Hall Counnty NEGenWeb Project Presents

A History of the Hall County Whisker Club

This page is an index to an past memorbilia club of men with whiskers in Hall County, Nebraska.

LAW BREAKERS PAY PENALTIES

The second session of Kangaroo Court was held Wednesday night, May 25, at the Webb Livestock Commission Com' pany's pavilion. Nine out of ten alleged criminals, who had been terrorizing Whisker Club members, were found guilty . . . the tenth defendant being saved from a terrible fate by only a hair.

Alex Poullos and Wilbur Ziner were branded on the forehead with the words "I Shaved." Jim WTebb and Emil Wol-bach were each fined $1 and costs.

L. Wigstone, Dan Poulson, Ed. Wol-bach, and Dr. George Smaha, four of the culprits, were invited to an exclusive lunch' eon to be held on the sidewalks of Grand Island at one o'clock Saturday, May 28. The room in which the luncheon was held was decorated like all outdoors, with S. N. Wolbach Sons store as a background and nothing as a center piece. The color scheme featured blue suits and red faces.

A Very Exclusive Luncheon

While only four guests partook of the sumptuous meal, some seven or eight hundred cold-hearted he- and she-villains looked on with glee while the foolish-looking four struggled with sauer kraut and wein-ies that came in strings of six and eight dogs to the pack.

The crowd was there long before the guests of honor arrived, and most of them were still there at 1:25, when the eaters no longer ate. With just a little indication that they wished the ordeal hadn't been decreed, the four failed to put in an appearance until about 1:10.

Guests Appear Embarrassed

Les Wigstone was the first guest to mount the table. He was dressed in the conventional blue serge, green shirt, and a tie of another flavor of green. On his face he wore a grin of the same color, and he was heard to mutter under his breath, "Lord, if I only hadn't shaved!" He had a set of fine sandy colored whiskers that

a dun colored horse might have worn at one time, but not on its face. They were hooked behind Wigstone's ears, and "Wig" was frequently concerned whether the anchor would hold.

Dan Poulson was second in entrance. He was garbed much the same as Wig-stone, but he did dirt to a black horse instead of a dun-colored one. His cheeks were slightly over-rouged, but the color bleached out as the meal progressed. He kept his feet on tip-toe under the table throughout the meal, and people in the crowd guessed that the black horse had been skittish at one time.

Ed Wolbach, third eater to charge slowly toward the table, was more at ease. He seemed to feel at home, or nearly so, except for inability to differentiate between whiskers and sauer-kraut. On two occasions, he almost swallowed his beard before discovering that he was off the regular course. Wolbach was dressed like a skipper, and his adopted whiskers were long and gray with age and worry. But he had an appetite.

The last to arrive was Dr. George Smaha. Appearances indicated that the nerve had not been entirely blocked and some pain was certain to take place. He wore a lumber jacket and rough trousers, with a black hat to match his well-waxed slight moustache and goatee. He ate silently and with the grace of a school boy, speaking only when he was spoken to by companions or audience, and not always then.

An Appetising Menu

The menu consisted of corn bread, sauer kraut, weinies, fresh tomatoes, lettuce salad, carrots, and something that looked like tea but had foam on top of it. A second course of ice cream and cake had been provided, but frequent helpings had robbed the four of capacity, they stated unanimously, and they refused the second stanza.

Henry Hackman served as chef and head waiter.

10

THE WHISKER CLUB

To use any or all part(s) for non-profit or educational purposes.
Contact Pam Rietsch prior to using this book.
This book is a part of the

Hall County NEGenWeb Project © 2018 All Rights Reserved

COPY nd © 1997 - 2005 & 2007 - 2010
Created By Matthew D. Friend © 2018 | Last Updated: Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Join NEGenWeb on