100 Years Ago. . .
Lightning struck the barn of John Hauswirth during a storm, setting fire to the building and killing a mule. Quick work on the part of Mr. Hauswirth saved the building from destruction.
Probably 1,000 people witnessed the big wild west rodeo at Will Macey’s farm three miles west of Osmond. Chariot races on the half mile track were very thrilling, as were also the standing riders on the running horses. A large number of outlaw horses were ridden by the cowpunchers, who were the same bunch that put on the round-up part of the celebration at Neligh on the Fourth of July.
George Hering and family, who had been on a 10-day fishing trip, arrived back in Osmond. A. W. Marek and family and Mrs. Gus Marek, who also went with them, stopped off on their way back at Sioux Falls and visited at the Mrs. Aschoff home. The fishing party left Osmond in their cars, their first stop being at Yankton, and from there on to Sioux Falls, and then to Luverne, MN, and then on to Glenwood, a distance of 400 miles. The roads were fine all the way with the exception of 30 miles of dirt road between Yankton and Sioux Falls, all the rest of the road was graveled. Glenwood is in the central part of Minnesota, and here is where the fishing party pitched their camp.
Cottages completely furnished were rented for $15 a week, or for $25 per, which included the use of a boat.
Joseph Cizek and wife and son Melvin, who returned from their stay in California, had a fine trip.
They spent most of the time around Glendora, as the hoof and mouth disease made traveling very difficult.
Autoists were obliged to run their cars through vats every few miles, which soon ruined the tires. Picnic parties were forbidden and tourists were forbidden to get out of their cars and go into a field to eat their lunch or for any purpose as it was claimed that this spread the disease.
75 Years Ago. . .
Carl Nissen’s “sons of the soil” fell victim to the “Osmond city slickers” managed by John Thomsen in a baseball game under the lights that was hardly as good as the 14-11 score for the seven-inning game would indicate. The game, however, seemed to have plenty of fan appeal. A goodsized crowd was out to see it and by the cheers and jeers, it seemed to satisfy. For the city nine, the starting battery was Otis (Blue) Gore and Cap Theisen, each delivered to his respective post in a padded wheel barrow. The battery lasted throughout the entire first half of the first inning, giving way to John Thomsen, Harvey Hixson and Ed Gudenkauf on the mound and Ed Gudenkauf and Don Hetrick catching. The unsuccessful farmers got by with the mound services of Jerry Grause and Paulson while two catchers, Carl Thomsen and Lloyd Schneckloth, held up well for the seven innings. The game was as liberally sprinkled with errors as the city was with sore backs and stiff legs the following day.
Three units of land about one mile northeast of McLean belonging to the Poggensee estate sold in two parcels at $93 and $83 per acre. The west half of section 16 in Eastern precinct advertised as units 1 and 2 was bid at $93 by Hans Poggensee, Alfred Poggensee, Manda Poggensee Greno and Virginia Wheelan Reed. The northern quarter of the same section brought a bid of $83 by Claude Miller and Anna Miller.
Employed at the John Schnoor farm southeast of Osmond was the Stephan Martinack family consisting of husband and wife and three children ranging from 3 to 7 years of age. Natives of Poland, the family came to the United States under the Displaced Persons act and were temporarily employed near Lynch. According to Rev. Michael Gluba of Osmond and Rev. J. H. Kaup of Randolph, instrumental in finding this family and others of foreign lands a home and employment, Mr. and Mrs. Martinack labored during the war period in German concentration camps.
65 Years Ago. . .
Pierce County school District 42R will remain intact. That information came after a joint session of the trustees of District 42R, the newlycreated Osmond district, and 76R, the newly-created Wausa district, at Wausa. The special meeting was called after each board had received petitions seeking land transfers from one district to another.
Reed Lockers, “Osmond’s Only Complete Supermarket,” had a dollar sale, with Van Camps pork and beans, 8 cans for $1; 3 large packages of Tide, $1; Fireside cookies, 4 packages $1; 25 packages of Kool-Aid, $1; Gerber strained baby food, 11 cans $1. Other sale prices included Market Basket ground beef, 3 lbs. $1.49; pork cutlets, 49¢ per lb.; white seedless grapes, 19¢ per lb.; golden yellow bananas, 2 lbs. 29¢.
The Little Workers 4-H Club met at the home of Janis Johnson. Roll call was answered by each member telling how they chose the material for their hand towel. The towels were judged and Judy Koehler told how she made hers.
The annual picnic for the employees at St. Joseph Hospital was held on the hospital grounds in the late afternoon of July 28. It took the form of a wiener and marshmallow roast, after which numbers were drawn for prizes. Music was furnished by a hi-fi record player.
50 Years Ago. . .
Indiana to British Columbia and home again by bicycle. That’s the work and the play cut out for 54 14- to 18-year-old youths and their six lead- ers who stopped briefly at Poolside Park continuing on to O’Neill where the group was to spend the night. Bob Hardley, first in charge, said there were 1,500 inquiries by youths wanting to make the trip. The 54 were selected for the 1974 summer trip. The group was a part of the Cycles, Inc., of Hartford City, IN, and 14 Christian organizations were represented.
In the spring, the local Boy Scout troop planted a garden on the Jack Theisen farm and through their hard work and the irrigation provided by Mr. Theisen, the garden was just beginning to produce a bountiful crop, according to scout leader Dr. David Johnson. The scouts were getting ready to harvest beans, tomatoes, some sweet corn and some squash. They planned to begin harvesting the first of the vegetables for sale to the public as a troop project.
In the midst of the heat and dry weather, a spark presumably from an incinerator ignited a pile of wood behind Thomsen’s Corner. The very dry wood was piled there awaiting splitting and stacking for use in the establishment fireplace during the winter. The fire quickly grew in in tensity and the heat from it distorted plastic clearance lights, windows and the vinyl molding of a pickup camper shell parked near the wood pile.
The Osmond fire department was kept busy with most of the fires at tributed to the extremely dry conditions brought about by no rain and extremely high temperatures. On Thursday afternoon the department responded to a fire in the oats field at the Don Wragge farm to assist the Pierce department. While at the Wrag- ge fire, another alarm was received and the department went directly to a car and grass fire on Highway 13 east of Foster. On Friday afternoon, a grass fire of undetermined origin occurred at the George von Rentzell farm east of Osmond. On Monday, a fire with intense black smoke that could be seen for miles occurred at an irrigation pump site on the Vernon Gansebom farmland southeast of town. The fire reportedly erupted when sparks from a welder being used ignited diesel fuel leaking from a tank at the site. The fire raged near the leaking 500 gallon fuel barrel; it did not explode but caused some anxious moments on the part of the firefighters. The fire department then rendered assistance at a major fire at Plainview which completely destroyed the Jack and Jill grocery store there.
25 Years Ago. . .
Among the six Pierce County farm families honored for having farms in the family name for 100 years or more were those of Helen Kumm of Osmond and Scott and Connie Bloomquist of McLean.
Osmond Summerfest ’99 was held Saturday, July 31, and Sunday, Aug. 1. On Saturday, a street dance was held featuring music by “Heartland Renegades.”Sunday’s activities included a community fun walk, sand volleyball tournament, horseshoe tournament, ground-breaking for the new Osmond Public Library, parade, kids’ pedal pull, music by Ray Krohn, puppet show by Mary Miller, training flights by Husker Powered Chutes, Inc., demonstrations and air show by Norfolk Remote Controlled Plane Club, cream can cookoff, duck races, kids’ sheep rodeo and greased pig contest.
10 Years Ago. . .
On Friday, July 26, Osmond Rescue Units were called to the scene of a two-car accident approximately 3½ miles east of Osmond on Highway 20. A white pickup from Pierce County was on its top in the ditch and a Platte County Safelite Repair van was on the highway. Two people, a man and a woman, were removed from the pickup and one person in the Safelite truck received injuries..
