USA > Nebraska > Sherman County > Loup City > The trail of the Loup; being a history of the Loup River region > Part 25
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
CLEMENTS, ARTHUR A .- county attorney of Valley county and one of the most successful young attorneys in the Loup Valley, was born March 20, 1870, in Allegan county, Michigan, when he came to Ord in 1893. Here he became associated with his brothers, E. J. and E. P. Clements, of the law firm of Clements Brothers; first as a student apprentice, later as a partner in the business,. As county attorney he is now in his second term. On January 28, 1900, he was married to Adelheid Reithardt. They have two children.
CORNELL BROS .- No more energetic and enterprising business men can be found anywhere than Cornell Brothers of Ord, dealers in hardware, tinware, stoves, plumbers materials etc. The genesis of their business is indeed interesting. The firm name was originally F. W. Weaver & Co., who used to run a small hardware store in partnership with Hans C. Sor- ensen, at the southeast corner of the square. In November, 1><4, this firm was dissolved and F. W. Weaver moved into the old Cheeseborough brick cast of the post office where he operated a successful store for many years. Finally ill health forced him to give up business and he was succeeded by Cornell Bros., who came here from Alliance, well schooled in the de- tails of a successful hardware and tinware business. The firm early found their quarters in the Weaver brick too cramped for their growing business and were obliged to move into the much more commodious Perry building west of the postoffice. But even this place of business has proven too small to accommodate the large stock that the Cornells have found it ex- pedient to carry. Two large warehouses in other parts of the city are now used to store the goods which they usually purchase by the car lot.
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In the main store is carried a well chosen stock of builder's materials, carpenter's and machinists' tools, cutlery, stoves and ranges, tin, copper and sheet iron goods in great variety. The work shop turns out all man- ner of tin work, including roofing and cornice work. The construction of pumps and windmills, and general plumbing are also important factors in this complete establishment. It is interesting to know that the volume of business for a single month during the summer of 1904 exceeded $11,000. Last year they purchased the Perry building, and now having added a complete farm machinery line of goods, have put up large warehouses to shelter the goods,
ERET, GEORGE C .- was born in 1874 at East Saginaw, Mich. His early schooling was procured at Red Cloud, Nebr., where he came as a child. From earliest childhood he showed a marked talent for music, receiv- ing his musical education at St. Louis. He is especially fine on the violin and band instruments, having been leader of bands at Shawnee, Okla., Oklahoma City, Curtis, Nebr., and other places. Coming to Ord in 1897, he engaged in the barber business but left this to devote himself entirely to his loved music. He was married in 1899 to Miss Mary Masin, an ac- complished musician. He has been director of the orchestra for three years and of the Ord band since 1904. He deals in pianos and also does piano tuning and regulating.
FACKLER & FLETCHER-The firm of Fackler & Fletcher, though comparatively new in Ord, is fast making a name for itself through square dealing and correct business methods. Samuel Fackler, the senior mem- ber of the firm, came to Ord in the fall of 1898 and engaged in the grocery business in a small way. He was then located where Mr. Stara's meat mar- ket now is. But the venture prospered from the first and Mr. Fackler had to seek a more commodious store building. This was found in the Wood- bury building on the south side of the square. Mr. E. L. Collin became a member firmof the in 1902; he retired two years later, having sold his share to L. C. Fletcher. The reconstructed firm continued prosperous and again had to seek larger quarters. Accordingly they moved to the large Milford building where they are now located. At the present they are oc- cupying a salesroom one hundred and ten feet in length and one of the most spacious warehouses in the city. Theirs is today the only exclusive grocery in Ord. The annual sales exceed $20,000.
FIRKINS, ALONZO J .- is one of our most successful stock breeders. He was born in DeKalb county, Illinois, in 1863, where he grew up and spent his early years, getting well acquainted with all the outs and ins of farm life. In 1883 he came to Valley county and possessed himself of the famous Cedar Lawn Farm, half a mile from Ord. Here he has occupied his time at farming, stock raising and breeding. While he has spent some time in raising Shropshire sheep and Poland China hogs, he now gives his time principally to raising and breeding pureblooded Hereford cattle. His herd at the present numbers some of the finest specimens in America and his stock is sought after by breeders from every part of the United States.
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Mr. Firkins has thus had orders all the way from South Carolina and Vir- ginia. Mr. Firkins has become a man of more than ordinary means during his twenty-two years on the Loup. He owns among other things a large ranch-the Klondike-in Garfield county. He was for years manager of the Ord Hardware Company and has been a member and president of the Ord school board for many years.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK The economic history of any section of our country may be read in the history of its financial institutions. That the Loup Valley has made remarkable progress down through the years is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than through a study of its banking houses. Of these the First National Bank of Ord came into existence as a private bank in 1880. It was rechartered as a national bank May 1, 1885, with a capital of $50,000. The organizers were J. H. Bell, D. C. Bell, H. A. Babcock, Wm. C. Wentz, J. C. Post, Geo. A. Percival and P. Mortensen. H. A. Babcock was elected president of the board, but resigned and J. H. Bell was elected in his stead. Mr. Babcock now became vice president, Geo. A Percival, cashier, and P. Mortensen, assistant cashier. In Jan- uary, 1887, Mr. Mortensen was elected president, an office which he yet fills. Mr. Percival resigned his post as cashier in December, 1888, and was succeeded by Fred Bartlett who in turn was followed by W. E. Mitchell. The latter held the responsible trust till May, 1891. His brother E. N. Mitchell released him, retiring in January, 1896, to be succeeded by the present cashier, Everett M. Williams. Other officers are G. W. Mickel- wait, vice-president, and Alvin Blessing, assistant cashier. The First National Bank was founded by men of exceptional financial ability and has from its inception had the confidence of the public. When financial storms came and swept over the country, the First National found no trouble in weathering them all. Much of this success may no doubt be traced to Mr. Mortensen, than whom there is no greater financier in Nebraska today. His rise in the commercial world has been little less than phenomenal. From . a dugout on the prairie to office in the state capitol, all in the space of three decades is a record for any man to be proud of, and this is what the presi- dent of the First National has accomplished. The bank has always been conservative in business and yet at all times ready to extend aid and assist in the growth of commerce whenever consistent with safe banking princi- ples. It has indeed been one of the greatest factors in the development of the Loup Valley. The steady growth of this institution can readily be gathered from a comparison of its financial statements published from time to time. Thus in July, 1885, its loans and discounts amounted to $17,558.30, while today the same items foot up to 8344, 660.38: then the deposits reached $20,000.00, now $302,000.00.
GARD, GEORGE R .- Ord's genial dentist, is most decidedly a Loup Valley product, his entire life having been spent among us. He was born September 6, 1879, at Kent, Nebr., a village between Taylor and Burwell, of which his father was one of the founders. Coming to Ord in 18-7, he entered the public schools, continuing the education begun at Kent. Being
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eager to enter upon his professional life, he did not complete his high school course but, after first serving a brief apprenticeship in the offices of the leading dentists of Ord, matriculated in the Dental Department of the University of Omaha. He continued in school here from 1898 until 1901 when he received the degree of D. D. S. Immediately returning to Ord, he opened offices in the Mortensen block and is still in the same location, hav- ing there a fine suite of four rooms. He does not confine himself to prac- tice in Ord but makes regular trips to Arcadia and North Loup. In April, 1904, he was married to Miss Breezie Parks, a young lady accomplished in business and musical attainments. They have built a most beautiful and convenient residence in the western part of the city.
GREGORY. JOHN WILSON-proprietor of the well known Turtle Creek Stock Farm, was born in Marion county, Iowa, in 1860. He spent his youth and early manhood on the farm still owned by his father. Here he gained much of the training which later stood him so well in stead as the expert stock-raiser. He procured his early book learning, too, while on the old home farm. Mr. Gregory came to Valley county May 10, 1884, and ever since has been actively engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1887 he bought the Chris Keller farm on lower Turtle Creek and converted it into a first class stock farm. He has been intimately connected with the hog-raising interests in this part of the state for many years. His special- ty is pure bred swine. Indeed, he is the owner of the oldest herd of re- corded Poland China Swine in Valley county. Mr. Gregory has made quite a name for himself in this field and his stock is everywhere in great demand. Although a busy man, he has found some spare time for politics. He belongs to the People's Independent Party, and is now serving his third term as supervisor from the first district. In 1897 he married Miss Mary Tucker. Mrs. Gregory, who was born in Effingham county, Illinois, came to Nebraska in 1887, and to Ord two years later. She attended the Ord High School and the Fremont Normal and taught in the Ord schools from 1896 to 1897. The Gregorys have two children-J. W. Jr., and Joseph.
GUDMUNDSEN, JUDGE HJALMAR-is a native of Denmark, though coming from a good old Iceland ancestry. He was born at Nysted, Den- mark, May 27, 1860, where he spent the days of his youth. His early training came from the hand of private tutors who advanced him through the Danish Latin School course. In common with other young countrymen, he early became anxious to make a way for himself in the promised land-America. Accordingly he sail- ed for Quebec, which he reached in 1878. After spending a year in Canada he journeyed on to the United States. Five years were now spent in the regular army, U. S. A. Receiving an honorable dis- charge, Mr. Gudmundsen was so fortunate as to re- ceive the superintendency of the Shoshone Indian This he held till Cleveland's first administration, when
Training School.
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he resinged to give place to a Democratic appointee. In 1884 he married Miss Katie B. Jensen, of Shoshone. The family came to Ord in 1-ss and has resided here ever since. Mrs. Gudmundsen died in 1902, leaving sev en chilrden living. Mr. Gudmundsen has filled various positions of honor during the seventeen years spent in Valley county. He was deputy county clerk under several administrations, and has served both as assessor and treasurer of his township. When the Spanish American War broke out in 1898 he was captain of Co. B, 2nd Reg. N. N. G., and in that capacity marched his company to the front. The company did not however get be- yond Chickamauga. In November, 1903, he was elected county judge, an office which he fills with much credit to himself and his party.
HALDEMAN, F. D .- Dr. Frederick D. Haldeman was born October 2, 1859, in Muscatine county, Iowa. He received his early education at West Liberty High School and then matriculated at the Iowa State Univer- sity. From early boyhood had he de- cided upon medicine as his chosen profession. To gain his end he en- ered the office of Dr W. S Gibbs, at Downy, Iowa. He took his first course of medical lectures at the Medical De- partment of the State University at Iowa City. The remaining two cours- es were taken at Omaha, in the new medical school. Dr. Haldeman grad- uated from this institution March 23, 1882, and had the honor of being the valedictorian of his class. He imme- diately located at Ord and has through the years built up a very large practice. By his profession he has been honored, being in 1596 elected president of the Nebraska State Medical Society. By his fellow townsmen he is considered one of the most substantial of professional men. Dr. Haldeman was married to Miss Olive A. Newbecker of Ottawa, Ill., Jan- uary 14, 1885. Two children were born to them-Irma and Keene-the death of the former resulting after a long sick spell, Dec. 25, 1905.
KOKES, JOHN-was born in Bohemia March 16, 1864. He attended school in his native country for some twelve years, two of which were spent in the Bohemian Real School. He came to the United States in 1880 and settled with his parents on a homestead in Michigan township, Valley county. He later moved to the White River country and homestead cd a farm .there. After spending some years out west he settled on the sand flats. Here his wife died in 1901. He now entered politics and was elected sheriff. In 1903 he was reelected to this office.
JONES, ALTA BELLE-was born February 11, 1877, in Warren county, Illinois. She moved to Missouri in 1879 and received her early ed-
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ucation there. In 1887 she came to Valley county with her parents. She graduated from the Ord High School in the class of 1893 and immediately commenced teaching. Her experience in this, her chosen field covers three years in the rural schools, five years in the Ord schools and two years in the schools of Colorado. While a busy teacher she has neglected no opportunity for self improvement. Thus she has attended summer school at the University of Nebraska, at Drake University, and at schools in Grand Island and Fremont. She was elected county superintendent on the Republican ticket in 1903.
HONNOLD, A. R .- One of the youngest of the successful members of the Ord bar is Arthur Rankin Honnold. His father came to Valley county in 1874 and settled in Mira Valley. Here Arthur was born in 1876. He has thus grown up in and with Valley county. His early e d ucation was gotten in the rural schools and the Ord High School, from which latter institution he. grad- uated in 1898. After completing a course in the Grand Island Business College he was appointed state accountant of the Insane Hospital at Lincoln. Two years later he entered the law department of the University of Nebraska, graduating with the law I'ne same year he was associated in law practice with Victor October 1, 1904, Mr. Johnson retired from the firm,
class of 1904.
O. Johnson at Ord. moving to Oklahoma. This left Mr. Honnold in sole possession. He has been very successful. As an evidence of this he has purchased the exten- sive law library of the late Judge Chas. A. Munn. Aside from his legal practice Mr. Honnold deals in real estate and writes insurance.
KOUPAL & BARSTOW-It is safe to say that of the many firms doing business in our Valley, none have been more successful along legitimate lines than has Koupal & Barstow Lumber Company. Frank Koupal, who manages the local yard, is practically a Valley county product so far as his business career is concerned. Though born in Bohemia-January 29, 1865-his education was practically all procured in the country of his adoption. He appeared before the public first as a trusted employee in the Jaques Grain Company and in politics as county clerk between 1898 and 1900. William T. Barstow, who now resides at Lincoln, is a New Englander and came to Ord in the early '80's. He clerked in the old B. C. White store for a while; but his unusual ability was soon recognized by C. M. Jaques, the grain dealer, who first took him into his employ and later into partnership. The Koupal & Brastow Lumber Company is incorpo- rated with a captal of $50,000 and owns and operates yards at Ord, Greeley Center, Sargent and Ericson. It carries in stock enormous quantities of building materials of all kinds and is through its accurate and business. like methods rapidly attaining an enviable position among the leading lumber firms of the state.
MISKO, FRANK-was born in Bohemia in 1853. He came from very
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good ancestry there. His parents sent him to school at an early age and later apprenticed him in the harness business. Thus time passed till he was twenty years old. He now spent three years in the Austrian Army. He came to the United States in his early manhood and first sought a ca- reer in the great northwest. Thus he alternately followed his profession and farmed in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa. He married Miss Mary Rayman while in Minnesota. Of this union six children were born, of whom four are living. Mr. Misko and family arrived at Ord in 1×82. Here he immediately launched in the harness business. In 1882 he built a small brick shop on the north side of the square. But his business rapid- ly increased obliging him to build the large two-story brick building where he is now located. In 1904 he further built a large double two story build- ing on the north side of the square. Mr. Misko is enterprising and public spirited tand has done very much indeed to build up Ord. As a dealer in harness and other leather goods he is known up and down the Valley for many miles. Thus he is known to make regular sales in Custer, Garfield, Sherman and Loup counties. Mr. Misko's success in a business way is attributable to honest methods and exceptional ability.
MORTENSEN, PETER-treasurer of the state of Nebraska, belongs to the hardy race which comes out of the peninsula of Jutland, Denmark, where he was born Oct. 8, 1844. He came to America in 1870 and worked in coal mines and iron works at and near Warrensburg, Missouri, for a year or more. In the spring of 1872 he came as one of the first Danish colony to Valley county and entered the northeast quarter of section 8, Town 19, Range 14 where he erected the famous first combination dugout-loghouse in the county. From the very first has he been before the public eye in one capacity and another. His career is worthy of careful study and emula- tion. In 1872 he walked barefoot the long distance form Ord to Dannebrog with a sackful of plowshares on his back, which needed sharpening. To- day he is the treasurer of our great commonwealth; all this he has accom plished through common honesty, sound business sense and pure grit. He was county treasurer of Valley county from 1875 to 1884; then he was elect- ed assistant cashier of the new First National Bank of Ord. ; He soon rose through the position of cashier to the presidency of the institution which he yet fills. He has ever been interested in the development of the Loup region and is extensively interested in its real estate and gives much atten- tion to agriculture and stock raising. He was married February 16, 1878, to Jennie H. Williams of West Paw Paw, Illinois, and has one son, Craw- ford.
NEWBECKER, MINERVA M. - was born in Harrisburg, Pa. Her early education was obtained here, she being a graduate of Harrisburg Female Seminary. She taught in her native town till 1870 when she moved with her parents to Illinois where she continued as teacher in Ottawa. In 1889 she entered the Chicago Medical College of the Northwestern Univer- sity. On receiving her degree in 1893, she became interne in Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, and later practiced her profession in
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Chicago. She was in Omaha one year and was most successful for over six years as woman physician in the State Asylum for insane at Lincoln, Nebr. She entered into partnership with Dr. Haldeman at Ord in July, 1901. At the expiration of three years she entered into practice alone, first building herself an office on Main street, and a most comfortable residence. She has built up a large practice and is very successful.
ORD NORMAL AND BUSINESS COLLEGE-while one of the new- est institutions established in the city, promises fair to take rank with the best schools of its kind. Prof. L. R. Bright, its principal and organizer, is a gentleman of culture, well fitted to make the venture a success. The high quality of work done in all departments of the school the past school year insures a greatly increased attendance for the coming scholastic year, which opens in Sep- tember. From the new catalogue we glean the following interesting facts: "The Ord Normal and Business College is just a year old, and starts on its second vear with the satisfaction of know- ing that the first year was a successful one. Not in any manner connected with the school that was established by C. W. Roush and which had so un- fortunate an experience, the Ord Normal and Business College is a fixture in Ord, and is the home of Prof. Bright, the principal. Ord is a good place for such a school. The business enterprise of the city has placed it ahead of any town in the county, and there is a certain vim and push about the town that becomes an incentive to a student coming here from other places. The public schools of Ord are among the best in the state, and a splendid educational tone per- meates the city. Excellent lecture courses are maintained every season. The churches of the city are well attended and the pulpits ably filled. The young people of the various church societies will welcome you to their services."
ORD QUIZ, THE-On the 6th day of April, 1882, the first issue of the Ord Quiz was printed and issued from a small shack, now gone, on the east side of the public square. It was established by the present owner, then a young man, with no newspaper experience. He came here because he was financially interested in the original townsite and that was all he had on earth but a young wife and a few debts incident to several years of college going. Whether the town needed another paper he did not know, and whether he was at all likely to succeed did not enter his head. From his early youth he was determined to be a printer, and as it was practically impossible for him to start anywhere else, he started here. For some reas- on, the Lord only knows what, the paper has succeeded. It stands pretty well in the estimation of the public and among the newspaper men of the stato. Most everybody in the county permits it to come to his home, and most of these pay for it. It has one of the best printing plants in the state, equalled only by the best offices in three or four cities, and is housed
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in a new building erected specially for it last fall by the publisher. The Quiz is one of the very few papers which have run for about a quarter of a century witnout a change in ownership. Its files, which have been pre- served from the beginning, have been largely utilized in the preparation of the foregoing history, and are in many instances, the only authority extant.
ROBBINS, A. M .- attorney-at-law, was born in McHenry county, Ill., in 1849. Shortly after this his folks moved to Boone county, Ill., where he lived on a farm until the spring of 1866, when he struck out for himself. Going to DeKalb county, in the same state, he continued to work by the month as a farm hand until the spring of 1868, when he entered the Teach- ers' Institute and Classical Seminary of East Paw Paw, Ill., and com- menced a course of studies. He continued his attendance at the institute (with the exception of winters when he was teaching) until July 4, 1873, when he graduated and had conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Science. A few weeks after he graduated, he commenced the study of law in the office of A. K. Truesdell, of Dixon, Ill., and was admitted to practice in the fall of 1875 before the Supreme Court of that state, and in December of the same year was admitted to practice at Omaha. On January 1, 1-76, he opened an office at Papillion, Neb., and soon accumulated a successful lucrative practice. He continued in practice there until April, 1881, when he moved to Ord. Mr. Robbins has now been a practicing attorney in Ord for almost a quarter of a century and has built up a large practice in this part of the state. He has represented his district in the state senate and held other positions of public trust in his community. As one of the origi- nal founders of Ord he has been extensively interested in real estate in and around Ord. He was married in 1872 to Miss Cynthia C. Haskell, a resi- dent of DeKalb county, Illinois, who is also a graduate of the Classical In- stitute of Paw Paw, Illinois. They have seven children who have all grad- uated from the Ord High School and later, after pursuing courses of study in higher institutions of learning, entered upon honorable careers for them- selves. The youngest daughter, Alice, is the wife of the author of "The Trail of the Loup."
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