling was borne limp and unconscious to his home. From Louis Mann’s, Dr. Taylor was summoned and remained with the injured man most of the timed until he expired at three o’clock Thursday morning. The body was prepared and shipped to the old home at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, accompanied by the heartbroken wife and only daughter, Mrs. Harlett Wingerson, and her husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Boling came here several years ago and Mr. Boling was engaged in land brokerage, retiring and leaving here to make his home in Idaho for two years and then returning. The were members of the Presbyterian church and faithful in every way. Mr. Boling was a good citizen, respected by the entire community and this tragic event is greatly deplored by all. All the sympathy and help possible was given to them, and the sad party left on No. 20 Thursday afternoon.

75 Years Ago

December 12, 1947

The Telegraph

Kimball Jail Break Reported This Week

Sheriff Roscoe Tatum of Kimball County said that officers are still searching for Clovis Allen Reed, 34, who escaped while temporarily released from jail to paint walls in the Kimball County courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. Reed was serving a fine of $525 and $8 costs, levied against him in county court Oct. 17 when he was found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Tatum described Reed as being five feet, one inch tall, weighing about 110 pounds, and said that he was wearing a gray shirt, blue overalls, red plaid cap and brown shoes at the time of his disappearance. All of his teeth are missing except a few on the right side of his mouth.

Reed has formerly used the names of Lloyd Brower, Miller, Wynn and Glenn Dunham, the sheriff stated. Circulars will be sent to neighboring law enforcement officials describing the man, Tatum said.

Whitesides Is Sent To Prison

In a hearing held Tuesday before District Judge J.L. Tewell a sentence of one year in the men’s state reformatory at Lincoln was given to Richard N. Whitesides, who pleaded guilty to a charge of passing a bogus check at the county’s treasurer’s office on September 27.

Whitesides was arrested at the courthouse November 25 after he was recognized by Miss June Short, clerk in the automobile licensing division of the treasurer’s office.

He was given a preliminary hearing before County Judge Robert A. Barlow on November 28 and was bound over to district court on $500 bond.

50 Years Ago

December 18, 1972

– The Sidney Telegraph

No Injuries In City Power Plant Engine Explosion; Cause Unknown

Sidney electrical department generator operator Fred Schlesselman, miraculously escaped injury Thursday morning, when a crankcase explosion at the power plant shattered windows and cracked the roof.

The explosion occurred about 9:30 a.m. Shortly after Schlesselman had checked the engine and noticed one cylinder not firing. He left the area to get some tools when the eruption occurred.

Power Plant Supt. Amour Boese said the exact cause of the explosion has not yet been determined. Following a shut down and cooling-off the 3125 KW Nordberg engine, Boese said both the piston and sleeve were found to be badly burned and will have to be replaced at an estimated cost of $8000.

Thus far in the investigation of the cause, no malfunction of ancillary equipment have been discovered.

About 70 window panes were either blown out or shattered by vacuum-related force of the explosion. Three window casings were also sprung. Workmen began to immediately repair the windows and casings. A structural assessment of the roof damage has not been announced, although insurance investigators were almost immediately on the scene.

The incident is the second major repair this year. A generator repair costing slightly more than $15,000 was concluded last summer. The Thursday explosion occurred on the same engine which was disabled with a broken piston about six years ago. The unit is valued at $1 million.

25 Years Ago

December 14, 1997

The Sidney Telegraph

Sidney Man, Rescue Workers Pull Man From Cold Platte River

DONIPHAN, Ne.--Sidney resident Edward Peters, his truck-driving instructor Marilyn Lange and fellow student Dan Beirow of Minden saved a Grand Island man stranded in the Platte River Thursday.

Peters had been driving the truck at about 2:30 p.m. CST when they came upon Terry Baker, 24, sitting on top of the car in the river.

Peters wife, Roberta, said they pulled over and went to the side and tried to talk to Baker, but he didn’t respond.

Another car pulled up with two men in it and the group headed to the water to try to help.

They had been standing waist deep in cold water for about 10 minutes before someone with a cellular phone stopped and called the emergency crews. Peters and the others were in the cold for about 20 minutes.

The temperature was 27 degrees, but with 30 mph winds, the wind chill was minus 10 at the time, said the National Weather Service in Hastings.

Baker’s car hit a guard rail and fell from a bridge into the frigid water. The car ended up 75 feet from the shore. Rescue workers secured Baker to a board before carrying him to safety.

He suffered head injuries but was listed in good condition at St. Francis Medical Center.

“As bad as the car was torn up, he’s luck to be alive,” said Robert Gregg, a Doniphan firefighter, who helped carry Baker to the shore. Mrs. Peters said they just happened to be at the right place at the right time. It’s like divine intervention had played a part.

Mrs. Peters said they just happened to be at the right place at the right time. It’s like divine intervention had played a part.

15 Years Ago

December 17, 2007

Sidney Sun-Telegraph

Lorenzo School: Should It Stay Or Should It Go?

It was standing room only at the Cheyenne County School District No. 1 board meeting Monday evening, when more than 40 interested citizens came to learn the fate of Lorenzo elementary School.

Superintendent John Hakonson and Lorenzo Elementary Principal Stacy McDaniel gave a presentation to the board that recommended the closure of the school at the end of the school year.

Hakonson said the future of the school was in the hands of the board because legislation required the assimilation of School District No. 33 into this district.

Hakonson said the timing of the presentation was designed to maximize the district’s options for filling teacher positions that may be opening soon. Several teachers must travel to the Lorenzo school once or twice a week, for such classes as art and music, to comply with state accreditation requirements and to fulfill the contracts with the Lorenzo staff.

Those teachers may be needed for classroom time in Sidney during the next school year because of expansion of the sixth grade sections—adding an additional sixth grade classroom—and Hankonson is concerned that to keep up with current practices, more staff would be needed.

Board member Lori Geiger made the motion to table the discussion. All board members voted yes, except for one, Tanya Lewis, who cast a dissenting vote.

Lewis told the Sun-Telegraph she voted “no” to table the discussion because she believed the matter should be decided sooner rather than later.