Published in The Journal on April 25, 1900
Our account this week begins with February 18, 1880 and ends with March 18, 1880.

The name of Cherry Hill postoffice, this county, was changed to Duncan.

W.J. Belknap of Creston notes that it is universally the case, when broom corn is planted on an alkali spot, it grows curled.

Joe Gross returning Feb. 11, from his usual yearly trip to Chicago, reported seeing the electric light, and was very much delighted with it.

Fred. Gottschalk, though not an old man, was one of the oldest settlers in Columbus, being here in 1856, when there was not a house within sixty miles.

Through the persistent recommendation of the Columbus hotels by J.E. North, and on his motion, Columbus was selected as the place for holding the democratic state convention. The Journal urged similar action by the republicans.

A fire at Patrick Foley's March 9 destroyed cattle shed, stable, hay, etc. Henry Carrig and a neighbor helped save the dwelling, and Henry was very enthusiastic in praise of a 7-year-old girl of Mr. Foley's who before the neighbors came, pulled her little brother away from the flames, liberated two horses, and with an ax knocked boards enough off the hog pen to save the porkers from roasting. Mr. and Mrs. Foley were absent at Platte Center and left the youngsters in charge of an elderly Polish woman.


Published in The Journal on May 2, 1900
Our account this week begins with March 24, 1880 and ends with May 12, 1880.

Plastering began on the Sisters' hospital April 13.

One of the burning local questions then was, Shall Frankfort square, commonly known as Engine House square, be cut up into business lots and sold?

DIED - EICHENBERG--S.S. Rickly, president of the Capital City Bank, at Columbus, Ohio, and brother of John Rickly of this city, was shot at noon on Wednesday of last week, by a man named Andrew Eichenberg, through the head while standing at his desk. Eichenberg was on the street and as soon as he shot Mr. Rickly he placed the revolver to his own temple and shot himself, dying almost instantly. It is believed that Mr. Rickly will recover, but with the loss of both his eyes. The trouble between them grew out of Rickly's refusal to loan Eichenberg money.

DIED
KUMMER--Died. On Sunday afternoon, March 21st, at 2 o'clock, Vincent Kummer, aged 59 years.
The deceased was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, in 1821, and in 1850 or '51 came to America, where he has since resided, most of the time in this vicinity. Twenty years ago he was elected to the office of county treasurer and held the same to the installment of his successor and friend John W. Early. Mr. Kummer, in his office, was very obliging, and, at the same time, prompt and thorough in the transaction of business. There was nothing mean or little about him, but open-handed, large-hearted, generous, magnanimous, kind and tender-hearted as a woman to his friends, (and he had no personal enemies that we know of) he won the esteem of everybody, regardless of political differences.
The deceased leaves behind him his wife, Rosina, whom he married in 1870, who is, we believe, the only relative he had in this country.
His death was not unexpected. For a number of years he had been sorely afflicted with rheumatism, suffering a thousand deaths in the writhing tortures of that disease, which was probably the cause of his appearing to be an old man while yet in middle age. He managed to weather through a number such attacks, appearing again at the Court House with a cheerful word for everyone. But he appeared at his old place for the last time on election day, and now his spirit has passed to the better world, taking its exit as gently, apparently, as a child going to sleep. "He was," says Mr. Jacob Ernst who was present, "conscious to the last, and passed away without suffering. His last words on earth were, 'I'm going to sleep, now,' and he laid his head back," quietly breathing until "the silver chord" was very gently loosed, and his spirit quitted its house of clay.
It was Mr. Kummer's request that his body be carried to the grave by the old settlers and that the exercises be conducted by H.J. Hudson, in English, and Arnold Jaeggi, in German. At the time we are writing [Tuesday noon], preparations are being made for the funeral, which is to take place from the Opera House at 2 o'clock, and will be participated in by the Maennerchor Society, the Kummer Guards, and a large concourse of citizens.


Published in The Journal on March 12, 1902
Our notes this week begin with The Journal of September 8, 1880 and close with that of November 17, 1880.

J.E. North of this city was placed on the democratic state ticket as a candidate for congress.

Guy C. Barnum was norminated for senator from Colfax and Platte counties, by the democracy.

DIED - BUTLER--Alice, daughter of Wm. Butler, ex-Commissioner of Butler Co., and aged 18 years, committed suicide by drowning in the Platte river on Tuesday of last week. It seems that the members of her family were bitterly opposed to her proposed marriage with a Mr. Hardman (said to be a worthy young man), and that, goaded to desperation, in a fit of temporary insanity, she sought relief in death.

Four million salmon eggs were placed in the head waters of the streams tributary to the Platte, Blue, Elkhorn and other rivers.

Charles Cominski, while felling a tree on Martin Bloedorn's farm, was very seriously hurt, the tree falling upon him, fracturing his skull and driving his feet into the ground.


Published in The Journal on March 19, 1902
Our notes this week begin with The Journal of November 17, 1880 and close with that of January 12, 1881.

Between 6 and 7 o'clock a.m., Dec. 15, a train coming from the west on the Union Pacific, ran into another one standing on the track in the yard here, the engine striking the rear end of an emigrant car, which happened to have no occupant--the car was smashed into kindling-wood about half its length. Passingers said that the engineer had whistled wildly for "down breaks," but the call was not answered by the sleeping brakemen.

NELSON-JOHNSON--Nels Nelson, a married man at Newman's Grove, and Miss Johnson eloped together about two weeks ago, and have not been heard from since. Nelson leaves a wife and three or four young children--the wife is crippled and can hardly walk across the room. We are informed that the wife was induced, through misrepresentation, to sign a deed of the farm to an attorney in Oakdale. The case seems a hard one for the deserted family, and it looks to us as though interested friends might procure the cancellation of the deed.

DIED - BADER--On Thursday last Charles Bader, considerably the worse for liquor, started from Columbus for his home in Shell Creek precinct. He drove a pretty lively pair of mules, and he passed several teams on his way home. When within about two miles of home one of the springs to his wagon-seat broke, and he was precipitated to the ground, the blood gushing out of his nose, ears and eyes. He lay there all night, and, when found he was frozen stark. In the darkness of the night several teams had passed him, but his wife was the first to find him, which she did at about 8 o'clock on Friday morning.

Published in The Journal March 26, 1902
Our notes this week begin with The Journal of January 12, 1881, and close with that of February 23, 1881.

DIED - BECKER--In Columbus, February 3, 1881, of diphtheria, Carrie R. Becker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Becker, aged 4 years, 10 months and 25 days. Death, in the form of diphtheria, visited the family of Mayor Becker Thursday last, taking the oldest daughter, little Carrie, who was drawing close to the end of her fifth year. We are sorry to announce that the younger little girl, Minnie, and the only child left the bereaved father and mother is very ill with the same disease.

Tickets from Germany to Columbus, Nebraska, were $40.

A fire at Osceola destroyed court house and some of the records.

Diphtheria, croup and measles prevailed in many localities of the state.

Between Feb. 8 and 15, no trains were able to reach this city over the A.& N. from Lincoln, or from Norfolk over the Jackson branch, owing to the heavy snow drifts.


Published in The Journal on April 16, 1902
Our notes this week begin with The Journal of February 23, 1881 and close with that of April 20, 1881.

The Columbus Gazette, edited by Wm. Burgess, made its first appearance Tuesday March 1, 1881.

Mr. and Mrs. James Haney lost four children by diphtheria within a few days, Elizabeth, Michael, Mary and Maggie.

Robert McPherson's team of horses were drowned in McAllister's slough, and Mc barely escaped with his life, restoratives being used upon him.

A half-column account of the flood appeared in The Journal of March 23. Robert McPherson's house was three feet in water, and several small farms in the neighborhood were entirely submerged. The bottom between the Loup and Platte river wagon brides was covered with three to four feet of slush ice. Guy C. Barnum's family moved out at 2 o'clock of morning of March 21, going to Jackson.
Sam Rickly and Joe Miller came in from the ranch (between the Loup and Platte), and related some of their experiences during the flood. The water was so deep for most of the time that they hoisted their bed to the ceiling and for four days and nights they lived on top of their hut and in a tree. Sam said that after the waters subsided, and the stock had dry soil under them, they would skip and jump about in wild fun, evidently relishing the change in affairs, and Sam acknowledges that he was a little tickled himself.
Saturday, March 19, the Loup river broke up with a flood the like of which had not been seen since 1967, when the waters covered the bottom south of the city. Abundance of ice two feet thick. Early in the flood the middle spans of the Loup river wagon bridge were seen to loosen and quietly float down stream. Eight spans of the Platte bridge had been swept off when the stream broke up. George Spooner's dwelling was taken several squares, and set down again in good shape. Mrs. Hamer's building was considerably riddled. David Anderson had about $100 worth of hogs caught and lost. He was not at home. The U.P. bridge between Duncan and Lost Creek stations was very considerably damaged--all the superstructure gone and perhaps half the piling, with a considerable amount of track out of shape. John Haney, not having had the least warning of the flood, had two hundred and ten head of cattle swept off, recovering only fifty of them. Only twenty-eight were as young as yearlings, and were worth considerably more than twenty dollars a head. Mr. Haney thought he could have saved his herd if he had had ten minutes warning. The school house near Mrs. Barrows' residence was moved about a mile by the flood, and placed very nearly the center of the district. Mr. Chambers of the A.& N., Ora Shannon and others went down the track on a hand car, and their attention was attracted by a signal waved from Mrs. Barrows' dwelling, which was quite a distance into the water. The party returned to the city, and, taking an engine, flat-car and a boat with them, returned and rescued Mrs. Barrows, her children and Mrs. Dykes, who was stopping with them. Large trees near the house probably saved it from being swept away. Henry Binder had upwards of 200 sheep drowned.


Published in The Journal on April 23, 1902
Our notes this week begin with The Journal of April 20, 1881 and close with that of June 15, 1881.

The water was about a foot deep in T.C. Ryan's store at Platte Center May 18, owing to the flood in Elm creek.

Charlie Burgess, who had been traveling with "Buffalo Bill's" theatrical troupe, returned home to this city June 8.

The Columbus Cemetery Co. purchased of Jacob Ernst five acres of ground adjoining the cemetery on the south, for the sum of $500.

The outer doors of the county treasurer's safe at the court house were blown off Friday morning, May 6, $60 in money abstracted, with papers such as county warrants, licenses, etc. The burglars entered the office by taking out a pane of glass in one of the windows.

MARRIED - NEKOLICHAK-FRANKE--Anton Nekolichak, of Platte county, to Wilhelmina Franke, of Polk county, May 18th, 1881, by Judge J.G. Higgins.
[...and...]
About three weeks since the wife of Mr. Nekolichak died, and the old man's heart was rent with grief. For a week he manfully endured his tribulation, and then his loneliness growing insufferable, he came to town, and when he returned home, he was accompanied by Wilhelmina Franke. All now would have been as serene as a "May Morning," but for the fact that Nekolichak, had a son who objected to the example his father was setting to his younger brothers, and ended the "old man's dream" by having the woman arrested for living in fornication with his father. Immediately after the womans arrest, she and Nekolichak were married. Her trial is set for Monday morning.


(the above article is displayed as written, including all typing & spelling errors)

Click Here To Close Window

The excerpts in this area were obtained from the website - Platte County, Nebraska Researchers. You can find many of the newspapers on line by clicking HERE