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! The following are selections from that column:
May 2 [prob. 5?], 1908 - reprinted January 2, 1985On the first of June, a large tract of land in the southwestern part of Idaho is to be opened up for settlement under the Carey irrigatlon act. Those from here who filed are F. W. Noh, Wm. Noh, Jos. Krikac, Dr. S. G. Allen, Jos. Suchy, G. A. Koza, John Koza, Ed Koza, Charles R. Kamensky, J. M. Mundil and George Engel.
Anton Dusatko, for the past 17 1/2 years manager at this place for the Crowell Lumber & Grain Co., has tendered his resignation to the company and his family will leave Clarkson in the near future, going to Howells, where Anton has purchased stock in the Howells State Bank, of which prosperous institution he has been elected assistant cashier.
Our little city was full of farmers last Friday who marketed corn and hogs. On that day our elevators took in something more than 8,000 bushels of corn and our stock buyer got 7 car loads of hogs. It was surely a record-breaking day.
Clarkson is to have an electric light sytem to be built, maintained and operated by the city. That was decided upon at a meeting of the citizens end taxpayers held in the city hall.
At a previous meeting a committee was appointed and consisted of Anton Kopac, Anton Karel and J. D. Wolf, who made their report. Since their appointment, they made a thorough examinatian of the various plants and a careful investigation into the probable cost of constructing and operating such a plant as would meet the needs of Clarkson.
The committee estimated that such a plant as is needed will cost about $4,000 and, as the Village has sufficent fUnds on hand, the same can be put in without incurring a dollar debt.
It is proposed to enlarge the present power house and then put in a steam engine and boilers and use the same to pump water for our water works and to run the dynamo. Work on installing the plant will commence as soon as possible.
May 5, 1908 - reprinted October 10, 1984A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Jos. J. Fajman.
Dr. Wirth reports five cases of diphtheria in the Joseph Brdicko family at their home southwest of town.
The residence property of Joseph Kastanek, consisting of a home and 10 acres of land adjoining the town on the northeast, has been sold to Frank Nemec and Frank Musil for $2,200.
As we go to press, we learn of the death of Frank, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brdicko, after a short illness with diphtheria. He was nine years of age.
At the meeting of the village board, saloon licenses were issued to: Joseph Slama, John F. Svoboda, John V. Bos, Tomes & Slama and Frank Bos.
The contract for doing the plumbing on the two-block extension to the Clarkson water works was awarded to Kopac Bros.Little Viola, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Allen, had the misfortune to fall 12 feet from the stairs in the rear of the Adolph Bukacek brick building, in the second story of which they reside, onto a cement platform below after having rolled part way down the stairs, on Saturday afternoon.
She sustained a fracture of the skull and some few bruises, but with the best medical aid and with the help of two professional nurses it is thought at this writing that she will recover.
Dr. Myers of Howells was immediately sent for at the time of the accident and has been assisted by Dr. Wirth, while Dr. Lord of Omaha was called in consultation Saturday and Dr. Bridges of that city came up for the same purpose yesterday.
Dr. Allen has been making a trip along the coast in the far west with his father-in-law, Mr. Beran of Ord, and it was difficul to locate him but a telegram reached him at Spokane, Wash., Sunday night and he immediately started for home.
It is thought that he will reach here tomorrow as he was heard from at Billings, Montana last night.
May 12, 1908 - reprinted November 21, 1984Relatives have received the word that a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Horace Kincaid. The mother is the former Miss Anna Holan
Dr. Frank Petr is expected here this evening from Mundin, Kansas, where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession. After a two weeks' visit with relatives and friends, he will leave for Europe, where he will spend two or three years perfecting his medical education.
The funeral of the late Frank Brdicko occurred last Wednesday. Fearing contagion from diphtheria, the funeral was strictly private. Although his friends and classmates were unable to attend, many tributes were paid to his memory by the teachers and scholars of our public schools. The remaining four patients in the family who were also ill with the dread disease, have recovered.
Mrs. Frank Sixta has the right kind of goose eggs that those desirous of securing a double crop of goslings should arrange to procure. After the usual number of days of incubation a rapping & tapping noise on either end of the goose egg, concluded with the appearance of a healthy, well-developed gosling from either end of the egg. Another egg of the same hatching would also have produced two goslings, but they smothered to death before sufficiently breaking the shell to secure air. A third egg in the same lot, one that did not hatch, was broken open and was found to be also a double hatcher had it hatched.
Casper Kehrlie, a prominent Colfax county farmer, passed away at his home northwest of Schuyler. His death was due to heart failure. He had been in Schuyler to see a physician in the forenoon relative to chest pains and attended to some business matters. After returning home, he milked two cows and assisted with other chores. He complained of being tired and not feeling well and lay on the couch for only a few minutes when he quietly passed away.
May 19, 1908 - reprinted December 12, 1984Last Wednesday a baby girl came to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Karel.
Frank Swoboda returned from a short visit to his brother in Spokane, Wash. He had a good visit but was not favorably impressed with the western country and we think he has come to the wise conclusion that hereafter Nebraska is good enough for him.
They have a little daughter at the Jos. Tomes home, north of town, born last Tuesday.
Dr. F. J. Peter of Munden, Kansas is visiting here with relatives and friends prior to his departure for Europe.
The Clarkson Sokols, accompanied by the Clarkson band, will go to Dodge next Saturday to participate in the program of the dedication of a new banner belonging to the Sokols of that place.
Joseph Dvorak has commenced the building of a good-sized home on the four acre tract of land owned by him in Suchy’s addition. That part of town is certainly having a building boom this spring.
Louis Faltys and Frank Trojan left this morning for the Panhandle country in Texas to have a look at the lands there with the view of investing. At Scribner they were joined by a party of 18 from Norfolk.
The Sunday freights have resumed service on the ranch, we understand as a result of a well-directed protest made by C. A. Randall of Newman Grove. The restoring of these trains means much for public convenience.
Joseph Basta went to Schuyler this morning and will be accompanied home tonight by his brother, Rudolph, who, with his family, arrived at Schuyler a day or two ago from Boulder, Colo., and rumor has it that they came back to stay.
Frank Humlicek has had the building occupied by his tailor shop raised about two feet and is having a cement block foundation put under it. He will also have the building thoroughly remodeled and when completed, he will have a very comfortable quarters. In the meantime, he has his shop in his residence.
John Blotz stepped down from his position at Nye-Schneider-Fowler Co., and the new man on the job is A. J. Vlach, who will be the new manager. It is 21 years ago since Mr. Blotz and his family came to Clarkson from their farm in Adams precinct and that was when he became manager of the company.
May 2[6?], 1908 - reprinted December 26, 1984A bright little baby girl came this morning to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Longin Folda.
Seven faithful students graduated from Clarkson high school, they being: George Arlington Blotz, Joseph Mundil, Ladislaus Kubik, Agnes Koci, Anna V. Svoboda, Bertha Bukacek and Theodore Kubik.
On Friday, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Mundil threw open their spacious home for the entertainment of the class. All reported enjoying themselves to their heart’s content.Last Wednesday, John Petr, his son, Dr. F. J. Petr, and Frank Dudek of Shell Creek precinct left Clarkson enroute for New York, from which point they sail next Saturday for Europe.
They will stop in Chicago, Detroit and Albany and a few other principal points in the east. Miss Mary Odvarka leaves here for New York where she will join the party and accompany them to Bohemia, returning to her home after a few years spent in America.
Messrs. Petr and Dudek will visit for a few months in the land of their birth while Dr. Petr will spend two years in Europe perfecting his medical education.Dr. S. G. Alen has a new automobile. It is a 16 horse power Maxwell runabout and is certainly a nobby machine. The doctor purchased it of S. B. Hoesly of Leigh, turning in his old machine as part payment. The new car arrived Friday evening from Omaha, Mr. Hoesly having run it up, leaving that city at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and reaching here a little after nine.